Bill Cross Wildlife Area is a 1,522-acre property located in Lincoln County. It was purchased in 1997 from Wisconsin Public Service. The property is split into two pieces from north to south by 2.5 miles of the Wisconsin River. The dominant habitat is northern hardwood forest. There is a small flowage on the southern end of the property on the west side of the river.
The property encompasses 3.75 miles of Wisconsin River frontage and is mostly undeveloped with forested uplands adjoining the river. The east-facing river bank tends to be steep, dropping some 100 feet in elevation to the river's edge. The dominant habitat types are aspen and northern hardwoods. Several pine plantations are present within the property. Small kettle wetlands are scattered on the property west of the river. Wetland types include open water with emergent wet meadows or river meander scars with forested and emergent wetland types and shrub-carr.
It is approximately 8 miles northwest of the city of Merrill. The property can be accessed on the east side of the Wisconsin River from Highway 107. The property can be accessed on the west side of the Wisconsin River from Tesch Road.
The Bill Cross Wildlife Area offers many recreational opportunities:
Birding;
Canoeing;
Cross-country skiing (no designated trail);
Fishing;
Hiking (no designated trail);
Hunting;
Snowmobiling (on designated trail only);
Swimming;
Trapping;
Wild edibles/gathering; and
Wildlife viewing.
