Thank you to the following contributors who supported the publication of this book.

Ford Motor Company Fund EXPLORE OUROUR NATURALNATURAL WORLDWORLD A BIODIVERSITY ATLAS OF THE LAKE HURON TO LAKE ERIE CORRIDOR EXPLORE OUR NATURAL WORLD A BIODIVERSITY ATLAS OF THE LAKE HURON TO LAKE ERIE CORRIDOR

his book is dedicated to all T of the plants and animals that live in this region and the people who have yet to learn about them.

Project Designer, Manager and Researcher – Lisa M. Appel Contributing Writers – Lisa M. Appel, Julie A. Craves, Mary Kehoe Smith, Bob Weir and John M. Zawiskie Editors – Mary Kehoe Smith and Bob Weir Graphic Design – Peter Schade/Schade Design, Inc. www.schadedesign.com

Funding for this project was provided by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency Great Lakes National Program Office to the Wildlife Habitat Council. LOU TERRY LOU PREFACE

In the spring of 2002 we embarked in partnership on the development disrupt their traditional life-styles–life styles development of a Biodiversity Atlas of the Lake Huron to that can offer modern societies many lessons in the Lake Erie Corridor, which has focused on the watersheds management of resources in complex forest, mountain, of the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River. and dryland ecosystems. Some are threatened with virtual This activity has resulted in a first – the publication of an extinction by insensitive development over which they have Atlas which documents the natural heritage treasures and the no control. Their traditional rights should be recognized and human resources of this area in which we reside and share they should be given a decisive voice formulating policies about together. The Walpole Island First Nation lies at the heart and resource development in their areas.” The Royal Commission the confluence of these watersheds. It is our home and our Report on Aboriginal Peoples in 1996 echoed these statements. lifeblood. As stewards of these lands and waters since time We are now seeing catastrophes across this planet which are immemorial, it is right and fitting that we have participated directly related to climate changes and global warming. in this Biodiversity Atlas project. Indeed, we have been most Our Bkejwanong Territory is still hemmed in by industrial happy to have the opportunity to do so and to share equitably developments in the twenty first century. But all is not TABLE OF CONTENTS our indigenous knowledge and values to assist others in caring doom and gloom. for and preserving this area. Our traditional knowledge is a rich storehouse which we are PREFACE 1 This decision to share our traditional knowledge is significant prepared to share in an equitable way. It has its underpinnings and should be briefly explained. For many hundreds of years, our values. What are they? Bkejwanong is endowed with a INTRODUCTION 2 our Place, Bkejwanong-the Place where the Waters divide-has unique ecosystem of wetlands, Carolinian forests and prairie been the soul of Indian Territory. We have remained steadfast grasslands. We are rich in fish and wildlife. We have a strong in our stewardship and caring for our lands and waters in cultural heritage that is celebrated by our people. Traditional THE PHYSICAL LANDSCAPE 6 spite of depredations and impacts made on the landscape knowledge and values means that we have to learn how to live surrounding us. For many years we have been subjected to, in a holistic way with all that interconnects and surrounds us. ON THE OPEN WATER 24 among other impacts, pollution upstream from chemical plants It is imperative, if we are going to continue to act as stewards near Sarnia. Our citizens had campaigned alone for many years and care responsibly for our lands and waters, that we have a to get zero discharge since it was our drinking water that was dialogue, consensus and equity as we move forward towards ALONG THE SHORELINE 42 affected and also impacted the flora and fauna and animals and building a sustainable future together. That is as it should be; birds that lived with us in our Territory. Our environmental we are all here to stay. HEADING INLAND 72 legacy won us a prestigious United Nations award in 1995. Indeed, the publication of this Biodiversity Atlas truly is a HUMAN INFLUENCE 104 We have always used traditional ecological knowledge to save watershed in itself. Until now, there have been a number of ourselves and our neighbours. We have survived in this our comprehensive descriptions of this area but none have included place for thousands of years. In the late twentieth century, our the diversity of the Bkejwanong Territory linking the people YOU CAN HELP 126 neighbours began slowly to learn from us and our ways in and the natural heritage in such a diverse and imaginative way. terms of mutual respect and in equal partnerships. What is We are very proud to be making a valuable contribution to this AFTERWARD 128 really significant here is that we bring to the table a willingness project and to the publication of this Biodiversity Atlas which to share our knowledge which includes both our ways of marks a stepping stone to the future. knowing as well as the traditional values which are part and PPENDIX A 129 parcel of our understanding of how our watershed system Dr. Dean M. Jacobs works and how it can be enhanced as we move forward in the Executive Director GLOSSARY 138 future together. The significance of stewardship of First Nin.Da.Waab.Jig Nations was succinctly highlighted more than fifteen years ago Bkejwanong First Nations in the 1987 Bruntland Report, “Tribal and indigenous peoples INDEX 141 will need special attention as the forces of economic November 7, 2002

EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 1 LOU TERRY LOU D ESCRIPTION OF THE R EGION L ANDSCAPE E COLOGY

his Biodiversity Atlas he Lake Huron to tells the story of the Lake Erie Corridor natural communities lies within the found in the Lake northern limits Huron to Lake Erie of the Eastern Corridor. Deciduous Forest Region. The Corridor is regarded TThe Corridor is made up of the St. Clair T as part of the “Carolinian Life Zone” River, Lake St. Clair and Detroit River, because of its link with forest as well as the watersheds of southwestern communities located farther south. Ontario and southeastern Michigan that Many of the species found here are drain into these great waterways. Water at the northern boundaries of in the Corridor flows from the mouth their range. The Corridor also is of Lake Huron through the St. Clair a transition area between the River, Lake St. Clair and the Detroit hardwood forests of the east and River, into Lake Erie. The tributary the prairies of the west. rivers, creeks, streams and drains in the watersheds connect the surrounding A natural community is a distinct lands to the Corridor. assemblage of plants and animals that live together in a common This Atlas is organized according to habitat. One of the most important elevations above sea level - from lower factors defining a natural community to higher - from the open waters and is the presence or absence of water. tributaries to the shoreline and A natural community’s composition lakeplain, and finally to the ecosystems can be altered by disturbances in the of the interior lands that drain into landscape, such as invasive species, the Corridor. alterations in groundwater flow and A wide variety of life forms - biodiversity fragmentation resulting from land - make the Corridor unique. The glacial development. GREG SCHMIDT, HHTP://BOTANY1.BIO.UTK.EDU/BOTANY120LECT/BIOMES/BIOMEMAP.HTM GREG SCHMIDT, history, climate, soils and water resources CENTER, HTTP://EOL.JSC.NASA.GOV SPACE JOHNSON NASA LABORATORY, ANALYSIS AND IMAGE SCIENCES OF EARTH COURTESY IMAGE have created a landscape that is home to an incredible diversity of natural A goal of everyone involved in producing Hundreds of endangered, Natural Communities of the this Atlas is that readers will gain a better Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor communities: forests, savannas, threatened and special concern grasslands and wetlands. Within these understanding of this amazing region, natural communities live species that and a desire to play an active role in species live in the Lake Huron NATURAL COMMUNITY TYPE have global ecological significance. caring for it. Great Lakes Coastal Marsh Wetland to Lake Erie Corridor. Marsh Wetland The greatest threat to these Wet Meadow Wetland species at risk is the loss of Prairie Fen Wetland habitat. However remnants Bog Wetland Shrub Swamp Wetland Although the Lake Huron to Lake Erie many distinct associations of plants of original ecosystems, Corridor does not boast dramatic and animals. Conifer Swamp Wetland like pieces of a patchwork topography, its vegetation is a mosaic Hardwood Swamp Wetland of natural communities. This mosaic is This book describes many types of quilt, still exist. Every Floodplain Forest Wetland a result of small physical changes in the natural communities as if they are landscape created by the advance and separate units, but they actually exist community has places that Beech-Maple Forest Upland retreat of glaciers long ago. The glacial in a continuum – the grassland, savanna, can be preserved, enhanced Oak-Hickory Forest Upland features created different physical forest and wetland all blend into one Oak Barren Upland characteristics in the landscape, such another, each determined by subtle or restored to support native Tallgrass Prairie Upland as slope, aspect, topography and soil changes in the topography, soils and type. These variations have led to water conditions. biodiversity. Oak Savanna Upland The Great Lakes Basin

2 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 3 B IODIVERSITY WORTH P ROTECTING

SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN VEGETATION, CIRCA 1800 When considering biodiversity conservation, most people think of tropical rainforests around the equator.

However right here in the middle of North America, the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor is home to a biodiversity that is unlike anywhere else in the world.

With its fascinating open waters, lush is one of the largest freshwater deltas on of southern Michigan and freshwater wetlands along the coast, Earth. The Great Lakes coastal marshes southwestern Ontario. tallgrass prairie and savanna ecosystems have a biological productivity rivaling Unfortunately, much of this near the shoreline, and woodlands that that of the tropical rainforests. Despite natural heritage has given way to once existed across much of its inland significant losses of these coastal marshes, development. Habitat loss from area, the Lake Huron to Lake Erie the Corridor still has enough to be human settlement has resulted Corridor is a uniquely beautiful considered one of the largest and most in the extirpation of many wildlife part of Earth. productive feeding and spawning species from the region. Buffalo, grounds for ducks and fish in the elk, moose, black bear, lynx, bobcat What happens in this region can have midwestern United States. and grey wolf all disappeared an impact on other parts of the world. in the middle of the last century. The Corridor provides important habitat Moving away from the water, lands bear Viewing the landscape now, it is for more than 90 species of migratory tallgrass prairie and oak savanna hard to imagine that this area was birds as they fly in autumn and spring to ecosystems. The luxuriant growths once a great wilderness. destinations as far away as the Arctic and of grasses and wildflowers in prairies South America. Thus, loss of habitat here contain some of the Corridor’s greatest Despite humans’ dramatic alteration affects not only resident wildlife but also biodiversity, with as many as 200 plant of the landscape, wildlife continues those traveling through from elsewhere. species inhabiting a single remnant to persist. Fortunately there are prairie. Today, less than one percent protected lands that contain The Corridor possesses certain qualities of the original prairie and oak savanna examples of the Corridor’s rich that have global significance. For communities exist in Michigan and natural heritage. Look to Appendix example, Lake St. Clair and the Detroit Ontario. The extensive loss of these A for a map of protected areas River have some of the best fisheries for special ecosystems and their unique in the region. smallmouth bass and muskellunge character leave them at risk of global Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Michigan State University Extension, Data Source: Vegetation circa 1800 of Michigan, digital dataset. Michigan Natural Features Inventory. in the world. extinction. Learn more about the region’s natural communities and how you Another example of a globally significant Abundant natural resources were the feature is the St. Clair River Delta, which can help protect them in the foundation of the economic prosperity pages that follow.

4 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| INTRODUCTION T HE P HYSICAL L ANDSCAPE

Glacial Processes, Landforms eologically, the Great Lakes ecosystem and Sediment Types MORAINES is very young and can be thought of In 1840, the famous naturalist Louis Agassiz was one of the first to as an evolutionary laboratory.” champion the concept of an ice age. From observations of the processes, – The Nature Conservancy landforms and sediments associated lacial ice results from Sometimes the rate of melting exactly “G with modern mountain glaciers, condensed snow matches the rate of ice flow, so the Agassiz concluded that massive The Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor’s The Ice Age period is called the Wisconsin Stage. accumulating year after glacier’s terminus becomes stationary. continental ice sheets once existed present physical landscape has been It began about 110,000 years ago year without melting. The flowing ice behind it continues For the last two million years, Earth has in Scandinavia and all of northern profoundly affected by a remarkable and ended about 10,000 years ago GWhen the ice becomes about 66 ft to bring more till, which is deposited been in an ice age, characterized by two Europe. The theory that the present is geologic event - an ice age. Long ago, when the Holocene Epoch began. (20 m) thick, it begins to slowly flow on top of the till already at the edge. alternating climatic states known as the key to the past is called actualism. glaciers more than a mile (1.6 km) thick During the peak of the Wisconsin under the force of its own weight. This creates a ridge or hill, called an glacial periods and interglacial periods. It is an important philosophical covered the entire Great Lakes Region. Stage about 20,000 years ago, ice As the ice moves, it scrapes and shears end moraine. concept used by geologists to unravel As they moved from north to south, the During glacial periods, our planet cooled. completely covered what is now the the underlying land surface. Moving Earth’s history. By mapping glacial When a glacier melts rapidly, the glaciers picked up and carried sediments Giant sheets of ice expanded and covered Great Lakes Basin. The southern like a conveyor belt, the glacier picks grooves, sediment types and terminus does not pause to build and bedrock, then deposited them to 30 percent of the land located at mid to edge, or terminus, of this ice sheet up rocks and sediments of all types landforms, geologists can reconstruct an end moraine. Rather, it deposits shape landforms throughout high latitudes in the Northern extended as far south as the Ohio and sizes, and transports them to the former extent and flow of the sheets of till that form rolling plains the region. Hemisphere. These cold, dry glacial River. lower, warmer latitudes. When the called ground moraines. periods lasted about 100,000 years. ancient continental ice sheets that edge of the glacial ice melts, it Geologists have studied these landforms For the last 10,000 years the Earth once covered the Great Lakes Basin. deposits poorly sorted sediment as well as sediment types, erosional Interglacial periods begin when Earth has been in a warm interglacial This type of study provides a link called till. features and fossils to piece together abruptly warms and the ice sheets melt. period known as the Holocene between the ice age theory originally this area’s glacial history. Their findings Warm, moist conditions allow soils to Epoch. The timing of natural described by Agassiz in Europe and reveal the crucial role that ice played in develop and life to return to the terrain. cycles suggests the Earth should the glacial history that defines the the evolution of the biodiversity that Interglacial periods are relatively brief, again be heading back to a cold landscape of southeastern Michigan exists today. typically lasting 10,000 to 15,000 years. glacial period within the next several and southwestern Ontario. thousand years. North America’s most recent glacial Glaciers Leave Tracks Glaciers create unique landforms, sediment types and erosional patterns. They also carry rocks of all sizes for great distances. Many of the glacial JOHN M. ZAWISKIE JOHN rocks found in the Lake Huron to M. ZAWISKIE JOHN Lake Erie Corridor came from the This is till beneath the lower east side A glacier in the Queen Alexandria Range Canadian Shield north of Lake of Detroit. Till is a poorly sorted sediment of Antarctica forms an end moraine. Huron. These relocated rocks are deposited by melting ice. It contains pebbles, called glacial erratics. Their surfaces cobbles and boulders set in clay or fine commonly have grooves and facets sand. Soils that developed on clay-rich till support beech-maple forests, while from being scraped under the ice. better-drained soils developed from sandy The shearing and abrasion by the till support oak-hickory forests. rock-studded ice also grooves the underlying land surface.

A MODERN DAY GLACIER

ictured is a modern day glacier in southwest Alaska transporting glacial erratics. Glacial erratics are large boulders carried great distances from their original bedrock source by glaciers.

P JOHNSON DR. SHARON Buhr Park Children’s Wet Meadow, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

6 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| THE PHYSICALLANDSCAPE THE PHYSICALLANDSCAPE| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 7 Kettle Glacial Lakes lakeplain were eroded by the glacial lakes Sometimes a block of melting ice Large glacial lakes are created by and are not easy to identify today. detaches from the glacier and is left water that has ponded between the The cities of Mt. Clemens, Detroit and on the outwash plain where it ice front and the previously formed Windsor were built on the Detroit becomes buried by sediments. When end moraines. Sediments deposited water-lain moraine. The Leamington the ice block melts, it forms a kettle in deeper parts of glacial lakes are Moraine is only visible as a high knob depression, which often fills with typically fine-grained clay and silt. west of Leamington, melt-water or groundwater and Sand and gravel usually are deposited Ontario. Farther east, becomes a lake. Kettle lakes and in long ridges in near-shore sandbars, Ridgetown, Ontario, kames commonly are both found along beaches and in coastal dunes. was named for the USGS DIGITAL DATA SERIES DD521 DATA USGS DIGITAL on ground moraines; morainal deposits together they form As water drains from a glacial lake, on which it sits. kettle and kame it leaves a flat lakeplain with beach Aboriginal people A sandy beach ridge with wide-spreading oak ridges, channels and wave-cut and pioneers traveled trees lies parallel to the Detroit River shoreline topography. A good in Brownstown Township, Michigan. Pioneer terraces. The topography of Essex along these moraines

example of this is at BRIGHAM-GRETTE DR. J. cemeteries often were built on the sandy ridges Stony Creek County, Ontario, exemplifies the because they support- left by ancient glacial lakes. flat landscape left by glacial lakes. Metropark near ed forests that were easier to traverse than (Left) Lacustrine clay and silt are sediments the surrounding swamps of the lakeplain. Rochester, Michigan. Water-lain moraines are low-lying deposited in glacial lakes. The soils that later One route used by pioneers was the formed on these deposits are poorly-drained landforms that develop where the (Above inset) A kettle lake ringed by spruce Talbot Trail, which followed a moraine and, generally, support hardwood swamp trees and permafrost patterned ground in ice meets the glacial lake. In the forests and lakeplain prairie. The low hills in the center of the photo are kames in Greenland. (INSET) NATURAL RESOURCES CANADA, TERRAIN from Essex to Ridgetown, Ontario. SCIENCES DIVISION, CANADIAN LANDSCAPES the Hudson Bay lowlands of Canada. Corridor, water-lain moraines on the

Kames LANDFORMS CREATED BY GLACIERS Kames are low hills of layered sand and ENVIRONMENTS IN FRONT OF GLACIERS gravel deposited by glacial melt-water. These sediments could come from The great amount of melt-water away from the glacier. They streams that flow beneath the glacier released by glaciers can result in the deposit the sediments in well- and emerge as a delta at the ice front, formation of rivers in front of the sorted sheets of sand and gravel. or from river and lake sediments ice. These rivers carry sediments These deposits are called outwash. deposited on top of the glacier.

Landforms Beneath Glaciers: Eskers Retreating Ice Sheet

Stream Esker Kettle Lakes

Ground

BALTHAZAR KORAB BALTHAZAR Outwash Moraine

Outwash is well-sorted sand and gravel deposited by braided streams. The example Ground Moraine

OAKLAND COUNTY PLANNING & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SERVICES COUNTY OAKLAND featured above was photographed beneath the Cranbrook Institute of Science in In some cases, long, winding rivers flow in Recessional Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. This type Moraine tunnels beneath a glacier. Sediments deposited of sediment is found in outwash plains, into these tunnels form ridges of layered sand LOWELL THOMAS kames and eskers. Outwash deposits Outwash Plan and gravel that are left behind when the evolve into extremely well-drained soils Pictured is the Exit Glacier in Alaska glacier recedes. These landforms are called which, on uplands, support oak barren, with moraine and outwash plain End Moraine eskers. The yellow highlighted portion in the woodland and prairie communities. (stream deposits.) aerial photograph above is an esker in Oakland County, Michigan.

8 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| THE PHYSICALLANDSCAPE THE PHYSICALLANDSCAPE| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 9 T HE G LACIAL H ISTORY OF THE L AKE H URON TO L AKE E RIE C ORRIDOR

The Great Lakes were not always as we know them today. Their basins were formed by glacial erosion of pre-existing river valleys, which then filled with melt-water. The lakes have since evolved in shape, size and even the direction in which their waters flow.

14,500 years before present: Four glacial lobes covered what is now most of Michigan and all of THE GREAT LAKES 11,000 YEARS AGO Ontario. The retreating ice front paused and built 11,000 years before present: The beginning of the Lake Algonquin the Valparaiso, Charlotte Stage. Waters drained south to early Lake Erie, cutting the initial and Fort Wayne channels of the St. Clair River and Detroit River. Moraines. When the glacial lobes retreated farther, the first glacial lakes began to form.

SOURCE OF GLACIAL POSITIONILLUSTRATIONS: FARRAND, W.R. AND KELLY R.W., 1967 REPRINTED 1987, THE GLACIAL LAKES AROUND MICHIGAN. BULLETIN N0. 4, PUBLISHED BY THE MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, GEOLOGICAL SURVEY THE GREAT LAKES 14,500 YEARS AGO THE GREAT LAKES 14,000 YEARS AGO DIVISION

14,000 years before present: Glaciers formed the Defiance Moraine at the edge of the Huron-Erie Lobe. When the ice melted back from this location, Lake Maumee formed. The lake subsequently changed in INTERLOBATE AREA shape and size, and created an expansive lakeplain in southeastern Michigan and southwestern Ontario. A series of water-lain moraines THE GREAT LAKES 9,500 YEARS AGO BETWEEN THE SAGINAW formed in the lakeplain as the ice front receded. They include the Detroit, Mt. Clemens, Emmet and southern portion of the Port Huron 9,500 years before present: As the ice front retreated, Great Lakes water AND HURON-ERIE LOBE Moraines in Michigan, and the Wyoming, Leamington and Blenheim began draining into northern Ontario rather than through the St. Moraines in Ontario. Clair and Detroit Rivers, resulting in extremely low lake levels. Forests grew on the exposed lakebeds. Evidence of this stage can be found in drowned forests on the floor of Lake Huron today. As the Earth warmed and the ice began to quickly retreat, the space between the Saginaw Lobe and the Huron-Erie Lobe widened, which caused a seam, or an “interlobate” area to open. Deposited within the interlobate area were a series of outwash plains with numerous kames, eskers, and kettle lakes flanked by moraines made of till from both lobes. The drawings to the right show the development of the interlobate area between the Huron and Saginaw Lobes between 14,500 to 13,800 years ago.

THE GREAT LAKES 13,000 YEARS AGO ICE FRONT POSITIONS FROM TWENTER AND KNUTILLA, 1972 13,000 years before present: The receding glaciers made a strong readvance. This ice front built the region’s most prominent topographic THE GREAT LAKES 6,000-4,000 YEARS AGO This terminus of feature, the Port Huron Moraine, which extends almost continuously a Greenland ice from Minnesota to New York. Lake Whittlesey, the largest glacial lake 6,000 to 4,000 years before present: The Lake Nipissing Stage. The sheet is what Port to occupy the region, also was formed during this stage. Later, a modern drainage patterns of the Great Lakes were established after the combination of retreating and re-advancing ice created a series Huron, Michigan, last remaining glacial ice retreated toward Canada’s northern latitudes. of glacial lakes, each with a different outline and elevation, which and Sarnia, With the ice burden gone, land in the northern part of the region occupied parts of the lakeplain area until 11,000 years ago. Due began to rise (a phenomenon known as isostatic rebound), which cut Ontario, may to erosion, only the former shorelines of lakes Maumee, Whittlesey, SANDY SHIPLE SANDY off the North Bay outlet. Downcutting of the St. Clair River lowered have looked like and Warren can be easily recognized today in the form of low, 13,000 years ago. continuous, sandy ridges within a few kilometers of the Lake Huron lake levels and shut off the Chicago outlet. The Lake Huron to Lake to Lake Erie Corridor’s shorelines. Erie Corridor has remained the dominant outlet for the upper Great Lakes since then. POST-GLACIAL COMMUNITIES THE PHYSIOGRAPHICREGIONS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR

s a result of their glacial an incredible number of small lakes Macomb County and history, the landscape and wetlands that extend from north southern St. Clair County. and water bodies of of Pontiac to south of Jackson. Features on the lakeplain southeastern Michigan A second interlobate region occurs include beach ridges, Acan be divided into three major in the upper watershed of the sand plains and physiographic regions*: Thames River in Ontario. water-lain moraines. • Interlobate regions are high • The Fort Wayne- plains characterized by outwash Defiance End Moraines THE PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS plains, ground moraines, and kettle are a series of moraines OF SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN and kame topography. The that form a distinct line Jackson Interlobate region is a of elevation that topographically diverse area formed extends from Romeo, between the retreating Saginaw through Ann Arbor to Lobe and the Huron-Erie Lobe in Adrian, Mich. Michigan. There are steep hills and • The Maumee Lakeplain is the vast plain on the * Albert, Dennis A. 1995. Regional landscape ecosystems western edge of of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin: a working map southern Ontario. and classification. Gen. Tech. Rep. NC-178. In Michigan, it extends St. Paul, MN: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Central Forest Experiment Station. from Blissfield in Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Home Page. northern Ohio through http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/1998/rlandscp/rlandscp. Detroit into eastern htm (Version 03JUN98).

WWW.GEO.MSU.EDU/GEO333/PART-TWO.HTML ABOVE PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF J. SHOSHANI ILLUSTRATION ARTWORK BY MARGARET PURVES UNDER PURVES MARGARET BY ARTWORK ILLUSTRATION THE DIRECTION OF J. SHOSHANI

Above is an excavation at the Shelton mastodon site in northern Oakland County, Michigan. This site and others like it provide a record of the transition from A Topographical Map of the Lake Huron the late glacial period to the Holocene Epoch in the Lake Huron to Lake Erie to Lake Erie Corridor Corridor. The illustration directly above depicts the now-extinct mastodon and Scott’s moose that lived in the spruce woodland habitat at the Shelton site 12,000 300 - 500 m, 1000 - 1700 ft years ago. Evidence indicates the mastodon community moved into the region with 200 - 300 m, 700 - 1000 ft the spruce forests and wet parkland environment that replaced the frigid tundra around 12,500 years ago. Between 11,000 and 10,000 years ago mastodons, 100 - 200 m, 300 - 700 ft The moraines of the Great Lakes Basin show the immense scale of the ice lobes that flowed over this mammoths, giant beavers and other large animals became extinct, most likely IMAGE REFERENCE: THE GREAT LAKES ATLAS, region during the late phases of the Wisconsin Stage. The lobes came together when glacial coverage because of an abrupt global return to a cold, dry glacial climate (known as the U.S. EPA GREAT LAKES NATIONAL PROGRAM OFFICE peaked about 20,000 years ago. They then retreated in fits and starts, building the pattern Younger Dryas event) and hunting stress by Paleo-Indians who were entering North of recessional end moraines that define the landscape today. America. Dramatic warming 10,000 years ago at the end of the last glacial period allowed pine forests to replace spruce. As Earth continued to warm during the early Holocene Epoch, deciduous hardwood forests replaced pine and Archaic Indians moved into the region setting the stage for our modern world. 12 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| THE PHYSICALLANDSCAPE Soil The Corridor’s soils can be divided into Soil may not be the most noticeable part three major classes. Soils that developed of the scenery, but it is the foundation from: 1) variably-drained glacial tills; 2) on which all other life forms depend. well-drained sediments of outwash Soil gives rise to an incredible variety plains, eskers, beaches and kames; and 3) of natural communities, as different poorly-drained sediments of glacial lakes soil types support different kinds of and bogs. vegetation, which in turn support The Jackson Interlobate and Fort Wayne other life. and Defiance Moraine regions have soils To understand the soils of the Lake that developed from glacial till, outwash Huron to Lake Erie Corridor, it is plains, eskers and kames. These soils LINDSEY MISHLER important to understand the sediments range from excessively well-drained to This farm in Livingston County sits deposited by the ancient glaciers. loam (a rich soil composed of clay, sand and organic matter.) In contrast, the atop outwash deposits that have very Glacial sediments are the basis, or parent well-drained soils. material, from which soils have formed. Maumee Lakeplain has poorly-drained

loamy and clay soils that evolved from deposits of fine silts and clays left by the glacial lakes. Hardwood swamps normally occupy the flat, ROBERT STEWART ROBERT poorly-drained lakeplain. However this lakeplain also has ancient beaches and sand deposits that support tallgrass prairie and oak savanna. The development of soils also can be affected by the glacial landforms upon which they are built. For example, soils found at the top of a hill are different from those found at its base. Topography, climate and vegetation all affect the development of soils over time. Climate The Great Lakes influence the climate of the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor. The lakes moderate conditions on the land around them because their water warms and cools more slowly than inland areas in response to temperature changes. This results in a relatively long annual frost-free growing period of 160 to 180 days per year. Average July temperatures range from 68 to 77 ºF (20 to 25 ºC) and average January temperatures A photograph from space of the Lake Huron to Lake Erie range from 18.5 to 27.5 ºF Corridor taken (-7.5 to -2.5 ºC.) Precipitation by NASA. averages 23.6 to 27.6 in (600 to 700 mm) per year.

Urban centers like the City of Detroit act as heat sinks. Their large expanses of concrete hold heat, resulting in higher average temperatures in these areas.

IMAGE COURTESY OF EARTH SCIENCES AND IMAGE ANALYSIS LABORATORY, NASA JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HTTP://EOL.JSC.NASA.GOV 14 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| THE PHYSICALLANDSCAPE T HE CONNECTING C HANNELS

The Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor links the upper

Great Lakes with the lower Great Lakes. GREAT LAKES SYSTEM PROFILE

The Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor, the warmer, lower Great Lakes–Erie and channel, or strait, that accepts nearly 100 mi (160 km) long, is a pivotal Ontario. water, nutrients and sediments link in the flow of water through the from Lake Huron and delivers Great Lakes Basin. Water from the upper, Technically, because they do not have the them to Lake Erie. colder Great Lakes – Superior, Michigan traditional characteristics of river systems, and Huron – funnels into the St. Clair the St. Clair River and the Detroit River The St. Clair River, River, passes through Lake St. Clair and are not rivers. Rather they, along with Lake St. Clair and Detroit flows through the Detroit River to enter Lake St. Clair, form a connecting River System The St. Clair River is about 44 miles (70 km) long with very few bends. Its width ranges from 833 ft (250 m) at its narrowest point at the Blue Water Bridge to about 3,000 ft (900 m) before widening further near the St. Clair River Delta. The river’s only islands are Fawn and Stag Islands, which are located in the upper channel. Water from Lake Huron enters the St. Clair River at a flow rate of nearly 200,000 gal (760,000 l) per second. It takes about 20 hours for water to travel from Lake Huron to Lake St. Clair. The St. Clair River’s outflow into Lake St. Clair slows considerably as the water moves around the many islands and through the bays and

distribution channels of the St. Clair U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, DISTRICT DETROIT River Delta. Sediments have formed, and continue to shape, this delta The Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor is part of a watershed known as the Great Lakes Basin, the largest freshwater system in the world. which is a transitional environment Rivers flow into Lake Superior and Lake Michigan. Their water flows into Lake Huron, which is also fed by tributary rivers. From there, between the St. Clair River and the water funnels through the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River into Lake Erie. It cascades over Niagara Falls or pass- Lake St. Clair. es through the Welland Canal on its way to Lake Ontario. Then it passes through the St. Lawrence River to the Atlantic Ocean. Lake St. Clair, shaped like a heart, is the shallowest and youngest of the Great Lakes. Its maximum natural depth is only 21.3 ft (6.5 m) Its The Detroit River is 32 mi (51 km) spreads into several channels that wind Construction of the St. Lawrence greatest width is about 25 mi (40 long, of varying width and occupied around its many islands. The river Seaway system in the 1950s resulted km.)It covers a total area of 432 sq by numerous islands. Near the head gradually widens to more than 3.75 miles in creation of commercial navigation mi (1,115 sq km.) Depending of the river at Lake St. Clair (6 km) as it empties into Lake Erie. The channels that altered the depth of the on the wind, water stays in are Belle Isle and Peche Island. natural depth of the Detroit River ranges Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor. In Lake St. Clair for two to 30 days, From these islands, water flows from 20 to 25 ft (6 to 7.6 m). Its flow the late-1950s, a 28 ft (8.3 m) channel averaging nine days, before flowing along a single channel whose width rate is similar to that of the St. Clair was created in the St. Clair River, into the Detroit River. ranges from 2,333 to 3,333 ft River. On average, it takes about 20 followed by one in Lake St. Clair. (700 to 1,000 m). In the lower hours for water to travel from Lake The channel through the Detroit River A map of the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor Detroit River, the water flow St. Clair to Lake Erie. was completed in 1969.

16 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| THE PHYSICALLANDSCAPE THE PHYSICALLANDSCAPE| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 17 The lower Detroit River’s many islands provide valuable habitat for wildlife.

THE ST. CLAIR RIVER AND LAKE ST. CLAIR, MICHIGAN: AN ECOLOGICAL PROFILE. U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE The St. Clair AND U.S. EPA GREAT LAKES NATIONAL PROGRAM OFFICE, BIOLOGICAL REPORT 85 (7.3), APRIL 1988. River Delta is one of the largest deltas in the world.

The St. Clair Delta has three distinct depositional regions: The pre-modern delta was created 3,500 to 5,000 years ago during the Lake Nipissing Stage, when Lake St. Clair levels were about five ft (1.5 m) higher. The modern delta has formed, and continues to form, since that time. The pro-delta deposits are on the lake bottom; they provide the foundation for current sediments accumulated at and above the water line.

St. Clair River Delta St. Clair River Delta. The swift current carries more sediment to the delta, The St. Clair River Delta is the most of the St. Clair River is strong enough wind and water erosion constantly significant landform of the Lake Huron to carry these sediments to Lake St. Clair. shape older deposits as they are exposed or submerged by The shoreline of the to Erie Corridor and is a unique feature The bird’s-foot shape of the St. Clair in the Great Lakes Basin. A delta is a changing water levels. St. Clair River Delta River Delta is similar to that of the near Walpole Island. geological formation that occurs when Mississippi River Delta. It also shares The St. Clair River Delta’s significant amounts of sediment are carried many attributes with marine deltas many islands, bays and by a river and deposited into a receiving because of its numerous islands, bays distribution channels have basin, in this case Lake St. Clair. and distributary channels. created a huge surface area of The sandy shorelines of southern Lake coastline that supports one of the The St. Clair River Delta is always largest coastal wetland systems Huron are thought to be the main source changing. While the river continuously of the sand and gravel that have created the in the Great Lakes.

18 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| THE PHYSICALLANDSCAPE THE PHYSICALLANDSCAPE| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 19 THE MOVEMENT OF WATER

Water Flows Downhill Water flows downhill, from higher elevations to lower elevations, from land to waterways, from small streams into larger rivers, bays and lakes. It is important to remember that water and land connect. How we treat the land impacts the water.

The land surrounding a waterway is AREA, LAKES THE GREAT FARRAND, FROM MORAINES OF W.R. 1988, QUALITY, OF ENVIRONMENTAL MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT DIVISION, SURVEY GEOLOGICAL BULLETIN NO.4 called a watershed, which means land from which water is shed. Some watersheds are large, covering hundreds of square kilometers and encompassing an entire river system. The drainage area of a single tributary or creek is known as a subwatershed. TRISH BECKJORD

Water Also Rises Trees and other plants draw up water The cycle continues: Water that While water as a liquid or solid flows from the ground through their roots to evaporates and transpires will return downhill, water as a vapor goes up. feed on the nutrients. They release, or to Earth again as precipitation. transpire, some of that water through The circulation of water is known as the their leaves back into the air. hydrologic cycle. The hydrologic cycle has three primary parts: precipitation, evaporation and transpiration. Precipitation is water that falls from the sky as rain, snow, sleet or hail. Precipitation that stays above ground is known as surface water. If surface water flows across the land, it is called runoff. Some runoff flows into puddles, streams, rivers and lakes. Other runoff is absorbed into the ground and becomes groundwater. Groundwater is drawn by gravity through cracks in the dirt until it reaches a zone of saturation, also known as an aquifer. Evaporation is the change of water into a gas, or vapor. It then rises into the atmosphere. Most evaporation involves the water in bodies of water. Transpiration is another way in which water re-enters the atmosphere, through vegetation. The details in these maps show how the moraines left by the glaciers bound the watersheds of southeastern Michigan that ILLUSTRATION BY: TOM SCHULTZ, DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCE ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT AT IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY drain into the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor.

20 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| THE PHYSICALLANDSCAPE T RIBUTARIES OF THE L AKE H URON TO L AKE E RIE CORRIDOR Tributaries are rivers, creeks and streams that flow into larger water bodies. In the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair and Detroit River system, only a small percentage of water comes from tributaries. Nevertheless, the tributaries are important connections between these larger water bodies and the watersheds in which they exist.

Rivers and streams, as well as wetlands that border them, are known as riverine systems. In southeastern Michigan and southwestern Ontario, riverine systems also include many man-made ditches and drains. Various creeks flow directly into lower Lake Huron, the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, the Detroit River and upper Lake Erie.

