U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Seney National Wildlife Refuge 1674 Refuge Entrance Road Seney, MI 49883 [email protected] Seney www.fws.gov/refuge/seney 906/586 9851 National Wildlife Refuge Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/seneyrefuge

Federal Relay 1 800/877 8339 TTY 1 866/377 8642 Voice www.federaltty.us

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service www.fws.gov 1 800/344 WILD

Printed September 2016

© Laura Wong Paddling Enjoy a day of paddling along Visitors may encounter the Manistique River, which flows through the southern part of the refuge. Outfitters are located in the cry of the loons, Germfask. Use is limited to daylight hours with no overnight camping statuesque sandhill allowed. No boats are permitted on refuge pools or marshes. © Tom Kenney cranes, nesting bald Nature Programs and special events are Programs offered throughout the year. Check eagles, playful otters & School the refuge website for a calendar of and industrious beaver events. Call to schedule a field trip. Wilderness The 25,150-acre Seney Wilderness Area Area is found in the western portion living on over 95,000 of the refuge. Open to day use only, this truly wild place is primarily acres of diverse wetland and challenging to access. habitats which provide Fishing Anglers are welcome to fish along the 3.5 mile Fishing Loop, Show Pools, C-3 Pool and various rivers and a home to a wide streams. Please consult the fishing brochure for specific details. Fish variety of plant and species found on the refuge include northern pike, yellow perch, brown wildlife species. bullhead, bluegill, pumpkinseed, brown and brook , and smallmouth bass. To protect the trumpeter swan and common loon, lead sinkers may not be used on the refuge. A state fishing license is required. J. Maslowski, USFWS Hunting Ruffed grouse, American woodcock, Wilson’s snipe, snowshoe hare, white- tailed deer and black bear may be hunted during some state seasons. Please see the hunting brochure for current regulations.

Whitefish Point Unit Located 11 miles north of Paradise on the shore of , this unit is over 50 acres in size and a stop-over for birds migrating to and from Canada. Its primary natural features are gravel beaches, sandy Piping Plover beach dunes and stunted jack pine © Sierra Utych dominated forest. Seney is for People, Too! Visitor Center The Visitor Center is open from 9 am to 5 pm daily, including federal holidays, from May 15 to October 20. Exhibits, “The Wonder of Nature” film, a bookstore, and a friendly staff will help you plan your visit.

Marshland A seven-mile, one-way, auto tour route Wildlife Drive takes visitors through wetlands and forests. Three observation decks and numerous pools make this drive a great wildlife watching opportunity. The tour route does not accommodate large recreational vehicles.

Nature Trails The Pine Ridge Nature Trail starts at the Visitor Center. This 1.4-mile loop takes visitors through a variety of habitats where sightings of songbirds and beavers are common. Near the midpoint of the trail you may walk the 0.5-mile Wigwam Connector Trail which links to the Wigwams Access Point and the 0.5-mile South Show Pool Loop. The Civilian Conservation Corps built the Wigwams in the late 1930s as a fishing access point and rest area for visitors. A primitive American Bittern restroom is available seasonally. © Teressa McGill Northern Ten miles of trails are open to hiking Hardwoods spring, summer and fall. Winter Hiking & months find the trails groomed and Cross-country ready to welcome cross-country Ski Trails skiers.

Winter Activities Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing are allowed nearly anywhere on the refuge.

Backcountry Many miles of unpaved roads are available for hiking and biking through the backcountry. For those who seek wildlife and solitude, these roads are for you. Certain roads may be closed for management or emergency purposes. Watch for signs © Jim Hill concerning closed areas.

