Lake Twenty-two Research Natural Area Mount Baker National Forest , USFS North Cascades Ecoregion Cell(s): Red mountainheather community Sitka alder-vine maple Pacific silver fir/Alaska huckleberry Western hemlock/devilsclub Western hemlock/Alaska huckleberry Western red cedar-western hemlock/devilsclub/ladyfern mid-elevation lake and drainage basin mid-elevation stream and riparian system

Access by trail

The 320 ha Lake Twenty-two RNA is located in Snohomish County, Washington. The tract occupies almost all of the Lake Twenty-two Creek drainage, and the topography is steep to very steep and broken, with a few small benches present. Elevations vary from 335 m to 1,100 m. The 17.9 ha Lake Twenty-two, as well as its environs, has many aspects of a subalpine lake, despite its relatively low elevation (750 m); permanent snowfields lie within the lake basin. In addition to the snowfields, other nonforested habitats include wet rocky cliffs, boulder fields, scree slopes, and alluvial deposits along the lakeshore. Communities in these areas include a variety of dense herbaceous stands, dense shrub fields, and patches of Pacific silver fir (Abies amabilis), mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana), and Alaska cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis). The lower elevation forests are old-growth stands of western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) and western red cedar (Thuja plicata). Pacific silver fir and Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) is also present. Pacific silver fir, mountain hemlock and Alaska cedar characterize higher elevation forests with a dense layer of shrubs in the understory. These shrubs include Vaccinium alaskaense, V. ovalifolium, Menziesia ferruginea, Rubus spectabilis and Cladothamnus pyrolaeflorus. Brushfield stands make up major community group in the RNA. One such stand, dominated by vine maple (Acer circinatum), can be found on scree slopes. A history of human disturbance has been significant in the area. At one time a YMCA camp existed on the lakeshore, although its debris was removed prior to the establishment of the RNA. A trail goes from a parking lot at highway 7 up to the lake.