River Watershed Area Primary Watershed Land Use

Black River 1,940 km2 (746 mi2) Agriculture

Pine River 351 km2 (135 mi2) Agriculture

Belle River 2,525 km2 (971 mi2) Agriculture

Sydenham River 2,439 km2 (938 mi2) Agriculture

Thames River 5,807 km2 (2,234 mi2) Agriculture and Urban

Clinton River 1,976 km2 (760 mi2) Urban, Suburban, and Rural

Rouge River 1,214 km2 (467 mi2) Urban

Huron River 2,340 km2 (900 mi2) Urban, Suburban, and Rural

Raisin River 2,782 km2 (1,070 mi2) Agriculture

22 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| THE PHYSICALLANDSCAPE O N THE O PEN WATER

nearly all species of Great Lakes fish, as rom the earliest inhabitants to modern-day well as many types of birds and mammals at some point in their life cycles. The residents, people throughout history in the water in these areas has the warmth and shallowness to support warm-water fish United States and Canada have prized the and other aquatic organisms. Almost the entire Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor as a source of is categorized as nearshore waters. F Unfortunately, because of their closeness water, food, transportation and recreation. Despite human to the land and human communities, nearshore waters are most vulnerable to pressures, the Corridor continues to support a remarkable pollution and degradation. Pollution not only affects the water that passes through amount of aquatic biodiversity. Protecting this precious the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor, but also settles into the bottom sedi- water resource is essential to the continued prosperity ments of the Corridor’s rivers and lakes, thus impacting aquatic life for decades.

of the surrounding region. MEYER JONATHAN The nearshore water environment has The shoreline of Lake St. Clair in Tecumseh, Ontario. The Land and Water Connection Trees along a stream provide been changed physically, chemically shade and habitat for Nearshore Waters ecologically, they are not as biologically and biologically by human activity. While waterways and land may seem aquatic organisms. Raw sewage, fertilizers and pesticides, The undercut banks provide diverse or productive as the fringes and to connect only at shorelines, the The Great Lakes cover one-third of industrial discharges and polluted interconnectedness of water and land hiding and feeding areas the region known as the Great Lakes shallows of those lakes. for fish and insects. stormwater runoff are among the goes far beyond a simple beach. Basin. Although the vast waters of These shallow water areas are known contaminants that have entered the activity, affects the the deeper, larger Great Lakes domi- as nearshore waters. They are home to Corridor, to the detriment of wildlife Many animals know this. For example, nate the Basin geographically and the beaver fells trees on shore and uses health and biodiversity and humans. them to build lodges in the water. The of waterways. An bald eagle nests in trees on land, yet feeds example is removing on prey caught in the water. Many trees and shrubs from reptiles and amphibians feed and live in a riverbank. It may wetlands but nest in uplands. Humans seem like a simple, DEBORAH J. BASSETT-MAXWELL DEBORAH J. live on land but go on or into the water isolated action. But it to fish, boat and swim. can have widespread effects on the run-off. The increased water complex system of the river: The loss volumes can increase the river’s Nearly everything that takes place of roots that anchor soil and absorb speed, leading to erosion of on land, especially human rainwater can result in greater surface embankments downstream. The increased amounts of soil going into the river can bury a fish spawning bed. That can reduce fish populations, resulting in smaller catches for anglers. Whether we live upstream or downstream, on hills or lowlands, in rural or urban areas, we are all connected by water – to each other, to fish and mammals, to birds and insects, to reptiles and amphibians, to wildflowers, shrubs and trees.

Turtles and ducks bask together on a log at the Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority’s Lighthouse Cove Conservation Area. Woody debris along watercourses

ERNIE BERGEN provide habitat for many animals. A coastal marsh in the St. Clair River Delta near Walpole Island

24 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| ON THE OPEN WATER ON THE OPEN WATER| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 25 Aquatic Food Web FOOD WEB OF THE GREAT BLUE HERON IN LAKE ST. CLAIR The food web within nearshore waters has many links, extending from extremely tiny microorganisms Phytoplankton to large fish, birds, mammals and can be seen only with humans. Individual food chains can a microscope, be incredibly complex. They may which reveals involve hundreds of different types their of organisms. A food chain can fascinating be understood by examining the shapes and colors. different levels, called trophic levels, Fragilaria spp. through which energy flows. These (above) are diatoms include producers, consumers and that are common in decomposers. the waters of the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Primary producers form the first Corridor during link in a food chain. In a freshwater winter, spring and WYNNE DR. MICHAEL ecosystem, such as the Lake Huron fall while the blue-green algae, Oscillatoria spp. (below), dominate in to Lake Erie Corridor, primary the summer months of July and August. producers include phytoplankton, periphyton, and aquatic macro- An energy pyramid is a useful way to visualize the phytes. These are plants that depend transfer of energy in food chains. (ILLUSTRATION LEFT) THE ECOLOGY OF LAKE ST. CLAIR on the sun for their energy. Energy is lost as it passes through each WETLANDS: A COMMUNITY PROFILE, U.S. FISH AND trophic level. The presence of producers, WILDLIFE SERVICE, BIOLOGICAL REPORT 85 (7.7), Phytoplankton, also called algae, or autotrophs, far outweighs the presence SEPTEMBER 1986. grow suspended in the open waters. of consumers, or heterotrophs. In the biosphere, plants account for 99 percent More than 80 species of phytoplank- of all biomass. All other organisms constitute ton inhabit the Detroit River and 71 the remaining one percent. and stonefly nymphs. Some feed The top, or quarternary consumers, species have been identified in Lake on dead organic matter (detrius) in the aquatic food chain are fish St. Clair. Periphyton are larger algae, shallow water, usually less than 23 ft or filter feed. Other species are predatory, eaters–humans, mammals and birds, which are attached to the lake bot- (7 m) deep, where there is good light feeding on other smaller organisms. such as cormorants and bald eagles. tom or to other aquatic plants. penetration. They are the dominant primary producers in the St. Clair Secondary consumers in an aquatic Decomposers are bacteria and other Aquatic macrophytes, or submersed River, Lake St. Clair and Detroit ecosystem include reptiles and microorganisms that break down aquatic plants, are large, rooted River system. The macrophyte beds amphibians such as bullfrogs, painted and feed on the decaying remains plants that live under the surface of that grow on the fringes of coastal turtles, and water snakes. They eat of aquatic organisms. The marshes and along the shoreline insects and other small prey. breakdown of the organic matter also creates nutrients for green provide food and cover for waterfowl Tertiary consumers include such large and fish. plants. Decomposers play a critical predatory game fish as walleye and role in maintaining the complex Zooplankton are the most numerous muskellunge. They feed on smaller biological and chemical animals in the open waters. These fish that in turn had fed on zooplankton systems of the open water microscopic creatures move about and insects. environment. and eat by straining algae from the water. In turn, zooplankton are eaten Primary Producers Tertiary Consumers by many small fish, such as sunfish phytoplankton, periphyton muskellunge, white bass, walleye and minnows, and the larval stages and aquatic macrophytes and northern pike of many game fish species, including yellow perch. Primary Consumers Quaternary Consumers zooplankton, mussels, snails, osprey, tern, bald eagle, great

DENISE M. STYKA Benthic macroinvertebrates are THE ECOLOGY OF LAKE ST. CLAIR WETLANDS: A COMMUNITY PROFILE, U.S. FISH spineless creatures that live in the crayfish and aquatic insects blue heron, raccoons and humans AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, BIOLOGICAL REPORT 85 (7.7), SEPTEMBER 1986 The great blue heron (Ardea herodias) bottom of a waterway for at least feeds mostly on small fish, but insects, Secondary Consumers Decomposers frogs, and mice are occasionally eaten part of their lives. These creatures minnows, gizzard shad, emerald shiner, invertebrates, bacteria and other microor- This diagram shows the complicated relationships within the food chain of the great blue heron. too. When hunting, the heron will stand include mussels, snails, crayfish, Hundreds of organisms may be involved in any single aquatic food chain. A disturbance in one level motionless waiting for the right moment frogs and turtles ganisms can affect many other creatures. to strike its prey. leeches, worms, sow bugs, mayfly

26 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| ON THE OPEN WATER ON THE OPEN WATER| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 27 Return of the Mayfly The burrowing mayfly (Hexagenia spp.) is one of the most important fish foods in open waters. The burrowing mayfly nymph feeds on

JOHN SCHAFER JOHN the decaying remains of aquatic plants. In turn, both the aquatic nymph and the flying adult mayfly are food for many animals, especially fish and birds. Large swarms of flying insects are The canvasback duck a common sight around water (Aythya valisineria) frequently during the summer. These are can be seen on the open waters. It was named “valisineria” after burrowing mayflies that have wild celery, its favored food source. emerged from their aquatic larval stage as adults and are mating. They may seem like a nuisance but it is important to remember that they, like many other aquatic insects, INSTITUTE RESEARCH WATER NATIONAL STATON, SHAWN The northern riffleshell (Epioblasma torulosa rangiana) is a freshwater mussel that requires well- BRUCE MANNY BRUCE provide an important link in the oxygenated, swiftly flowing water and prefers to live in fine to coarse gravel substrate. The northern food chain. riffleshell has suffered dramatic declines in North America and is now globally endangered. A population Burrowing mayflies are sensitive in the middle to lower reaches of the east branch of the Sydenham River in Ontario still appears to be relatively healthy and is one of three reproducing populations left in North America. A second to poor water quality. In the 1960s, population may be persisting in the upper portions of the Black River in Sanilac County, Michigan, they became scarce because of toxic and a small population was recorded recently in the shallow waters of Walpole Island. pollutants in the water and Wild celery (Valisineria americana) sediments. With improved water ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF CARL KORSCHGEN AND GARY DONNERMEYER quality their population has Freshwater Mussels biodiversity. Today, virtually all of the freshwater mussel species that are listed rebounded, to the benefit of Historically, the St. Clair River, Wild celery (Valisineria americana) populations declined by 72 percent from the 1950s to the 1980s in the Detroit River. They have since rebounded and as endangered, threatened or of special wildlife and people. Lake St. Clair and Detroit River and now exceed levels of 50 years ago. This increase is attributed to greater water clarity, which is believed to be the result of water filtration by the zebra concern in Michigan and Ontario are their tributaries supported large, diverse mussel, a non-native, invasive aquatic species. Wild celery is the preferred food of diving ducks such as canvasbacks, redheads and scaup. confined to southeastern Michigan populations of freshwater mussels. and southwestern Ontario waterways, The Detroit River had one of the biggest Submersed Aquatic Plants with large, continuous stretches of they do occur around the river’s including Lake St. Clair, the Sydenham varieties of freshwater mussels in the More than 20 species of submersed submersed aquatic plants, or “weed beds”, islands, shoals and shoulders. The River in Ontario, and the Raisin, Huron, entire Great Lakes Basin, with at least plants occur in the St. Clair River, which are primary producers in extensive coastal marshes of the St. Clinton, Belle, Black and Pine Rivers 35 species recorded in the early 1900s. Lake St. Clair and Detroit River system. the aquatic food chain. Clair River Delta and in Michigan. In fact, the Sydenham Lake St. Clair had 32 recorded species. The most common species are listed Today, the beds are the shallows of Lake River is now the most significant refuge fragmented and only St. Clair support the in the chart below. The diversity of freshwater mussel for freshwater mussels in the Corridor. a fraction of their largest beds. species is related to glacial history. At one time, the shoreline of the Lake original size. In the Freshwater mussels are in the Unionidae Eurasian watermilfoil During the late stages of the Wisconsin Huron to Lake Erie Corridor was lined lower reaches of the (Myriophyllum spicatum) family, also known as pearly mussels. glacial period, there were many drainage Detroit River, south is an invasive aquatic species They are natural water cleansers and an routes that flowed through southeastern Submersed Aquatic Plants common to the of Grassy Island, that has spread throughout important part of the aquatic food chain. North America since its Michigan and southwestern Ontario. Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor submersed beds occur They are food for muskrats, river otters Listed in order from most abundant to least abundant introduction in the These drainage routes enabled aquatic near coastal marshes, and waterfowl. The mussels also have 1940s. This feathery species to move in from other river Common Name Scientific Name especially in the been important to humans. Early natives looking aquatic plant basins, such as the Mississippi, Wild celery Valisineria americana Canard River Marsh, forms thick mats in used them for food, jewelry and tools. St. Lawrence and Allegheny. Redhead grass Potamogeton richardsonii Humbug Marsh and rivers, lakes and streams From 1890 to 1950, mussel shells were Consequently, many different Eurasian watermilfoil Myriophyllum spicatum Gibraltar Bay. The where it displaces native used by the button-making industry. Waterweed Elodea canadensis aquatic plants, thus freshwater mussels were able to St. Clair River’s swift Between 1920 and 1946, freshwater Water stargrass Heterantha dubia impacting fish and wildlife. colonize in the Corridor’s water bodies. Pondweeds Potamogeton spp. current and straight Once an area is infested, mussels were harvested for this purpose Bushy pondweed Najas flexilis channel prevent the it can interfere with boating Mussels that persist today are a globally along a 19-mi (30-km) stretch Coontail Ceratophyllum demersum widespread growth of by entangling propellers and ALLEN CHARTIER significant component of the Lake of the Thames River below London, degrading swimming areas. emergent aquatic plants but AMELIA HANSEN, CORVUS ART An adult mayfly on a leaf blade Huron to Lake Erie Corridor’s aquatic Ontario.

28 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| ON THE OPEN WATER ON THE OPEN WATER| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 29 The Biology of Freshwater Mussels Mussels’ movement upstream and surveys indicate it may no longer Freshwater mussels may appear to be a reproduction capability are intricately exist in the river because simple lifeform, but they actually have linked to fish. Female mussels’ eggs are of the exotic mussel invasion. a complex lifecycle. Most species spend fertilized when sperm is drawn in from surrounding water, so a male of the same Native freshwater mussels have their time buried in sand or gravel at the found a few refuges. Researchers bottom of rivers and streams. Some species needs to be nearby to avoid localized extinction. The fertilized eggs recently discovered isolated mussels live to be 100 years old. Only populations of native mussels in the a few species make their home in the still develop into the larval stage inside the female. Once they are developed, the nearshore coastal marshes of western waters of lakes and ponds. They usually Lake Erie, the mouth of the River remain in one place, although they do female releases her young when she senses a fish is near. Some mussels will Raisin and the St. Clair River Delta have a “foot” that helps them to burrow at Walpole Island. Scientists are and move limited distances if disturbed wave specially adapted tissues that look like fish prey in order to lure a fish. conducting investigations to better by drought or floods. This foot also helps understand how these populations to anchor them against strong currents The young mussels, called glochidia, have to attach themselves to a host fish survive and if they remain stable. and predators such as muskrats that dig Research into freshwater mussels, deep in the sand for their dinner. or they will die. This generally harmless and the impact of exotic mussels on DTE ENERGY Freshwater mussels draw water into their parasitic stage lasts a matter of weeks before the glochidia mature and drop them, is critical to managing and shells so their gills can absorb oxygen preserving the Corridor’s rich and filter plankton, their food source. off the fish to begin a new life, in a different place than the mother. aquatic heritage. Mussels are an excellent indicator species, or gauge, of local water quality because they are relatively stationary. They face many more threats now than in the past, including poor water quality, sedimentation, loss of larval fish hosts, channelization of rivers and streams, and invasive species. The greatest threat in the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor Workers remove zebra mussels from a water intake pipe at DTE Energy’s Monroe Power Plant is the zebra mussel, a non-native species A native freshwater mussel that reproduces at a tremendous rate colonized by zebra mussels. without need for a fish host. It displaces The zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha), like many aquatic nuisance native freshwater mussels and wins the species, was brought here in the ballast water of a transatlantic freighter. Originally from Russia, the zebra mussel was discharged in 1988 into Freshwater Mussel Species at Risk in the Lake Huron competition for food and oxygen. Zebra Lake St. Clair, where it quickly multiplied. Within 10 years, it spread to Lake Erie Corridor mussels even colonize the shells of native throughout the Great Lakes Basin and into the Ohio, Mississippi, mussels, encumbering and starving Tennessee and Hudson River basins. Common Name Scientific Name them to death. Purple wartyback Cyclonaias tuberculata Besides decimating native freshwater mussel species, the zebra mussel White catspaw Epioblasma oblique perobliqua

DOUG SWEET DOUG The zebra mussel has decimated native SWEET DOUG has taken a huge financial toll. The cost of just keeping zebra mussels from clogging water intake pipes is estimated at more than $2 billion a year. Northern riffleshell Epioblasma torulosa rangiana The snuffbox (Epioblasma triquetra) freshwater mussel populations in the The rayed bean (Villosa fabalis) is one Corridor. The original number of 35 Snuffbox Epioblasma triquetra is a small freshwater mussel with unique of the smallest freshwater mussels. It lives Zebra mussels have increased water clarity in many rivers and lakes. markings that look like dripping paint. species in the Detroit River had been in rivers and along lakeshores swept by In doing so, they have changed habitat and food webs, and depleted nutrients. Wavy-rayed lamp mussel Lampilis fasciola It lives deep within the sediment of small- to dropping relatively slowly, but fell faster shallow waves, where it is often found An example of the impact is in Lake St. Clair, where the increased water Hickorynut Obovaria olivaria medium-sized rivers and streams, preferring after zebra mussels arrived. Surveys found deeply buried in sand or gravel among clarity has allowed sunlight to penetrate to deeper waters, enabling more clean sand, gravel or cobble substrate with roots of aquatic plants. It is extremely rare Round hickorynut Obovaria subrotunda 28 different species in the 1980s but aquatic vegetation to grow. With more vegetation, the lake can support swiftly flowing water. The banded sculpin globally. Its distribution overlaps that greater numbers of bass, northern pike and muskellunge but it has become Round pigtoe Pluerobema coccineum and logperch are fish hosts. Distribution only 24 in the early 1990s. The Detroit of the northern riffleshell. It is important less suitable for light-sensitive fish such as walleye. Mudpuppy mussel Simpsonaias ambigua of the snuffbox has been reduced significantly River once supported one of the last to protect rare fish associated with the Purple lillyput Toxolasma lividus throughout North America; most populations strongly-reproducing populations of the habitats of mussels like the rayed bean, Anglers and boaters can help control the zebra mussel’s spread. One precaution have become small and isolated. It is listed as northern riffleshell, which is on the whose larval fish hosts are not known. is to not dump bait into the water. Another is to run the engine briefly while Rayed bean Villosa fabalis endangered in both Michigan and Ontario. Once widespread in southern Ontario, federal list of endangered species the boat is still on the trailer before launching it into a different water body. Rainbow Villosa iris the rayed bean is now found only in the east in the U.S. and Canada. However, recent branch of the Sydenham River. In Michigan, Many freshwater mussel species have colorful names, such it is still found in the Pine River in St. Clair as purple wartyback and round pigtoe, which give clues to County, the Clinton River in Oakland their appearance. County, the River Raisin in Monroe County and the upper Detroit River.

30 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| ON THE OPEN WATER THE LAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR IS A MIGRATIONROUTE ANDSPAWNING AREA FOR GREAT LAKES FISH

Fish are the most numerous animals of the are present throughout the year. FISH SPAWNING AREAS open water in the Corridor. Of the 174 Populations of these fish also come species of fish recorded in the Great Lakes from other lakes in large numbers Basin, 116 are known to occur in the St. during the spring and summer for Clair and Detroit River systems and their feeding, spawning and nursery habitat. tributaries. This incredibly large and Larger cold-water fish, such as salmon diverse fish fauna is due to a wide variety and rainbow trout, use the Corridor of aquatic habitats, as well as the fact that to migrate between Lakes Huron and some species found here are at the north- Erie or to dine on seasonally abundant ern or southern limits of their range. forage fish. Since the arrival of European settlers, there Different types of aquatic habitats have been significant changes in the fish support different fish species. Some community, particularly during the past fish, such as northern pike and century. Exploitation by commercial and pumpkinseed, are highly dependent recreational fisheries, extensive shoreline on coastal wetlands. Others, such as modification, pollution and introduction smallmouth bass and largemouth bass, of exotic species have changed the abun- can be found both in coastal wetlands dance and distribution of fish species. and non-vegetated waters. Larger fish, These dramatic changes become apparent such as walleye and muskellunge, when current conditions are compared frequent deeper channel waters. The with this account, written by Bela loss of coastal wetlands and riparian Hubbard, who lived near the Detroit River habitats has contributed to the decline in the late-19th Century: of many fish that depend on aquatic vegetation for spawning, feeding “… All the world is now familiar with this and cover. lustrous and exquisite fish (lake whitefish), with which our strait and lakes abound, and The loss of coastal wetlands and their which has become an important article of associated beds of submersed aquatic commerce. In our river they are only taken plants can affect fish populations with seine and dragnets, in the spring and because they provide spawning and fall. The latter is the season of the great run, nursery habitat for many popular and commences with the approaching of cold sport fish species. Largemouth bass, weather in October, lasting until nearly win- smallmouth bass, northern pike, ter…many a time I have watched the boats LAKES MUSEUM, BELLE ISLE, MICHIGAN GREAT DOSSIN POLASCEK, JOHN BY PROVIDED 1899, 12, NOVEMBER FREE PRESS, THE DETROIT walleye, yellow perch and as they pull upstream – a song keeping time Illustration taken from an article that appeared in the Detroit Free Press, November 12, 1899. The muskellunge reproduce in Great Lakes to the oars—drop the net, and row rapidly article,“Fishing on a Big Scale,” described the commercial fish operations of the United States Fish coastal marshes. back to shore. Here both ends are drawn by Commission on Belle Isle. The process used a seine, over 1,000 feet in legnth and 12 foot in depth, first hauled out by men on a boat and later drawn in by horsepower. The wetlands and reefs of the lower horse windlass, the bag of the net soon Detroit River are the most significant appearing, distended with the shining cap- spawning and nursery habitat for the tives. They are thrown into a pile, from Lake whitefish, lake trout and lake common. Today, the lake sturgeon, entire river and for most of western (Above) This map is a which the finest and largest may be selected herring still occur, but are no longer sauger and lake herring are species Lake Erie. It is estimated more than generalized view of spawning at five to ten cents a piece.….The seine of major seasonal components of the St. at risk in the region. The blue pike 10 million adult walleye migrate areas. The Lake Huron to course catches all kinds of fish that come Clair River, Lake St. Clair and Detroit is extinct. there annually. Other major spawning Lake Erie Corridor provides within its sweep, and are not too small to River system. Historically, these large areas include Lake St. Clair and valuable spawning and nursery Great Lakes fish use the Lake habitat for more than 45 escape its two and half inch meshes. Among cold-water fish were not residents, but the Thames River. these occasionally a huge sturgeon, often Huron to Lake Erie Corridor species of fish. Among them migrated through the corridor from are minnows and small game as a permanent home, a seasonal (Right) Yellow perch caught from Lake of forty pounds weight. And more rarely that Lakes Erie and Huron to spawn in the fish that spawn in coastal St.Clair by local fisherman. Fishing is a prince of a fish and delicate bonne bouche, home or a migratory pathway. wetlands near shoals, shallow fall. These three fish species largely popular activity in the Lake Huron to Lake Most warm-water fish, such as waters around islands, and the muskellunge. The latter is also taken by disappeared from the region during Erie Corridor. The extensive wetlands of sunfish, sucker, catfish and drum, river shoulders with gravel hook and line in our river and in Lake Ste. the early 1900s due to over-fishing, the St. Clair River Delta contribute to or silt substrates. Large game Claire.” are permanent residents. Lake St. Clair’s distinction as one of North construction of the shipping channel fish, particularly lake sturgeon, Cool-water species such as walleye, America’s most productive sport fisheries –BELA HUBBARD, and water pollution. Lake sturgeon, spawn in deep water where for bass and muskellunge. Lake St. Clair "MEMORIALS OF A HALF CENTURY", 1887 lake sturgeon, yellow perch, the current is swift and the sauger, and blue pike also were once and the Detroit River are recognized as muskellunge and northern pike bottom is hard.

fishing hot spots worldwide. L. FRANCIS DOROTHY

32 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| ON THE OPEN WATER ON THE OPEN WATER| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 33 A VERY OLD FISH

The Return of the Lake Sturgeon fast-flowing water, usually at a depth of Historically, the lake sturgeon 5 to 25 ft (7.5 m). Currently, two lake (Acipenser fulvescens) has been sturgeon spawning sites are known to a significant member of the exist in the St. Clair River. One is in the Great Lakes fish community. upper river near the Blue Water Bridge, where the water is approximately 60 ft During the past century, lake (18 m) deep. The other is in the lower sturgeon populations have become river, near the opening into Lake St. so low that fishing is extremely Clair, on an artificial reef composed of limited. It is listed as an endangered coal cinders put into the river in the species in the U.S. Causes of the SWEET 7DOUG Lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) 1880s by commercial ships. After decline include human alteration of hatching, young sturgeon migrate into Several primitive physical features the landscape as well as sedimentation adjacent marshes and larger lakes. make the lake sturgeon unique. Instead DAVID JUDE DAVID and pollution in the water, all of which changed the amount and of overlapping scales, it has five bony Many agencies and universities have The common carp (Cyprinus carpio), which is quality of spawning habitat. shields and a head covered with bony been working to restore the lake thought to have originated in Eastern Asia, was plates. Like sharks, its skeleton is sturgeon. Since 1997, researchers from brought here as a potential food fish in the JUDE DAVID Commercial over-fishing in the cartilage and its spinal column 1800s. It adversely affects coastal wetlands the University of Michigan School of The round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) is a small fish that arrived in the early 1990s. late 19th Century is also partly continues to the upper lobe of the tail. Natural Resources have been using because it uproots aquatic plants as it feeds, It appears to be displacing many native darters and sculpins. The round goby feeds on the eggs destroying valuable submergent beds. of native sport fish as well as zebra mussels. Scientists are studying this new invader’s impacts responsible for the population The underside of the lake sturgeon’s telemetry to track the population’s on the aquatic food chain. decrease. Annual commercial lake snout contains four fleshy barbells, or seasonal movements in the St. Clair sturgeon production in the Lake Erie feelers, that drag on the bottom and have River and Lake St. Clair. Through this Exotic Fish in the Lake Huron carp, round goby and white perch impact on native fisheries and and Lake St. Clair system peaked chemical sensors to locate snails, clams, tracking, scientists hope to identify are found in abundance. are popular with anglers. Other to Lake Erie Corridor at five million pounds in 1885. It has crayfish, worms and insect larvae on key spawning grounds and to better exotic fish, such as the round goby, More than 15 species of exotic fish been near zero since 1910. which it feeds. Behind the feelers, understand migratory patterns. Other These fish began to appear in the Great were released accidentally through live in the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Lakes system in the 1800s. Some were a tube-like mouth sucks up food like agencies and institutions such as the the discharge of ballast water from However, the lake sturgeon appears to Corridor. Of these, alewife, rainbow deliberately introduced to boost sport a vacuum cleaner, as it has no teeth. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, transatlantic freighters and have be making a comeback in the region. smelt, coho salmon, chinook salmon, fishing. Among them are salmon and Recent observations have found the lake Michigan Department of Natural reproduced in extraordinary numbers. For the first time in decades, juvenile rainbow trout, brown trout, common trout, which have had little negative sturgeon feeds on exotic species such Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife lake sturgeon have been found in the as zebra mussels and round goby. These Service, U.S. Geological Service and Canadian waters of the western Lake findings reveal the adaptable foraging Central Michigan University also are Erie Basin. Today, the Lake Huron to behavior of the lake sturgeon, a researching lake sturgeon and their COMMON COLD-WATER, COOL-WATER, WARM-WATER, AND FORAGE FISH Lake Erie Corridor supports the testimonial to its long existence on Earth. habitat. Information gathered from all largest river-spawning lake sturgeon SPECIES FOUND IN THE LAKE HURON TO LAKE ERIE CORRIDOR these efforts is essential to the population in the Great Lakes. The lake sturgeon has an extremely late development of long-term strategies for maturity, which has slowed the recovery increasing the sturgeon population and • Cold-water: Lake whitefish, lake herring, lake trout, brown trout#, coho salmon#, The lake sturgeon belongs to a group of its native population. Sexual maturity protecting spawning locations. Recent Chinook salmon#, rainbow trout#. of fish that predates the dinosaurs is not reached until age 15 for males and research found an increase in two-and by 40 million years. It is one of the age 25 for females. They return to rivers three-year-old juveniles. This is • Cool-water: Lake sturgeon, northern pike*, muskellunge*, walleye* and yellow perch* longest-living and most primitive in the spring, even when there is still ice, encouraging news. With continued animals in the world. A lake sturgeon to spawn from early May through June. • Warm-water: Black crappie*, brown bullhead*, yellow bullhead, black bullhead, largemouth bass*, research and proper management, it is may grow to eight feet (2.4 m) in They spawn on large rocks and coarse rock bass*, bluegill*, smallmouth bass*, freshwater drum, channel catfish*, common carp# hoped this ancient fish will be as length, weigh up to 300 lb (136 kg) gravel in a rapid current. A large female abundant in the third millennium as at maturity and live up to 125 years. may lay as many as three million eggs, • Forage: Gizzard shad, minnows, trout perch, killifish, silver sides, sticklebacks, sculpins, it was in ages past. rainbow smelt#, alewife# depositing them on gravel bars in *= Important game fish species # = Exotic fish species

34 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| ON THE OPEN WATER ON THE OPEN WATER| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 35 F ISH AT R ISK

These islands are just the beginning of the new Many fish species found in the St. Clair Fish Species at Risk in the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge.

River, Lake St. Clair and Detroit River Common Name Scientific Name Lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens are considered to be at risk in either Eastern sand darter Ammocrypta pellucida Lake herring Coregonus artedii Lake chubsucker Erimyzon sucetta Steel Corporation purchased the island Michigan or Ontario due to declining Mooneye Hiodon tergisus in 1945 from the U.S. government. Silver chub Hybopsis storeiana The Army Corps of Engineers has used populations. Decreases in the Northern brook lamprey Icthyomyzon fossor the island as a disposal site for dredged Bigmouth buffalo Ictiobus cyprinellus material from the Rouge River bottom, Spotted gar Lepisosteus oculatus so the island’s size has increased over the abundance and diversity of fish are years. In 1962, Mud Island’s size was Black redhorse Moxostoma duquesnei increased by the addition of material caused by various factors, including River redhorse Moxostoma carinatum dredged from the bottom of the Trenton Northern madtom Noturus stigmosus Channel. Currently it is an 18.5-acres Pugnose shiner Notropis anogenus (7.4-ha) island with 71.5-acres (28.6-ha) of submerged aquatic shoals. National water pollution and invasive species. Bridle shiner Notropis bifrenatus Steel donated the island to the U.S. Fish Pugnose minnow Notropis emiliae and Wildlife Service on June 14, 2001. The main causes, though, are loss Channel darter Percina copelandi Grassy Island was a favored whitefish Sauger Stizostedion canadense spawning area in the 1800s. Records and degradation of fish habitat. show the fishery on the island employed 30 men, working day and night from The Detroit River of Interstate 75 and Jefferson Avenue. September to November to harvest The extensive draining and International Wildlife Refuge This area covers riverfront, islands, 45,000 adult whitefish per spawning shoals, marshes, and coastal wetlands season. The island was used mainly for The Detroit River International along the Detroit River and western Lake navigation purposes until 1961 when it filling of coastal wetlands, Wildlife Refuge is North America’s Erie. Initially, the former Wyandotte was designated as a national wildlife first international wildlife refuge and National Wildlife Refuge made up most refuge because of its natural resource joint habitat management project. of the new Refuge. More recent additions values. The abundant beds of wild celery dredging of the navigation Public Law 107-91 established it JOSEPH R. TOMELLERI include Mud Island, Calf Island and a surrounding the island attract thousands in the U.S on December 21, 2002. 152-acre parcel in Monroe County. In of diving ducks during their spring and This was a landmark event in the addition, a cooperative management fall migrations. Bald eagle, lake sturgeon, channel and hardening of the shoreline The northern madtom (Noturus stigmosus) is a small, bottom-dwelling quest to protect, manage and restore agreement has been signed with DTE spotted turtle, osprey and common tern catfish that is sensitive to poor water quality. the biologically significant ecosystem Energy’s Fermi II Nuclear Power Facility are rare species that have been identified of the lower Detroit River, often have all significantly reduced and to manage over 600-acres of habitat on at the refuge. referred to as the “Conservation that site at the newly established Lagoona Crescent.” The new refuge presents The dominant features of these Detroit Beach Unit of the Refuge. This landmark an opportunity for dynamic River islands are hardwood forests, degraded habitat. Fish surveys confirm agreement doubled the amount of partnerships between the U.S. swamps, lakeplain prairie and various property under the jurisdiction of the Fish and Wildlife Service and types of wetland, most importantly Great Wildlife Refuge. Due to the unqiue the impacts. For example, few governments, industries, local Lakes coastal marsh. Mammals found on naure of this urban Refuge, property communities and various agencies the islands include coyote, gray fox, donations, acquisitions and cooeprative and organizations. white-tailed deer, raccoon, woodchuck, NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT agreements are essential to its expansion fish species are found near the steel OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION muskrat, rabbit, voles and mice. Overall, Two seperate laws in the U.S. within the designated area. the new refuge will conserve, protect established an acquisition boundary The lands of the refuge have a long and and restore habitat for 29 species of break walls that now dominate The eastern sand darter (Ammocrypta pellucida) is a small member for the Refuge which stretches nearly of the perch family. It lives almost exclusively in sandy-bottomed areas, colorful history. During the prohibition waterfowl, 65 kinds of fish and 300 40 mi from the mouth of the Rouge where it likes to completely bury itself. Its translucent body era of the 1920s and early 1930s, Mud species of migratory birds along the River south to the Michigan/Ohio and burrowing nature afford it camouflage from predators. Island was a center of illegal alcohol lower Detroit River and western much of the Corridor’s shoreline. state line and includes the lands east transport, or “rum-running.” National Lake Erie.

36 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| ON THE OPEN WATER ON THE OPEN WATER| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 37 Riparian zones are the areas along the banks WHAT’SINARIVER? of rivers or streams. These zones serve as an important transitional Riffles area and buffer between water and land. Riffles are shallow areas with faster flows where rocks break the Because riparian zones surface and aerate the water. include both land and They are important spawning water, they are rich grounds for fish. with diverse plant communities that are Floodplain Runs adapted to fluctuating Pool water levels, nutrient Runs are fast, deep areas where rich soils and warm the water surface is turbulent but microclimates common rocks do not break the surface. to riparian lowlands. Riffle Pools STREAMS These plant communities, along with moisture Pools are wide, deeper areas with

variations and natural E.MAURA MCNICHOL slow currents that occur between floating objects such as The south branch of the Pine River at the Pine River Nature Center in Goodells, Michigan. riffle-run complexes and are tree limbs and leaves, favored habitats of fish. provide habitat, and fluid movement corridors for Floodplains a wide variety of aquatic, & avian and terrestrial Floodplains are lands surround- fauna, especially reptiles ing a stream that are periodically and amphibians. covered with water. They are important for absorbing excess Today, natural buffers stormwater and reducing stream- of vegetation along bank erosion. watercourses are TERRY LOU A view of the Huron River in the fall important habitat. Meanders They provide a migratory corridor for wildlife in Meanders are bends in stream an increasinly fragmented channels. They form naturally as natural landscape. streams flow through floodplains. Streamside vegetation also AUTHORITY ESSEX REGION CONSERVATION They help reduce downstream helps to both retain water The Canard River at the Essex Region Conservation Authority’s Canard Valley Conservation Area. flooding by using the energy of and maintain good water water to create longer streams quality. In contrast, in with more erosional and deposi- landscapes where forests tional areas. Meanders increase and wetlands have been the quantity and quality of removed, streams often stream habitats. dry up in late-summer and have poor water quality. Water that does remain has a higher temperature and lower dissolved oxygen content,

impairing biological AUTHORITY ST. CLAIR REGION CONSERVATION communities.

RIVERS The Sydenham River is one of the most biologically diverse watersheds in all of Canada, supporting at least 82 species of fish and 34 species of freshwater mussels. F ISH D IVERSITY IN THE T RIBUTARIES

The tributaries that flow into the Many of the smaller endangered and River systems in southwestern Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor are threatened fish species of Michigan, such Ontario also support a great diversity generally too small for large fish but as redside dace and silver shiner, live in of fish. The Thames River supports they provide habitat for smaller fish the watersheds of southeastern Michigan. nearly two-thirds of Ontario’s known species such as darters and minnows. Populations of those fish declined fish fauna. The Sydenham River Historically, the Corridor’s watersheds because urbanization degraded their supports eight fish species at risk. have supported a diverse fish fauna. waterways. Preserving the remaining Twenty-three species of minnows, pristine headwaters and improving such as the pugnose, have been Unfortunately, changes in riparian habitat in the lower reaches of rivers is identified in Essex County’s many zones, such as the clearing of streamside key to maintaining the presence of the creeks and small rivers, the highest vegetation, have altered the habitat and fish in the state. Undeveloped headwater minnow diversity recorded for any resulted in siltation, pollution and areas are important sources of diverse region in Canada. Restoring and increased water temperatures lowering aquatic species that may re-colonize maintaining the health of the the suitability of rivers and streams to degraded reaches downstream once tributaries will help to ensure a support diverse fish populations. water quality improves. diverse fish community remains. ROBERT STEWART ROBERT

Right is Stony Creek in the late fall, which is the headwaters of the Clinton River. Its natural state sharply differs from the urbanization that defines the Clinton River’s lower reaches. JESSICA PITELKA-OPFER

JOSEPH R. TOMELLERI The Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor is characterized by tremendous aquatic biodiversity. From tiny plankton to giant lake sturgeon, many different types of The silver shiner (Notropis photogenis) is a small, slender minnow that likes the quieter pools of creatures are connected to one another larger river systems. The watersheds of the Corridor are at the northern end of its distribution in through the aquatic food chain. Sport fish North America. This minnow is becoming rare due to habitat loss. are abundant and the bald eagle has returned to shorelines in the region. But despite humans’ efforts to protect water THE REDSIDE DACE quality, prevent habitat loss and guard against invasive species, many aquatic organisms continue to decline. A few he redside dace (Clinostomus elongatus) are close to extinction. More actions to is an endangered fish in Michigan. protect and restore wildlife habitat are It lives in Johnson Creek, a clear, cool critical to ensuring the aquatic headwater stream of the Rouge River. communities of southeastern Michigan TParts of Johnson Creek are still relatively and southwestern Ontario remain healthy and diverse. To learn more about how to undisturbed. Headwaters like Johnson Creek help protect and restore rivers, lakes and hold important potential for re-colonizing KONRAD SCHMIDT, GENERAL COLLEGE streams contact your local watershed DEBORAH BASSETT-MAXWELL DEBORAH AND JAMES FORD BELL MUSEUM OF ecologically sensitive species in the lower organization listed in Appendix C. NATURAL HISTORY, UNIVERSITY OF The annual leaf fall into rivers and creeks supplies organic matter to the stream system. It is a first link in the food chain, MINNESOTA, MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL. reaches of degraded watersheds. feeding benthic macroinvertebrates and other aquatic organisms.