Mushroom & Mushroom and berry picking for Berry Picking personal use is permitted. History of Seney Preservation Seney National Wildlife Refuge was The western portion of the refuge established in 1935 by President boasts the Seney Wilderness Area Franklin D. Roosevelt for the and the Strangmoor Bog National protection and production of migratory Natural Landmark. This unique birds and other wildlife. ecosystem complex of patterned peatland punctuated with pine islands Over a century ago, timber operations has been minimally altered and forever changed the landscape of will be preserved in this condition. the Upper Peninsula’s great pine Carnivorous plants, such as the forests. The ring of the lumberjack’s purple pitcher plant and sundew, axe echoed through the forests as and animals such as bobcat, fisher, Purple Pitcher local mills altered the region’s red and many other species can be found Plant, and eastern white pine forests. After D. Gardner, USFWS living on these lands. the pine forests were cut, mill owners turned their axes and saws to the General Throughout the refuge, fire, river northern hardwood and lowland Management and wetland restoration, mowing, coniferous forests. Activities invasive species management and forest management are used, where Following the logging, fires were appropriate, to maintain diverse often set to clear away the debris. wildlife habitats. These fires burned into the soil, damaging its quality and killing the Watching Seney National Wildlife Refuge seeds that would have produced a new Wildlife continues to be a place of excitement forest. and wonder where wildlife comes first. It is a place where management After the fires, a land development decisions are made in the best company dug many miles of drainage interest of wildlife and their habitats ditches. The drained acreage was and people are encouraged to explore sold using extravagant promises of and learn about the natural world. Cutting down agricultural productivity, but the new aspen trees so owners quickly learned that these Satellite Lands Canada geese promises were unfounded. One by Seney National Wildlife Refuge could graze - one, the farms were abandoned, and (NWR) also manages lands far from 1938. the land reverted to state ownership. the main office. Information about the following refuges can be obtained from the Seney Headquarters or on Lighthouse their respective web sites: Island Huron Huron NWR – Lake Superior, NWR established in 1905 fws.gov/refuge/huron; Islands NWR – , established in 1947 fws.gov/refuge/michigan_islands; Kirtland’s Warbler Wildlife Management Area, established in 1980 fws.gov/refuge/kirtlands_warbler; Harbor Island NWR – Lake Huron, established in 1983 Leopard Frog, fws.gov/refuge/harbor_island. Harbor Island NWR Logging with a cross-cut saw. Driggs River Road e Access Point 28 7.5

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N a T-2 er r T-2 EAST iv Getting Around Seney s WEST R h ue C Manistiq Refuge Boundary re 2 e 3 d oa 436 k m R Refuge Roads Open to Biking Far Chicago Nature Trails Chicago D State Highways e 1.5 Farm lta Roads OpenRoads to MotorOpen toVehicles Motor Vehicles Creek Roads Allowing 2-Way Traffic Marshland Wildlife Drive Fishing Loop Marsh Creek . 77 q Pool R VC Refuge Headquarters/Visitor Center e Mead Creek 1 u State Forest q 5 i Northern Hardwoods X-Country Ski & Hiking Trails 1 t Campground s i State Rest/Picnic Area n e a 2 Distance Between Markers (In Miles) M Seney is for Wildlife Today, the refuge is managed in In 1934, the Michigan Conservation a gradient from conservation in Department recommended to the the eastern portion, restoration in Federal Government that the Seney the center and preservation in the area be developed for wildlife. This western portion, where the Seney proposal was accepted and the Common Loon, Wilderness Area is found. National Wildlife Refuge was © Amy Widenhofer established. Conservation The eastern portion of the refuge The new refuge was intended to be contains a system of man-made pools Planting aquatic a haven for migrating waterfowl. To managed using a system of spillways, plants in the create a home for these birds, wildlife water control structures and dikes. newly created managers, with the aid of the Civilian These pools impound nearly 5,000 pools. Conservation Corps, began to further acres of open water. This portion of alter the landscape. An intricate the refuge is the most familiar to system of dikes, water control refuge guests. Visitors delight at structures, ditches and roads were the sight of trumpeter swans nesting built. Although they never produced and raising their young. The open as many ducks as early managers water provides an ideal place for hoped, these pools have become vital osprey to fish. The lack of boat traffic habitat for the common loon and and deliberate water management trumpeter swan, both Michigan State make the pool system one of the most threatened species. productive breeding grounds for common loons in the Midwest. Looking to the Future Through the years, land management philosophy has changed. At Seney, Restoration techniques meant to benefit a single Restoration efforts are concentrated species are being replaced with in the central portion of the refuge. techniques meant to benefit an entire The scars of logging operations ecosystem as research continues and failed attempts at farming over to unearth important relationships a century ago can still be seen on Into the 1980s between animals and the environment. the landscape. In an attempt to grains were Good science is vital to sound wildlife restore historic land cover, a flurry planted to management. Science is used to of management activities is taking provide food monitor management actions and White-tailed Deer, place. Removing dikes and plugging for wildlife. © Laura Wong habitat response to treatments. As Please Obey These Special Rules ditches, meant to drain wetlands new discoveries are made, refuge Daylight use only. for farming or to produce additional management practices will continue to Dogs allowed on a leash, exceptions apply to pools, restores overland water flow to evolve to help maintain the biodiversity hunting (see hunting regulations for more drained wetlands. in the area for generations to come. information). No camping or overnight parking. Old farm fields are left alone to Off-road vehicles are prohibited. return to deciduous forest. Forest Open fires are not allowed. management is used in conjunction Boats, canoes or other floatation devices are not with prescribed fires to produce permitted on refuge pools. historical conditions in mixed-pine In 1936, 300 Do not feed the wildlife. forests. This management will flightless Drones are not permitted. Spruce Grouse, hopefully equate to improved habitat Canada geese © Sierra Utych for birds such as black-backed were brought Bufflehead woodpecker, spruce grouse and to the refuge to © Laura Wong whip-poor-will. establish a local population.