Big Bog State Recreation Area
| Big Bog State Recreation Area | |
| Minnesota State Park | |
 Big Bog State Recreation Area
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Minnesota |
| County | Beltrami |
| Location | Waskish Township |
| - coordinates | 48°11′34″N 94°30′43″W / 48.19278°N 94.51194°WCoordinates: 48°11′34″N 94°30′43″W / 48.19278°N 94.51194°W |
| Area | 9,459 acres (3,828 ha) |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Management | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources |
  Location of Big Bog State Recreation Area in Minnesota
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Big Bog State Recreation Area, a recent addition to the Minnesota state park system, is located on Minnesota State Highway 72, north of Waskish, Minnesota. It covers 9,459 acres (38.3 km2), primarily swamps, bogs, and upland "islands".
The park was started by local grassroots efforts in 2002, it became a state recreation area and officially opened in June 2006. Common trees include tamarack, tag alder, cedar, diamond willow, black and white spruce, jackpine, and green ash and black ash with paper birch, "popple" or quaking aspen, white and red pines in the uplands. There are numerous rare plants, including carnivorous sundews and pitcher plants. Animals include bald eagles, timber wolves, black bears, white-tailed deer, and moose.
The "Big Bog" is composed mostly of wetlands and is larger than the state of Rhode Island. The name had shown up previously in maps, such as by the National Geographic Society. The greater Big Bog region stretches from Jackpine forests north of Upper Red Lake in Beltrami County, Minnesota and Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota to the communities along U.S. Route 71 leading to International Falls (Mizpah, Gemmell, Margie, Big Falls, and Littlefork) in Koochiching County, Minnesota. It is also almost entirely unpopulated, except for the town of Waskish along Highway 72.
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