ON THE OPEN WATER| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 41 40 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| ON THE OPEN WATER Prior to European settlement, the The aquatic plant, “folle avoine,” A LONG THE S HORELINE shoreline of the Lake Huron to Lake of which American geographer William Erie corridor looked very different Darby wrote is wild rice (Zizania than it does today. Extensive Great aquatica) and once was common in the Lakes marshes skirted the shoreline, region’s coastal marshes. Wild rice is very especially along Lakes St. Clair and sensitive to changes in water flow. As a he natural beauty of the region lying between Erie. Upland from these marshes result of major shoreline alterations, it no there was generally hardwood swamp longer thrives. In fact, today it is listed as on poorly drained clay soils and a threatened plant species in Michigan. Lakes Erie and Huron has been recorded by all beech-maple forest on better-drained sites. Tallgrass prairie and oak savanna Great Lakes marshes are dynamic the early travelers, with words of admiration. systems. Since their topography is

grew in the lakeplain’s sandy areas. ALLEN CHARTIER almost flat, they are highly influenced Many of the islands were low, and Great Lakes Coastal Marsh by fluctuating Great Lakes water The American lotus (Nelumbo lutea) is a floating plant of coastal marshes in the “T Great Lakes coastal marsh is a wetland levels. This is especially true in the St. Clair River Delta where a lower Detroit River and western Lake Erie. some of the river margins scarcely above the ecosystem distinct to the Great Lakes. Its exotic-looking white blossoms inspire the It is the most productive natural change of only a few inches Lotus Garden Club of Monroe, which works water. But all was green and peaceful. Dark system in Earth’s temperate zones, greatly affects the size and to help ensure there is good habitat for this providing habitat for mammals, position of wetlands. In threatened plant species in Michigan.

forests extended to the river edge, and many ERNIE BERGEN waterfowl, shorebirds, songbirds, high-water years, strong reptiles, amphibians, fish, insects, on-shore winds produce s a tall monarch of the wood waved its gigantic crustaceans and many plant species. ufficient wave action to uproot

AMELIA HANSEN

CORVUS ART plants and cause erosion. In arms over the brink, and was reflected in the “All the rivers and creeks enter from low-water years, marsh habitat both sides, through low, swampy becomes more abundant. land covered with folle avoine, or Changing water levels often glassy surface which not tide or flood ever wild oats. This aquatic grain, though cause dramatic shifts in thus named, is nevertheless essential- vegetation in a short period disturbed. The marshes were luxuriant with wild ly different from either oats or rice; of time, shaping the abundance and no vegetable that I ever seen, has a diversity of habitat available to wildlife. DAN RAWLYK DAN rice that furnished a sumptuous repast to a great more beautiful appearance than is Mudflats appear in the shallows of exhibited by the immense marshes, coastal marshes when the water is low.

variety of birds and waterfowl, and even a welcoming supply covered with folle avoine; it is now Mudflats provide habitat for shorebirds MARIE BOYLE in blossom, exhaling a peculiarly that stop to rest and feed during The large pink flowers of the swamp rose to the Indians. Occasional villages and bark wigwams pleasing fragrance.” migration. They use their long, pointed mallow (Hibiscus moschetos) grace the fringes of coastal marshes. Lake Erie Metropark in –WILLIAM DARBY, 1819, bills to probe exposed soil for insects enlivened the shore, surrounded with gardens and cornfields, DESCRIBING THE ONTARIO AND MICHIGAN and other invertebrates. Michigan is a good place to view them during SHORELINES ON THE DETROIT RIVER. the summertime.

and the most elevated points were crowned with burial GREAT LAKES COASTAL MARSH SYSTEM grounds. Most of the shores had high banks and were

covered with timber.” –Bela Hubbard, a historical address in 1879 marking the bicentennial of the discovery of Lake St. Clair by LaSalle in 1679.

(Above left) The great egret (Ardea alba) hunts in the shallows of the coastal marshes throughout the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor, feeding on fish, frogs, small mammals and birds. The great egret nested on Stony Island in the Detroit River from the late-1940s to 1978, but abandoned ANNE C. HAMMERSCHMIDT ANDREW FOOT that site due to high water and industrial (Left) Brighton Beach in West Windsor, Ontario is one of the last natural shorelines on the Detroit River. (Right) Twenty activity.(Above) Dawn at WILDLIFE SERVICE CANADIAN SOURCE: percent of the Canadian shoreline and 87 percent of the Michigan shoreline along the Detroit River have been modified with the mouth of the Thames bulkheading and other shoreline hardening structures. As a consequence, in Michigan, only three percent of the original The Great Lakes coastal marsh system provides a wide range of habitats: mudflats, emergent and submergent wetlands, wet meadows, and tree and shrub River at Lake St. Clair. coastal wetlands remain in the Detroit River. swamps. Each zone is occupied by a different plant community, each of which supports a different animal community.

42 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| ALONG THESHORELINE ALONG THESHORELINE| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 43 R EPTILES AND A MPHIBIANS AT R ISK Rare Birds Dependent on Coastal Marshes find Habitat in the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor

Reptiles of the region are snakes and wetlands where they feed, and the mortality rates. Overall, reptile and turtles. Amphibians are frogs, skinks, uplands where they nest, is critical. amphibian populations are declining newts and salamanders. Both reptiles Unfortunately, roads and development due to habitat destruction, pollutants between their nests; they breed in and amphibians rely on water and land have fragmented habitats and disrupted that cause birth defects, and nest loose colonies in shallow marshes that habitats for survival. For turtles, the this connection. Wildlife is forced predation by raccoons and other are an equal mix of open water and connection between the aquatic to cross roads, resulting in high suburban wildlife. marsh vegetation.

This species was once an abundant breeder in the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor. Early Detroit ornithologist Bradshaw Swales (1875-1928) described them as nesting in “immense numbers” along the Detroit River. But from 1966 to 1996, numbers of black terns declined by 61 percent in JOHN SCHAFER JOHN North America. Today, black terns ith its highly social are a species of special concern nature and striking in Michigan and Ontario. JOHN SCHAFER JOHN appearance, the black tern espite being the size of (Chlidonias niger) is Loss and degradation of inland wetlands JOHN SCHAFER JOHN SCHAFER JOHN Wcharacteristic of biologically rich are the major causes of declining black a chicken, the king rail The eastern fox snake (Elaphe vulpina gloydi) lives in coastal marshes and The spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata) has distinctive yellow dots on (Rallus elegans) is one of marshlands. During the nesting season, tern populations. Invasions of purple associated wet meadows. This harmless snake may have a copper-colored its head and shell that make it easy to identify. This animal inhabits the most secretive marsh it is found in inland marshes in much loosestrife and other exotic plant species head and will vibrate its tail when disturbed; thus it is often mistaken clean, shallow waters with a soft bottom, such as sedge marshes, Dbirds and is not often seen. The king of northern North America. It spends that alter the composition of marshland for a venomous snake and needlessly killed by fearful people. Historical sphagnum seepages, and fens. They feed on insects, mollusks, crayfish, vegetation may also play a role. and ongoing habitat destruction and persecution have greatly reduced and other aquatic organisms. Historically, this small, secretive aquatic rail nests throughout most of the the winter along ocean coasts in the Environmental contaminants also Eastern fox snake numbers. turtle was fairly common in its specialized habitats throughout eastern U.S. and is a permanent tropics, from central Mexico through southern Michigan and Ontario; however, illegal collection for resident of the south. The Lake northern South America. Unlike other may have negative impacts, as some the pet trade and habitat loss now make it rare. Huron to Lake Erie Corridor lies species of terns, which are highly marshes that appear to be appropriate within the northern edges of its colonial, black terns prefer some space habitat are not occupied by these birds. The Eastern spiny softshell range. King rails were abundant in turtle (Apalone spinifera the area around 1900, especially spinifera) has a distinctive along the Detroit River and Lake olive colored shell that is Erie’s western shore. It built nests flat and leathery looking. on shrubs or vegetation clumps that It lives in rivers, lakes, grew in shallow areas there. But he least bittern (Ixobrychus and marshes that have exilis) is the smallest member soft-bottoms and can be king rail populations have declined seen basking on logs, rocks, severely following wetland losses of the heron family. It breeds riverbanks, and sandbars. throughout their range. In addition, throughout much of the eastern lead poisoning and pesticides may TU.S. and Ontario. Winters are spent in limit rail populations in otherwise southern Florida and Texas, the West suitable habitats. Indies and parts of Mexico and Central America. It nests in freshwater or King rails are endangered in both brackish wetlands with tall, dense JAMES H.JAMES HARDING Michigan and Canada. Fewer than vegetation. Semi-open cattail and JOHN SCHAFER JOHN 10 pairs were estimated to exist in bulrush marshes are ideal habitat. Michigan in the mid-1980s. sources agree populations have declined Walpole Island still supports a The least bittern was once a common to the point that the least bittern is now population of these rare birds. summer resident in southern Michigan rare. The main cause is habitat loss, with and Ontario, notably Grassy Island in additional pressures from pollution and the Detroit River, and on Grosse Ile, predators such as raccoon. Least bitterns Michigan. Population trends are difficult are considered threatened in Michigan to assess because this secretive species is and Canada, although they continue to JAMES H.JAMES HARDING not adequately surveyed, but most inhabit Walpole Island’s coastal marshes.

44 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| ALONG THESHORELINE Waterfowl THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DIVING AND DABBLING DUCKS Coastal marshes are very important as feeding and resting areas for migrating waterfowl such as geese, swans and dabbling and diving ducks. Dabbling ducks have broad, flat bills that they use to feed on plants and insects in water less than one foot

(30.5 cm) deep. They prefer shallow SCHAFER JOHN areas of rivers, lakes and ponds. Dabbling The wood duck (Aix sponsa) is considered ducks include the common mallard and to be one of our most beautiful native ducks. American wigeon. It was common to the region in the late 1800s, and then became rare. Today, this Diving ducks have stout bodies, short species has made a comeback due to hunting necks and tails, and large paddle feet. regulations and nest box programs. They dive to feed on fish, mussels, insects and aquatic plants. They prefer the deeper, open water areas of large

Common Name Scientific Name

Wood duck Aix sponsa

Northern pintail Anas acuta CANADIAN WILDLIFE SERVICE American wigeon Anas americana This illustration shows the differences between diving and dabbling ducks. Northern shoveler Anas clypeata Green-winged teal Anas crecca Blue-winged teal Anas discors The mallard (Anas platyrhyn- chos) is the most abundant L. FRANCIS DOROTHY Mallard duck Anas platyrhynchos species of duck in the Lake The strong current and heated-water discharges Black duck Anas rubripes Huron to Lake Erie Corridor. often keep portions of the Corridor’s waters Gadwall Anas strepera Here, mallards are shown from freezing during winter. Large numbers Lesser scaup Aythya affinis congregating along of waterfowl concentrate in the areas of open Redhead Aythya americana the shoreline of the St. Clair water. Mute swans (Cygnus olor), shown in JOHN SCHAFER JOHN Ring-necked duck Aythya collaris River with the Blue Water front, have become common in the region since Bridge in the distance. The tundra swan (Cygnus columbianus), native to North America, migrates about 4,000 mi their introduction from Europe in 1919. Like Greater scaup Aythya marila (6,000 km) a year between its breeding areas in the Arctic and its wintering habitats in western many introduced animals they displace certain Canvasback Aythya valisinera and eastern North America. The open waters and coastal marshes of the Corridor are important native species and over-graze vegetation. Bufflehead Bucephala albeola resting areas during migration. Once known as the “whistling swan” because of its distinctive The knob on their beaks is the feature that Common goldeneye Bucephala clangula melodious voice, the tundra swan is now rare compared with the mute swan. distinguishes them from native tundra swans. Long-tailed duck Clangula hyemalis Hooded merganser Lophodytes cucullatus TREVOR FLOYD TREVOR Red-breasted merganser Mergus serrator Ruddy duck Oxyura jamaicensis lakes and rivers. Common diving in large numbers around stormwater Snow goose Chen caerulescens ducks include the canvasback, scaups detention ponds, golf courses and Canada goose Branta canadensis and redheads. public parks. Tundra swan Cygnus columbianus Mute swan Cygnus olor Geese have heavier bodies and longer Swans are the largest and most necks. They have strong legs, well-suited graceful waterfowl. Their feathers are The Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor’s coastal marshes are frequented by at least to walking, and prefer to graze on completely white and they have long 24 different species of waterfowl during grass and grain in farm fields far away necks which they use to feed on migration. Some species, such as northern pintail and common goldeneye, are present only from water. submerged vegetation. Although the during migration. Others, such as the mallard tundra swan is native to the Corridor

duck and Canada goose, are present The most recognizable of these is the SHELLEY M. HICKS throughout the year. region, the introduced mute swan is Canada goose, whose population has now much more common. Canada geese (Branta canadensis) are abundant in the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor. Large numbers can be seen in open waters and congregating increased to nuisance status, congregating on mowed grounds. Unlike some other animals, they have thrived in manicured landscapes.

46 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| ALONG THESHORELINE ALONG THESHORELINE| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 47 DEVELOPMENT OF THE SHORELINE HAS RESULTED IN THE EXTENSIVE LOSS OFGREAT LAKES COASTAL MARSHES.

In 1850, early surveyors noted that Wallaceburg, Ontario was a potential center of regional commerce. However, 1937 it was also under the blighting influence of the “immense quantities of marsh and swamp within convenient reach.”* This quote reflects the attitudes of many early European settlers who considered the vast Great Lakes marshes JOHN SCHAFER JOHN as an obstacle rather than a resource. The muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) The settlers went to great lengths is a common wetland mammal. Muskrats to drain and fill wetlands. feed on the rhizomes and tender bases of cattails, arrowhead and other aquatic Urban growth, industrialization, vegetation along with the occasional crayfish agriculture and waterfront development and clam. They carry their dinner to feeding platforms constructed of vegetation where they have dramatically reduced the acreage eat the food they prefer and discard the rest, of Great Lakes marshes along the leaving traces of their activity. Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor. Furbearers of the Marsh Where coastal wetlands once reigned, steel break walls now prevail. The first European settlers of the Lake The Detroit River has lost 97 percent Huron to Lake Erie Corridor were of its coastal marshes. Similar losses French trappers and explorers who were occur along the shorelines of Lake attracted by the abundant fur-bearing St. Clair and the St. Clair River. animals that lived in coastal marshes. ST. CLAIR COUNTY METROPOLITAN PLANNING COMMISSION METROPOLITAN CLAIR COUNTY ST. The fur trade was the first commerce *1965. Sydenham Valley Conservation Report. of the region, based on the great CORNELIS LARRY Department of Energy and Resources Management, Conservation Authorities Branch. numbers of beaver, muskrat, mink Today, beavers (Castor canadensis) commonly live along the more remote treed watercourses Toronto, Ontario. and river otter. It is thought that the of the region. This beaver dam is located within a hardwood swamp in Bickford Oak Woods beaver played an important role in in Lambton County, Ontario. shaping the local landscape of Detroit. whole surface. Dry ridges intervene, disappeared from this region about This account given by Bela Hubbard mostly sandy, and producing the beginning of the present century. 1999 published in 1887 provides insight to the a scattered growth of white and yellow Is there another instance where the region before the fur trade locally oaks. The broader marshes, which operations of a single animal have extirpated the beaver. often extend several miles, so changed the face of “Illustrations of this beaver-made country are occasionally varied by a country, over are numerous enough in our immediate low islands, containing a extensive areas? For vicinity. In a semi-circle of twelve miles heavy growth of timber. the region of which around Detroit, having the river for base, I treat is but a sample These marshes have a and embracing about 100,000 acres, fully of many others, soil of black muck and one-fifth part consists of marshy tracts or stretching through the fibrous peat, averaging prairies, which had their origin in the border counties of two or three feet in work of the beaver. A little further west, eastern Michigan, depth, and often much nearly one whole township, Wayne County and about the more. This is underlaid JENSEN HOLLY is of this character. tributaries of the by clay, with a thin Saginaw…The beavers The lands referable to this origin occupy stratum of sand or gravel and Indian hunters and Canadian intervening. Wild hay and cranberries not the lowest, but elevated and slightly trappers have alike disappeared. Along Lake St. Clair’s southern and rolling tracts. Numerous small streams have on the open portions constitute a natural Other furs, or substitutes for them, western shores, very few wetlands have their sources in these prairies, or meander product of considerable value; other have superseded their value to the survived after years of residential, through them. These, flowing with little portions being covered by tamarack trees. dealer, and the skins are but rarely recreational and commercial development. descent through the lower connecting levels, met with in this whole region, Man-made canals are now a common The beaver dams are still discernable. feature of the shoreline. These photographs, are ramified in every direction, and form a which once yielded little other one taken in 1937 and the other in 1999, Their builders, so the Indians say, network or connected chain through the marketable product.” U.S. SERVICE GEOLOGICAL illustrate dramatic changes.

48 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| ALONG THESHORELINE ALONG THESHORELINE| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 49 In the distance, great egrets perch on a sumac grove in Canada’s St. Clair National Wildlife Area, located in the eastern basin of Lake St. Clair. The Canadian Wildlife Service manages this 289-ha site. Its marshes and shallow water habitat are interspersed with sandy beach ridges formed by wave action. The marshes provide excellent waterfowl habitat and are an important resting point for migrating waterfowl during spring and fall. More than 30 species of wetland-dependent birds breed in the National Wildlife Area, including the least bittern and Virginia rail. The importance of this marsh to bird life has been recognized through its designation as a “RAMSAR” site, meaning it has wetlands listed under the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat.

Today’s Coastal Marshes

Despite significant changes to the shoreline, coastal marshes persist in the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor, particularly in the St. Clair River Delta and the islands of the lower

Detroit River. The St. Clair River, with DERR LEROY its relative straightness, uniform width and depth, and fast current, affords little St. John’s Marsh in Algonac, Michigan, provides important stop-over habitat for migratory birds. In the foreground is giant reed grass, (Phragmites australis), an invasive wetland plant that now dominates many marshes in the Great Lakes system. It degrades the quality of marshland habitat by

opportunity for wetland growth. ERNIE BERGEN crowding out native wetland plants that are more beneficial to wildlife. Once established, it is very difficult to control and eradicate. The largest contiguous tract of coastal wetlands in the Great Lakes, encompassing more than 25,000-ac (10,000-ha), is found on Walpole Island. Ninety percent of today’s coastal wetlands in the Detroit River are south of Grassy Island. Dike systems now are used to manage many of the Corridor’s largest coastal wetlands, including Pointe Mouillee State Game Area in Lake Erie as well as portions of Walpole Island and the St. Clair Flats State Game Area. Using dikes, water levels within the marshes can be regulated to maximize the growth of BRUCE MANNY

wetland vegetation that is beneficial (LEFT) VISUAL IMAGE PRODUCTIONS, WINDSOR, ONTARIO. COURTESY OF THE GREATER DETROIT AMERICAN HERITAGE

to waterfowl. DEBORAH MAIORANO RIVER INITIATIVE A coastal marsh along western Lake Erie.

Pointe Mouillee State Game Area is located where the Huron River empties into Lake Erie. Humbug Marsh is the last remaining natural coastal wetland on the U.S. side of the Detroit River. The one-mile (1.6-km) stretch of undeveloped shoreline Pointe Mouillee means “wet point” in French. is a nesting, resting and feeding island for many resident and migratory birds species. Shorebirds, raptors, migratory songbirds, waterfowl (even the common It has been known by this name since 1749 loon) make use of this unaltered, thus special, habitat. The diversity of birds, fish and insects found in the Humbug Marsh is the highest of any site studied when French explorers first appreciated in the Detroit River. It is an important spawning area for walleye that migrate from Lake Erie. Because of its unparalleled natural resource values,

its vast delta and wetlands. TRISH BECKJORD the recently acquired Humbug Marsh has become a centerpiece of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge.

50 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| ALONG THESHORELINE ALONG THESHORELINE| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 51 Protected coastal marshes with rich, abundant wildlife that are open for visitors’ enjoyment include:

United States Canada 1. St. Clair Flats State Game Area 9. Point Pelee National Park 2. St. John’s Marsh 10. St. Clair National Wildlife Area 3. Pointe Mouillee State Game Area 11. Tremblay Beach Conservation Area 4. TNC Erie Marsh Preserve 12. Ruscom Shores Conservation Area 5. Sterling State Park 13. Holiday Beach Conservation Area 6. Metrobeach Metropark 14. Lighthouse Conservation Area 7. Lake Erie Metropark 15. Big ‘O’ Conservation Area 8. Belle Isle ALLEN CHARTIER

Lake Erie Metropark has kept much of the Detroit River BOHLING MARY and northwestern portions of Lake Erie Lake Erie Metropark is a 1,600-ac (Above Left) A flock of broad-winged hawks (640-ha) park near Gibraltar, ice-free in winter. Many waterfowl passes over the Lake Erie Metropark. Michigan, owned by the Huron- stay in the open waters, making the Clinton Metropolitan Authority. Metropark an ideal location for (Above Right) A mute swan forages among spiky viewing waterfowl during the winter. blue flowers of pickerel weed (Pontedaria Situated at the mouth of the Detroit cordata) that bloom throughout the marshes River at Lake Erie, the unique Bald eagles often fish along the of the Lake Erie Metropark. location contains an array of Metropark’s shoreline. Most notably, habitats, including Lake Erie a pair recently made its first nesting Southeast Michigan Raptor Research shoreline, coastal marshes, islands attempt in Wayne County in 100 years. is a non-profit organization and oak woodlands, which are that monitors and counts the hawks home to a wide variety of wildlife. The Metropark is best known for tens that fly through Lake Erie Metropark Migrating raptors from northern and eastern of thousands of raptors, or birds-of-prey, and Pointe Mouillee State Game Area Canada are reluctant to cross large bodies of FALL HAWK MIGRATION Since the 1930s, warm-water effluent that can be seen passing overhead during each fall. The 10-year annual average water. Therefore they funnel down the corridor, discharged from upstream industries their annual fall migration. for their counts is more than 225,000. concentrating their numbers as they cross the comparatively narrow Detroit River near the western end of Lake Erie. Holiday Beach Conservation Area fall hawk migration. As many as 96,000 The Holiday Beach Conservation raptors have been seen migrating Area is a 525-ac (212-ha) park over the conservation area in a single managed by the Essex Region day! The numerous eagles, hawks, Conservation Authority. It is located falcons, and vultures flying overhead on the north shore of Lake Erie near are best viewed from the three-story the mouth of the Detroit River in hawk tower shown at the right. Amherstburg, Ontario. This The Holiday Beach Migration conservation area offers the natural Observatory is a non-profit beauty of the Lake Erie shoreline as volunteer organization that studies well as trails that lead through fall raptor migrations by counting meadows, woods, coastal and banding hawks at the marsh and a pine plantation. conservation area. Observers strive Like the Lake Erie Metropark, to record exact numbers of all the unique geography of Holiday migrant bird species that fly over ROBERT STEWART ROBERT Beach provides tremendous the site during daylight hours from late-August to early December. The Hawk Tower at the Holiday Beach opportunities to view the annual Conservation Area. MICHIGAN NATURE ASSOCIATION MICHIGAN NATURE

ALONG THESHORELINE| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 53 THE LAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR ISM A AJORPATHWAY FORMIGRATION

The rose-breasted The broad-winged SONGBIRDS are known for their RAPTORS include 17 different grosbeak Bird migration is one hawk (Buteo perching behavior and musical song. (Pheucticus types of eagles, falcons, hawks and platypterus) is Types of songbirds include thrushes, ludovicianus) of the most incredible Migration is often the most vultures that either reside in or pass common in warblers, sparrows and finches. The is aptly named, phenomena in nature. perilous part of a bird’s annual annually through the Lake Huron deciduous forests with a large, of Eastern North species featured on these pages nest in cycle. It is estimated that half to Lake Erie Corridor. Lake Erie stout bill that it of all birds flying south for America during the the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor. uses to glean insects Many bird species travel thou- Metropark and the Holiday Beach summer. In the fall,

JIM SIMEK, NATURE’S IMAGES JIM SIMEK, NATURE’S the winter will not live to Many species throng to the University from trees and open sands of miles annually between Conservation Area are excellent ALLEN CHARTIER these hawks leave their nesting and wintering areas. migrate north in the spring. of Michigan-Dearborn Campus a wide variety of seeds. The male has a stunning places to view raptors during their in huge concentrations for Central and South appearance and sings a beautiful song similar While routes vary among species Causes of America. In 1999, the Southeast Michigan Natural Area, where the Rouge River spectacular fall migrations. to that of the robin. These birds consume large and even ages of individual birds, death include: bad weather; Raptor Research Network counted more than a Bird Observatory studies the numbers of grasshoppers, caterpillars and there are four general migratory predation; collisions with half million broad-winged hawks passing over importance of urban natural areas beetles when they can find them, thereby helping windows, buildings, autos Lake Erie Metropark during the fall migration. to control local insect populations. They nest flyways in North America. The to birds. This nearly 300-ac (120-ha) primarily in open deciduous woodlands in Lake Huron to Lake Erie and communication towers; The northern harrier unique green space is a natural area central and southern Canada east of the and the loss or deterioration Corridor is located at the (Circus cyaneus) Rockies, the upper Midwest, New England donated by the Henry Ford estate convergence of the Atlantic and of places to stop, rest and refuel is a species of special and the Mid-Atlantic States. Rose-breasted to the University of Michigan and Mississippi Flyways. The approxi- (known as stopover sites). concern in Michigan. grosbeaks winter in southern Mexico through Populations of many migrant It once was Wayne County to ensure its to northern South America. mate north-south orientation of common in southeast preservation as an urban-based the Corridor makes it an impor- birds, particularly those that ALLEN CHARTIER tant migratory flyway for more migrate to the tropics, have Michigan, but has wildlife habitat. The yellow warbler The sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus) been in decline.

been in decline. SCHAFER JOHN (Dendroica than 90 species of birds. is one of the most-traveled hawks. It breeds Harriers require petechia) is one in northern forests of Canada and Alaska open grasslands and associated wetlands. The gray catbird of the most and flies south to Panama for the winter. Their favored prey is the meadow vole, which (Dumetella common and During migration these hawks can be seen is usually abundant in grassland habitat. carolinensis) widely distributed flying in large flocks. They can often be The main reason for the northern harrier’s frequents shrubby, warblers in North spotted lurking around backyard bird feeders decline is habitat loss. Other causes include abandoned fields America, nesting in search of unwary songbirds. human disturbance, predation and pesticides. that are in the early across much of the IMAGES JIM SIMEK, NATURE’S stages of succession. continent. It winters in Central and South Widespread in America. They often are victims of the The snowy owl (Nyctea scandiaca) is a top North America, IMAGES JIM SIMEK, NATURE’S brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater), which predator of the arctic tundra in northern catbirds winter along the Atlantic and lays its eggs in other birds’ nests. The host Canada and Alaska. Occasionally it will Gulf coasts and in the West Indies. Although parents are left to raise cowbird young, usually winter in the Corridor, where it occupies closely related to the mockingbird, catbirds at the expense of the hosts’ own eggs and chicks. open fields, shorelines and other locations don’t often mimic other species. They have Yellow warblers have developed a strategy to that resemble the treeless habitat of the a complicated, garbled song and a very combat this parasitism by building a new nest tundra. This photograph was taken at cat-like call. floor over the cowbird eggs, and restarting DTE Energy’s Fermi II Nuclear the nesting process. THE MISSISSIPPI FLYWAY THE ATLANTIC FLYWAY ENVIRONMENT CANADA ENVIRONMENT CANADA TERRY C. OTT TERRY Power Plant near Monroe, Michigan.

MONARCH SHOREBIRDS have some of the longest migrations of all birds, with several WATERFOWL More than a million waterfowl visit the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor each year. BUTTERFLIES species flying between South America and the arctic tundra each year. Their bodies The corridor lies on the major migration pathways of both dabbling and diving ducks. The region’s coastal marshes reflect the lifestyle to which they are uniquely adapted: long legs for wading in shal- are excellent places to view them during migration. low marshes and mudflats, a long bill to probe for invertebrate prey, and large wings and a streamlined body to allow for speedy long-distance flights. These birds are not The American residents of the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor but stop here for critical resting black duck and feeding as they migrate south. Pointe Mouillee State Game Area is one of the (Anas rubripes) was considered best places in the Midwestern United States to view migrating shorebirds. a migrant in the region around 1915, but was suspected to be nesting

JOHN SCHAFER JOHN there as well. JOHN SCHAFER JOHN Populations then increased and by the JOHN SCHAFER JOHN JOHN SCHAFER JOHN Pictured are monarch butterflies (Danaus mid-20th Century, it was more abundant

plexippus) on Harsens Island in the St. Clair IMAGES JIM SIMEK, NATURE’S Redhead ducks (Aythya americana) can The blue-winged teal (Anas discors) is a than the mallard in Michigan. However River Delta. During the fall, they can be seen The semipalmated sandpiper (Calidris pusilla) be seen during their migration, when they relatively small dabbling duck that migrates between the 1950s and the 1980s, the black NATIONAL IMAGE LIBRARY IMAGE NATIONAL HTTP://IMAGES.FWS.GOV/ migrating along the shores of the St. Clair River, winters in South America and nests in the arctic congregate in large numbers in the Corridor’s to Central and South America each year. It duck’s population declined dramatically Lake St. Clair and Detroit River in large tundra near water. It sometimes makes a The short-billed dowitcher (Limnodromus open waters. In fact, they often are part of often is the last to arrive and earliest to leave due to loss of habitat, hunting and numbers while on their way southward to 2,000-mi (3,200-km) non-stop journey from griseus) breeds in the wetlands of northern mixed flocks of 20,000 or more diving ducks. the Corridor during migration. It can fly at competition with mallards for nesting sites. Mexico. Resting migrants may cover entire trees. nesting areas to its tropical wintering grounds. Canada and can winter as far south as Brazil. Redheads winter mostly in the Gulf of Mexico. high speeds and maneuver with great accuracy.

54 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| ALONG THESHORELINE ALONG THESHORELINE| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 55 THE LANDSCAPES OFONTARIO ANDMICHIGAN HARBOR EXAMPLES OF TWO GLOBALLY IMPERILED NATURAL COMMUNITIES: TALLGRASS PRAIRIE AND OAK SAVANNA Warm-Season Prairie Grasses late-summer, their bold, arching, flowering grasses. Kentucky blue grass (Poa pratensis) Tallgrass prairies are named after their stalks dominate the prairie landscape. is a cool-season grass introduced from dominant plants, the tall grasses, Warm-season grasses break dormancy in Europe that has invaded prairies and is “The banks of the strait are vast which can reach heights of 3m early summer and produce much of their also the dominant plant of the millions (nine ft) or more. Many of the native growth during the heat of the summer. of acres of lawn planted in the U.S. meadows, and the prospect is terminated warm-season grasses, such as big Cool-season grasses begin growth in early and Canada. Kentucky blue grass bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) and spring and go dormant during requires extensive and expensive with some hills covered with vineyards, Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans), summertime. Canada wild rye (Elymus watering and fertilization that are excellent forage for grazing canadensis) and Pennsylvania sedge (Carex contrasts sharply to the adaptability trees bearing good fruit, groves and animals. When the grasses bloom in pennsylvanica) are native cool-season of the native warm-season grasses. forests, so well disposed that one would think that nature alone could not have made, without the help of art.”

From The Tallgrass Restoration Handbook by Stephen Packard and Cornelia F. Mutel. eds. for the Society for –Father Louis Hennepin, a Catholic priest and explorer, Ecological Restoration. Copyright © 1997 by Society for Ecological Restoration. Adapted by permission of describing the shorelines of the Detroit and St. Clair Rivers in 1679. Island Press, Washington, D.C.

Historical References settlers who first saw the prairie and Stretching from Texas to Canada, the prairie biome once covered vast expanses discovered its rich soils, which lay Switchgrass In 1670, the early explorer Galinee of land in the middle of the North noted “grand prairies” along the eastern beneath the thick growth of grasses American continent. Within this great and wildflowers. The blue joint grass Big Bluestem shore of Lake St. Clair and Walpole stretch of grassland there are variations in Prairie Cordgrass Island. When European settlers arrived (Calamagrostis canadensis) of which plant communities, distinguished by three in the Corridor in the late-1700s, they Stevenson wrote was prized by early main types of prairie: short, mixed and settlers as “marsh hay.” tallgrass. Each supports distinct plant and A view of the restored Dow Prairie during wintertime at the University of Michigan’s Nichols Arboretum described mosaics of prairie and animal communities. Short-grass prairies in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Unlike non-native cool-season grasses, prairie grasses do not flatten under the “oak openings." Early land surveys Upland prairies were the first to succumb occur in the western, drier regions of the weight of snow. Their stiff stems provide cover and protection for small animals during winter. that established the boundary between to farming cultivation in the early 1800s biome. As precipitation increases toward Monroe and Wayne counties in the east, mixed-grass prairie gives way to as farmers used plows pulled by teams the high, lush vegetation of the tallgrass Michigan made repeated references of horses to turn the sod. It was said that to “extensive open, wet prairie.” prairie. Southern Michigan and Ontario the sound of ripping roots was akin to the are home to tallgrass prairies. One of the first botanical descriptions sound of thunder. Drainage of wet prairies of the prairies in southwestern Ontario Tallgrass prairies in southern Michigan came later and required extensive drainage and Ontario are on the northeastern edge characterized a sandy field in the systems to yield highly productive and Windsor region as a “garden of rarities.” of a “prairie peninsula,” first described by prized agricultural land. This mass botanist Edgar Walter Transeau in 1935. “The land on its banks is about the conversion of land from wilderness to The “prairie peninsula” is an extension of agriculture was the first of many dramatic the tallgrass prairie of the eastern Great richest I ever saw in any country. Plains. Prairie vegetation spread into Reprinted from PRAIRIE PLANTS AND THEIR land use changes in the Corridor. ENVIRONMENT: A FIFTY–YEAR STUDY IN THE Six or seven feet deep of earth that Michigan and Ontario about 5,000 to MIDWEST by J.E. Weaver by permission of the would do for a garden, and extensive 8,000 years ago during a relatively warm, University of Nebraska Press. Copyright © 1968 Historical references of prairies originate from: University of Nebraska Press. Copyright © renewed grass plains stretching for miles into Baskowsky, Wasyl and John L. Riley. 1992. A Survey dry period, known as a hypsithermal 1996 by the University Nebraska Press. the country, without a tree save here of the Prairies and Savannas of Southern Ontario. period, which followed the Wisconsin Proceedings from the 13th Annual North American Many prairie plants have deep or thick and there a small clump like an glacial retreat. As the climate gradually Prairie Conference. Windsor, Ontario. became cooler and wetter, forests re-invad- root systems and other adaptations that island in a plain – the grass, ed the prairie, resulting in the mosaic of sustain them through dry summer months. particularly that called blue joint, Tallgrass Prairie prairie, savanna and woodlands that the Most of the biomass of prairie grasses is furnishes excellent pasture and hay.” The term “prairie” is the French word first European explorers encountered. below the ground in their extensive root systems. As old roots die and new roots for meadow. Prairies are grasslands an excellent habitat and food This description by Robert Stevenson, form, organic matter builds up, creating dominated by grasses, sedges and source for many creatures. Prairies a pioneer settler, of the land along the the rich soils for which prairies are known. wildflowers. They are nearly treeless and in North America support more LARSON EVAN Thames River downstream of Chatham Carbon dioxide is caught by this significant are defined by an incredible diversity biodiversity than any other type soil carbon buildup, which reduces the level in 1843 reflects the attitudes of many Big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) is easy to identify when it blooms during the fall. Its distinctive of herbaceous plants that provide of terrestrial ecosystem. of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. flower head looks like a turkey’s foot.

56 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| ALONG THESHORELINE ALONG THESHORELINE| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 57 TYPES OF TALLGRASS PRAIRIE

Tallgrass prairies in the Lake Huron Fire and Soil Type to Lake Erie Corridor occur mostly on Prairies are fire-dependent sandy portions of the lakeplain, but communities. Fire prevents trees they also have a patchy distribution and shrubs from invading a prairie on well-drained, sandy- gravelly kames, and converting it into a forest. moraines and glacial outwash landforms. Inland, many wet prairies occur along Warm-season grasses and prairie the margins of river systems on outwash wildflowers are uniquely adapted to deposits, such as the Huron River. fire. Their growth tips, or meristems, Different landforms support distinct are below the soil’s surface and are not prairie plant communities; their species damaged from hot flames. In contrast, composition varies greatly, depending on the growing tips of trees and shrubs moisture, soils and topography. and non-prairie weedy species are damaged by fire. The predominance Ecologists define tallgrass prairie types of warm-season grasses in a prairie helps to carry fire. Once ignited, the by their soil and moisture content, using TRISH BECKJORD terms wet, mesic (moderate), and xeric grasses carry a surface fire that is hot (dry.) These factors dictate the species enough to knock back competing Today, land managers use prescribed (controlled) burns to maintain and improve the health of grasses and associated wildflowers that shrubs, saplings and other non-prairie and diversity of tallgrass prairies and oak savannas. herbaceous plants. can grow in any given locale. Blue joint create the hotter conditions that might strikes or by native people, who may grass, big JESSICA PITELKA OPFER JESSICA PITELKA In a normal prairie fire there is very severely damage or kill mature oak trees. have set fires to drive game and to bluestem, little soil temperature change. Under The most valuable result of a prairie fire maintain the plant and animal prairie cord Prairie remnants thrive along railroad tracks such as this one along the Clinton River Trail these natural circumstances fire does is the blackened soil, which warms communities that sustained them grass (Spartina in Rochester, Michigan. Sparks from passing trains frequently cause fires in the surrounding landscape. Supported by the fires, many of the region’s best remaining prairie communities not scorch the earth. Measurements quickly under the heat of the sun. This with food, medicines and clothing. pectinata) and can be found beside railroad lines. taken by scientists indicate that for warming favors the growth of prairie many different Lakeplain prairies also have persisted only a very brief time is there any grasses that do not break dormancy until sedge species because of the unique hydrology of the significant change in temperature. a certain soil temperature is reached. This are dominant lakeplain. The soils in which the prairies Even then it is usually in the top helps them get a head start over weedy, grasses in a grow are characterized by 3-9 ft (1-3 m) centimeter of the soil. Slow-moving cool-season competitors that could wet prairie. of highly permeable sand over clay, fires that have a lot of woody material eventually shade them out. Dry prairies which results in very wet conditions to burn, such as in a degraded prairie support little A combination of built-up organic during spring floods and a very dry invaded by trees and shrubs, can get bluestem matter and seasonal drought makes environment during the summer. Such hotter and cause localized sterilization (Schizachyrium prairies naturally prone to wildfires extreme variations in the availability of soil. Fires that occur more frequent- scoparius), during the summer growing season. of water are better suited to wildflowers ly, such as every two to four years, will switch grass In pre-settlement times, these fires could and grasses than trees and shrubs. not have the fuel of litter build-up to (Panicum have been caused by either lightning virgatum) and SUSAN R. CRISPIN SUSAN Prairies and oak savannas Indian grass. remain in the Lake Huron to Yet, because changes in topography and PRAIRIE OR MEADOW? soils are often subtle, different types of Lake Erie Corridor because they vegetation may grow next to each other. ot every meadow or field is a prairie. are able to withstand stressed And some species, such as big bluestem, Although meadows are open, treeless areas environments where trees can- with grasses, they usually form as a result may be found in most prairies regardless not. The combination of period- of moisture content. of a disturbance, such as logging or Nland clearing, and are often early signs of forest ic wildfires, drought, spring JOHN SCHAFER JOHN regeneration. Fallow farm fields also have grasses floods and a warm climate have The marsh blazing star (Liatris spicata) blooms profusely in a wet lakeplain prairie on Harsens and wildflowers. But most fallow fields tend to be Island in the St. Clair River Delta. all contributed to their persist- (Above) Early historical accounts reveal dominated by Eurasian grasses and invasive plants, that bouquets of the eastern prairie fringed ence in the region. Prairies such as Queen Anne’s lace (Daucus carota) or spotted orchid (Platanthera leucophaea) were gathered Although tallgrass prairie has a scattered Some plant species that thrive in thrive where these effects are in abundance around the bathhouses of knapweed (Centaurea maculosa), that thrive in distribution throughout southeastern a lakeplain prairie community are most severe, while oak savanna Belle Isle Park, Detroit. Today, this unique Michigan and southwestern Ontario, the restricted to the southern Great disturbed areas. Meadows usually are dominated by and stunning orchid of the prairie is an asters and goldenrods, which do not carry fire as well grows where these stresses are less extremely rare plant globally. Only a few, prairies that occur on the lakeplain are Lakes region. Their continued

as the warm-season grasses of a prairie ecosystem. STEWART ROBERT undisturbed natural areas in the Lake Huron special because of the unique plant and presence is important to maintaining pronounced. to Lake Erie Corridor still support it. animal species which they support. biodiversity on a global scale.

58 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| ALONG THESHORELINE ALONG THESHORELINE| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 59 J O H ALLGRASS RAIRIE N T P The common T I E D milkweed J

E J O (Asclepias syriaca) H N T has distinctive A I L E L D E N J seed pods filled E W O with downy hairs, O J D O L

I which aid in seed H F

N F

T E I dispersal by wind. E J D O Yellow star-grass J H E Some prairie These downy (Culver’s root and N

T HOLLAND RANDY I Hypoxis hirsuta E hairs, or floss, marsh blazing star) D remnants have as J to host their larvae. Big bluestem E were used to stuff life preserver jackets in many as 200 distinct Andropogon gerardii World War II. Today, milkweeds are a raw plant species growing in Prairie grasses support wildlife in material for commercial purposes such as Hoary puccoon rubber, fiber and even fuel production. Lithospermum them. Given this diversity, many ways. Several varieties of Wood betony canescens skipper butterflies–dusted, Indian, Pedicularis canadensis the prairie is constantly J O crossline and Leonard–feed on the leaf C H A N Indian grass R changing, with different plants O T L I E blades of little bluestem. Indian grass hosts I N D Sorghastrum nutans E J A E SPRING LL blooming from spring until fall. B E I N the larvae of the wood satyr and common R I W B

O A O wood nymph butterflies. U

In early May, D A E L R L L I F E F These plants are a mere sampling of N the first wildflowers E W O the beauty that can be found in a tallgrass prairie O D

of the prairie emerge L I

F

throughout the seasons. F from the ground. E Blue-eyed grass Each wildflower displays its unique color and Sisyrinchium albidum AL Prairie cord grass LE N scent in hopes of attracting one of the many W Spartina pectinata O O insects that inhabit a prairie ecosystem. D L I F F E Very specialized relationships have developed Little bluestem J O J Schizachyrium scoparius O H Small white ALL F H N between some insects and the prairie plants L. CUTHRELL DAVID N T T I lady’s-slippers E I E D D J that host their larva. For example, rare J E In autumn, warm-season prairie Cyripedium candidum The blazing star borer moth lives E insects such as Culver’s root and in harmony with the prairie ecosystem that grasses have reached their full blazing star borer moths feed among supports its larval host plant, the marsh grandeur, topping out at heights the many different prairie blazing star. This species at risk has of six feet (1.8 m) or more. wildflowers, but require their been identified in the lakeplain Bird’s foot violet G prairies of Algonac State Park, E namesake species R Viola pedata R Golden Alexanders Michigan. Y Switch grass C L J E O Zizia aurea M H Panicum virgatum N E

N S

T

C S H

A

F

E

R

A LL EN M W A M O R A O Y R D

Y L L J A O I M L F F A

H Tall sunflower F

A R F E R N Y A R A N S L Helianthus giganteus N A C C

C

H F E

E

R Marsh Blazing Star A

A F

N E R C Liatris spicata

E J O Smooth Aster H N

T Aster laevis I E D Culver’s root J E Veronicastrum virginicum Mountain mint Sullivant’s Milkweed Fringed gentian M Pycnanthemum virginianum Asclepias sullivantii A Gentiana crinita R Michigan lily SUMMER Y L A Lilium michiganense F R

A

Spring is merely the N Bergamot C

E M beginning for the color IC G H Monarda fistulosa E A C R E A R R L O Y show in a prairie. A P L C L . T R IN L L G R O E E E E IS M N S R H R B By mid- to late-July, the E W E Y I R B N

N E O C I B B C T L

O

R A

S E

K O wildflower show is in full D M U

J

C O L E

E

I

R K

R F

N F

D

T E

swing, with a profusion S Canada tick trefoil of prairie flowers displaying Desmodium canadense a riotous combination of colors well into late Black-eyed susan Ohio Spiderwort Yellow coneflower summer and fall. Joe-pye weed Butterfly Milkweed Rudbeckia hirta Tradescantia ohiensis Ratibida pinnata Ironweed Eupatorium maculatum Asclepias incarnata Vernonia fasciculata Birds Dependent on Grassland Habitat are in Decline

The Greater (6,400-ha) Sibley Prairie. Only 350-acres savanna and oak woodlands. Its vast wet- Sibley Road (140 ha) are left today. The complex is lands are significant groundwater rassland birds are obolinks (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) Prairie Complex home to at least 170 rare grasses, sedges, recharge areas that flow into Brownstown declining at an alarming make one of the longest in Brownstown rushes and wildflowers including 14 Creek, the Bakely Drain and Marsh rate in North America. migrations of any songbird, up Township, endangered, threatened Creek, which connect to the Detroit One largely-unnoticed to 6,200 mi (9,920 km) from Michigan, is an and special concern River south of Gibraltar. Greason is loss and fragmentation Bnesting areas in the northern U.S. and ecological treas- plant species in of the birds’ grassland habitat – southern Canada to wintering grounds in ure of the Michigan. Birds such The Michigan Natural Features assorted prairie types, wet meadows, South America. Historically, bobolinks Inventory has identified the Sibley Prairie

IAN BOST largest and as the American as representing “our greatest hope for pastureland and fallow farm fields. nested in the prairies of the Midwestern The bottle gentian highest-quality kestrel and bluebird Grassland birds also are threatened U.S. and south-central Canada. They (Gentiana lakeplain prairie find habitat in its preserving a functional lakeplain prairie by high rates of predation, nest were considered abundant in the Lake andrewsii) grows remnants in grassy meadows. ecosystem.” The Nature Conservancy, parasitism by cowbirds, and earlier Huron to Lake Erie Corridor in 1900. As in the wet soils of Southeast Michigan Land Conservancy,

Michigan. Prior Duke’s skipper, a DENNIS ALBERT lakeplain prairies and Michigan Nature Association are and more frequent mowing and agriculture spread eastward, so did to European threatened species in The colorful JIM SIMEK, NATURE’S IMAGES JIM SIMEK, NATURE’S and wet meadows. harvesting of fields, resulting in bobolinks. They were most abundant settlement, Michigan, has been wildflowers of protecting very small parcels of this Its intense blue natural area. But more protection is reproductive failure. when they could nest in the extensive success has been lowered by the flowers bloom in native buffalo identified at the site. Sibley Prairie hayfields required to support the introduction of cool-season grasses, the late-summer needed to ensure the survival of this Historically, grassland ecosystems roamed the The prairie remnants widespread use of horses for which are mowed earlier (during the at Sibley Prairie. 16,000-ac are scattered among a mosaic of oak unique ecosystem and the many rare such as tallgrass prairies depended transportation and farming. nesting period) and more frequently species that it supports. on periodic fires and animal grazing than native, warm-season grasses. to maintain their character and Today, populations are declining due Since bobolinks exhibit strong diversity. The decrease or extirpation to habitat loss, changing agricultural fidelity to nesting areas, returning of grazing animals, fire suppression, practices and cowbird parasitism. Like to a successful nesting place in the introduction of non-native or meadowlarks, bobolinks prefer mixed subsequent years, this change in invasive plant species and changing grasslands and older fields, but can nest agricultural practices can be agricultural practices have dramati- in smaller patches of habitat. Breeding especially detrimental. cally altered grasslands. Birds that rely on grasslands are becoming dependent on humans to create IBLEY RAIRIE or manage suitable ecosystems. he Henslow’s sparrow two and S P But determining how to manage (Ammodramus henslowii) 50 pairs grasslands for birds can be difficult is a small, inconspicuous bird of birds. because each species may have that requires large, often damp, Around 1900, BUFFALO different requirements. Some Tgrasslands usually greater than 250 ac they were “But 15 leagues from Detroit, prominent examples include (100 ha). It prefers tall, dense grasses with found the Henslow’s sparrow, eastern much standing decaying vegetation and a sporadically ISLAND WALPOLE CENTRE HERITAGE at the entrance to Lake Erie, meadowlark, bobolink, and thick layer of litter. As grasslands mature in the Lake Huron to Lake Erie loggerhead shrike. inclining to the south to and these distinctive elements diminish, Corridor region, but were known to Henslow’s sparrows move to a new nest regularly on Grosse Ile. Today, southwest, are boundless location. They make their nests on the they are threatened in Michigan prairies which stretch away ground, often in loose colonies of between and endangered in Canada. for 100 leagues. It is there that these mighty oxen (bison), which oggerhead shrikes (Lanius from which they hunt. They live contamination of insects, a substantial ludovicianus) are unique among year-round in much of their broad part of their diet, by pesticides. are covered with wool, find songbirds because they prey North American range, but northern food in abundance.” upon vertebrates, including populations are migratory. Lrodents and other birds. The shrikes lack – Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, Loggerhead shrikes once were fairly

the strong talons of predatory raptors, so JENSEN HOLLY BY ILLUSTRATION common nesters in the region. Now they founder of Detroit, describing they often impale their prey on thorns, are nearly extirpated and are considered barbed wire or sharp twigs, earning them the landscape of southeastern endangered in Michigan and Ontario, The buffalo (Bison bison) was generally known as a plains creature. But it also had lived in woodlands the nickname “butcherbird.” Loggerhead mainly due to habitat loss. Other Michigan in 1702 well into Alaska in the northwest and in most of the eastern United States, except for New England. Early shrikes are birds of open country, such as reasons have yet to be discovered but settlers hunted this shaggy mammal in such places as forest glades in what is now Pennsylvania. grasslands that have short vegetation and Authorities agree that it was extirpated on the Atlantic side of the Alleghenies by 1730 and east of the may include being hit by vehicles as they a scattering of short trees and shrubs Mississippi by about 1810. This husky creature was no match for hungry settlers with guns. The bison that

feed along roadsides, and reduction or U.S. NATIONAL WILDLIFE SERVICE AND FISH HTTP://IMAGES.FWS.GOV/ LIBRARY IMAGE frequented prairies in southeastern Michigan and described by Cadillac were killed off by about 1800. O JIBWAY P RAIRIE COMPLEX OAK S AVANNA

The Ojibway Prairie Complex “A sandy ridge producing contains 550 ac (220 ha) of some of the highest-quality nothing but a few tallgrass prairie and oak savanna left scattering of trees in southern Ontario. It is composed of five natural areas within minutes of white oak.” of downtown Windsor, Ontario. –SURVEY MAP FOR A RIDGE WEST Ojibway Park, Tallgrass Heritage OF LEAMINGTON, ONTARIO Park, Black Oak Heritage Park and Oak savannas are characterized by Spring Garden Prairie are owned in widely spaced trees with shrubs, part by the City of Windsor Parks grasses, sedges, ferns and wildflowers and Recreation Department. The occupying the understory, which Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature means they are on the ground under Reserve is owned by the Ontario the canopy of tree branches. The oak Ministry of Natural Resources. savanna ecosystem is a transition Remaining lands are owned by community between a prairie and private landowners. EVAN LARSON EVAN a true woodland ecosystem. At the Ojibway Nature Centre at (Above) Ojibway Park in Windsor, Ontario. (Right) The grassy understory of an oak Ojibway Park, many walking trails The eastern massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus savanna is filled with many plants invite visitors to experience and learn catenatus catenatus) is found, over much of the year, in wetlands, such as sedge marshes, bogs, fens, and BRUCE KINGSBURY species associated both with tallgrass about rare tallgrass prairie and oak shrub swamps. They may move into adjacent grassland habitats in summer. Wet soils are prairie and forest communities. savanna ecosystems. In addition to important to this rattlesnake, as the high water tables found in wet prairies, meadows, and The groundcover is a mosaic of plant the eastern massasauga, the eastern fens prevent the ground from freezing deeply. These snakes often hibernate in the tunnels species, each with a varying sun and fox snake (Elaphe vulpina gloydii) and created by crayfish or small mammals. shade tolerance. The open canopy Butler’s garter snake (Thamnophis The Eastern Massasauga is the only venomous snake native to the region. Despite its reputation, of the savanna, which allows sunlight butleri) are rare reptiles that find a this rattlesnake is normally docile unless provoked. Its distribution is restricted to the southern to reach the groundcover layer, home in the complex. Great Lakes region of Lower Michigan and Ontario along with northern Indiana and Illinois. Michigan now has the highest remaining populations of the Eastern Massasauga. Because of habitat can support prairie plant species loss and persecution by humans, this snake is a rare and a protected species throughout its range. in sunnier areas, such as butterfly An oak savanna on Walpole Island weed (Asclepias tuberosa) and flowering Because there are so few quality savannas are able to thrive in spurge (Euphorbia corollata). In shadier remnants left, it is hard to fully a blend of shade and sun; examples areas, fire-tolerant forest shrubs like The Great Lakes Coastal Complex understand the ecology of oak include wild lupine (Lupinus perennis) blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) and huck- savannas. However it is thought and purple milkweed (Asclepias In the St. Clair River Delta at Algonac Great Lakes Coastal Complex. are defined by water fluctuations leberry (Gaylussacia baccata) grow. that the true plant species of purpurescens). State Park and Walpole Island, along The vegetation ranges from and lakeplain geology: oak savanna, with locations in Saginaw Bay and Lake submersed plants rooted in water lakeplain prairie, and Great Lakes Erie, there is a very special association about 6 ft (2 m) deep to tall, marsh. All are rare and globally of natural communities called the wide-spreading white oaks (Quercus imperiled. Prairie: A fire-maintained natural alba) that grow on the sandy beach community dominated by grasses ridges formed thousands of years ago The Great Lakes marsh extends with few or no trees by glacial lakes. The three major into the nearshore waters, but also includes saturated sand. The prairie Savanna: a fire-maintained natural natural communities that compose community dominated by grasses or sedges the Great Lakes Coastal Complex borders the inland portion of the but with scattered, fire-tolerant species marsh on sandy deposits. Oak of trees. savanna is scattered throughout the prairie on narrow, sandy beach Woodland: a fire-maintained natural community with a grassy turf ridges. Historically, all three of dominated by trees these communities were tied together by fluctuating water Forest: a closed-canopy, wooded levels, which could alter their sizes natural community that is not dependent on frequent fire. and boundaries both seasonally From The Tallgraas Restoration Handbook by Stephen and annually. Packard and Cornelia F. Mutel. eds. for the Society for F NATURAL RESOURCES MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT O Ecological Restoration. Copyright © 1997 by Society for Ecological Restoration. Adapted by permission of Island Press, Washington , D.C.

64 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| ALONG THESHORELINE ALONG THESHORELINE| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 65 Types of Oak Savanna (Juniperus virginiana). The ground rough blazing star (Liatris aspera) The Karner Blue Butterfly Oak savannas occupy a variety of soils, cover of this dry savanna type is diverse. and wild bergamot (Monarda The Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides ranging from wet to dry. In the glacial Little bluestem and Pennsylvania sedge fistulosa) populate sunnier areas. melissa samuelis) lives in oak savanna lakeplains of Michigan and Ontario, are dominant grass species. Wildflowers and pine barren ecosystems where its adapted to drought conditions such Wetter savannas occupy flat, oak savannas occur on sand ridges, poorly-drained soils of the lakeplain. larval host plant, wild lupine, thrives. level sandplains and wet swales between as tickseed (Coreopsis lanceolata), Wild lupine is known to be the only wild lupine (Lupinus perennis), The flora of this wetter savanna type ridges. Further inland, oak savanna is able to withstand springtime plant on which the Karner blue’s and oak barrens grow on well-drained flooding. Bur oak (Quercus caterpillar feeds. Without this plant, outwash plains, moraines and kames. macrocarpa), pin oak (Quercus the butterfly can’t reproduce. The In all cases, oaks are the dominant trees palustris) and swamp white oak adult butterfly feeds on a wide variety while grasses and sedges make up most (Quercus bicolor) dominate the tree of wildflowers, such as wild bergamot of the groundcover. canopy. Shrubs such as winterberry and butterfly weed. Two types of oak savanna are prominent (Ilex verticillata), dogwoods (Cornus The loss of oak savannas has brought in the lakeplain: dry to mesic, and mesic spp.) and chokeberry (Aronia this little butterfly close to extinction. to wet. Dry oak savannas exist on the melanocarpa) frequent the It is now extirpated from southeastern dry sandy beach ridges of the lakeplain, understory. Many of the grasses and Michigan and all of Ontario. It is list- where black oak (Quercus velutina), white wildflowers in the ground layer are ed as federally endangered in the U.S. oak and pignut hickory (Carya glabra) the same as in the adjacent wet and is the subject of recovery efforts dominate the tree canopy, and shrubs prairies. Big bluestem, blue joint that span its native range of New York, such as New Jersey tea (Ceanothus grass and sedges are dominant New Hampshire, Ontario, Michigan, americanus), American hazelnut grasses. Forbs that prefer wetter Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and (Corylus americana), wild plum conditions such as common Minnesota. (Prunus americana) and blueberry mountain mint (Pycnanthemum RANDY HOLLAND RANDY In Lambton County, Ontario, vegetate the understory. Very dry virginianum), Riddell’s goldenrod The eastern prickly pear cactus (Opuntia efforts are being made to restore the savannas also may have evergreen trees (Solidago riddellii), and ironweed humifusa), found in the dry black oak savannas butterfly’s habitat at Pinery Provincial such as white pine (Pinus strobus), red (Vernonia fasciculata) are indicators (Above) The wild lupine of Ontario’s Point Pelee National Park, is the of this savanna type. Park and adjacent nature preserves pine (Pinus resinosa) or eastern redcedar only native cactus in this region. (Lupinus perennis) thrives at Petersburg State managed by Lambton Wildlife Inc. in Game Area in western Monroe County, Lambton County, Ontario. It is hoped Michigan, where “prescribed burns,” or that the work of a multi-disciplinary deliberately set and controlled fires, are Like tallgrass prairie, oak savanna is a recovery team, with cooperation from conducted to help manage this natural area’s oak savannas and tallgrass prairies. OAKSAVANNAS AREMAINTAINED BYFIRE fire-dependent community. Frequent the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will wildfires have historically played a enable Karner blue butterflies to

major role in maintaining oak savan- flourish once again in Ontario. (Right) The Karner blue butterfly. U.S.WILDLIFE SERVICE FISH AND LIBRARY IMAGE NATIONAL HTTP://IMAGES.FWS.GOV/ na’s open structure and grassy under- story. killed or severely stunted by fire. are nearly extinct. Without periodic fire, Grazing animals such as the buffalo, By removing fire-sensitive woody species woody species invade a savanna. as well as drought on the sandy and the lower branches of oaks, fire Their shade eventually smothers the ridges and the lakeplain’s unique creates the characteristic open canopy prairie vegetation and blocks the open hydrology, also have contributed of the savanna. Fire also fostered the sunlight that oak seedlings need to to maintenance of oak savanna in the growth of warm-season prairie grasses thrive. Without fire, oak savanna Corridor. Ecologists have discovered such as little bluestem, and other plants gradually transforms into oak woodlands. that the seasonally high water table that are adapted to periodic fires. This trend is especially apparent in the of the lakeplain has helped maintain lakeplain of Michigan, where many The following spring wet savanna communities. Wildfire suppression by humans has of the historical oak savannas have DENNIS ALBERT DENNIS ALBERT greatly altered the distribution and become closed-canopy oak forests. Oak trees, which define savanna in extent of oak savannas throughout Prescribed burns are being used to restore wet oak savannas at Algonac State Park, Michigan. this region, have a thick, fire-resist- North America. Compared with Usually considered destructive, fire At left is a highly degraded oak savanna, which has been invaded by thick brush, during ant bark. Oaks are not killed by pre-settlement distribution, oak savannas actually has preserved a rich natural a controlled burn. At right is the same oak savanna the following spring after a prescribed low-intensity fire, although often the burn, which opened the tree canopy, cleared away saplings and shrubby growth, and permitted heritage. Without fire’s regenerative lower branches are burned off. Trees (Left) The smooth yellow false foxglove effects, oak savannas and tallgrass the sun to reach the forest floor. Often, more than one prescribed burn is needed to fully (Aureolaria flava) lives in oak savannas restore the health of a degraded oak savanna. and shrubs that are more common in prairies, along with the myriad woodlands with dense canopies, such and woodlands with sandy soils. It is parasitic to the roots of white oak and is often found of rare species living in them, could as black cherry (Prunus serotina), are

ALLEN WOODLIFFE in close association with them. be lost forever.

66 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| ALONG THESHORELINE ALONG THESHORELINE| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 67 Less than one percent of the original tallgrass prairie and oak savanna vegetation remains in Southern Michigan and Ontario. Because these ecosystems support so many rare plant and animal species, the protection and management of the isolated remnants is critical to preserving our native biodiversity.

The Loss of Tallgrass Prairie and Oak Savanna Habitat in the Region It isn’t known exactly how much original prairie and savanna habitat existed prior to European settlement in Ontario, but it is estimated that 100,000 ac (40,000 ha) once covered the landscape of the southern part of the province. A mere 2,100 ha of prairie and oak savanna remain ONTARIO MINISTRY OF NATURAL RESOURCES NATURAL OF MINISTRY ONTARIO today. Most of this vegetation is The American badger (Taxidea taxus) located at Walpole Island First Nation is a classic mammal of tallgrass prairie and oak savanna. It is becoming increasingly rare in (450 ha), the Windsor Ojibway Southern Ontario and Michigan, areas which Prairie Complex (320 ha) and define the easternmost extent of its distribution Pinery Provincial Park (1,250 ha). across North America. The badger prefers sandy soils where it uses its short, powerful legs for In Michigan, pre-settlement digging. In fact, the badger can dig a hole faster vegetation is estimated at 122,425 ac than a man with a shovel. This nomadic animal (48,970 ha) of lakeplain prairies in likes to travel during darkness and can move St. Clair, Macomb, Oakland, more than 10 km (6 mi) in one night. CENTRE INFORMATION HERITGAE NATURAL Washtenaw, Wayne and Monroe Animals of Oak Savanna counties. Unfortunately, less than This map illustrates the Pre-European settlement distribution of tallgrass prairie and oak savanna in 800 ac (320 ha) remain today. Ontario. Today, exisitng prairie communities are remants of this original distribution. Oak savanna provides habitat for many wildlife species. Songbirds, such as the These natural areas represent the Places to visit and experience tallgrass prairies and oak savannas eastern bluebird, indigo bunting and best of the remaining prairie and oak in the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor are: brown thrasher thrive in the open savanna ecosystems left in the Lake grasslands occasionally punctuated by oak Huron to Lake Erie Corridor. United States Canada trees. Oak savanna also supports many Unfortunately, the remnants perform Petersburg State Game Area Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve

small mammal species, such as cottontail FERN WILSON few, if any, of their original landscape Algonac State Park Ojibway Park rabbit and fox squirrel, which are hunted and habitat functions to support St. Clair Flats State Game Area Point Pelee National Park by raptors, like the sharp-shinned hawk. mammals, birds, reptiles and Larger mammals, such as red fox, amphibians. Butterfly populations Lower Huron Metropark Stone Road Alvar on Pelee Island white-tailed deer, coyote and badger, have declined to the point that some Indian Springs Metropark Pinery Provincial Park find ideal habitat in oak savanna as well. species, such as Karner blue and Highland State Recreation Area Howard Watson Nature Trail (Above Right) Oak savanna provides ideal frosted elfin, are endangered species Island Lake Recreation Area Canatara Park Prairie Reconstruction habitat for the eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis), a in the U.S. and have been extirpated Nichols Arboretum Dow Prairie Reconstruction Dennis Rupert Prairie Preserve native species that lives in cavities left in dead from Ontario. In addition, many Matthaei Botanical Gardens Prairie Reconstruction trees by woodpeckers or other natural causes. plants that once were common in The loss of dead trees and competition from tallgrass prairie and oak savanna Gallup Park (City of Ann Arbor) exotic birds – house sparrow (Passer domesti- ecosystems are at risk of being Furstenburg Park (City of Ann Arbor) The Great Lakes Marshes, tallgrass cus) and European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) – lost to the region, and in some Barton Park (City of Ann Arbor) prairies and oak savannas of the have contributed to the decline of this colorful Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor bird. Efforts to place artificial nest boxes are cases, Earth. Bandemer Park (City of Ann Arbor) have diminished greatly since the contributing to the eastern bluebird’s recovery. Brighton Recreation Area development of the region by European Sterling State Park settlers. Parks and nature preserves (Below) The American kestrel make up most of the high-quality (Falco sparverius) is the smallest and most natural areas remaining today. An familiar hawk in North America. It prefers open extraordinary diversity of plants country with wooded edges where it can find and animals still call these remarkable perching sites and an abundance of large insects ecosystems home in today’s such as its favored prey, the grasshopper, as well environment. Protecting them as small animals such as mice and frogs. It also is critical for their survival.

nests in the cavities of trees. ALLEN CHARTIER

68 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| ALONG THESHORELINE ALONG THESHORELINE| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 69 WALPOLE ISLAND FIRST NATION TERRITORY G.M. ALLEN “BKEJWANONG” LAND WHERE THE WATERS DIVIDE

“Walpole Island First Nation lands is a mosaic Walpole Island is truly an ecological treasure in the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor. The natural of wetlands, prairie, and oak savanna habitats communities found on Walpole Island offer clues to how the region’s without equal in the Great Lakes Basin” landscape might have looked prior - STATE OF THE LAKES ECOSYSTEM CONFERENCE, 1998 to European settlement. Among the many beautiful scenes on Walpole Island is a grove of widely spaced oak trees, with dappled light filtering through the canopy and the ground thickly covered with a multitude of wildflowers and grasses. In the distance, oak trees fade seamlessly into prairie meadows of purple, yellow, pink and white blossoms, as well as grasses that reach beyond shoulder height, seemingly to the sky. The air abounds with the G.M. ALLEN buzz of insects, birds calling to one another, and dewy scents. The eastern portion of St. Clair River Delta constitutes the lands of Walpole Island First Nation. There, 24,000 ha of delta islands On the fringes of Walpole Island, are a part of the traditional homeland of the Ojibwe, Odawa, and coastal marshes filled with cattails, sedges and rushes spread out in every Pottawatomi people who together comprise a political compact direction. Turquoise water, like that known as the Three Fires Confederacy. The Ojibwe language found in the tropics, extends from “Anishinaabemowin” is their native language.

WALPOLE ISLAND HERITAGE CENTRE ISLAND HERITAGE WALPOLE the marshes into Lake St. Clair. The marsh area is so expansive that one could easily become lost in its “Mushkode” is the Ojibwa name for prairie and savanna. Walpole Island contains the best remnants in the Corridor of the globally imperiled tallgrass An aerial view of Walpole Island in the St. Clair River Delta prairie and oak savanna communities. Those at Walpole are home to more than 140 rare plant species. many openings, islands and dikes. The plant and animal life is their lands for thousands of years. amazingly diverse. In fact, Walpole The existence of high-quality Island has some of the highest tallgrass prairie and oak savanna is concentrations of rare species of any most likely due to their use of fire, place in Canada. The people of as well as protection from large-scale Walpole Island First Nation have agricultural development. The successfully managed and lived off people’s traditional values and practices are probably the largest factors responsible for sustaining the different habitats and associated plants and animals in their territory. The ecosystems that are threatened on a global scale remain a vital part of the Walpole Island community’s past, present and future.

Visitors can learn more about ALLEN WOODLIFFE Walpole Island’s natural

“Waabshkoki” is the Ojibwa name for marsh and all the life and rich biodiversity contained within it. Walpole Island is the only place in Canada heritage at the Walpole Island WALPOLE ISLAND HERITAGE CENTRE ISLAND HERITAGE WALPOLE Walpole Island has 42,500 ac (17,000 ha) of coastal marsh. It is one of the largest contiguous portions where the white prairie gentian (Gentiana Heritage Centre. of coastal marsh left in the Great Lakes Basin. Patches of wild rice are purposefully not harvested alba) is found. This plant is characteristic “Mtigwaaki” is the Ojibwa name for deciduous forests, or "bush." Walpole Island contains one of the to sustain the many waterfowl that visit each year. of high-quality oak savanna ecosystems. largest continuous tracts of forested area in southern Ontario.

70 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| ALONG THESHORELINE ALONG THESHORELINE| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 71 HEADING INLAND

he largest portion of the Lake Huron to Lake WETLANDS ARE VALUABLE Wetlands... Erie Corridor lies inland from the open waters. • are diverse and biologically productive ecosystems. They are as ecologically significant as the tropical rainforests and coral reefs Different ecosystems within this area are home elsewhere on Earth; • support many plant and animal species. It is estimated that more to an astonishingly vast diversity of flora and fauna. than half the species at risk in the United States are associated with wetlands. Protecting wetlands is essential to maintaining T our native biodiversity; The Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor’s Wetlands • provide areas for hunting and fishing, scientific study, canoeing, Wetlands of the Lake Huron inland area includes a variety of wetlands nature photography and wildlife viewing; Wetlands are places with varied to Lake Erie Corridor and uplands. The wetlands include marsh, ecosystems that provide some of the • add revenues to local economies as tourists and residents spend wet meadow, prairie fen, bog, swamp, money on food, lodging, and boating associated with hunting, most important life-support systems Wetland Type Pr. Water Source fishing. and birdwatching. vernal pools and floodplain forest. Each is in the natural environment. Coastal Marsh Great Lakes Water distinguished by its vegetation, hydrology The Corridor region boasts unique, • act like natural sponges by absorbing water and releasing it slowly. and chemistry. The uplands are dominated Marsh Surface Water This provides neighboring areas with protection from floods and biodiverse wetland ecosystems. with a source of water during droughts. An acre (0.4 ha) of wetland Floodplain Forest Surface Water by beech-maple and oak-hickory forests, can store 1 to 1.5 million gallons (3.8 to 5.7 million liters) and oak barrens, interspersed with patches Hardwood Swamp Precipitation of floodwater, which is equivalent of 36 to 55 in (90 to 137.5 cm) of rain per acre; of prairie grassland. Wet Meadow Precipitation • recharge groundwater supplies as waters from wetlands Bog Precipitation seep into aquifers; Wet Prairie Precipitation • filter sediment and pollutants carried in stormwater runoff, Vernal Pool Precipitation thereby improving water quality in rivers, lakes and streams. In fact, wetlands often are artificially created to treat stormwater Fen Groundwater and industrial wastewater.

ALLEN CHARTIER The dominant water source is one of several distinguishing features of wetland G. REGNIER JOHN communities. Soil type and local topography Exploring wetlands is a fun, family activity. also influence their development. Marsh areas next to ponds, rivers, streams and shorebirds and songbirds find food Marshes are wet areas with standing inland lakes. Marshes also form in and shelter in the aquatic vegetation. or slow-moving water. They seldom shallow depressions that receive drainage Marshes also provide food to many dry out naturally, except in times from the surrounding uplands. Some mammal species, such as raccoon, of drought. Their vegetation is marshes might have sandy soils, but most cottontail, rabbit and deer. Other dominated by the common cattail have fine-textured, nutrient-rich soils fur-bearing animals, such as muskrat (Typha latifolia). Other submersed with large amounts of organic matter. and mink, live in marshes. Reptiles and aquatic plants include pondweed amphibians, such as leopard frogs, chorus Marshes are highly productive ecosystems frogs, snapping turtles, northern water (Polygonum spp.), pickerel weed with nutrient-rich waters, lush and (Pontederia cordata), common water snakes and ribbon snakes are dependent diverse vegetation, and vast arrays of on marshes for breeding habitat. plantain (Alisma subcordatum), invertebrate and insect life. Waterfowl, tall water parsnip (Sium suave), arrowhead (Sagittaria spp.) and The fragrant common bur reed (Sparganium white water lily (Nymphaea eurycarpum). Marshes also have tuberosa) floats emergent floating-leaved plants, such in the open water as duckweed (Lemna minor) and along a white water lily (Nymphaea tuberosa.) marsh edge. While coastal marshes are influenced by Great Lakes water level fluctua- MELISSA DETTLOFF MELISSA tions; inland marshes are affected by The marsh fern (Thelypteris paulstris) surface water and groundwater grows in the soft, wet soils of wetlands. inputs. These marshes can be found Wetlands provide breeding habitat for twelve species of frogs that live in the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Ferns are primitive plants that reproduce in gradually sloping, wind-protected Corridor. Pictured is a northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens.) with spores rather than seeds. TERRY LOU

72 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| HEADINGINLAND HEADINGINLAND| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 73 WETLAND INVADER

Great Blue Herons human activity and will abandon The great blue heron (Ardea their nests if disturbed. Before 1900, herodias) is one of the most elegant nesting was widespread through wetland creatures. This large bird the region including Wayne County, can stand motionless, waiting for Michigan. But by the early 1900s, the right moment to strike the Wayne County had only two great water to catch small fish, its favored blue heronries. A few herons returned prey. Although great blue herons to nest on islands in the Detroit River feed in wetland habitats of various in the late-1990s. sizes throughout the region, they Today, the Corridor’s main heronries require large natural areas to are located in inland marshes set within successfully reproduce. large natural areas. Great blue heron Great blue herons build nests rookeries can be observed from a communally in tall dead trees. distance at Kensington Metropark and These nest collections are called at the West Bloomfield Woods Nature ROBERT STEWART ROBERT heron rookeries, or heronries. Preserve in Michigan. Bickford Oak Woods in Lambton County, Ontario, It may look pretty, but the purple Herons are highly sensitive to loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) has also supports a heronry. destructive effects on the native plant diversity of freshwater wetlands. Each purple loosestrife can produce millions

JOHN SCHAFER of seeds, quickly overtaking the vegetative surface cover of a wetland. Although some butterflies use it as a nectar source, purple loosestrife generally is not beneficial to wildlife because it overcrowds the native plants upon which they depend.

The mink (Mustela vison) is a wetland mammal that lives along streams and lakes. It is sensitive to human disturbance and requires large tracts of natural habitat to survive.

RT A S U BRYAN KNOWLES BRYAN RV O , C N The brilliantly colored blue flag iris E S N (Iris virginica) grows along the wet A H IA shorelines of inland marshes and other L E M wetlands. A

The red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) is one of the most common marsh birds. It is highly territorial. Males spend much of their time defending large expanses of cattails where their female mates nest. JONATHAN SCHECHTER, WEST BLOOMFIELD PARKS AND RECREATION PARKS BLOOMFIELD WEST SCHECHTER, JONATHAN

A great blue heron leaps from its nest at the West Bloomfield Woods Nature Preserve ST. CLAIR REGION CONSERVATION AUTHORITY CLAIR REGION CONSERVATION ST. in Oakland County, Michigan. Surrounded by suburban development, this natural area The Wawanosh Wetlands in Sarnia, Ontario is a provincially significant marsh owned by is designated as an Urban Wildlife Sanctuary by the National Institute for Urban Wildlife. the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority. A 1.5-mi (2.5-km) nature trail winds along The preserve’s mature oak-hickory forest, marsh and swamp are home to spring wildflowers, the marsh, providing many opportunities to view wildlife. 100 species of birds, mammals, such as mink and red fox, and a great blue heron rookery.

74 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| HEADINGINLAND HEADINGINLAND| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 75 MARK O’BRIEN

The common whitetail (Plathemis lydia) is one of the most common dragonflies. It thrives in man-made settlement ponds and stormwater runoff ponds, which usually are oxygen-poor and contain excessive concentrations of nutrients due to contaminated sediments, fertilizers, herbicides and other materials. Adult males develop a white waxy coating on the abdomen as they mature. They establish mating territories and chase off rival males. Females have banded wings and lack the white abdomen. Their naiads are voracious eaters of mosquito larvae and other small aquatic invertebrates. Adults are active from mid-May to September. MARK O’BRIEN

The fawn darner (Boyeria vinosa) is named for the two white spots on the thorax that are reminiscent of a baby deer’s spots. This dragonfly is common in nearly every stream and creek in Michigan and Ontario. Naiads are found among debris dams and undercut banks with root tangles. Adults emerge in mid-summer. They usually are only seen flying along the banks, especially where fallen tree branches and roots extend into the water. Males are searching for females, while females are searching for egg-laying sites among the rotting wood. The flight season is July through September.

Dragonflies dragonfly’s carnivorous and highly mobile Most species of dragonflies and Dragonflies and damselflies are among the naiads play an important role in aquatic damselflies in the region are most fascinating creatures found in wet- ecosystems. They may be the highest-order non-migratory. Some of the aquatic predator in ponds where fish are migratory species, such as green MARK O’BRIEN land and aquatic habitats. Adults lay eggs MARK O’BRIEN in vegetation, mud or on the water surface. absent. In flight, the adult dragonfly’s darner (Anax junius), black The eggs usually hatch a short time after- average cruising speed is 25 mph (40 km/h.) saddlebags (Tramea lacerate) and The arrow clubtail (Stylurus spiniceps) is a long, black dragonfly with The eastern pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis) is a voracious dragonfly green eyes and light green markings. It can be found in most rivers in that inhabits a variety of marshy and well-vegetated pond edges where ward. The aquatic naiad, or larval, stage wandering glider (Pantala flavescens), The eastern red damsel (Amphiagrion can be seen flying in large numbers southern Michigan and southwestern Ontario. They are known as a duckweed and mats of algae are found. Both males and females are can range from three to four months for saucium) is a small red damselfly that is only “hanging clubtails” because the adults often are seen hanging from grass-green with black stripes on the abdomen as they begin their adult migratory species to a year for resident along the Corridor’s lakeshores overhanging branches along the river. They are exciting to watch as they stage. As they mature, the female retains this coloring but the male becomes found in seepage areas, such as at Ives Road as they head south in the fall. species. Adults may live a few weeks to Fen in Jackson County, Michigan. fly swiftly over the center of a river, sometimes skimming the water a blue-green color with a whitish cast to the abdomen. Adults eat larger In the spring, green darners fly surface. Naiads come out of the water and crawl onto the riverbanks in insects, including other dragonflies. They perch on plants or other objects several months, depending on the species. In contrast, the common whitetail Most adult populations of dragonflies have north along the shore of Lake early July. When the adults emerge, they quickly disperse to the woods and quickly dart out to seize their prey. This species is quite common (Plathemis lydia), is found in almost any St. Clair. for several days. After they have sexually matured, they return to the in southern Michigan and southwestern Ontario from late-May reached their peak by early July. The wetland habitat. river to feed and mate. The flight season is from July through August. into September.

76 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| HEADINGINLAND ALONG THESHORELINE| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 77 Wet Meadow Sedge Wren Wet meadows are wetland communities The sedge wren (Cistothorus of mixed wildflowers, grasses and sedges platensis), once known as the that grow on saturated loam or muck soils short-billed marsh wren, is the with high water-retention capability. least known of the five species They often are not immediately of wren that nest in the Corridor. recognized as wetlands because surface Its breeding range is central to water tends to be visible only during southeast Canada and the northern spring flooding, when water depths reach U.S. It winters in Florida and a maximum of about six inches (15 cm) parts of Mexico. Even when the water level is at its lowest, usually in summer, it remains at or near Sedge wrens require wet meadows or sedge wetlands for nesting. the soil surface. H. HARDING JAMES They once were common or even Wet meadows depend on a consistently The Blanding’s turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) abundant in parts of the region lives in a variety of unpolluted aquatic habitats high water table and generally are located in Michigan and Ontario, including marshes, but they have been uncommon within large wetland complexes. They sloughs, and ponds. They require wetlands or rare since about 1900, due often function as transition zones, or with abundant vegetation and soft bottoms. to habitat loss. ecotones, from deeper water wetlands to During the mating and nesting season, they upland. Wet meadows usually form near can be found moving through uplands that are open and sunny. Maintaining small and large the base of a hill where percolating springs wetlands that are connected to upland habitats and seeps emerge and provide a constant is critical for the survival of this species. source of water to saturate the soil. The yellow lady’s-slipper (Cyripedium calceolus) grows among sedges in a variety of alkaline The presence of grass-like plants called habitats, such as wet prairies, wet meadows

sedges (Carex spp.) defines wet meadows. SCHAFER JOHN and fens. Tussock sedge (Carex stricta) is the most common species and grows in large tussocks, or clumps. Tussock sedge will disappear if ground water levels are reduced by two to four feet (0.6 to 1.2 m) Many wildflowers and grasses also live in wet meadows. Grass species include blue joint, reed canary (Phalaris arundinacea), On Grosse Ile, a wet meadow is protected by the Grosse Ile Land Conservancy’s Nature Area. During big bluestem and prairie cord grass. spring floods, the distinctive clumps of tussock sedge (Carex stricta) protrude from the water’s surface. Wildflower species include joe-pye weed (Eupatorium maculatum), panicled aster mating calls enliven the grassy species to decline. This reduces (Aster simplex), swamp milkweed meadows with musical croaking. the meadow’s diverse plant (Asclepias incarnata), swamp thistle composition, a change that Rare bird species, such as sedge wren, subsequently affects all insects, (Cirsium muticum) and marsh bellflower northern harrier, short-eared owl and (Campanula aparinoides.) birds, reptiles and amphibians American bittern, live in wet meadow dependent upon this unique A variety of animals find habitat in wet habitats. The northern harrier, formerly habitat. meadows. Many butterflies, including known as marsh hawk, requires large, Duke’s skipper, mulberry wing and eyed open wet meadows with tall, dense Extensively used, and threatened, brown, depend on sedges as their major grassy vegetation and shallow inland by agriculture, wet meadows have food plants. marshes to nest. It feeds primarily on been ditched, tiled, drained, small mammals such as mice and voles. mined for peat and converted Reptiles, such as the Eastern Massasauga to pasture or cropland. Mowing Wet meadows are fire-dependent. rattlesnake, Blanding’s turtle and spotted of blue joint grass, as a source OPFER JESSICA PITELKA IMAGES JIM SIMEK, NATURE’S In the absence of fire or flooding, all turtle, find nesting habitat and food of hay, was widely practiced Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) is a common wildflower of marsh edges and wet meadows. in wet meadows. A wet meadow’s but the wettest wet meadows typically before 1950 and is still done convert to shrub swamp or swamp Its bright pink blossoms provide nectar for many pollinators, including the monarch butterfly springtime flooding provides a at St. Johns Marsh and (Danaus plexippus). Swamp milkweed and common milkweed are the larval host plants for the reproductive area for frogs, whose forest, which causes shade-intolerant Harsens Island in Michigan. monarch. The butterfly lays its eggs on the milkweed. The hatched caterpillars feed on the leaves, then attach themselves to the plant for their pupal stage before they emerge as adult monarchs.

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he Michigan Nature County, and protect fen, bog and oak perimeter roads where fen and Association (MNA) woods habitats in a relatively small area. conifer swamp communities can is the oldest land be viewed at a distance. The largest conservancy in The Lakeville Swamp Sanctuary in American plum tree in Michigan TMichigan. Officially Oakland County is a larger preserve that is found at this sanctuary as well incorporated in 1952, with is easier to visit, although first-time as the federally endangered eastern roots in the Detroit area, the visitors usually require a guide. massasauga rattlesnake. MNA protects many It can also be enjoyed from the natural areas in southeastern Michigan including prairie fens. The Calla C. Burr Memorial Plant Sanctuary and TRISH BECKJORD The showy lady’s-slipper (Cyripedium Lambs Fairbanks reginae) is a large, beautiful native orchid Plant Preserve are that grows in open areas of fen and located in Rose swamp habitats. Early settlers used roots Township, Oakland ASSOCIATION NATURE MICHIGAN Late summer wildlfowers bloom profusely in a prairie fen in Springfield Township, Michigan. of this plant as a soothing medicine The Calla C. Burr for nerve problems. Lakeville Swamp Sanctuary Memorial Plant Sanctuary Prairie Fens Sedge flats are the wettest part of a fen. bulrush (Scirpus acutus) and twig Prairie fens are wetlands that typically These areas are located in flooded rush (Cladium mariscoides.) lie next to lakes, rivers and streams in depressions where water flows from springs or streams. Up to 12 in Sedge meadows are the largest part orchid (Cyripedium candidum), mat Absence of fire is another threat. Before maintained by fire that burned glacial outwashes or on coarse-textured of a fen. These areas are saturated, muhly (Muhlenbergia richardsonis), European settlement, prairie fens in the surface vegetation and inhibited end moraines. Because they occur on (30 cm) of water might lie here during springtime. These flats are but not inundated, and have slightly prairie dropseed (Sporobolus Corridor were adjacent to dry, open shrub invasion. In more recent ice-contact topography, their presence sloping soil with peat deposits. heterolepsis), Ohio goldenrod upland communities, such as mixed times,fire suppression has caused in the Corridor is restricted to the dominated by sedges and other water and alkaline tolerant vegetation, Dominant plants include shrubby (Solidago ohioensis), Riddell’s oak barrens or oak savannas. These prairie fens to convert to shrub interlobate regions of southeastern cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa), goldenrod (Oligoneuron riddellii) communities and prairie fens were and conifer swamps. Michigan and southwestern Ontario. such as golden-seeded spike rush (Eleocharis elliptica), wicket spike rush tussock sedge and fen star sedge and fringed gentian (Gentiana Fens occur where water from springs (Eleocharis rostella), hard-stemmed (Carex sterilis.) In addition, plants crinita), which are adapted to the or seeps moves slowly up through common to tallgrass prairies, such fens’ alkaline environment. Several calcareous soil, bringing calcium-rich as little bluestem and Indian grass, rare insect species also are associated ground water to the surface. This makes often are present in a prairie fen. with prairie fens. These include the tamarack tree cricket, Mitchell’s both the soil and water somewhat Wooded fens are elevated portions alkaline and leaves white deposits on satyr, powersheik skipper and swamp located around the fen’s upland metalmark butterflies. the soil surface. Because the soil is edges. They support shrubs and waterlogged and low in oxygen, a fen shrub trees, chiefly tamarack (Larix Protecting the surrounding natural has a low rate of decomposition. This DAVID L. CUTHRELL DAVID larcina), poison sumac (Rhus vernix), water systems is the best way to H. HARDING JAMES allows peat to accumulate. The peaty gray dogwood (Cornus racemosa), preserve fens. Drains and wells used and alkaline soils distinguish fens Blanchard’s cricket frog (Acris crepitanis A species at risk, Mitchell’s satyr (Neonympha red-osier dogwood (Cornus in agriculture and residential blanchardii) is a small member of the tree frog mitchelli) is a butterfly often found in the from similar-looking wetlands, such stolonifera), and pussy willow development have disrupted family. It does not climb and lives year-round open edges of wooded fens where tamarack as wet meadows. (Salix discolor.) groundwater flow and destroyed in aquatic habitats. Blanchard’s cricket frog and poison sumac are scattered within a sedge many prairie fens, along with other prefers early successional wetlands, ponds, and meadow. Loss of habitat is responsible for this The vegetation of a fen commonly Fens support rare plant species, streams with open, usually muddy, shorelines. butterfly’s decline. JULIE A. CRAVES wetlands. Fens’ cool, alkaline water appears in three related phases, each such as tuberous Indian plantain This frog has a large native range in North has also been negatively affected by America; however, perhaps in part because of with distinct dominant and characteristic Grass of Parnassus (Parnassia glauca) is an (Cacalia plantaginea), Richardson’s species: sedge flats, sedge meadow and indicator species of prairie fens. The subtle warm, nutrient- and sediment-laden sensitivity to polluted habitats, populations sedge (Carex richardsonii), have been declining in Michigan and Ontario. wooded fen. green lines on its white petals serve as nectar runoff from farms and yards. guides for pollinating insects. white lady’s-slipper

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Trees that grow on the fringes of bogs are tamarack, white cedar (Thuja occidentalis), black spruce (Picea mariana) and occasionally white pine (Pinus strobus.) Some bog plants have adapted to the soil’s nutrient deficiency by The sweet-smelling sundew (Drosera becoming carnivorous. They obtain spp.) attracts insects to its sticky red their nutrients by catching and leaves. Once the insect is caught, the digesting insects. Examples include leaves slowly close to aid digestion. pitcher plants (Sarracenia spp.) and sundews (Drosera spp.) Acidic conditions result in a low diversity of plant species in a bog. Plants that do thrive tend to be restricted to bog habitats. Unfortunately, these plants are becoming rare as bogs are drained for farming and mined for their

valuable peat. Homeowners can JULIE A. CRAVES JULIE A. CRAVES

help reduce bog mining by choosing BOB WEIR The pitcher plant’s (Sarracenia compost, instead of peat moss, The Minden Bog in north-central Sanilac County, Michigan is the headwaters for the Black River, purpurea) landing pad, red veins to enrich their garden soil. which flows into the St. Clair River at Port Huron. This vast area of 3,000 ac (1,200 ha) is elevat- and hairs that point downward lead ed above surrounding terrain, making it the southernmost raised bog in North America. The bog is insects to a cup where they drown the main component of the Minden City State Game Area. It is a beautiful, quiet place where the and eventually are digested. ground appears firm but will shake if jumped upon.

The Proud Lake Recreation Area near Wixom, Michigan, has a deep kettle depression that houses a bog lake with a quaking mat. A conifer swamp with tamarack and poison sumac surrounds the open sphagnum and sedge community. Hardwood swamp with black ash, swamp white oak, basswood and slippery elm trees surrounds the bog. Sedges and skunk cabbage grow in the understory. Oak-hickory CHANGES IN BOG HABITAT forest and open meadows grow on the adjacent hilly uplands.

Sphagnum moss builds thick peat Bogs oday bogs are more Township. During the 1800s, settlers but it exists in sufficient quantities soils and its decomposition actually Bogs are unique wetland communities commonly found in harvested the fruit of the cranberry to be turned into practical account.” contributes to the bog’s acidity over that derive their water from rainfall. the northern reaches shrubs, which are native to North time. The absorbent quality of BOB WEIR They form in lakes, old lake depressions, of Michigan and America, for commercial sale in Europe. After that region was surveyed, sphagnum moss has been useful to Cotton grasses (Eriophorum spp.) are in kettle lakes and sandy depressions in the TOntario. They used to be one area in Greenfield Township humans in various ways, including the sedge family. Their downy white seed lakeplain that have become isolated from scattered throughout the inland Bogs also provided settlers with a source was found to consist of nearly applications as bandages in World War I heads may create the appearance of of metal as they harvested bog iron ore, groundwater and surface water sources, a cotton field in a bog. area of the Lake Huron to Lake 73 percent iron peroxide. battlefield hospitals and as a soil such as streams. Rainwater is naturally Erie Corridor. Although never which is formed when iron oxide conditioner in modern-day gardens. slightly acidic and adds few nutrients common to the flat lakeplain, emerges as a precipitate from a bog’s In more recent years, shoreline acidic waters. Dr. Douglas Houghton, development along inland lakes, to the bog environment. Poor drainage Shrubs, grasses and wildflowers that can less than one percent of wetlands in his first report as state geologist urbanization and the draining creates waterlogged soil and anaerobic live in a bog’s saturated, nutrient-poor, in Southern Ontario today are in 1838, wrote: of wetlands for agriculture have conditions. This slows the activity of acidic soils include native large and small bogs. It is thought that bogs made bogs almost rare in the decomposing bacteria, allowing organic cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon and V. occupied low ground around “At a distance of six or seven miles Corridor region. Some bog matter to accumulate over time and oxycoccos), highbush blueberry more than half of Oakland northwest of Detroit, and in the county habitats are protected by form layer upon layer of peat. (Vaccinium corymbosum), poison sumac, County’s 1,468 lakes before of Wayne, bog (iron) ore occurs at intervals organizations, such as the North leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata), European settlement. There also Plants that live in bogs are adapted to over an extent of several hundred acres, Oakland Land Conservancy, bog rosemary (Andromeda glaucophylla), are numerous historical accounts acidic conditions. They are known as but I have not been able to examine it which owns several nature cotton grass (Eriophorum spp.), winter- of “cranberry marshes” in Wayne acidophiles, or acidic-loving vegetation. with sufficient care to determine its extent; preserves containing bogs. TRISH BECKJORD County, particularly in Redford The most prominent example is sphag- green (Gaultheria procumbens), sedges I think however, there can be little doubt and orchids. Grass pink (Calopogon tuberosus) is num moss (Sphagnum spp.), which forms a small, delicate orchid found in bog thick mats over a bog’s surface. and fen habitats.

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(Left) Old-growth forests, like this one Forest was, by far, the dominant vegetation of the Lake Huron to Lake Erie at the Lower Huron Metropark in Michigan, typically have regular gaps in Corridor at the time of European settlement. Differences in glacial topography, the canopy, rich understory vegetation, deep organic soils and scattered dead, decaying soils and moisture resulted in a variety of forest communities across the region. logs and snags (dead trees that are still standing or have only partially fallen.) Hardwood swamp, conifer swamp, shrub swamp and floodplain forest developed Because old-growth forests take so long in low areas and along rivers. In upland areas, oak barrens and forests to grow, they provide valuable wildlife habitat that cannot be easily or quickly of beech-maple and oak-hickory grew. Today, only small remnants are left replaced. Various animals, birds and insects live in all strata of old-growth of these forest communities, a vital part of the region’s natural heritage. forests. Predatory birds roost and nest in the upper canopy. Songbirds and small animals, such as squirrels, make nests in the understory and shrub The Carolinian Zone flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), layer. Wildflowers and grasses grow The hardwood forests of southern cucumber tree (Magnolia acuminata), in the herb layer and provide food Michigan and southwestern Ontario are American chestnut (Castanea for foraging animals and butterflies. called “Carolinian” because they contain dentata), Kentucky coffee tree The litter layer consists of decaying many species common to southerly zones (Gymnocladus dioicus), blue ash stumps and logs from which plants of the Eastern Deciduous Forest Biome, (Fraxinus quadrangulata), hop tree germinate. The soil contains deep such as the Carolina states. These species, (Ptelea trifoliata) and several oak and organic matter from decades of which favor warmer climates and longer hickory species. Several mammals accumulated leaves; a variety of growing seasons, include paw-paw and birds, such as the southern flying spring ephemeral wildflowers, which (Asimina triloba), sassafras (Sassafras squirrel, opossum, Acadian flycatcher can’t be found in any other habitat, and summer tanager, do not stray The Value of Old-Growth Forests Old-growth forests have all levels of albidum), black gum (Nyssa sylvatica), forest strata, from ground vegetation thrive here. Even standing deadwood north of this climatic region. A forest is considered to be a climax provides food and housing for birds, forest community, or “old growth,” to canopy crowns formed by mature trees that can be very large. such as woodpeckers, and insects when it reaches 150 to 250 years of age. upon which they feed.

SUCCESSION FERN WILSON

(Above) Southern Michigan and southwestern Ontario are at the northern edge of the range of the opossum (Didelphis virginiana). This animal’s naked ears make it sensitive to cold uccession is a natural Changes in such factors as soil properties, weather. Opossums prefer to live in woodlands ecological process that microclimate and vegetation assist the with nearby meadow habitats. Their begins with colonization succession process. The dominant climax omnivorous feeding habitats make them adaptable to suburban development. of new land by forest community in the Great Lakes Spioneer species and ends with region is beech-maple, which forms establishment of a climax on well-drained landscapes with community. This progression well-defined watersheds. On the flat of events may take hundreds lakeplain, where drainage is poor, of years. Typically, pioneer a climax forest community contains species are shade-intolerant and a greater variety of hardwood short-lived plants that over time tree species. (Above) This map shows the transition zone of southern and northern forest types in Michigan are replaced by shade-tolerant and Ontario. The invisible line between the two types lies below the 43rd parallel. and longer-lived species. The (Left) The paw-paw (Asimina triloba) is a Carolinian tree species and is at the northern edge of its process eventually results in range in the Corridor region. Growing in the forest’s understory, this small tree favors warm moist a climax community. floodplains and mesic (moderately moist) woods. The paw-paw produces a unique banana-like fruit from red, foul smelling flowers that are pollinated by flies. Here, seedlings are pictured in the understory of a forest on the campus of the Wayne County Community College Downriver Campus in Taylor, Michigan. HEADINGINLAND| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 85 THE FOREST FLOOR

Forests of the Past The Forests of Today Descriptions provided by early Two forest types dominate southern surveyors give valuable clues to the Michigan and Ontario: beech-maple size and diversity of forests of the past. in mesic areas and oak-hickory in In Lambton County, for example, more xeric sites. Much of the region’s surveyors indicated that townships original forest cover has been contained small areas of “good land” destroyed. Most surviving forests covered with “beech, maple and are fragmented woodlots in varying basswood,” with “oak and hickory” states of disturbance. The least inclusions at times, interspersed with disturbed upland forests now are “black ash and elm swamps.” dominated by sugar maple (Acer “Tamarack swamps” were noted as saccharum) and beech trees or common in some townships. Areas combinations of white oak, black of hardwood swamp in Sombra, Brooke, oak, red maple (Acer rubrum) and Enniskillen and Dawn townships were black cherry. described as “enormous.” Areas with high, dry lands of beech-maple forest Disturbances cause changes in forest were characterized as having “old Indian communities. These include natural sugarbush,” a description attributed he floor of mature creeper (Parthenocissus disturbances, such as storms that to the native peoples’ practice of using forests is marked by quinquefoila), thrive in this leaf knock down trees. Man-made maple sap to produce maple sugar. In pit-and-mound litter and help recycle nutrients disturbances involve clearing and some townships, survey notes included topography, created in the forest ecosystem. filling land for agriculture and “open marsh” with “willow and rose whenT old trees topple, heaving their When old trees die and fall, development. Today, the Corridor bush.” Occasionally, a surveyor described root mass upward.The forest floor, new seedlings germinate in region is characterized by a mosaic prairies as “open meadow with high known as the litter layer, consists cracks and crevices of the of cleared lands and woodlots in grass extending a considerable distance of rich organic soil formed by decaying bark, which supplies various stages of succession. DEBRA A. BOUSSEY to the right and left.” decomposed fallen leaves. Ferns, nutrients to help them grow Many pre-settlement accounts do mosses and vines, such as Virginia and mature. Railroad tracks bisect parts of Black Oak Heritage Park in Windsor, Ontario. Since this early description of the not mention tree species that are less vegetation, much of the landscape has tolerant of fire, such as black cherry been drained and farmed. Less than ten and red maple. They now are percent of Lambton’s original forest common. Black cherry is an ecosystem to mature. In Ontario, where A major problem with breaking up, cover survives today. opportunistic species that grows in areas of disturbance, including agriculture remains an important part of or fragmenting, forests is that the Source for the above information: Sydenham Valley Conservation forest edges and openings. Red the economy, forest cover remains low. remaining pieces aren’t large enough Report. 1965. Department of Energy and Resources Management, Conservation Authorities Branch.Toronto, Ontario. maple can live in a broad range of Forests cover only three percent of the to have expansive, dense interiors that site conditions. Its main habitats are landscape in Essex County and less than provide habitat for certain birds and swampy lowlands, but it is an five percent in Kent County. There have animals. Loss of this habitat is a key aggressive colonizer of upland sites. been various public and private factor in the decline of populations of In recent times, there has been tree-planting programs in southwestern “interior forest species” of birds, such a marked increase in red maple’s Ontario over the years and continue as scarlet tanager, ovenbird, abundance due to fire suppression today. Citizens can help by increasing Acadian flycatcher and many warblers. and disturbance of pre-settlement the size of their own woodlots and Because fragmented forests aren’t forests by humans. participating in community tree-planting events. connected, small forest mammals can After many years of decline, forest no longer travel far without venturing cover has been increasing in some The Problem with Fragmentation into the dangers of open land. This parts of the region. For example, it The vast forests that once covered prevents the exchange of genetic has grown in the outlying reaches large areas of land in southeastern information between breeding of Detroit’s metropolitan area where Michigan and southwestern Ontario populations, which results in farmland has been abandoned. Forest have been broken into hundreds a weakening of the gene pool. It also GLENN OGILVE ROBERT STEWART ROBERT CAROLINE BIRIBAUER CAROLINE cover in St. Clair County, Michigan, of thousands of woodlots, which leads to localized extinctions and the reduced ability of animals to re-colonize Clear Creek forest is one of the largest The mature hardwood trees at the At the Lorne C. Henderson Conservation has increased since 1900 as deserted are surrounded by agricultural fields, protected areas of forest in southwestern City of Detroit’s Palmer Park offer hints Area in central Lambton County, nature farmland has grown into young roads, transmission lines, railroads woodlots. This also applies to plant Ontario. On the 800-acre (324 ha) preserve are of how the original forests of the Detroit trails wind through floodplain and mixed woodlots. It takes decades for a forest and homes. populations that depend on birds, ancient oaks, beech and maples. area may have looked. hardwood forests. animals and insects to spread their seed.

86 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| HEADINGINLAND HEADINGINLAND| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 87 S WAMP

A swamp is a forested wetland that typically Although conifer swamps were never a significant forest type in the region, has standing water during part of each year and many accounts from early settlers indicate there were pockets of them contains moisture-tolerant tree species. Types throughout the landscape. During the last 200 years, the swamps were of swamp in the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor drained and logged, then used for agriculture. Settlers also mined them are conifer, hardwood and shrub swamp. for peat. Changes in the hydrology of the surrounding watershed have converted them to wet meadow, Conifer Swamp kettle-kame topography and shrub or hardwood swamp. coarse-textured end moraines. Tamarack logs were commonly used The trees in conifer swamps are for fence posts, house and barn predominantly tamarack (Larix laricina) The spire shape and open branch pattern beams, and wheel spokes on early with black spruce (Picea mariana) and of tamaracks allow a large amount of automobiles. Today, fewer than white cedar (Thuja occidentalis) present sunlight to reach the swamp’s ground one percent of the original conifer to a lesser extent. Hardwood trees, such layer, resulting in the growth of a thick swamps still exist. as red maple, silver maple (Acer and diverse understory. As many as saccharinum), black ash (Fraxinus nigra), 28 species of shrubs can grow in the red ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), yellow understory of a relict conifer swamp, birch (Betula alleghaniensis) and including spicebush (Lindera benzoin), American elm (Ulmus americana), highbush blueberry, poison sumac, often grow among the conifer trees. winterberry (Ilex verticillata) and Poor conifer swamps occupy isolated nannyberry (Viburnum lentago), black Fire, insect outbreaks, flooding caused by beavers, and winds that uproot trees (called windthrow) are important natural disturbances that actually help depressions in the landscape. Like bogs, chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa.) The conifer swamps prosper. Tamaracks’ shallow, wide-spreading root systems make them particularly vulnerable to being uprooted by windstorms and fire. Tamaracks are not tolerant of shade, so disturbances that remove trees are beneficial because they result in more light penetration. The same benefits also these swamps have acidic soil conditions ground layer is typically composed of sphagnum mosses, sedges and orchids. arise from periodic infestations of larch sawfly (Pristiphora erichsonii) and larch casebearer (Coleophora laricella). However, long-term flooding caused and deep organic matter deposits of peat by beaver dams or other drain blockages, such as road construction, can kill too many tamaracks and result in a conifer swamp’s conversion to hardwood moss. Many of the poor conifer swamps Rare animal species closely associated swamp, wet meadow or marsh. that exist today likely were once bogs with conifer swamps include that, over time, were colonized by tamarack tree cricket, Mitchell’s satyr tamarack and black spruce. butterfly, eastern massasauga rattlesnake,

Relict conifer swamps have peat soils, ART AMELIA HANSEN, CORVUS Blanding’s turtle and spotted turtle. like the poor conifer swamps, but the With the suppression of fire soils have a neutral pH due to the in modern times, tamarack has infusion of alkaline groundwater. come to dominate many fen Relict conifer swamps typically communities, transforming occur in a variety of glacial them into relict conifer features, such as channeled swamps. The lack depressions in glacial of fire also has enabled red maple outwash, sandy lakeplains, trees to invade conifer swamps. The leafy canopy of the red maple (Right) Many orchid species are found in casts dense shade, causing shrubs bog habitats. Whorled pogonia (Isotria dependent on the open nature of a verticillata), Loesel’s twayblade (Liparis conifer swamp to slowly die out from loeselii), yellow fringed-orchid (Platanthera ciliaris), small green wood-orchid (Platanthera lack of sunlight. This change in the clavellata), rose pogonia (Pogonia swamp’s understory can adversely impact ophioglossoides), dragon’s mouth (Arethusa songbirds and other wildlife that depend bulbosa), grass pink (Calopogon tuberosus) on the prolific fruit production of MCNICHOL MAURA AMELIA HANSEN, CORVUS ART AMELIA HANSEN, CORVUS and pink lady’s-slipper (Cyripedium acaule) shrubs, such as winterberry and black The winterberry shrub (Ilex verticillata) thrives in conifer swamps and a variety can be found growing in the Corridor region’s chokeberry, as a food source. tamarack bogs. Pictured is the pink of other wetland habitats, such as lady’s-slipper (Cyripedium acaule) whose pink, deciduous swamps, wet woods and the The tamarack is unique among conifers veined pouch often traps insects when they edges of lakes and ponds. Many bird species in that it is deciduous. Its needles turn yellow enter to pollinate the flower. relish the winterberry’s bright red fruit. The ground layer of a conifer swamp is rich with wetland vegetation. in autumn and fall off the tree.

88 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| HEADINGINLAND HEADINGINLAND| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 89 Hardwood Swamp Salamanders Hardwood swamps are wetlands that Salamanders are amphibians are dominated by deciduous trees. that, unlike their more conspicuous cousins, frogs Their soils usually are saturated and ALLEN CHARTIER sometimes are under water. and toads, are secretive and often subterranean. Living In pre-settlement times, hardwood in cool moist places in swamps covered vast areas of the flat, forest soils, under rotting poorly-drained terrain. Tree species varied logs, and leaf litter, with local conditions. Early surveyors in salamanders absorb water Wayne County, Michigan, noted the and “breathe”–taking in presence of “black ash, sycamore, poplar, oxygen and releasing carbon aspen, elm, willow and ironwood.” dioxide –through their skin. Forests of pin oak, swamp white oak, Adult salamanders also bur oak, silver maple (Acer saccharinum), breathe with their lungs, pumpkin ash (Fraxinus profunda), although some species, Eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides), like the red-backed and black willow (Salix nigra) and peachleaf four-toed salamanders, willow (Salix amygdaloides) grew on the don’t have lungs. For these clay plain. Black ash (Fraxinus nigra), reasons, salamanders are American elm (Ulmus americana) and very sensitive to pollutants. basswood (Tilia americana) were A hardwood swamp at Crosswinds Marsh in Wayne County, Michigan. prevalent in swamps with sandy soils. Most salamanders breed in vernal forest pools. The The drainage and development of the juvenile salamanders are The spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) lives in relatively undisturbed woodlands where vernal pools occur. landscape has made hardwood swamps similar to tadpoles in their It is at risk due to the degradation and fragmentation of forest habitats. increasingly rare in this region. Those aquatic stage, but always have can play an important role in the food (Above right) Spotted salamanders reproduce remaining are located in low-lying areas external gills and are carnivorous, chain of a forest. As predators, they feed on by laying up to 250 eggs in gelatinous masses and along the margins of lakes. Red feeding on insect larvae, fairy insects, spiders, and worms, but in turn are in vernal pools; these eventually hatch into maple, silver maple, black ash and shrimp, and other invertebrates. gilled aquatic larvae. Within two to three eaten by larger animals, such as songbirds American elm typically dominate the In mid- to late-summer, these months, the larvae mature into terrestrial and mammals. The loss of forest habitats, forest canopy. Other common species juveniles transform to their terrestrial adult salamanders. (Note: this egg mass was contamination by pesticides, fertilizers, and disturbed for scientific evaluation; normally, include sycamore (Platanus occidentalis), CENTRE ISLAND HERITAGE WALPOLE adult forms. citizens should never touch egg masses as swamp white oak, pin oak, yellow birch sewage, and the loss of vernal pool and Black ash was an important tree for native In healthy woodland habitats, adult wetland habitats threaten populations of it may damage them.) (Betula allegheniensis), basswood and peoples, who wove its wood into baskets. blue-beech (Carpinus caroliniana.) Fresh, green wood was pounded with a salamanders can be numerous and these fascinating woodland creatures. mallet until it separated along annual Hardwood swamps often have a sparse growth rings into thin, pliable strips. understory due to dense shade and wet These baskets are still made on Walpole Vernal Pools soils. The ground layer is generally Island today, preserving an important As their name suggests, vernal pools composed of decaying wood and leaf part of the region’s cultural heritage. form during spring when water litter, especially after heavy flooding. accumulates in depressions, or low Mounds adjacent to flooded areas are areas, of forests, meadows and farm suitable for moisture-tolerant plants, GENERATION POWER ONTARIO fields. These seasonal wetlands then including ferns, spring wildflowers, Pumpkin ash (Fraxinus profunda) is very dry out amid summer’s heat. such as jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema water tolerant, growing in swamps where water Wetland vegetation may become triphyllum) and smooth Solomon’s stands for many months. A signature feature established but annuals usually seal (Polygonatum canaliculatum), of the species is its enlarged, swollen lower dominate. Vernal pools are and moisture-tolerant shrubs, such trunk, which compensates for its shallow root important to many amphibian as spicebush. Flat terrain and sufficient system. This tree is rare in the region, found only in remnant hardwood swamps of the species. Salamanders, toads, wood year-round moisture sometimes lakeplain. The tree pictured above is found frogs, tree frogs and spring peepers produce stretches of sedge hummocks. SCHADE SARAH in the natural areas of Ontario Power depend on vernal pools for their moving uponto the land for the eggs and tadpoles. Many predatory Generation’s Lambton Generating Station The bright yellow flowers of the marsh aquatic larval stage. Tadpoles grow in Lambton County, Ontario. Pumpkin ash marigold (Caltha paulstris) brighten terrestrial frog stage. With water present insects that feed on mosquitoes, such also has been identified in the wet woods the forest floor of hardwood swamps rapidly by feeding on bacteria, algae only temporarily, vernal pools don’t as dragonflies and damselflies, also of Belle Isle Park in Detroit, Michigan. in springtime. and organic debris in the pool before support fish that normally prey on the breed in vernal pools.

90 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| HEADINGINLAND HEADINGINLAND| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 91 Shrub Swamp Floodplain Forest Vegetation in a floodplain forest Shrub swamps are wetlands dominated Floodplain forests are forested areas generally consists of deciduous trees with by shrubs that grow on seasonally flooded, along rivers and streams that flood supporting herbs and shrubs. Skunk poorly drained soils with fluctuating water during heavy rains or spring melt. cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), marsh levels. These swamps generally form in Soils are usually heavy sand or mud, marigold (Caltha palustris) and golden glacial depressions or next to streams, rich in nutrients and poorly drained. ragwort (Senecio aureus) are just a few rivers and ponds. Their soil is muck that Although standing water may remain of the wildflowers that grow in the wet, normally ranges from saturated to well into the growing season, organic soils. In higher, drier areas, inundated with a few inches of water. floodplain forests usually become typical spring wildflowers, such as early Ecologists often refer to this community very dry in late-summer and may meadow rue (Thalictrum dioicum) and as shrub-carr, meaning a wetland contain trees representative of upland wild geranium (Geranium maculatum) dominated by tall shrubs. forest communities. blanket the forest floor. Seasonal flooding, mild temperatures Shrub swamps are ever-changing Floodplain forests are very important to the health of adjacent rivers and and a nutrient-rich environment systems. They may start as a shallow influence the types of trees that grow body of standing water or as a floodplain streams. They improve water quality by filtering pollutants and reduce soil in a floodplain forest. The constant input along lakes, ponds, rivers or streams. of sediments creates slight changes in the Water-loving shrubs are the first vegetation erosion by stabilizing banks. Floodplain forests also improve topography of the floodplain and varying to grow there. Over time, decayed sediment types. This allows trees, such vegetation accumulates until water depths aquatic habitats by supplying woody LARRY CORNELIS LARRY debris and providing shade that as red oak (Quercus rubra), white oak and decrease, allowing denser brush growth. American beech (Fagus grandifolia), to Further succession eventually results in he buttonbush flourishes keeps water temperatures cool. They benefit humans by absorbing grow on the higher, drier sediment shallower waters and built-up organic soils within the Bickford Oak deposits in the floodplain. Trees that that support more woody cover. The rate Woods Conservation Reserve potential floodwater from heavy are tolerant of seasonally wet conditions, IAN BOST at which this succession from wetland in Lambton County, Ontario. spring rains and melting snow. to upland occurs depends on water levels. TThe 741-ac (300-ha) natural area was Sycamores (Platanus occidentalis) display a distinct black, white and gray mottled bark Several years of wet weather can slow the recently protected by the Nature and often grow along rivers. When settlers transition; several dry years can hasten it. Conservancy of Canada with the help entered the region, they looked for these “white JOHN SCHAFER JOHN of the Ontario Ministry of Natural ghosts” of the forest to lead them to water. These ecosystems are strongly influenced Resources and other partners. This The distinctive ball-shaped flowers by their drainage basins, the chemical large forest, which is surrounded by of the buttonbush (Cephalanthu occidentalis) are a favorite nectar composition of waters flowing into agricultural land use, is unusual in the basins and the amount of surface source for many insects, including Lambton because the county has lost 90 the tiger swallowtail butterfly. water input. percent of its forest cover. Due to these variable conditions, shrub Trees common to beech-maple and oak-hickory forest communities occupy swamps may be wetter than lowland the reserve’s rolling clay-soil topography. In lower areas, pockets of buttonbush forests but generally do not contain large and winterberry shrubs grow within a silver maple swamp that also contains numbers of deep-water marsh plants, such swamp white oak, bur oak, American elm and willows. The site harbors two as cattail and bulrush. These plants may unique tree species, swamp cottonwood (Populus heterophylla) and Shumard appear around edges or openings, however. oak (Quercus shumardii), both of which thrive in the wet, clay lakeplain soils. Dominant shrub growth typically The destruction of lakeplain hardwood swamps makes these two tree species EVAN LARSON includes alder (Alnus spp.), buttonbush rare today in the region. ALLEN CHARTIER (Cephalanthus occidentalis), willow Birds that require large continuous tracts of forest to survive, such as cerulean The wild ginger (Asarum canadense), (Salix spp.) and dogwood (Cornus spp.) warbler, rose-breasted grosbeak, wood thrush and white-breasted nuthatch, with its heart-shaped leaves, grows in large These provide food and habitat for mink, colonies on the floor of floodplain forests. find habitat in Bickford Oak Woods. The rare Butler’s garter snake, which (Inset Left) The cardinal flower (Lobelia muskrats, raccoons, beavers, deer and This rhizome has a peppery taste and is susceptible to habitat fragmentation, has been identified here. Other wildlife cardinalis) has a brilliant red flower whose a smell similar to that of the commercially cottontail rabbits. Mallards, wood ducks, spotted includes wild turkey, wood duck, white-tailed deer and beaver. nectar is a favorite of hummingbirds. marketed ginger plant (Zingiber officinale), nuthatches, black-capped chickadees It is found growing along the shady edges of which hails from tropical areas. Wild ginger and several kinds of warblers nest in shrub streams and ponds and in low, wet woods. has been used to make a flavorful candy Thriving in the humid, nutrient-rich swamps, as do snakes, turtles, frogs, While construction and dredging water runoff and streams that flow by boiling the root stocks and simmering projects can destroy shrub swamps, from agricultural or developed areas (Inset Right) The spotted touch-me-not floodplain environment, this mature riverbank insects, butterflies and dragonflies. Beavers (Impatiens capensis) is an annual wildflower them in sugar syrup. grape (Vitis riparia) climbs the trunks remove invading trees and help retain some logging and farming practices on can convey pollutants and unnatural whose orange flowers brighten the edges of American beech trees in the floodplain a shrubby appearance. adjacent uplands can convert forested nutrient levels that also can change of rivers and streams and damp, open areas forest of the Pine River Nature Center wetlands into shrub swamps. Surface the swamp’s character. in and around marshes. in St. Clair County, Michigan.

92 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| HEADINGINLAND HEADINGINLAND| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 93 Birds that need Large Areas of Forest are in Decline

such as silver maple, eastern cottonwood, black willow and American elm, thrive in lower areas. Warm and humid summer temperatures and cooler conditions in the spring create a distinct microclimate in the floodplain environment. The cooler spring temperatures prevent trees from leafing out before spring frosts, which results in a rich woody plant community and promotes the growth of tree species at the northern edge of their range. Many trees more common to the southern U.S., such as redbud (Cercis canadensis), honey locust (Gleditsia tricanthos), Kentucky coffee tree, sycamore, and northern hackberry (Celtis occidentalis), thrive in the floodplain’s unique microclimate. ERIKSSON ROGER Cerulean Warbler of mature forests, often along watercourses. The dramatic declines in ROGER ERIKSSON ROGER The cerulean warbler (Dendroica The delicate white flowers of spring cress (Cardamine bulbosa) bloom along the moist edge of cerulea), named for the bright blue its numbers have made a glimpse even a vernal pool at the Lower Huron Metropark, which contains one of the finest examples of more challenging. Special efforts have floodplain forest in southeastern Michigan. Located along the Huron River, the forest’s towering Red-shouldered Hawk color of the male, nests in North been made in recent years to document trees form an arboreal cathedral, and a colorful community of springtime wildflowers carpets its The red-shouldered hawk (Buteo America and winters in South floor. This natural area has particular significance because of its old-growth trees, which are America. It once was abundant habitat requirements and populations a rarity in this highly developed region. lineatus) is one of the most beautiful of cerulean warblers in the U.S. hawks. It is secretive and prefers in southeastern Michigan and extensive, mature floodplains and southwestern Ontario. Early Cerulean warblers nest in eastern deciduous swamp forests where it Detroit ornithologist Bradshaw North America, including the Corridor. preys on amphibians, crayfish, Swales noted ten pairs in one One factor in its decline is loss of the snakes and even ducklings. woodlot in Grosse Pointe in 1902. large tracts of mature forest that it Now it is rarely found nesting in requires for breeding. Another The red-shouldered hawk was once that area, and is listed as a species contributor may be destruction the most abundant breeding hawk at risk in both Michigan and of its winter habitat in South America in the eastern part of its North Ontario. through conversion of primary forest American range, including southern to farmland. Michigan and southwestern Ontario. It is difficult for humans to see this But by 1960, it was nearly warbler, which lives in the canopy eliminated. It now is considered a species at risk in Michigan and Ontario. The bird no longer winters Scarlet Tanager in this area, preferring the southern The scarlet tanager (Piranga states through central Mexico. olivacea) is a migratory songbird The population decline has resulted that winters in the canopy of from habitat loss and the species’ tropical forests in northwestern ESSEX REGION CONSERVATION AUTHORITY (ERCA) AUTHORITY ESSEX REGION CONSERVATION sensitivity to disturbance. As riparian South America and lives in The Canard Valley Conservation Area habitats have been destroyed or eastern North America during in Essex County, Ontario, has one of the fragmented, red-shouldered hawks warmer seasons. An inhabitant largest populations of the Kentucky coffee of deciduous forests and pine-oak tree (Gymnocladus diocus) in Canada. have been replaced by the more JULIE A. CRAVES adaptable red-tailed hawk. woodlands, it feeds primarily on insects, supplemented by Interestingly, the male scarlet tanager’s JOHN SCHAFER JOHN

ERCA berries and buds. Loss of large feathers change color with the season. In Ostrich ferns (Matteuccia struthiopteris) tracts of forest has contributed autumn, the brilliant red plumage on his grow in low, wet open woodlands along The corky ridges of Kentucky coffee streams and in swamps. tree bark are distinctive. to this bird’s decline in the body turns olive green, a color similar to Corridor region. that of the female scarlet tanager. 94 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| HEADINGINLAND W OODLAND W ILDFLOWERS

Beech-maple forests are home to an impressive array of wildflowers, including jack-in-the-pulpit, wild leek, wild ginger, wild geranium, toothwort, trout lily, spring beauty, mayapple, woodland phlox and large Beech-Maple Forest Beech-maple forests grow in damp, flowered trillium. These plants, known as "spring ephemerals," flower before trees have fully leafed out, which allows nutrient-rich soils in well-drained portions of lakeplain, till plains and them to take advantage of the seasonal sunlight. They die back as shade from the trees increases. moraine ridges. As the primary climax forest of the region, the beech-maple represents the highest order of forest community succession. As the name implies, American beech and sugar maple dominate this forest

type. Basswood, red oak, white oak, WELKENBACK STACEY white ash (Fraxinus americana), shagbark Beech-maple forests, like this one at Kensington Metropark in Michigan, have a dense to moderately hickory (Carya ovata), black walnut dense canopy of deciduous trees, very few or no shrubs, and a well-developed herbaceous forest floor (Juglans nigra) and tuliptree that tolerates the shade provided by the leafy canopy.

(Liriodendron tulipifera) are common TRISH BECKJORD associates. Depending on drainage The large-flowered trillium Flies pollinate the purple trillium The wild columbine conditions, they can be as numerous as (Trillium grandiflorum) is one of the (Trillium erectum), also known as (Aquilegia canadensis) grows in the shade the beech and maple. In cooler areas, best-known spring wildflowers. It takes six “Stinking Benjamin.” They are attracted of many woodland habitats. The bright orange farther north into St. Clair and Lambton years from the time a seed germinates for the to its ill scent. and yellow flowers provide nectar to many trillium to produce its first flower. As with butterflies in the spring. counties, Eastern hemlock (Tsuga many woodland wildflowers, ants play an canadensis) and yellow birch become important role in dispersing its seeds. more common. At the time of European settlement, beech-maple forests were, by far, the dominant forest type, covering most ELAINE DANIELSON of southern Michigan and southwestern Bottlebrush grass (Hystrix patula) is a common Ontario, as well as in much of Ohio and grass of woodlands. Indiana. Today, fragments of this forest (Right) A Carolinian species, the tuliptree remain as isolated woodlots between (Liriodendron tulipifera) is sensitive to frost. It farm fields and development, or as is the tallest-growing tree of eastern North American forests, reaching heights of about 150 JOHN TIEDJE JOHN TRISH BECKJORD publicly protected land. TRISH BECKJORD MCNICHOL MAURA ft (50 m) Its showy yellow flowers resemble those of the tulip. The tree’s honey Shown nestled among the roots Pollinated mostly by bumblebees, The beautiful white flowers of the mayapple is known to be a delicacy. ART AMELIA HANSEN, CORVUS of the American beech, the yellow flowers dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) (Podophyllum peltatum) are hidden underneath of the trout lily (Erythronium americanum) are wildflowers found in woods rich with their large leaves. This plant often grows carpet the forest floor in spring. organic matter. This plant was named for in circular colonies on the forest floor. The the flower’s likeness to pants worn fruits of this plant are edible, but other parts F UNGUS by traditional Dutch men. of the plant are extremely poisonous.

ungi play an important recycling role in forest ecosystems. They decay organic matter, making nutrients from the dead plants available for F BOB WEIR future plant growth. They can be found in a variety of shapes and DON HILL DON MARIE BOYLE LINDSEY MISHLER colors. Some, such as morel (Left) This coral mushroom (Hiericium The distinctive flower of the jack-in-the-pulpit The wild geranium (Geranium maculatum) The delicate white flowers of the bloodroot mushrooms, are good to eat, BOB WEIR ramosum) can be found (Arisaema atrorubens), a wildflower of damp thrives in the light shade of open woods. (Sanguinaria canadensis) are short-lived, and others, such as the fly agaric, on fallen logs of beech (Above) Polyspores are genera woodlands, is known as a spadix. This forest sometimes lasting only a week. This

are deadly poisonous. JULIE FOUNTAIN and maple. of fungi that grow as brackets herb is also easily recognized in the fall early-blooming spring wildflower is known on dead and living trees. by its showy red berries. for the red juice that can be extracted from its stem and rhizome, which was used by native peoples to dye baskets. 96 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| HEADINGINLAND A RARE WOODLAND FOREST ANIMALS

INVASIVE FOREST PLANTS

Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is a biennial herb that came from Europe, where it was consumed as an edible green. It is an invasive species and has carpeted many disturbed urban woodlands, smothering native plants, including spring wildflowers. Removing garlic mustard is difficult, yet important for maintaining plant diversity in forests. Restoration ecologists study the life cycle of this and many other invasive plant species in order to determine how to control their spread. JIM SIMEK, NATURE’S IMAGES JIM SIMEK, NATURE’S MICHIGAN NATURE ASSOCIATION NATURE MICHIGAN

The distinctive white and pink flowers (Above) The red-headed woodpecker The tatarian honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica) is an invasive, of the painted trillium (Trillium (Melanerpes eryhthrocephalus), found deciduous shrub that is native to China, Korea and Japan. undulatum) bloom at the Irene and throughout eastern North America, has Originally from Asia, common It was introduced to the United States in 1846 as an ornamental Elmer P. Jasper Woods Memorial Nature been known by many colorful names, buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) plant. Its prolific seed production and the fact that birds readily Sanctuary in Kimball Township, St. Clair such as tri-colored woodpecker and flying is an invasive species that threatens feed and disperse the seeds have enabled it to escape into the County. The painted trillium is rare, checkerboard. It populates open, deciduous native plant diversity in forest wild. Other Asian invasive bush honeysuckles include Amur with Michigan’s only known populations woods in the Corridor region in summer and habitats. Left unchecked, common and Morow. These shrubs’ vigorous growth allows them to found in this locale. migrates to the southern U.S for buckthorn forms dense thickets that out-compete native vegetation for light and other resources. the winter. crowd and shade native shrubs and They can be particularly abundant on the disturbed edges PHILIP MYERS herbs. Its expansion has been of fragmented forests, where they dominate the understory. (Above) The southern flying squirrel Red-headed woodpeckers excavate cavities furthered by fragmentation of forests (Glaucomys volans) doesn’t really fly, but it in dead trees in which to raise their young. and the spread of its seeds by birds has a loose membrane of furred skin between They have a broad diet of insects, nuts, fruit that feed on its many berries. its front and back legs that allows it to glide and even the eggs and the young of other through the air from tree to tree. These small birds. The characteristic tapping sound squirrels have been known to glide as far heard in woods is a sign that a woodpecker is as 240 ft (80 m) The southern flying squirrel working on a tree. lives in mature forests, often nesting in tree cavities left by woodpeckers. It likes to feed In this region, the red-headed woodpecker on acorns, hickory nuts and the seeds of was once the second most abundant beech, maple and poplar trees. It rarely is woodpecker, after the downy. Populations seen by humans because of its nocturnal have been declining due to habitat loss, nature. especially removal of dead trees. Some breeding pairs have built nests on poles, but studies show that the young don’t hatch if poles are newly treated with creosote. The red-headed woodpecker has declined throughout its range, and is a species at risk in Canada. H. HARDING JAMES The five-lined skink (Eumeces fasciatus) (Left) The passenger pigeon (Ectopistes is one of two lizards native to Michigan. The Irene and Elmer P. Jasper Woods migratorius), whose native habitat was Found in wooded habitats and open areas in Memorial Nature Sanctuary, owned by the deciduous forests of eastern North woodlands, where it likes to bask in the sunlight the Michigan Nature Association, is graced America, once was Earth’s most abundant on stumps, logs, and rocks, the five-lined skink with towering stands of eastern hemlock bird species. Numbering three to five feeds on insects like grasshoppers, spiders, and (Tsuga canadensis) that grow inside a billion, passenger pigeons may have centipedes. This lizard has a unique predator beech-maple forest on rolling topography. comprised 25 to 40 percent of the native escape system- when the skink is grabbed by The eastern hemlock’s dense foliage shades North American bird population. Accounts its tail, the tail breaks off and later re-grows. the forest floor, creating darkness even in by early pioneers stated that migrating flocks JIM SIMEK, NATURE’S IMAGES JIM SIMEK, NATURE’S the afternoon sun. Although the area is were so thick they obscured the sun. dominated by hemlock, associates include The wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) had BOHLING MARY yellow birch, sassafras and eastern white Sadly, this species is now extinct. Its demise disappeared from Michigan and Ontario The eastern screech owl (Otus asio) is a small pine. The presence of the eastern hemlock, resulted from mass conversion of forests by the early-1900s due to over-hunting by owl common to deciduous woodlands and even which is common in more northern forests, to farmland and uncontrolled hunting early settlers and intensive destruction of suburban settings, if there are sufficiently large marks the transition between southern and and slaughter by European settlers. The last large forest tracts. Successful reintroduction trees and suitable snags for nesting. northern forest types in the Corridor. passenger pigeon specimen in Michigan efforts have brought this magnificent game was shot in Dearborn in 1898. bird back to the area.

HEADINGINLAND| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 99 can include red maple, sugar maple, white ash, black cherry, basswood in more mesic sites and scarlet oak W HAT M AKES F ALL C OLOR (Quercus coccinea) and sassafras in drier areas. Overall, the dominant tree species in oak hickory forests have changed since pre-European settlement times. The suppression he Corridor’s of fire has resulted in red maple landscape can be and black spectacular in cherry trees autumn as the Tgreen leaves of trees turn increasing in pre- glorious shades of red, purple, dominance. orange and yellow. Typical This color change is caused by understory a chemical process in the leaves. They are green during the tree’s

herb and JENSEN HOLLY shrub summer growth period because species they contain chlorophyll, which include they use to absorb energy from witch hazel, sunlight and to transform choke cherry (Prunus virginiana) carbon dioxide and water into IAN BOST and downy arrowwood (Viburnum carbohydrates to feed the tree. That allows carotene and xanthophylls, dogwood, sumac and sugar maple rafinesquianum.) Blueberries also Leaves stop making food in the which are orange and yellow produce a host of hues ranging grow wild in the dry understory fall as the tree heads into its pigments that have been in the leaf all from brilliant orange to crimson of these forests. Spring ephemeral winter rest period, so the summer, to become visible and give to purple. Brown leaves, common Witch hazel wildflowers include hepatica chlorophyll breaks down and the tree its “fall color.” Anthocyanin to oak trees, come from a mixture (Hamamelis virginiana) blooms (Hepatica spp.), bloodroot, rue the green color disappears. pigments found in trees such as of pigments. in the fall when most plants are dispersing seed. From anemone (Anemonella thalictroides) September to December, and Dutchman’s breeches. its bright yellow blossoms Pennsylvania sedge often will grow brighten the oak-hickory in grassy tufts throughout the White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) woodlands. Witch hazel oil has understory. In autumn, the forest have become extremely populous throughout been used for many years to the Corridor and extremely harmful to natural floor is resplendent with asters treat a variety of skin problems. LARRY CORNELIS areas, particularly in the absence of hunting. and goldenrods. Other than humans, there are virtually no predators left to keep their numbers in check. (Above) the gray squirrel As natural habitats become increasingly rare, (Sciurus carolinensis) Oak-Hickory Forest seemed like parks through which they deer are having a dramatically negative effect could easily drive their horses and is a common mammal Oak-hickory forests occur most on the remaining natural areas. wagons - much different than the of forest ecosystems. commonly on rolling moraine thick floodplain forests of Deer browse heavily on the wildflowers and ridges and well-drained sand grasses of the forest floor. Trilliums and other lowlands closer to the Detroit plains, where the drier (Left) Sassafras (Sassafras spring wildflowers can disappear altogether. River and Lake St. Clair. So conditions favor oak and albidum) is a small to medium-size In fact, the native plant diversity of many impressed were these people tree that can be found in the hickory trees over of our parks is threatened. At the Pinery of the early 1800s that they understory of oak woodlands. Provincial Park, Point Pelee National Park moisture-loving beech named the area “Oak Land.” It is one of few tree species that has and Rondeau Provincial Park in Ontario, and sugar maples. more than one kind of leaf. In fact, and many Huron-Clinton Metroparks in Red oak, white oak, black the sassafras has three differently Michigan, the diversity of forest ecosystems are The rolling topography oak and pignut hickory shaped leaves, with one, two or in danger because of over-browsing by deer. of Oakland County, three lobes. The two-lobed leaves Such alteration of the ecosystems provides (Carya glabra) are the Michigan, once was home look like mittens. In autumn, their opportunities for invasive species, such as dominant species in DAN RAWLYK to great expanses of fall color is brilliant pink, red and garlic mustard, to move in and further an oak-hickory forest. orange. In the past, the essential oak-hickory forests. Early The red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) disrupt plant communities. Managing Other tree species in these oil derived from this plant was is the most common raptor in the Corridor deer populations through hunting has settlers there were struck by forests vary according to the used to flavor medicines, candy region. It often can be seen sitting in become important in the protection the preponderance of forests and root beer. Illustration by soil’s moisture content. They roadside trees or atop fence posts, waiting of native biodiversity. graced with large oak trees that Amelia Hansen, Corvus Art. and watching to prey upon small rodents. SCHAFER JOHN

100 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| HEADINGINLAND HEADINGINLAND| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 101 Pictured is a pine plantation at Island Lake Recreation Area. In the past, pines often were planted in oak barrens and savanna ecosystems because they could thrive in poor, sandy soils. At the time it was not understood how these plantings would diminish the native biodiversity of oak barrens and savannas. The shade produced by these evergreens inhibits the growth of the ecosystems’ rich grassland flora.

Rough blazing star (Liatris aspera) grows in the dry prairies often associated with The stiff goldenrod oak barren ecosystems. (Solidago rigida) looks unlike most goldenrods with its occasionally joined by northern pin wide, rigid leaves and stiff stature. oak (Quercus ellipsoidalis), pignut The yellow blooms hickory and shagbark hickory. contribute to the late Plant species are needle grass Remnants of an oak barren ecosystem grow at the Island Lake Recreation Area, near Brighton, summer color found (Stipa spartea), little bluestem, Michigan. Ecological restoration efforts, which include prescribed burns and brush removal, in oak barren and big bluestem, Indian grass, stiff are helping to bring back its native plant diversity. prairie communities. goldenrod (Solidago rigida), butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), aromatic sumac (Rhus aromatica), sand I NSECTS milkweed (Asclepias amplexicaulis), wild lupine and rough blazing star (Liatris aspera.) Many rare grassland Insects are one of the The cecropia moth (Hyalophora cecropia) is North America’s birds find habitat in oak barrens, most important members of ecosystems. largest silkmoth, with a wingspan At the Highland Recreation Area in Oakland County, the State Park Stewardship Program including the bobolink, loggerhead reaching almost six inches They perform functions is restoring the quality of an oak barren ecosystem. Lack of fire, changes in surrounding shrike, and the Henslow’s, savanna, (15 cm) land use, unchecked brushy growth, proliferating pine trees and non-native invasive species, that are necessary for grasshopper and vesper species GURA STEVEN The red milkweed beetle’s such as spotted knapweed (Centaurea maculosa), all threaten the integrity of this vanishing of sparrow. life on Earth, such ecosystem. Partnerships with recreational users to remove brush and a prescribed (controlled) as pollination and (Tetraopes tetraophthalmus) burn program conducted by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources are helping to bright orange color warns birds Soils in oak barrens may vary from decomposition. The that it eats milkweed and thus bring back the native prairie grasses. Removal of invasive shrubs and trees allows the large old pure sand to loam. Historically, their number of the earth’s oak trees to flourish. tastes very bitter. Its scientific dryness made this community prone insect species is Wasps are closely related name, Tetraopes, means to frequent wildfires and promoted unknown, but about one to bees. But while bees it has four eyes. the presence of prairie grasslands million have been feed on plants, wasps branches spreading 100 ft (33 m) or Oak Barren among the scattered oaks. Fire identified so far. They are predatory and more in all directions. feed on other insects, ALLEN CHARTIER Oak barrens occur on dry, gravelly or helped to recycle nutrients into the include beetles, wasps, such as house flies. sandy moraines and glacial outwash. Also historically known as “barrens,” soil and remove accumulated plant bees, ants, butterflies, moths, flies, bugs, The praying mantis Oak barrens are characterized by widely “oak openings,” “barren and scrubby litter. This allowed soils to warm The natural communities of the Lake Huron to Lake (Stagmomantis scattered clumps of oak trees and shrubs, timber” and “scattered timber,” these more quickly, a factor favored by mantids, cockroaches, Erie Corridor are rich in biodiversity. Whether they carolina) is standing tall and stately in otherwise warm-season grasses. Without fire, stick insects, are on land or in water, on open or forested land, communities are a transitional zone carnivorous, feeding each one supports plants and animals that play an open fields of prairie grasses and between dry prairies and forests. oak barrens convert to brush and, grasshoppers, dragonflies on other insects. It important role in the web of life. wildflowers. There are few oak trees – eventually, forest. Native peoples and damselflies. New strikes its prey so fast The dominant trees in oak barrens no more than ten per acre – in oak intentionally set fires to control species are constantly that it is able to catch The next chapter explores the impact humans have barrens but they have a commanding are white oak, black oak and dwarf underbrush, which made these being discovered. flies and mosquitoes. GURA STEVEN had on the landscape and its biological communities. presence, with their crowns and massive chinquapin oak (Quercus prinoides), habitats good for hunting.

102 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| HEADINGINLAND HEADINGINLAND| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 103 HUMAN INFLUENCE

umans have lived in the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor for more than 9,000 years. Aboriginals, fur traders, European settlers and modern Americans and Canadians Hhave all called this region home. It is the human inhabitants of the last 150 years who have most dramatically changed the landscape and destroyed habitat. Today, large-scale development, pollution and exotic invasive species threaten the existence of natural communities and the amazing diversity of life they support. Protecting the region’s rich natural resources and abundant waterways is essential if their benefits and beauty are to be enjoyed for generations to come. STEWART ROBERT A modern view of the City of Detroit. This land was once lined with coastal marshes where thousands of waterfowl stopped to rest and feed during migration. 1952 1970 1999 1919 1972 1984 1998 2001 1824 1851 1854 1959 1701 1890 1900s 1700s 1820s 1850s 1940s 1800s 600 A.D. 1,000 B.C. 8,000 B.C. 10,000 B.C. Wildlife Refuge. Quality Agreement. and excursion vessels. endangered species list. endangered species list . drainage of wetlands in Michigan. of the oil industry in North America. windmills line the Detroit Riverfront. Ontario reintroduces the wild turkey. carried in ships’ ballast into the Great Lakes. to hunt deer, bison, elk, bear, and wild turkey. bison, elk, bear, to hunt deer, Ontario as the lands were stripped of forests. Land Trust/Conservancy movement in Michigan. Land Trust/Conservancy constructed throughout the Rouge River watershed. "Chemical Valley" begins operation in Sarnia, Ontario. "Chemical Valley" Detroit Riverfront becomes dominated by commercial Welland Canal opens, allowing invasive species, such Welland walnut, and bitternut (for vinegar); and making pottery. Industrialization begins to dominate the Detroit Riverfront. Nature Association) incorporates, marking the birth of the St. Lawrence Seaway opens, which facilitates the passage as the sea lamprey, to migrate westward from Lake Ontario. as the sea lamprey, U.S. Congress passes Swamp Land Act, which increases the of larger ocean-going ships and migration of invasive species regarding human interaction with the environment. Farms and Lumbering peaks in southeastern Michigan and southwestern U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removes the bald eagle from the The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service places the bald eagle on the Cadillac arrives by canoe to establish the settlement at Detroit. The U.S. government establishes the Detroit River International Early Woodland Indian Period: Native people experiment with Indian Early Woodland Gum Bed discovered in Inniskillen, Ontario, resulting in the birth The U.S. and Canadian governments sign the Great Lakes Water The U.S. and Canadian governments sign the Great Lakes Water Settlement of southeastern Michigan begins in earnest. Within a fish for winter consumption, develop corn that would mature in a fish for winter consumption, develop corn that would mature Canadian and U.S. governments pass the Migratory Bird Species technological developments. The increasing diversification and technological developments. The The Ontario Drainage Act passes, allowing for the mass drainage Paleo-Indian Period: Hunters, known as "ice runners," follow Hunters, known as "ice Paleo-Indian Period: generation, the land was cleared and towns, farms and mills were European settlement brings infectious diseases, such as smallpox, and beyond brought items from the east coast of North America. St. Clair Metropolitan Beach Association (later known as Michigan that killed many Indian elders and caused the loss of oral traditions meat; harvesting sap from sugar maple (for sweetener) and birch, meat; harvesting sap from sugar maple (for sweetener) and Act, the first international recognition of the need to protect wildlife. receding glaciers in search of mastodon and other large game. in search of mastodon and receding glaciers 140-day growing season, and replace the spear with bow and arrow 140-day growing season, and replace the spear with bow and Detroit River is named as an American and Canadian Heritage River. were developed, and extensive trade routes around the Great lakes were developed, and extensive trade routes around the Great Archaic Indian Period: Indian cultures advanced through social and Archaic Indian Period: Indian Late Woodland Indian Period: Native people use gill nets to fish, store Indian Late Woodland was mined to make tools, decorative items and weaponry, fish weirs items and weaponry, was mined to make tools, decorative of wetlands and the establishment of townships and drainage systems. growing crops and storing grain (beans and squash), nuts, and dried sophistication is reflected in craft and ceremonial items. Native metal sophistication is reflected in craft

104 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| HUMANINFLUENCE HUMANINFLUENCE| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 105 Walpole Island First Nation monitors the water quality of the St. Clair River and Lake St. Clair. Heavy industry in Sarnia and Port Huron directly discharged chemicals into the St. Clair River from the 1940s The Original Inhabitants to the 1970s, threatening Many current members of Walpole Native peoples, or Aboriginals, first came Walpole Island’s water supply Island First Nation still rely on the European settlement activities of the 1800s and 1900s to the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor through toxic contamination. landscape for food, water and The people of Walpole Island since time immemorial according to their ceremonial traditions. Hunting and dramatically changed the landscape of the Lake Huron to Lake have undertaken water quality fishing licenses and rental of own oral history, but scientific evidence monitoring efforts to address suggests they arrived 10,000 to 12,000 pollution concerns as they marshlands provides the Erie Corridor. Lumbering, agriculture, industrial growth and years ago. Big game hunters called continue to champion the clean community’s main industry “ice runners” followed the ice edge water and healthy ecosystems and source of income. urban development transformed the region from wilderness of receding glaciers to hunt large that are integral to their health and way of life. Many tribes have occupied the to a major center of industry. This growth has not come without beasts. During this period, known CENTRE ISLAND HERITAGE WALPOLE Corridor region during a long, rich as Paleo-Settlement, the Native Peoples’ and complex history of Aboriginal maintain grassland habitat. The stockade villages near their farms. cost to the natural environment and native biodiversity. lifestyles adapted as climatic changes settlement. Generally, the location incredibly diverse prairie and oak savanna Peace and treaty agreements among caused spruce forests to give way to where a tribe lived was dictated by In fact, more than 280 endangered, threatened and special ecosystems of modern-day Walpole the tribes decided who had control pine and later to the ecosystems that seasonal migration between hunting Island are the result of regular burning. of areas. Clan chiefs inserted “Clan exist today. The Archaic, or early and farming grounds, as well as tribal concern plant and animal species are striving to survive in the Poles” into shorelines to mark fishing cultures, practiced a hunting and warfare and climate. During the 18th During the Late Woodland period, territories. gathering way of life as they evolved the Aboriginals made several important and 19th centuries, Potawatomi and Corridor. The primary reason for their decline is loss of habitat. from the Paleo-Indian culture. advances. Gill nets, fish weirs and Tribal elders established protocols Wyandot lived near the Detroit River The Early Woodland period began impoundments were used to catch for interacting with the environment. and Ojibwe lived in villages in the around 1000 B.C. when Aboriginal whitefish, lake trout and other fish Unfortunately, Europeans brought St. Clair River Delta. during spawning runs. These fish small pox and other infectious tribes changed lifestyles from nomadic After Michigan Territory came under could be smoked, dried or frozen for diseases that killed many elderly, hunting to growing crops and making American control, waves of white use during winter. The bow and arrow weak and very young members of pottery. This began with the cultivation settlers entered the Detroit River replaced the spear for hunting. Corn tribes. As native elders died, so did of sunflowers and squash, followed by and Lake St. Clair area of Michigan horticulture became practical in southern much of the traditional ecological beans and corn. Corn is of particular in large numbers during the early Michigan when varieties were developed knowledge. Today, globalization has importance. As a domesticated crop, 1800s, claiming the land as a territory that could mature quickly in a short a similar negative effect on native it was transported north from the of the United States of America. growing season. Small clearings were cultures worldwide. tropical and semi-tropical climates They made native peoples live on made in forests to grow crops. of Middle America. Native peoples incorporated rules “reservations.” About 20 years later, Overall, the Aboriginals had little effect This agricultural adaptation was reflected for human interaction with the the Native Peoples were forced to on the landscape. They coexisted with in the increased density and number environment into their lifestyles. move from their water-abundant plants, animals and ecosystems that of villages and burial sites of the Late For instance, the Ojibwe people homeland to reservations in dry, hot supported them. Their greatest effect Woodland period. In southern Michigan, of Walpole Island followed a seasonal Iowa, Kansas and Oklahoma. Today, on the landscape probably was setting agricultural groups, such as the Miami cycle of farming, hunting and there are no federally recognized PUBLIC LIBRARY THE DETROIT OF COURTESY fires to improve hunting grounds and and Potawatomi tribes, built large fishing. During the spring spawning reservations located in southeastern Pictured is a portion of a map of Detroit from 1752. The first French settlers of Detroit and Monroe runs, they traveled to the St. Clair Michigan. divided the land into “ribbon farms,” which were long, narrow bands each bordering the river while River Delta where plentiful fish were extending several hundred yards inland. This method of land division ensured that each farmer had On the Canadian side of the netted, trapped and speared. In late access to water for irrigation and easy travel. Map Title: Carte de la riviere du Detroit depuis le Lac waterway, Native People retained Erie jus’ques au Lac Ste. Claire [map] / donne’ par Mr. de Lery fils, 1752; adapted by C.E. Hickman. spring, they established base camps reserves and surrendered other lands along the St. Clair River where they to the British Crown in a series of The Fur Trade and Early Pioneers As they made their way through planted corn, gourds and squash. treaties from 1790 to 1827. Most the Great Lakes in the early to By early summer, additional food French explorers were the first Europeans all of southwestern Ontario was mid-1700s, these French adventurers sources such as waterfowl, clams and to enter the Great Lakes region. Their sail- surrendered with exception of saw rich marshes and fur-bearing water mammals became available. ing ships only able to go as far islands in the St. Clair River Delta mammals. They saw that the natives The people also cultivated tobacco as the Niagara Falls area, so they headed and the beds of lakes and rivers. used animal skin for clothing. and harvested sweet grass for farther inland by rowing long wooden The Walpole Island First Nation Realizing the pelts could be shipped ceremonial purposes. In late summer, boats – “bateaux” in French – that they territory is un-ceded land. The to France to make fashion attire, they harvested crops and nuts, such made from trees growing in the area’s vast Chippewas settled on reserves in they started what became known as hickory and walnut, which were forests. They encountered Aboriginals who Sarnia, Kettle Point and Stony as the fur trade. They traded valued for their nutmeats and oil taught them to build massive open-water Point. Three tribes from the canoes. Eight to 12 men could paddle European textiles, jewelry, containers,

COURTESY OF W. DUNCAN AND NIVIN MACMILLAN AND THE AND MACMILLAN AND NIVIN DUNCAN W. OF COURTESY PRESS SOCIETY HISTORICAL AFTON extraction. They spent late fall and Algonquin Nation – Ojibwe, Odawa the canoes, which were capable of carrying alcohol and firearms with the natives This watercolor by Seth Eastman (Indian Sugar Camp ca. 1850) depicts a typical Aboriginal sugar winter in areas with abundant and Pottawatomi – formed non-rowing passengers and up to two for the furs, which many traders maple camp where sap was harvested in early spring. As a horticultural practice, Native Peoples game for hunting. sold at trading posts. maintained large groves of trees in order to harvest sap to make sugars, syrups and vinegars. the Walpole Island First Nation. tons of cargo.

106 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| HUMANINFLUENCE HUMANINFLUENCE| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 107 were the first ecosystems to be converted to farmland. However, the prairie grass’ sinuous roots often ran deeper than the plants grew tall. Teams of four or more horses or oxen were needed to pull a plow through those roots. The tearing of roots created a sound that early farmers compared to thunder. The wet, flat clay soils of the lakeplain in Michigan were not suitable for farming until the Swamp Lands Act of 1850 encouraged settlers to drain wetlands. The drained areas proved to be some of the most valuable This painting shows the Detroit waterfront in 1794, more than three decades after the British gained control of Michigan territory. Not until 1796 did they agricultural lands in Michigan. By 1873, withdraw in favor of the Americans, who had been awarded the area in 1783 at the end of the Revolutionary War. Michigan was admitted as one of the most of the land between the Detroit United States in 1837. Print courtesy of the Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library. and Clinton rivers had been converted to agriculture. In Canada, passage of Some of the early Frenchmen enjoyed structure. These first settlers depended locomotives pulled trains. These the Ontario Drainage Act in the 1880s a unique relationship with the native upon trading, trapping and subsistence powerful engines, which connected resulted in the creation of farm and people and were quick to adopt the agriculture to survive. the Great Lakes with eastern North township drainage systems that made Aboriginals’ respect for life and land. American cities, were fueled by land usable for agriculture. The wettest This first wave of immigration to the They worked enough each day to subsist wood. In the Sydenham and Thames areas–swamp forests, as well as wet region set the theme for European and set stores for winter, while they also watersheds of Ontario, accounts prairies and marshes–required dikes colonization – exploitation of resources. reveled in their leisurely outdoor way from that era describe piles of and pumps, which encouraged more and Once one resource was exhausted, of life. They were known as “Muskrat cordwood lining roads to fuel more settlers. By the early 1900s, these another one was quickly harvested. French” because they adapted so well to steamship transportation at ports, mass drainage projects had converted Over the years the demand for com- their new environment. such as Sarnia, Ontario. Canadian about 90 percent of southwestern modities such as fur, lumber, fish, farm- records document nearly 1.67 Ontario’s original woodlands to Antoine de la Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac land, and more recently property for million cords of wood taken from agriculture. founded Detroit. He was a Frenchman development, has led to a reduction in Kent, Lambton and Middlesex who believed that the wealth and natural biodiversity. counties between 1870 and 1900. Agriculture dominates land use and position of France in the New World *Lewis, Ferris E. 1951. Detroit: A Wilderness Outpost That volume represents more than remains a major industry in southwestern to France. Wayne State University Press. Detroit, MI. depended upon control of the fur trade. 213 million cubic ft (6.4 million Ontario. In fact, it is the second-largest He considered Detroit’s strategic cubic m) of wood. Forests were sector of Lambton County’s economy. location, connecting the upper and Lumbering logged until the lumber was exhaust- In contrast, agriculture has declined in lower Great Lakes, important to southeastern Michigan. Between 1990 The lumbering boom began in the early ed. Often lumber companies would achieving this goal. and 2000, agricultural land use declined 1800s and lasted for nearly 80 years. purchase land, log it, then sell it to by 13 percent. Farms continue to The book, Detroit: A Wilderness Outpost The peak years, 1870 to 1880, coincided settlers who would remove stumps disappear as lands are converted from of Old France, describes the site upon with the advent of the Steam Age, when and complete the conversion from agricultural to residential use in the which Fort Ponchartrain du Detroit was steamships plied the waters and steam forest to farm field.

NORA PENHALE, THE OBSERVER, SARNIA, ONTARIO SARNIA, THE OBSERVER, NORA PENHALE, Metropolitan Detroit area. built in 1701 (now Fourth Street) as The first steam sawmills Farm fields are in close proximity to the urban fringes of Sarnia, Ontario. Agriculture “a curving and rather flat topped hill” of the Great Lakes were Like logging, agriculture has greatly is expected to continue to be the major land use in southwestern Ontario over that “was wooded with big oak and other located along the St. Clair altered the Corridor’s landscape. the next decade. hardwood trees and all were as straight River and its tributaries. With greater knowledge of how as arrows. Like huge posts they rose from Pictured is the Black River their industry impacts the land and the forest floor, and high overhead was Steam Mill of Port Huron surrounding waterways, more farmers in 1863. Built by Francis a thick green cover formed by the Browning of Detroit in 1833, have begun to utilize low-impact branches. In the daytime little sunlight it was the first steam sawmill farming practices. These include came in through the tree tops, and what in what was then known crop rotation and rotational grazing, did cast a green gloom over the ground.” as the Northwest Territory. Agriculture transportation because vast wetlands conservation tillage and contour Upon this site, Cadillac instructed At its peak, the mill could The pattern of settlement in the and swamp forests made inland travel plowing, buffer strips and reduced his men to fell the trees and build produce 5 million board feet difficult. Tallgrass prairies, which were of lumber annually. region followed major river systems. use of pesticides, herbicides and a stockade, the area’s first permanent relatively dry and already void of trees, PORT HURON MUSEUM, PORT HURON, MICHIGAN HURON, MUSEUM, PORT HURON PORT Navigable rivers were needed for chemical fertilizers.

108 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| HUMANINFLUENCE HUMANINFLUENCE| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 109 Our Industrial Heritage overseas. Although the booms in Oil Michigan. Salt mines and wells The Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor Springs and nearby Petrolia ended long were developed throughout the holds a unique place in the history ago, some oil production continues Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor, of North American industry. From the in the area to this day. most prominently in Sarnia, Windsor and Detroit. The discovery of oil to the mass production The historic oil industry led to the of automobiles, industrial advances made chemical plants used the salt, development of Chemical Valley in to make certain products, and the in the region changed not only the Sarnia, where industries were able to landscape but also the way we live. emptied underground salt wells locate along the St. Clair River to to store hydrocarbons. Canada’s oil industry was born in central make use of its water for their Lambton County. In 1858, James Miller processes and shipping. Detroit is known as the Motor City, Williams dug North America’s first the automotive capital of the world. Chemical Valley began with the 1942 It was here that Henry Ford emerged commercial oil well in the oil gum beds opening of the Polymer synthetic rubber of Enniskillen Swamp. He soon built as a leader among early inventors of plant. It was built to provide the Allies the motorcar, the “horseless a refinery to produce illuminating oil with a replacement for natural rubber (kerosene) for lamps. Williams has carriage.” The Ford Motor they could no longer get from Far East Company, created by Ford and become known as the Father of North plantations. Several companies soon built America’s Oil Industry his business associates in 1903, chemical plants nearby. After World War introduced the assembly line in The location was aptly named Oil II ended in 1945, the industry continued 1913. With the ability to Springs. Men rushed in to extract oil. to thrive and more plants were built economically produce hundreds The world’s first oil gusher occurred along a 19-mi (30-km) stretch of the St. of cars each week, Ford’s factories there in 1862. With no effective controls Clair River to produce various employed thousands of men and in place, oil spewing from new wells chemicals, petrochemicals and plastics. women. Many other industries grew flowed into local waterways. Refineries Another factor in Chemical Valley’s in concert with the automotive sprang up in the area and excess oil was development was the existence of a huge industry, making Detroit one of the transported on rough roads made from bed of salt, lying 1,500 to 2,000 ft most important manufacturing tree logs for shipment by rail and boat (450 to 600 m) below the surface of centers in the Midwest U.S. to processors elsewhere in Ontario and Southwestern Ontario and southeastern All of these events were good for the economy but had harmful effects on the environment. Throughout the 1970s, industrial

and chemical pollution was prevalent GLENN OGILVE throughout industrialized Canada and the United States, including the Great Lakes Basin. Public outcry in the 1960s that “Lake Erie is dead” was punctuated by a fire on the Cuyahoga River near Cleveland, Ohio, which burned with an eerie glow due to high concentrations of petrochemicals on the water’s surface in 1969. In 1972, Canada and the United States signed the first Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement to rid the Great Lakes of “persistent toxic substances.” Other statutes have since been passed in both countries.

The measures have helped reduce ROBERT STEWART industrial pollution and allow (Top) A modern view of “Chemical Valley” in Sarnia, Ontario. RICHARD W. FORD AND SHELL CANADA FORD W. RICHARD water quality to improve. (Above) The riverfront of the lower Detroit River is dominated by industry in Michigan. Refineries were built to process crude oil extracted in Lambton County, Ontario in the mid-to late-1800s. Pictured is a refinery in Petrolia.

110 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| HUMANINFLUENCE OUR MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE:

Humans and wildlife rely on clean water for survival. Our water resources are threatened by contaminated sediments, shoreline development, Water“The wars of the next century habitat loss, storm water and agricultural will be about water.” runoff, and the direct discharge of animal and human wastes. There is a critical — The World Bank need to protect the environment from these influences if native biodiversity and our own health are to remain secure. Maintaining aquatic biodiversity requires essential actions: protecting water quality, preserving coastal and riparian zones, restoring degraded habitats and controlling invasive exotic species. Each one of these actions is important to the health and diversity of our water resources. STEWART ROBERT Southeastern Michigan boasts the highest ROBERT STEWART ROBERT Stressors to the Aquatic concentration of registered boats in Michigan The role of the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor in moving cargo is vital to economies in Canada, and has the largest number of recreational Ecosystem the United States and other countries in the world. watercraft per capita in North America. The Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor is subject to many stressors from many sources: habitat loss and degradation

KAREN JOHNSON NVASIVE QUATIC PECIES from development, chemical I A S contaminants from industry, agricultural Built in 1885, this lighthouse is a familiar sight in the lower Detroit River. runoff, bacteria from municipal sewage t least 139 aquatic organisms the second-greatest threat discharges, and invasive exotic species. have been introduced (behind habitat loss) The Michigan shoreline is extensively to the Great Lakes to the Corridor’s ecosystems. developed with marinas, cottages, homes Basin since the 1800s. Some of the most common and industry; little of the natural AMany of these exotic, or non-native, aquatic nuisance species in the character of the land is left. The Ontario Detroit is the busiest port in the Great species have arrived in ballast water Corridor include the sea lamprey, shoreline has many hectares of Lakes. In 1969, a channel for commercial brought by ocean-going ships from zebra mussel, round goby, agricultural usage as well as recreational shipping was dug to a depth of 28 ft elsewhere in the world. Their rate purple loosestrife and Eurasian (8.5 m) in the Detroit River. Since the of entry increased after the St. water milfoil. and residential development. Materials channel construction, large ocean-bound dredged from waterways have been freighters have become a common sight. Lawrence Seaway deposited on both sides of the Corridor. opened in 1959, Development has resulted in widespread Wave action from the heavy allowing more loss of coastal wetland and extensive shipping traffic places stress on transoceanic traffic shoreline modifications. coastal marsh communities. to travel the Great Lakes. Roughly 90 percent of the Michigan Winter ship travel, along with the shore and 20 percent of the Canadian ice clearing that aids navigation, Without natural shore have been modified with have destroyed ice bridges once predators, some revetments and other shoreline used by mammals to move between exotic species hardening structures. Wetlands have DEBRA A. BOUSSEY Michigan and Ontario. populations rapidly Dawn at Belle River Beach on Lake St. Clair in Essex County, Ontario.With more than 93 public been lost due to dredging, bulkheading and private marinas along both sides of the connecting channels, the Corridor supports more boats Beaches in the Corridor are often grow and pose a or backfilling. Wetlands that do remain per square nautical mile than anywhere else in the world. deemed unfit for swimming due to major threat to generally exist on the islands of the the stability of the JUDE DAVID nutrients such as nitrogen and can cause soil erosion and bacterial contamination, much of it St. Clair and Detroit rivers and the caused by the discharge of untreated aquatic food chain. Native to the Black and Caspian seas, the tubenose goby phosphorous to the waterways and sedimentation, as runoff from farms (Proterorhinus marmoratus) is a recent invader of the Great Lakes. St. Clair River Delta. sewage. Building and upgrading In fact, invasive disturbed their chemical balance, is deposited into water bodies. exotic species are It first appeared in the St. Clair River in the late 1990s after being Agricultural runoff from lands which can lead to the excessive growth community sewer systems is essential released in the ballast water of an ocean-going freighter. in Michigan and Ontario has added of algae. Intensive agricultural practices Dredging to facilitate shipping has to protecting water quality and changed the waterways’ morphology. enjoyment of the beaches.

112 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| HUMANINFLUENCE HUMANINFLUENCE| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 113 AREAS OF CONCERN AND CONTAMINATED SEDIMENTS IN THE LAKE HURON TO LAKE ERIE CORRIDOR NONPOINT AND POINT SOURCE POLLUTION

There are two types of pollution that affect water quality: point source and ST. CLAIR RIVER nonpoint source pollution. CLINTON RIVER Cadmium Nickel Chromium Zinc PCBs Point source pollution refers to the Manganese PCBs DETROIT RIVER Pesticides Arsenic PAHs direct discharge of contaminants to PCBs Metals Copper TKN a water body. Sources include overflows Cyanide Iron Phosphorus Copper from sewage treatment plants and Lead Hexachlorobenzene Lead Mercury Oil and Grease discharges from industries. Zinc Nonpoint source pollution is a result of urbanization and poor agricultural ROUGE RIVER practices. Urbanization has created PCBs many impervious surfaces that water can’t penetrate such as rooftops, sidewalks, roads and parking lots. Rainwater runoff from these surfaces, as well as farm fields, carries such contaminants as antifreeze and pesticides to the nearest available sewer or waterway. BRUCE MANNY BRUCE RIVER RAISIN Contaminated sediments have been known to cause tumors in fish. PCBs

T HE B ALD E AGLE

he bald eagle (Haliaeetus Chemicals in the environment, such as

DATA SOURCE: U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY PROTECTION U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL DATA SOURCE: leucocephalus) is not DDT, are passed up the food chain as only a symbol of the organisms are consumed. The The dots on the map do not indicate the specific location of contamination United States, but an chemicals are stored in animals’ tissue, Toutstanding example of the impact so the concentrations increase with CONTAMINATED SEDIMENTS are important measures to curb pollution • Restrictions on drinking water and foster healthy aquatic ecosystems. consumption, or taste and odor of environmental contaminants each step up the food chain, a process Many parts of the Detroit and St. Clair rivers problems on wildlife. known as bio-magnification. Since eagles and Lake St. Clair are contaminated with heavy AREAS OF CONCERN and other birds of prey are at the top of metals, oil, dioxins, PCBs and other toxic • Beach closings These large birds of prey feed chemicals. The heaviest pollution is in the food chain, the contaminant level in The International Joint Commission (IJC) • Degradation of aesthetics primarily on fish. They are U.S. LIBRARY IMAGE NATIONAL FWS, industrial areas, although pollution has been their systems is high. It causes a variety was created by the U.S. and Canada in 1909 • Added costs to agriculture or industry found 60km downstream from any known permanent residents of Michigan The bald eagle is slowly coming back to assist governments in monitoring and of health complications, especially pollution source. • Degradation of phytoplankton and Ontario, wintering as far to the shores of the Lake Huron to improving water conditions in the reproductive problems that can include and zooplankton populations north as open water permits. Lake Erie Corridor. Since passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972, Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River system. not laying eggs, laying eggs that don’t • Loss of fish and wildlife habitat During the winter of 2001-2002, has found elevated levels of mercury stricter pollution control standards have greatly The IJC has classified five parts of the Lake hatch and the hatching of unhealthy Huron to Erie Corridor as Areas of Concern the Michigan statewide annual and lead, showing that environmen- decreased point source pollution in the Lake Within each Area of Concern, volunteers chicks that don’t survive. due to degradation of the water and/or Huron to Lake Erie Corridor. However, historic representing all population sectors have survey found the county with the tal contaminants are still playing a surrounding habitat. These degradations are pollution remains a problem in the form of developed Remedial Action Plans (RAPs) most bald eagles was Monroe, Populations of eagles in both countries role in the Great Lakes ecosystem. called Beneficial Use Impairments. An impaired contaminated sediments. to restore the beneficial uses of water where 70 were counted. plummeted. By the 1970s, fewer than beneficial use means that enough of a change in the Great Lakes Basin. 100 pairs of bald eagles nested in In the Great Lakes region today, Contaminated sediments negatively impact has occurred in the chemical, physical, or Bald eagles once nested throughout most eagles nest in upper Michigan, the aquatic ecosystem in a variety of ways. biological integrity of an area to cause any Michigan. Although DDT was banned The St. Clair and Detroit Rivers are the Corridor region. During the northwest Ontario, and along the The diversity and abundance of benthic of the following: binational projects, while only the U.S. in 1972, bald eagles failed to raise a 20th Century, gradual population northern Lake Erie shoreline. Only organisms is very low in contaminated areas. addresses the Clinton, Rouge and Raisin single chick in the Great Lakes region • Restrictions on fish and wildlife consumption Thus many sections of the Corridor have rivers. The design and execution of RAPs declines were attributed to habitat in 1980. a few have tried to nest in the Lake impaired benthos. Fish have absorbed toxic • Tainting of fish and wildlife flavor involve collaborative efforts by the loss, hunting, trapping and nest Huron to Lake Erie Corridor in pollutants, prompting authorities to issue • Degradation of fish and wildlife populations public, non-governmental organizations, robbing. In the middle of the Since the mid-1980s, the number recent decades. A successful nest in restrictions on the amount, size and type educators, First Nations and government century, disaster struck. The use of bald eagles has started to rebound. 2001 at Lake Erie Metropark was of fish that people should consume. Toxic • Fish tumors or other deformities agencies. The goal of these plans is to of chemicals that persist in the However most bald eagles in the region the first in Wayne County, Michigan chemicals also are blamed for birth defects, • Bird or animal deformities delist the rivers once all impairments have low reproductive success and some tumors or reproduction problems been removed. By mid-2003, of the IJC’s environment, most notably the still have reproductive problems. While in 100 years. But until nesting and deformities in fish and wildlife. insecticide DDT, began the typical lifespan of bald eagles is about attempts are consistently successful, • Degradation of benthos original list of 43 Areas of Concern in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River system, demonstrating a profound 30 years, those in Ontario live only eight there is still a need for concern Today, ensuring the proper disposal • Restrictions on dredging activities Collingwood Harbour and Severn Sound of toxic chemicals and the regulation impact on wildlife. to 10 years. Examination of dead birds and vigilance. • Growth of too much algae or undesirable in Ontario have been delisted, while many of industrial discharges into waterways algae, which is known as eutrophication others are working towards that goal.

HUMANINFLUENCE| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 115 Impervious Surfaces groundwater from the aquifer for Urban Sprawl important sources of aquatic biodiversity Looking down from the Blue Water irrigation, consumption and industrial Development is quickly gobbling land to re-colonize the degraded lower reaches Bridge or the Ambassador Bridge, the usage. People construct ditches, dikes, in the Corridor. In fact, it is estimated of rivers. cities of Sarnia, Port Huron, Windsor and drains to carry surface water away urban sprawl will lead to more than quickly. All these actions adversely Poor water quality–The addition and Detroit appear to be covered with 400,000 people moving to the of impervious surfaces increases the trees. But amid those trees are large tracts affect underground water resources. headwaters of southeastern Michigan’s Impervious surfaces built on top of amount of polluted runoff entering of impervious surfaces such as rooftops, major river systems in the next 20 years. nearby rivers and streams. driveways, streets and parking lots. the ground add to the problem by Areas surrounding Windsor, Sarnia preventing fresh rainwater from and London, Ontario are also subject Flooding–As wetlands that once These surfaces cause water to run directly seeping into the soil to recharge the to this type of pressure. absorbed and held rainwater are lost, into storm sewers and streams rather aquifer. Short-rooted monoculture and impervious surfaces are added than be slowly absorbed into the ground. STEWART ROBERT lawns such as non-native Kentucky The definition of urban sprawl varies in headwater areas, flooding could among professionals. Generally, it means This absence of lingering water is Road repair on Michigan’s Interstate 75. Highways are becoming increasingly congested bluegrass, which require watering, occur downstream. detrimental to humans and animals. as more and more workers commute from the outer fringes of the Detroit Metropolitan area. fertilization and herbicides, contribute the growth of low-density residential and Contaminants carried by runoff into unhealthy nutrients and chemicals commercial developments on the outer Higher taxes–A common waterways harm aquatic life. to rivers and lakes. edges of cities and towns. Open spaces misconception is that new subdivisions such as farms, forests and recreation areas bring greater community wealth. Studies performed at the University Fortunately, as the impact from – suddenly are filled by houses, roads, On the contrary, the increased cost of of Michigan have determined that water, humans becomes better known and strip malls. building new schools, roads and other land and the species that live in both and understood, there is an increasing infrastructure outweighs the increase in environments are significantly harmed willingness by farmers, landowners, There are a number of negative effects tax revenue. A study conducted by the when only eight percent of the land is and municipalities to make the that run counter to the benefits U.S. Department of Agriculture, covered with impervious surfaces. connection between land and water of urban sprawl: Economic Research Service (Agricultural in their everyday lives. They have Loss of fish and wildlife habitat– Report No. 803, June 2001) noted that Likewise, subdivisions and shopping begun to make land use decisions The natural areas on the fringes of urban “residential development requires $1.24 malls, especially those built in former and adopt land use policies that centers often still support ecosystems in expenditures for public services for rural areas, cause habitat loss, wetland preserve woodlands and protect and biodiversity that are important every dollar it generates in tax revenues, degradation and fragmentation of natural wetlands and waterways. These to the region’s natural heritage. In on average. By contrast, farmland or landscapes. Shoreline development measures are necessary because, southeastern Michigan, for example, open space generates only 38 cents in creates a barrier to migration for birds as an old Aboriginal phrase puts it: high-quality headwater areas are costs for each dollar in taxes paid.” and aquatic creatures. Such changes “Without water, we are not.” force plant and animals species to live in isolated pockets, causing them to eventually lack genetic diversity. Unfortunately, little can be done to restore places where homes and businesses already have been built. But much can be done - when society and government work together-to keep further development within existing urban districts rather than allowing it to spread into open areas. COMPANY FORD MOTOR A killdeer (Charadrius vociferous) nest Water and Land; of eggs is spotted on the 10.4-ac living U.S.AGENCY PROTECTION ENVIRONMENTAL green roof at Ford Motor Company’s Ford Land and Water Rouge Center in Dearborn, Michigan. The Water is constantly moving, whether Hydrology is the study of water’s There is a natural interplay of land roof is constructed of a bioengineered storm flowing downhill, seeping deeper into properties, distribution and circulation on and water, even during seasonal water management system that includes the ground, evaporating into the air or drought tolerant sedum and a recycled and within Earth and the atmosphere. fluctuations that include winter fabric growing medium. Many innovative returning to Earth as precipitation. The judicious use of land is called land use snows, spring thaws, early summer solutions have been put into place at the Although water and land are distinct planning. Like water and land, hydrology rains, and late summer draughts. Ford Rouge Center to manage the flow of elements, they are inherently linked. and land use planning go hand-in-hand. But mankind has a way of water on the property in a way that is Water defines a beach. Land embraces a Indeed, they must. Both land and water are manipulating nature. beneficial to the environment. The use of porous pavement, buffer strips and living lake or river. Water saturates soil. Soil necessary to maintain vegetation. And TRISH BECKJORD Farmers, landowners and green roofs all help to filter and clean and rock contain underground aquifers. vegetation is necessary to provide shelter Urban sprawl transforms natural areas into expansive subdivisions that are costly to local governments municipalities sink wells that pump stormwater run-off helping protect water and food for humans and animals. quality and providing wildlife habitat. and harmful to the environment.

116 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| HUMANINFLUENCE HUMANINFLUENCE| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 117 Rural character is lost – Ironically, the rustic quality of the countryside that first attracted homeowners quickly changes as urban sprawl’s buildings, roads and parking lots take over the fields, farm structures and natural areas of the rural community. Light pollution–Illumination of buildings and neighborhoods creates an outdoor glow that obscures the night sky, preventing enjoyment of the stars and other celestial objects, and actually negatively impacting the ability of migrating birds to navigate by the stars. Less exercise, more pollution–Often the subdivisions are not within walking distance of workplaces, stores or public transportation. Consequently the residents depend heavily on vehicles to get around. Lack of foresight and planning leads to the problems that arise with the onset of urban sprawl in an area. The carefully planned use of the land and good leadership to address the needs of humans while respecting natural resources can direct development in a way that benefits both humans and nature. Many innovative solutions have been developed to alleviate the negative effects

of urban sprawl. Land use planning and SEMCOG. OF GOVERNMENTS, COUNCIL MICHIGAN THE SOUTHEAST OF MAP COURTESY farmland preservation policies are two Growth and development pattern predictions for the next 30 years show the outer regions of ROBERT STEWART tools that communities can use to direct Metropolitan Detroit changing from undeveloped and agricultural land to subdivisions, strip malls, development in better ways. gas stations and fast food restaurants. Farms like this one in Oakland County, Michigan are likely to be developed in the next decade unless protections are put in place.

G OVERNMENT L AND U SE P LANNING

FARMLAND PRESERVATION EFFORTS

ocal governments have To plan, local governments can: landscaping and cluster he threat of urban sprawl efforts are under way to help farmers a responsibility to take development. to farmland has been keep their land in agricultural use. • Conduct an inventory of important intense in recent years. Efforts include programs to purchase the lead in land use natural features to identify areas • Make zoning decisions that planning. If they don’t, Farmers can make a the development rights to a property worthy of protection. preserve high-quality areas and Tgreater profit from selling their land as well as conservation easements Lland use decisions are at the mercy • Develop a master plan (also called an are consistent with the master to a developer than they can from that allow for certain tax benefits of private interests that usually plan. place a higher value on profit than official plan) for land use that provides farming. Many farmland preservation and exemptions. environmental protection. for environmental protection and • Create incentives and encourage encourages the use of native reuse of land in urban areas.

118 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| HUMANINFLUENCE S HIAWASSEE AND H URON H EADWATERS K EEP I T N ATURAL R ESOURCE P RESERVATION P ROJECT Many homeowners have discovered the joys of native landscaping. Using native plants in the landscape can be as simple as incorporating native wildflowers into a flowerbed or creating a rain The northern part of Oakland County, significant, harboring rare species of This work resulted in the garden. Large-scale projects include converting a lawn to a meadow or allowing a property to naturalize Michigan has experienced rapid growth plants and animals found only in the identification of high-quality in recent years as the population of Great Lakes region. natural areas, threats to these to a woodland setting. Each of these actions provides benefits to wildlife and homeowners. Metropolitan Detroit has spread ecosystems and methods to protect outward. Land has been consumed by Springfield Township always has valued them. It was determined that The Benefits of Using Native Plants its natural resources, which residents subdivision developments, strip malls encouraging the use of native plants • Native plants are attractive and feel add to the quality of life in the and gas stations. This trend has resulted in residential and commercial reflect the beauty of the area before area. In order to protect these natural in the loss of natural areas and open landscaping was an important way it was developed. Planting a native resources, the township partnered with spaces, as well as additions of paved of protecting native ecosystems and wildflower is like planting a piece the Michigan Natural Features Inventory surfaces that threaten the water quality preserving water quality. To help of ecological history. of sensitive headwater areas. to conduct the Shiawassee and Huron residents and developers incorporate Headwaters Resource Preservation native plants into their landscapes, • Native plants are well-adapted Springfield Township has managed Project. The project included: an informational CD-ROM was to local conditions and don’t need development in a way that protects fertilizers, pesticides or lawn • Developing a method to identify created through the Springfield local natural resources and benefits the equipment for maintenance, and rank ecosystems in the township Township Native Vegetation community. Located in the Interlobate Enhancement Project. It provides a which saves the homeowner time • Conducting field inventories in sites region of northwest Oakland County, database of 230 native plants for use and money. the township contains the headwaters that ranked as high-quality ecosystems in landscaping and helps build • Most native species are perennial, of the Clinton, Huron, Flint and • Reviewing land use planning awareness of the region’s natural coming back year after year, Shiawassee rivers. The hilly terrain has documents from surrounding heritage. which reduces the need to buy many lakes, streams and wetlands. municipalities Oak-hickory forests and tallgrass prairie The township also incorporated annual plants. CORNELIS LARRY • Collecting information on natural grow on the uplands. Rare natural policies into its master plan to resource protection tools and • Native plants promote biodiversity • Native plants improve water quality communities, such as prairie fens and promote the retention of natural techniques through a national and provide food, rest, and shelter and reduce soil erosion. The deep wet meadows, are found in the lowlands. areas and open space. As a result, literature search to local wildlife. Even a wildflower and fibrous root systems of many Some of these habitats are globally each new proposed development is garden in an urban setting can native plants anchor soil and create screened to determine if it contains a attract native butterflies and millions of tiny channels for rainwater significant natural area. If it does, the songbirds. to follow back into the earth. natural area is permanently preserved In contrast, the depth of roots in within the development. Homes are • Native landscaping can reduce air a typical lawn grass is only six inches CORNELIS LARRY clustered outside the natural area and pollution and save energy. Gasoline (15 cm), causing heavy rainfall Native prairie plants fill a backyard in conservation easements are granted or electric mowers no longer need to run off and carry fertilizers Chatham-Kent, Ontario all summer long with to the local land conservancy. to be used once a lawn becomes and pesticides with it. gorgeous blooms that require little maintenance. Landscape plans integrate native a wildflower meadow. plants and avoid the use of exotic, invasive species that could invade the natural areas. Efforts are even being INVASIVE EXOTIC PLANT SPECIES made between subdivisions to link protected open spaces, preventing habitat fragmentation. lants that grow outside settings, the exotics can spread quickly of 12 per cent in crop yields, costing of the location where to natural areas, agricultural lands and $24 billion in crop losses and Overall, these policies benefit the they evolved are waterways. Purple loosestrife can $3 billion in control expenses community. Natural areas are considered to be exotic. overtake prairie fens and other rare annually. This amount is growing preserved and residents can enjoy PInvasive exotic species are a wetland types. Even high-quality forests each year as existing exotic invasive their beauty. Developers gain from worldwide problem, impacting can be invaded by garlic mustard. plant species spread and new ones lower construction costs and higher nearly every corner of the are introduced. sale prices for lots adjacent to nature globe economically and Exotic plants can diminish local wildlife preserves. The Shiawassee and Huron environmentally. populations by displacing native plants Citizens can help by learning which Headwaters Resource Preservation that normally provide them with food plants are invasive in their area and Project serves as a model for other Invasive exotic plants usually are and cover. For example, the invasion of not planting them in their gardens. municipalities to protect themselves highly adaptable and can survive common reed grass in wetlands affects Volunteering with a local land from the hazards of urban sprawl in a range of conditions. waterfowl. conservancy or other conservation and to preserve their high-quality Without the insects, fungi, organization to remove exotic Springfield Township protects ecologically fragile areas by acquiring them. One such example The spread, and control, of exotic ecosystems. diseases, herbivores and invasive plant species also will help is the Long Lake Natural Area, a 37-ac (14.8-ha) parcel that lies within an already protected 600-ac competition from other plants invasive plants can be costly. In the U.S., to maintain the biodiversity of (240-ha) ecosystem complex. This natural area contains one of the highest quality exotic weeds cause an overall reduction prairie fens in the Midwestern U.S. that control them in their native local nature preserves and parks.

120 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| HUMANINFLUENCE S TEWARDSHIP: THE R ESTORATION NATURAL SHORELINES BENEFIT WILDLIFE AND WATER QUALITY AND M ANAGEMENT OF N ATURAL A REAS Steel breakwalls and other shoreline- • Loss of aquatic plants that protect shorelines from a buffer of native vegetation at their shoreline. hardening structures dominate shorelines erosion and provide places for reptiles, amphibians, Shoreline buffers reduce erosion, filter of the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor. waterfowl and mammals to bask, feed, rest pollutants from runoff and provide habitat Studies have shown that this has negative and breed for fish and wildlife. Given the great loss of habitat in the Michigan and southwestern Ontario. The identification and management effects, including: Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor, of existing natural areas are • Degradation of nearshore waters, either directly In areas where erosion needs to be prevented, restoration of native ecosystems helps But it is impossible to fully replace important to maintaining • Reduction of water quality because of from habitat loss or indirectly from poor water new types of shoreline structures are being developed through soil-bioengineering. preserve the region’s natural heritage. what had been created through 10,000 biodiversity. Ways of protecting siltation and nutrient enrichment quality. Many fish and aquatic insects depend years of evolution. Restoration projects on nearshore waters for habitat. They incorporate vegetation into the erosion Many projects, such as prairie and restoring natural areas can • Destruction of physical habitat such protection structures, improve habitat and restoration, tree plantings and the often take years to provide tangible include controlled (prescribed) as woody debris and gradually Waterfront property owners can help improve water usually cost less than traditional engineering creation of wetlands, have been benefits to wildlife. This is why burns, removing invasive exotic sloping shorelines quality and increase wildlife habitat by establishing practices that use concrete and steel. implemented throughout southeastern protection of existing natural areas is species and sowing native imperative if native biodiversity plant species. is to exist in the future. The Macomb Buffer Initiative Crosswinds Marsh Project The Macomb Buffer Initiative Program transformed and emergent and submergent aquatic plants Crosswinds Marsh is an example of a for marsh construction and the edge of an eroded shoreline in Lake St. Clair to that enhance the natural beauty of the successful large-scale wetland mitigation another three for re-vegetation. a buffer of native vegetation, blooming with shoreline. Buffers of native vegetation reduce project that created a wetland in Sumpter In 1997 the 1,050-ac wildflowers. One of the major focuses of the initiative soil erosion and trap fertilizers, chemicals Township, Michigan. The project was designed (420-ha) site opened as is on lawns that are mowed to the water's edge. and other potential pollutants, including to make up for destruction of a wetland when a public park, owned by Landowners are encouraged to install buffers with pet wastes and pesticides. They also deter the Detroit Metropolitan Airport was expanded. Wayne County. native flowering shrubs, wildflowers, grasses, sedges, overpopulation by Canada geese. Although this project was successful, studies show that most wetland mitigation projects The project included Before undertaken by developers are predominantly transplanting endangered plant unsuccessful. They are expensive, difficult species from the airport site to HOPKINS SETH to properly locate, and take many years to Crosswinds. Deep and shallow establish before they benefit wildlife. Some water areas were created in the wetlands like swamp forests, fens and bogs marsh. Deepwater areas are 12 are impossible to replace. to 20 ft (3.6 to 6 m) deep and support a diverse fish seen, although no young have been raised yet. community. Only 120 ac (48 ha) of the site was The site also is the home of coyote, mink, The whole restoration area at Crosswinds seeded; the remaining vegetation established muskrat, raccoon and red fox. Current had once been wetland, but it was drained on its own. management efforts include removing invasive and farmed for a century. It took three years exotic species, such as purple loosestrife, After SETH HOPKINS So far, ecologists have identified more than giant reed grass and Eurasian watermilfoil,

200 species of birds, both migratory and resident, HOPKINS SETH and monitoring the project’s success. HOPKINS SETH at Crosswinds. A nesting pair of bald eagles has been Wildlife Habitat Council Tallgrass Prairie Buffer Blue Heron Lagoon Soil Bioengineering

The Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) is an Citizens help to alleviate international nonprofit organization that erosion on the Pine River’s provides resources and alternative methods shoreline through installing for companies to protect and enhance wildlife fascines and other habitat, reduce their environmental footprint, soil-bioengineering practices

and promote environmental stewardship at URBANI ROBERTA at Goodells County Park corporate facilities. Corporations can become in St. Clair County, members of WHC and become involved in their Michigan. Soil-bioengineer- Wildlife at WorkSM program whereby a team of ing combines mechanical, company employees create a wildlife team and biological and ecological create a wildlife management plan for their concepts to stabilize eroding property. The team can then implement wildlife slopes and provide habitat habitat improvement projects on their business restoration. Supported by property, often with the assistance from local the Southeast Michigan environmental groups, community groups, and Resource Conservation governmental agencies. Habitat projects on and Development Council, corporate properties are varied, but have this project demonstrates included the transformation of lawns to practical low-cost RURAL LAMBTON STEWARDSHIP NETWORK STEWARDSHIP LAMBTON RURAL meadows, the installation of nest boxes to DTE ENERGY The shoreline of Blue Heron Lagoon on Belle Isle techniques that can be provide for cavity-nesting birds, reforestation, Corporate Habitats in southeastern Michigan The Rural Lambton Stewardship Network in Detroit, Michigan was restored to a natural used to prevent erosion and prairie restoration. Partnerships with the and southwestern Ontario. They include several installed a tallgrass prairie buffer on a farm condition through a partnership with the U.S. Fish in a habitat-friendly way. community help create important links between DTE Energy sites in Michigan and Ontario Power in Lambton County, Ontario. This organization and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service and DTE the company and conservation efforts in the Generation’s Lambton Generating Station works in partnership with local farmers on Energy, which supported the involvement of local

region. Currently, there are twenty Certified south of Sarnia. conservation projects that are beneficial to students in planting native plant species. DEBORAH BASSETT-MAXWELL wildlife and water quality.

122 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| HUMANINFLUENCE HUMANINFLUENCE| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 123 Y

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Urban Wildlife Many wildlife species have adapted to the man-made environment. Raccoon, cottontail rabbit, squirrel, striped skunk, red fox, opossum, woodchuck and in some cases even coyote are common mammals in urban and suburban areas.

In many cases, these wildlife species SCHAFER JOHN have been able to meet their needs for food, water, space and cover in The Peregrine Falcon restocking programs. They involve city parks, backyards, abandoned lots Peregrine falcons are birds of prey, breeding peregrines in captivity and and cemeteries. releasing them into the wild. Birds known for their swift flight. JUDITH YERKEY Distributed worldwide, they once released from Sudbury, Ontario and Pigeons, gulls, grackles and house nested throughout North America. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania formed a pair sparrows are common sights They occupied high cliffs in Ontario that became the first to successfully nest in most urban areas, where they feed and northern Michigan before those in Michigan, at a downtown Detroit on garbage. In suburbia, starlings areas were settled. location in 1993. Peregrines recently and blue jays thrive in habitats provided have been seen nesting in five spots in by lots edged with trees and shrubs. By the mid-1960s, peregrine the downtown Detroit area. They also

Blue jays steal from the nests of FERN WILSON falcon populations were declining nest in Canadian urban centers such as

songbirds and starlings nest in throughout the U.S. and had London, Ontario. Y E cavities that would otherwise K

disappeared completely east of the R E be used by native bird species. Peregrines bred in captivity apparently Y

Mississippi River. The main threat to H IT

the peregrine falcon and other birds adapt better than their wild relatives to D Many bird enthusiasts attract JU of prey was the common use of the urban environment. Instead of a variety of songbird species organo-chlorine pesticides, such as natural high places such as cliffs, the to their yards through DDT. Studies show the peregrine adapted birds make use of artificial bird-friendly gardens and structures such as skyscrapers and power

MARIE BOYLE falcon retains the highest DDT residue feeders. Northern flickers, of all vertebrates, causing reproductive plant stacks. They feed on pigeons, cardinals and song sparrows are problems. The species has recovered mourning doves, starlings, flickers and among birds known to frequent slowly since DDT was banned woodcocks. Populations of pigeons and a properly managed backyard. in North America in 1972. starlings often grow so large that they These habitat enhancements Unfortunately, the birds are still become a nuisance in urban areas. also help migrating birds that exposed to toxic pesticides at their pass through the region on The Michigan Department of Natural

JOEL HILL JOEL wintering grounds in Central America. their way to their summer Resources has provided funding through

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E and winter homes. its Natural Heritage Program to monitor K The peregrine falcon’s resurgence has R

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urban setting. Communities could invasive species, restoring native falcon populations in the Detroit area Y

been aided by recovery efforts begun H Public parks could be important refuges improve their parks’ habitat value plant communities and reducing IT in the late 1980s, particularly and gain a better understanding of this D for diverse wildlife populations in an through such actions as removing manicured lawns. unique raptor. JU

124 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| HUMANINFLUENCE HUMANINFLUENCE| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 125 SHAPING THE LAKE HURON TO LAKE ERIE CORRIDOR’S FUTURE: YOU CAN HELP

Swimming is a popular activity on beaches various citizen activities, such as It might seem like a lone individual’s efforts throughout the Lake Huron to Lake Erie wildlife monitoring and annual bird Corridor. Every summer, thousands flock counts, that help to gather important to the lakes and rivers around the region for relief from the summer heat. data for scientific research. At the same time, you will learn more about the have activities designed to monitor creatures that live in the region. and improve the health of rivers, could not affect the Lake Huron to Lake lakes and streams. • You can play a role in shaping future development in your community. • Help protect significant natural Development comes under the areas in your community by getting authority of your municipal council N

O

S involved with a local land

N or local planning body, depending Erie Corridor’s environment, compared H conservancy or other conservation on where you live. Generally their JO

N

E organization.

R decisions are guided by master

A K • Volunteer for ecological projects in (or official) plans, policies and bylaws that are set through public processes. Students help install soil-bioengineering your area. These can include planting practices to improve coastal marsh habitat on trees, managing invasive plants, You and other citizens can have a say Grosse Ile, Michigan. with the powerful forces of nature and collecting seeds and removing litter in development decision-making by and trash from natural areas and attending public hearings and taking along waterways. Helping local other opportunities to express your nature organizations with this kind views on what you want your of work, even just once a year, can go community to look like. technology that created it over the past a long way when combined with the Whatever your age, wherever you efforts of many other volunteers. live, you can make a difference • Help scientists identify the best ways in the future of the Lake Huron of managing native ecosystems. to Lake Erie Corridor.

10,000 years. However, there are things You can do this by participating in

S

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JESSICA PITELKA OPFER JESSICA PITELKA L you can do to help restore and sustain

Y et us be good stewards of the Earth we inherited. H “L The Clinton River Watershed Council engages students in monitoring water quality and

DOROT learning about the aquatic life that inhabits the All of us have to share the Earth’s fragile ecosystems and river.

this ecological treasure. precious resources, and each of us has a role to play in

preserving them. If we are to go on living together on

• Share what you have learned from • Visit your local natural areas. • If there are creeks or rivers flowing this book. Education is critical to Experiencing and appreciating nature through your community, take a this Earth, we must all be responsible for it.” understanding and maintaining the are the first steps toward protecting it. moment to look at them. Do they Corridor’s natural heritage. Talk with appear to provide a healthy your family and friends about what • If you have a garden, beautify it with environment for plants and – Kofi Annan, you have read. Pass this book along native plants. Bringing back native animals? As you have read, healthy United Nations Secretary-General, 2001 to someone you think would be plants to neighborhoods throughout aquatic ecosystems are dependent interested in knowing more. the region could do much to improve upon good water quality. Contact wildlife habitat, sustain native your local watershed council or biodiversity and enhance water quality. conservation authority. They often G. REGNIER JOHN Children explore a wetland in Essex County, Ontario, looking for insects and having fun.

126 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| HUMANINFLUENCE HUMANINFLUENCE| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 127 A FTERWARD A PPENDIX A: PROTECTED L ANDS

When I first came to Michigan from my native New York, their appreciation and understanding of the beauty and I was struck by the beauty and vastness of its natural resources. variety of nature that surrounds us. Explore our Natural World I realized, too, that with this gift comes a tremendous has much to teach us about this unique region which is home responsibility to protect and preserve our environment for to so many species of plants and animals. future generations. I take this charge very seriously, as does DTE Energy and our utility subsidiaries, Detroit Edison At DTE Energy, we believe that protecting the environment and MichCon. begins in our own backyard. We appreciate the work of the Wildlife Habitat Council as they advise us in managing our At DTE Energy we believe that economic activity and "backyards" to benefit wildlife. To date, seven DTE Energy environmental protection can be mutually supportive. facilities are certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council as wildlife We are committed to promoting responsible use of sites, including three along the St. Clair and traditional and alternative energy solutions to fuel society’s Detroit Rivers, and two on Lake Erie. growth in the present, without compromising the quality of the environment for future generations. We operate our DTE Energy established the St. Clair River Waterways facilities in full compliance with environmental regulations for Wildlife Project in 1995, with the guidance of the and go beyond those requirements where feasible. We are Wildlife Habitat Council. That partnership joined businesses, reducing our impact on the environment through the municipalities, state and provincial agencies and individuals installation of innovative pollution control equipment. from both sides of the St. Clair River in a common goal We are also working towards a sustainable energy future by of enhancing wildlife habitat and protecting biodiversity investing in new technologies based on hydrogen, fuel cells, along the river. distributed generation and other renewable sources. Since then, this project has continued to grow in many Our corporate commitment to the environment is well ways – in acreage protected, in membership and in illustrated through the stewardship activities we sponsor. geographic scope. And it has fostered other successful And the environmental commitment and dedication of our international environmental partnerships. The designation employees is demonstrated daily through their actions. of the Detroit River as both a United States and Canadian We have an obligation to enhance the quality of life for Heritage River, and the creation of the International Wildlife today’s society and for generations to come. Environmental Refuge in the lower Detroit River, are examples of the stewardship is at the heart of this commitment. growing spirit of international environmental stewardship linking business, industry and our communities. This book DTE Energy has a vested interest in protecting and is the latest reflection of that spirit, and will contribute to enhancing our natural heritage. MichCon’s natural gas reserves furthering its growth. stretch from Traverse City to Taylor. And Detroit Edison’s electric generating plants are located from Michigan’s “Thumb” DTE Energy is grateful for the opportunity to participate to its southeastern border. In fact, the majority of our electric in the creation of this book. My hope is that publication facilities are along the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers. of Explore our Natural World: A Biodiversity Atlas of the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor will inspire all of us to regard That’s why we’re so pleased to support the publication of this region as our own "backyard," deserving of preservation Explore our Natural World: A Biodiversity Atlas of the Lake and protection now and for generations to come. Huron to Lake Erie Corridor. We believe this publication will help all citizens of southeastern Michigan and southwestern Afterward by Anthony F. Earley, Jr., Ontario, as well as the many visitors to our region, grow in Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DTE Energy

128 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR| THE PHYSICALLANDSCAPE A PPENDIX A: PROTECTED L ANDS A PPENDIX B: SPECIES AT R ISK

Species at risk are plants and Special Concern–A species whose Factors that Contribute to the Decline of animals whose populations have been population is in decline, and whose Native Species declining in response to a variety characteristics make it particularly • Habitat loss and degradation of factors. Government agencies sensitive to human or natural • Environmental contamination periodically review species known to disturbances. • Genetic and reproductive isolation be rare and assign them a status that reflects the security of their future. The Extirpated–A native species no longer • Human interference with natural events, determination of a species’ status is existing in the wild within its natural such as fire based upon the best available habitat in a given region, but existing • Climate change or severe weather scientific information. elsewhere in the wild. • Disease The following are universal terms A species is protected by law if it is • Invasive species assigned to species at risk: designated as endangered or threatened. It is not legally protected if designated Several government agencies at the Extinct–a native species that no longer as special concern. Species listed as state/provincial and federal levels, as well exists anywhere. special concern signal potential losses of as non-government organizations, play Endangered–a native species at risk biodiversity in the future. This a role in identifying plants and animals of extinction imminently throughout designation gives an opportunity to for protection as well as developing all, or a significant portion of its range. implement conservation planning and conservation plans. land protection efforts before a species’ Threatened–a native species at risk situation becomes critical. of becoming endangered throughout all, or a significant portion of its range if declining factors are not reversed.

Conservation efforts to protect endangered and threatened species from extinction are critical to preserving biodiversity.

For the most current information about endangered, threatened and special concern species, contact the following organizations.

CANADA UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA

COSWEIC SECRETARIAT U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE NatureServe is a non-profit CANADIAN WILDLIFE SERVICE Bisphop Henry Federal Building conservation organization that ENVIRONMENT CANADA One Federal Drive provides the scientific information and tools Ottawa, ON K1A 0H3 Ft. Snelling, MN 55111-4056 needed to help guide effective conservation Http://www.speciesatrisk.gc.ca http://midwest.fws.gov/endangered action. NatureServe and its network Http://www.cosweic.gc.ca of natural heritage programs are MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES the leading source for information about SPECIES AT RISK PROJECT WILDLIFE DIVISION rare and endangered species and ONTARIO PARKS P.O. Box 30444 threatened ecosystems. 300 Water Street Lansing MI 48909-7944 Http://natureserve.org/ Peterborough, ON K9J 8M5 http://www.michigan.gov/dnr Http://www.mnr.gov.ca Michigan Natural Features Inventory Natural Heritage Information Centre PO Box 30444 Science and Information Branch Lansing, MI 48909-7944 Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources www.msue.msu.edu/mnfi/ P.O. Box 7000 Peterborough, Ontario K9J 8M5 Canada www.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR/nhic/nhic.cfm

130 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 131 A PPENDIX B: SPECIES AT R ISK Regal fern borer Papaipema speciosissimaSC S2S3 G4 Red-legged COMMONspittlebug NAME Prosapia ignipectus SCIENTIFIC NAME SC MI ON S2S3 US CA S1? SRANK G4 SRANK GRANK COMMON NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME MI ON US CA SRANK SRANK GRANK Regal fritillary Speyeria idalia EN EXT SHMI G3 ON MI ON

Amphibians Smallmouth salamander Ambystoma texanum EN SC SC S1 S1 G5 Louisiana waterthrush Seiurus motacilla SC SC S2S3 S3B G5 Federal and State/Provincial Designations S5 Very common Global Rank (GRank) Blanchard's cricket frog Acris crepitans Caspian tern Sterna caspia TS2S3BG5 E Endangered (usually with greater than 1000 occurrences) The GRank indicates the relative abundance of blanchardii SC EN S2S3 SH G5T5 Forster's tern Sterna forsteri SC S2 S2S3B G5 T Threatened Fowler's toad Bufo fowleri T T S5 S2 G5 Common tern Sterna hirundo TS2S4BG5 SX Extirpated from the state or province a species on a worldwide scale. Global ranks are SC Special Concern determined by a consensus among natural heritage Five-lined skink Eumeces fasciatus SC SC S4 S3 G5 Western Meadowlark Sturnella neglecta SC S4 S4B G5 SH Historically known from a given area, but not programs, scientific experts and The Nature Barn Owl Tyto alba EN EN EN S1 S1 G5 Subnational Ranks (SRanks) reported recently; there is a reasonable Conservancy. These ranks are not legal designations. Reptiles Hooded warbler Wilsonia citrina SC T T S3 S3B G5 The SRank indicates the relative abundance of a expectation that the species may be rediscovered. Eastern spiny-softshell Apalone spinifera species on a state or provincial scale. It is used by G1 Critically Imperiled (0 to 5 known occurrences) SU Unranked, unrankable because of a lack of spinifera T T S3 G5T5 Mammals natural heritage programs to set protection priori- G2 Imperiled (6 to 20 known occurrences) or conflict in information. Spotted turtle Clemmys guttata TSCSCS2S3G5 Least shrew Cryptotis parva T EXT S1S2 SH G5 ties for rare species and natural communities. Southern flying squirrel Glaucomys volans SC SC S5 S3 G5 B Breeding, refers to the breeding population G3 Rare, or vulnerable to extinction Kirtland's snake Clonophis kirtlandii EN S1 G2 These ranks are not legal designations. Woodland vole Microtus pinetorum SC SC SC S3S4 S3 G5 of the species. (20 to 100 known occurrences) Blue racer Coluber constrictor EN EN S5 S1 G5 Indiana bat Myotis sodalis EN EN S1 G2 S1 Critically Imperiled (0 to 5 occurrences) G4 Apparently secure (more than 100 known Black rat snake Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta SC T T S3 S3 G5T5 ? Following a rank indicates some degree Eastern mole Scalopus aquaticus SC SC S5 S2 G5 occurrences) Eastern fox snake Elaphe vulpina gloydi TT TS2 G5T3 S2 Imperiled (6 to 20 occurrences) of uncertainty Blanding's turtle Emydoidea blandingii SC T S3 S3? G4 American badger Taxidea taxus EN EN S4 S2 G5 G5 Very common, the species is demonstrably S3 Rare, or vulnerable to extirpation Northern map turtle Graptemys geographica SC S5 S4 G5 Rank Ranges–When ranks are combined, it indicates secure under present conditions Plants (21 to 100 occurrences) a range, but there is insufficient information to determine Milk snake Lampropeltis triangulum SC S5 S4 G5 Climbing fumitory Adlumia fungosa SC S3 S4 G4 S4 Apparently secure which exact rank applies; for instance, G1G2. GU Status uncertain, more data needed Copperbelly water snake Nerodia erthyrogaster Colic root Aletris farinosa TT?S2G5 Gattinger's agalinis Agalinis gattingeri EN EN EN S1 S2 G4 (usually with 101 to 1000 occurrences) G? Unranked, or if following a ranking, the rank neglecta EN T S1 G5T2T3Lake cress Armoracia lacustris TS2S3G4 is tentatively assigned Lake Erie water snake Nerodia sipedon insularum EN EN S2 G5T2LeadplantSkinner's agalinis AmorphaAgalinis canescens skinnerianaSCEN EN S3 EN S1 SH S1 G5 G3 Queen snake Regina septemvittata T T S4 S2 G5Hairy angelica Angelica venenosa SC S3 SR G5 T Denotes the rank applies to a subspecies Eastern massasauga Sistrurus catenatus or variety Missouri rock cress Arabis missouriensis catenatus SC T T S3S4 S3 G3G4T3T4 var deamii SC S2 G5 Eastern box turtle Terrapenne carolina Three-awned grass Aristida longespica TS2S2G5 Endangered, Threatened and Special Cocern Species known to occur in the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor, Winter 2002 carolina SC S2S3 SE1 G5T5Virginia snakeroot Aristolochia serpentaria TS2G4 Butler's garter Snake Thamnophis butleri T T S4 S2 G4Sullivants milkweed Asclepias sullivantii TS2S2G5 Purple milkweed Asclepias purpurascens SC S3 S2 G5 COMMON NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME MI ON US CA SRANK SRANK GRANK COMMON NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME MI ON US CA SRANK SRANK GRANK Birds Tall green milkweed Asclepias hirtella TS2S1G5 MI ON MI ON Cooper's hawk Accipiter cooperii SC S3S4 S4B G5Crooked stem aster Aster prenanthoides TT ? S2G4G5 Northern goshawk Accipiter gentilis SC T S3 S4 G5 Mollusks Pugnose minnow Notropis emiliae EN SC SC S1 S2 G5 White wood aster Aster divaricatus TSRS1G5 Henslow's sparrow Ammodramus henslowii TENENS2S3S1BG4 Purple wartyback Cyclonaias tuberculata SC S2S3 S3 G5 Silver shiner Notropis photogenis EN SC SC S1 S2S3 G5 Canadian milk-vetch Astragalus canadensis TS1S2S4G5 Short-eared owl Asio flammeus EN SC SC S1 S3S4B G5 White catspaw Epioblasma obliquata Brindled madtom Noturus miurus SC S2S3 S2 G5 Cooper's milk-vetch Astragalus neglectus SC S3 S3 G4 Long-eared owl Asio otus TS2S4G5 perobliqua EN EN EN SH G1T1 Northern madtom Prairie indigo Baptisia alba SC SR SR G5 Noturus stigmosus EN SC SC S1 S1S2 G3 American bittern Botaurus lentiginosus SC S3S4 S4B G4 Northern riffleshell Epioblasma torulosa Slough grass Beckmannia syzigachne TS2S4G5 Channel darter Percina copelandi EN T T S1S2 S2 G4 Red-shouldered hawk Buteo lineatus T SC SC S3S4 S4B G5 rangiana EN EN EN EN S1 S1 G2T2 Murray birch Betula murrayana SC S1 G1Q River darter Percina shumardi EN S1 S3 G5 Black tern Chlidonias niger SC S3 S3B G4 Snuffbox Epioblasma triquetra EN EN EN S1 S1 G3 Side-oats grama grass Bouteloua curtipendula TS1S2S2G5 Southern redbelly dace Phoxinus erthyrogaster EN S1 G5 Northern harrier Circus cyaneus SC S3 S4B G5 Wavy-rayed lamp mussel Lampsilis fasciola TENENS2S1G4 Bluehearts Buchnera americana EN EN SX S1 G5 Sauger Stizostedion canadense TS1S4G5Marsh Wren Cistothorus palustris SC S3S4 S5B G5 Hickorynut Obovaria olivaria SC S2 S1 G4 Large water-starwort Callitriche heterophylla TS1S2G5 Northern bobwhite quail Colinus virginianus EN EN S4 S1S2 G5Wild-hyacinth Camassia scilloides TT TS2S2G4G5 Round hickorynut Obovaria subrotunda EN EN S1 S1Insects G4 Yellow rail Raven's foot sedge Carex crus-corvi TSHS1G5 Round pigtoe Pleurobema sintoxia SC S2S3 S2S3Dusted G4 skipper Atrytonopsis hianna TS2S3S1G4G5 Davis's sedge Carex davisii SC S3 S2 G4 Mudpuppy mussel Simpsonaias ambigua EN EN EN S1 S1Pipevine G3 swallowtail Battus philenor SC S1S2 S2B G5 Fescue sedge Carex festucacea SC S1 S1 G5 Purple lilliput Toxolasma lividus EN S1Swamp G2 metalmark Calephelis mutica SC S1S2 G3G4 Frank's sedge Carex frankii SC S2S3 S2 G5 Rayed bean Villosa fabalis EN EN EN S1 S1Frosted G1G2 Elfin Callophrys irus TS2S3SXG3 False hop sedge Carex lupuliformis TENENS2S1G4 Rainbow Villosa iris SC S2S3 S2S3Monarch G5 butterfly Danaus plexippus SC SC S5 S5 G4 Coturnicops Broad-leaved sedge Carex platyphylla TS1S5G5 Wild indigo duskywing Erynnis baptisiae SC S2S3 S1 G5 noveboracensis T SC SC S1S2 S4B G4 Fish Richardson's sedge Carex richardsonii SC S3S4 S4 G4 Persius duskywing Erynnis persius persius T EXT S3 SX G5T2T3 Cerulean warbler Dendroica cerulea SC SC SC S3 S3B G4 Lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens TS2S3G3G4 Weak stellate sedge Carex seorsa T S2 S2 G4 Duke's skipper Euphyes dukesi TS1S2G3Acadian flycatcher Empidonax virescens EN EN S3S4 S2B G5 Eastern sand darter Ammocrypta pellucida TT TS1S2S2G3 Squarrose sedge Carex squarrosa SC S1 S2 G4G5 Leafhopper Flexamia delongi SC S1S2 G? Merlin Falco columbarius TS1S2S4BG5 Redside dace Clinostomus elongatus EN SC SC S1S2 S3 G4 Hairy-fruited sedge Carex trichocarpa SC S2 S3 G4 Huron river leafhopper Flexamia huroni SC S1 G? Peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus EN T T S1 S2S3B G4 Lake herring Coregonus artedi TS3S5G5 American chestnut Castanea dentata ET TS1S2S3G4 Leafhopper Flexamia reflexa SC S1 G? Common moorhen Gallinula chloropus SC S3 S4B G5 Creek chubsucker Erimyzon oblongus EN S1S2 G5 Dwarf hackberry Celtis tenuifolia SC SC S3 S2 G5 Russet-tipped clubtail Gomphus plagiatus SC S1S2 SH G5 Common loon Gavia immer T S3S4 S4B G5 Lake chubsucker Erimyzon sucetta T T S4 S2 G5 Purple turtlehead Chelone obliqua ES1G4 Barrens buckmoth Hemileuca maia SC S2S3 G5 Bald eagle Haliaeetus leucophalus TENT S4S4BG4 Greenside darter Etheostoma blennioides SC SC S4 S4 G5 Hill's thistle Karner blue butterfly Lycaeides melissa Eastern yellow-breasted Mooneye Hiodon tergisus TS2S4G5 samuelis TENS2SXG5T2 chat Icteria virens virens SC SC S3 S2S3B G5 Silver chub Hybopsis storeiana SC SC SC S2S3 S2 G5 Mitchell's satyr butterfly Neonympha mitchelli EN S1 G1G2 Least bittern Ixobrychus exilis TT TS2S3BG5 Northern brook lamprey Ichthyomyzon fossor SC SC S4 S3 G4 American burying beetle Nicrophorus americanus EN EN SH SH G2G3 Loggerhead shrike Lanius ludovicianus EN EN EN S? S2B G4 Cirsium hillii SC S3 S3 G3 Bigmouth buffalo Ictiobus cyprinellus SC SC S3 SU G5 Powesheik skipperling Oarisma powesheik TS1S2G2Red-headed woodpecker Melanerpes Dodder Cuscuta indecora SC SH G5 Spotted gar Lepisosteus oculatus SC T T S2S3 S2 G5 Tamarack tree cricket Oecanthus laricis SC S1S2 G1G2 erythrocephalus SC SC S5 S3B G5Knotweed dodder Cuscuta polygonorum SC S2 SH G5 Spotted sucker Minytrema melanops SC SC S3 S2 G5 Pine tree cricket Oecanthus pini SC S1S2 S1 G? Black-crowned Yellow nut-grass Cyperus flavescens SC S2S3 S2 G5 River redhorse Moxostoma carinatum TSCSCS1S2G4 Blazing star borer moth Papaipema beeriana SC S1S2 G3 night heron Nycticorax nycticorax SC S2S3 S3B G5Small white flowered Black redhorse Moxostoma duquesnei T T S3 S2 G5 Maritime sunflower borer Papaipema maritima SC S1S2 G4 Osprey Pandion haliaetus TS4S4BG5lady's slipper Cypripedium candidum TEN S2S1G4 Pugnose shiner Notropis anogenus SC SC SC S3 S2 G3 Culver's root borer moth Papaipema sciata SC S2S3 G3G4 Wilson's phalarope Phalaropus tricolor SC (N) S3B G5Ram's head lady slipper Cypripedium arietinum SC S3 S3 G3 Bridle shiner Notropis bifrenatus SC SC S2 G5 Silphium borer moth Papaipema silphii T S1S2 G3G4 Prothonotary warbler Protonotaria citrea EN EN S3 S1S2B G5Large toothwort Dentaria maxima T S1S2 SSYN G5Q King rail Rallus elegans EN EN EN S1 S2B G4G5Beak grass Diarrhena americana TS2G4 Creeping whitlow grass Draba reptans TS1S2G5 English sundew Drosera anglica SC S3 S5 G5

132 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 133 COMMON NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME MI ON US CA SRANK SRANK GRANK COMMON NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME MI ON US CA SRANK SRANK GRANK MI ON MI ON A PPENDIX C: RECOMMENDED R EADING Purple coneflower Echinacea purpurea EXT SX SE1 G4 Spike-rush Eleocharis geniculata TS?S1G5 Engelmann's spike rush Eleocharis engelmannii SC S2S3 S1 G4G5Q Horsetail spikerush Eleocharis equisetoides SC EN EN S3 S1 G4 Spike-rush Eleocharis radicans EXT SX G5 A Checklist of Ontario Freshwater Fishes. Birds of Southeast Michigan: Dearborn Wayne Ontario Birds at Risk. 1994. Federation of Ontario Love grass Eragrostis capillaris SC SH S1 G5 1992. Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto County. 1996. Julie A. Craves. Cranbrook Institute Naturalists and Long Point Bird Observatory. Small love grass Eragrostis pilosa SC SH SE1 G4 of Science Bulletin 62. Cranbrook Institute of Wahoo Euonymous atropurpureus SC S3 S3 G5 Violet wood-sorrel Oxalis violacea TS1G5A Guide to Michigan’s Endangered Wildlife. Science, Bloomfield, Hills, Michigan. Orchids of the Western Great Lakes Region. Upland boneset Eupatorium sessilifolium TS1G5Ginseng Panax quinquefolius T EN EN S2S3 S2 G3G4 1992. David C. Evers. University of Michigan 1987. Frederick W. Case, Jr. Cranbrook Institute Tinted spurge Euphorbia commutata TS1S1G5Leiberg's panic grass Panicum leibergii TS2S2G5Press, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Insects of the Great Lakes Region. 1996. of Science Bulletin 48. Cranbrook Institute Chestnut sedge Fimbristylis puberula EXT SX S1 G5 Small fruited panic grass Panicum microcarpon SC S2 S2 G5T5 Gary A. Dunn. University of Michigan, of Science, Bloomfield, Hills, MI. Blue ash Fraxinus quadrangulata SC SC S? S3 G5 Low-forked chickweed Paronychia fastigiata SC SH S1 G5T5 Amphibians and Reptiles of the Great Lakes Ann Arbor, Michigan. Umbrella-grass Fuirena squarrosa TS2G4G5Smooth beardtongue Penstemon calycosus TS2SE1G5Region. 1997. James H. Harding. University The Geology of Michigan. 1970. John A. Door Showy orchis Galearis spectabilis TS2S4G5Pale beard tongue Penstemon pallidus SC S3 SE1 G5 of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair Handbook. 1993. and Donald F. Eschman. The University Downy gentian Gentiana puberulenta EN S1 SX G4G5 Wild bean Phaseolus polystachios SC SH G4 Edited by Stanley J. Bolsenga and Charles E. of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Stiff gentian Gentianella quinquefolia TS2S2G5Heart-leaved plantain Plantago cordata EN EN EN S1 S1 G4 Amphibians and Reptiles of Ontario. 2002. Herdendorf. Wayne State University Press, Ross D. MacCulloch. Royal Ontario Museum Detroit, Michigan. The Ontario Butterfly Atlas. 1991. Toronto White prairie gentian Gentiana alba EN EN EN S1 S1 G4 Orange fringed orchid Platanthera ciliaris TS2SXG5 and McClelland & Stewart Ltd. Toronto, Entomologists’ Association, Toronto. Pale avens Geum virginianum SC S1S2 S1 G5 Eastern prairie fringed Ontario. Mammals of the Great Lakes Region. 1997. Limestone oak fern Gymnocarpium orchid Platanthera leucophaea EN SC T EN S1 S2 G2 Allen Kurta. University of Michigan Press, The Tallgrass Restoration Handbook. 1997. robertianum TS2S2G5 Bog bluegrass Poa paludigena TS2G3Atlas of Breeding Birds in Ontario. 1987. Ann Arbor, Michigan. Society of Ecological Restoration. Island Press, Kentucky coffee-tree Gymnocladus dioicus SC T S3S4 S2 G5 Jacob's ladder Polemonium reptans TS2SEH G5Federation of Ontario Naturalists Washington, D.C. Whiskered sunflower Helianthus hirsutus SC S3 SE1 G5 Cross-leaved milkwort Polygala cruciata SC S3 SX G5 and Long Point Bird Observatory. Michigan Trees. 1981. Burton V. Barnes. Downy sunflower Helianthus mollis T S2 SE1 G4G5 Pink milkwort Polygala incarnata EXT EN EN SX S1 G5 University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, MI. Dwarf bulrush Hemicarpha micrantha SC S3 S1 G5 Honey-flowered Polygonatum Atlas of the Mammals of Ontario. 1994. Smooth rose mallow Hibiscus laevis SC SH SX G5 Solomon's seal biflorum var melleum EXT SX SH G5TH Federation of Ontario Naturalists Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. 1977. Lawrence Swamp rose mallow Hibiscus moscheutos SC S3S4 S3 G5 Carey's smartweed Polygonum careyi TS1S2S3S4G4 Newcomb. Little, Brown and Company, Boston, Panicled hawkweed Hieracium paniculatum SC S2 S2 G5 Swamp cottonwood Populus heterophylla EN S1 G5 Atlas of Rare Vascular Plants of Ontario. Massachusetts. Green violet Hybanthus concolor SC S3 S2 G5 Vasey's pondweed Potamogeton vaseyi TSHS4G41982-87. National Museum of Sciences, Goldenseal Hydrastis canadensis TT TS2S2G4 Sand cinquefoil Potentilla paradoxa SU S3 G5 Ottawa. Gentian-leaved Bald rush Psilocarya scirpoides T S2 G4 St. John's wort Hypericum gentianoides SC S3 S1 G5 Pinedrops Pterospora andromedea TS2S2G5 Round-fruited Hoary mountian mint Pycnanthemum incanum EN EN S1 G5 A PPENDIX D: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS St. John's wort Hypericum sphaerocarpum S1 S1 G5 Hairy mountian mint Pycnanthemum pilosum TS2S1G5T5 Small whorled pogonia Isotria medeoloides EN T EN S1 S1 G2 Shumard oak Quercus shumardii SC SC SC S2 S3 G5 Whorled pogonia Isotria verticillata TENENS2S1G5 Spearwort Ranunculus ambigens TSHSRG4 Twinleaf Jeffersonia diphylla SC S3 S4 G5 Prairie buttercup Ranunculus rhomboideus TS2S3G5Special thanks to the following individuals Richard W. Ford Hal Schraeder, Ontario Ministry Short fruited rush Meadow-beauty Rhexia virginica SC S3 S3S4 G5 for their contributions towards this Atlas: Lynette Gajewski, student intern-UM Dearborn of Natural Resources Climbing prairie rose Rosa setigera TSCS2S3S3G5 Orin Gelderloos, University Daryl Smith, Ontario Ministry of Natural Tooth-cup Rotala ramosior SC EN EN S3 S1 G5 Dennis Albert, Michigan Natural of Michigan-Dearborn Resources Hairy ruellia Scirpus clintoniiRuellia humilis SCTS1G5 S3 S2 G4 Features Inventory Tall nut-rush Scleria triglomerata SC S3 S1 G5 Doug Sweet, Belle Isle Aquarium Juncus brachycarpus T S1S2 S1 G4G5 Arrowhead Sagittaria montevidensis TS1S2G4G5David S. Appel Marcie Greear, student intern-UM Dearborn Few-flowered nut-rush Scleria pauciflora EN S1 S1 G5 Vasey's rush Juncus vaseyi T S1S2 S3 G5? Canadian burnet Sanguisorba canadensis TS1G5 Ron Gould, Ontario Ministry of Natural John and Dorothy Tiedje Fire pink Silene virginica TS1SXG5 Rollin H. Baker Water-willow Justicia americana TT TS2S1G5 Clinton's bulrush Resources Molly Urbanek, student intern-UM Dearborn False boneset Kuhnia eupatorioides SC S2 G5Compass plant Silphium laciniatum TS1S2S1G5 Dan Ballnik, Ford Motor Company Woodland lettuce Lactuca floridana TS2S2G5Cup plant Silphium perfoliatum TS2S2G5 Ken Hall, Sarnia-Lambton Environmental Roberta Urbani, DTE Energy Wasyl Baskowsky, Natural Heritage Legget's pinweed Lechea pulchella TS1S2S1G5White goldenrod Solidago bicolor SC S3 S4? G5 Association/Clean Harbors Inc. Information Centre Dave White, Walpole Island Heritage Centre Least pinweed Lechea minor SC SH SX G5Riddell's goldenrod Solidago riddellii SC SC S? S3 G5 James H. Harding, Michigan State University Tom Woiwoode, Southeast Michigan Slender bush clover Lespedeza virginica EN EN S? S1 G5Showy goldenrod Solidago speciosa EN EN S? S1 G5 Trish Beckjord, Smith Group JJR Peggy Johnson Greenways Initiative Cliff conobea Leucospora multifida SC S? S1 G5Prairie dropseed Sporobolus heterolepis SC S3 S3 G5 Brittany Bird, Wildlife Habitat Council Blazing-star Liatris squarrosa EXT SX G5Blue-eyed grass Sisyrinchium hastile EXT S? S1 G5? Mary LaFrance, Friends of Sibley Prairie Allen Woodliffe, Ontario Ministry Caroline Biribauer, Wildlife Habitat Council Dense blazing star Liatris spicata T T S? S2 G5Smooth carrion flower Smilax herbacea SC S3 S4 G5 Evan H. Larson, Wayne State University of Natural Resources Round-leaved greenbrier Smilax rotundifolia T T S? S2 G5 Furrowed flax Linum sulcatum SC S2S3 S3 G5 Mary Bohling, DTE Energy John M. Zawiskie, Cranbrook Institute Trailing wild bean Strophostyles helvula SC S3 S3 G5 Amy Mangus, Southeast Michigan Virginia flax Linum virginianum TS2S2G4G5 Suzann Campbell, Belle Isle Nature Center of Science Purple twayblade Liparis liliifolia SC EN EN S3 S2 G5Wood poppy Stylophorum diphyllum EN EN S? S1 G5 Council of Governments Narrow-leaved puccon Lithospermum incisum EXT SX S1 G5Virginia goat's rue Tephrosia virginiana EN EN S? S1 G5 Matthew Child, Essex Region Bruce Manny, U.S. Geological Service Many of the photographs used in this book are Broad-leaved puccon Lithospermum latifolium SC S2 S3 G4Virginia spiderwort Tradescantia virginiana SC S2 SE1 G5 Conservation Authority from U.S. and Canadian citizens who entered Tim Marchand, Ontario Parks Seedbox Ludwigia alternifolia SC S3 S1 G5Bastard pennyroyal Trichostema dichotomum TS2S1G5 Citizens Environmental Alliance a Photo Contest in the fall of 2002. We thank Northern appressed Dropping trillium Trillium flexipes EN EN S? S1 G5 Scott Munro, Sarnia-Lambton them for their generosity and enthusiasm Bob Collins, St. Clair County Community clubmoss Lycopodiella subappressaSC S2 G2Prairie trillium Trillium recurvatum TS2S3G5 Environmental Association for the beauty of the region. College Swamp candles Lysimachia hybrida SC S2 S1 G5Toadshade Trillium sessile TS2S3G4G5 Mark O’Brien, Michigan Odonata Survey All non-credited photographs taken by Cucumber tree Magnolia acuminata EN EN S2 G5Painted trillium Trillium undulatum EN S1S2 S5? G5 Larry Cornelis, Sydenham Field Naturalists Kris Olsson, Huron River Watershed Council Lisa M. Appel Wing-stemmed Nodding pogonia Triphora trianthophora EN EN S1 S1 G3G4 Donald Craig, St. Clair Region Sand grass Triplasis purpurea SC S2 S4? G4G5 A special thanks to the following monkeyflower Mimulus alatus EXT SX S2 G5 Conservation Authority Terry Parks, St. Clair County Regional Education Bee balm Monarda didyma EXT SX S3 G5Corn-salad Valerianella umbilicata TS2S1G3G5 Service Agency photographers for the donation of their Prairie birdfoot violet Viola pedatifida TEN S1S1G5 Julie A. Craves, Rouge River Bird outstanding work to the project: Red mulberry Morus rubra TENENS2S2G5 John Polascek, Dossin Great Lakes Museum Mat muhly Muhlenbergia Frost grape Vitis vulpina TS1S2S1G5 Observatory richardsonis TS2S2G5Wild rice Zizania aquatica Jim DuBay, DTE Energy Joe Rathbun, Michigan Department Robert Stewart American lotus Nelumbo lutea TS2S2G4 var aquatica TS2S3S4G5T5 of Environmental Quality Chris Durand, St. Clair Region Glenn Ogilve Karen Rodriguez, U.S. Environmental Conservation Authority Jim Simek Protection Agency Floyd Elliott, Lambton Wildlife Inc. Allen Chartier Ray Rustem, Michigan Department Eastern prickly pear cactusOpuntia humifusa EN EN S? S1 G5 of Natural Resources

134 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 135 A PPENDIX E: R ESOURCES AND O RGANIZATIONS

Below is a list of organizations St. Clair County Planning Commission Non-government Organizations – White Lake C.A.R.E. Oakland Land Conservancy Sarnia Urban Wildlife Committee Drayton Plains Nature Center Lewis E. Wint Nature Center involved with environmental (810) 989-6950 United States www.wlrcare.com (248) 601-2816 www.suwc.org (248) 647-2119 Oakland County Parks education and protection in the Lake www.stclaircounty.org/offices/metro/ www.oaklandlandconservancy.org www.draytonplainsnaturecenter.org and Recreation Huron to Lake Erie Corridor Cranbrook Institute of Science Wildlife Habitat Council Sydenham Field Naturalists Howell Interpretive Nature Center (248) 625-6473 U.S. Department of Agriculture (248) 645-3200 (301) 588-8994 Raisin Valley Land Trust P.O. Box 22008 (517) 546-0249 www.co.oakland.mi.us/parksrec/ First Nations Natural Resources Conservation www.cranbrook.edu/institute/ www.wildlifehc.org (734) 428-8108 Dufferin Ave. www.ismi.net/howellnature ppark/wint_center.html Service www.rvlt.org Wallaceberg, ON N8A 5G4 Walpole Island Heritage Center (517) 324-5270 Detroit Audubon Society Watershed Councils James D. Reader, Jr. Urban Lloyd A. Stage (519) 627-1475 (810) 545-2929 Southeast Michigan Land Tallgrass Ontario Environmental Education Center Outdoor Education Center www.bkejwanong.com United States Environmental www.detroitaudubon.expage.com Clinton River Watershed Council Conservancy (519) 873-4631 Nichols Arboretum City of Troy Protection Agency (810) 853-9580 (734) 997-0942 www.tallgrassontario.org University of Michigan (248) 524-3567 Government – Binational Great Lakes National Program Office The Detroit Zoological Society www.crwc.org www.bendor.org/smlc.html (734) 998-9540 www.ci.troy.mi.us/parks/OEC/ (312) 353-2117 (248) 541-5717 Wetland Habitat Fund www.umich.edu/~wwwarb/about NatureCenter.asp International Joint Commission www.epa.gov/glnpo www.detroitzoo.org Friends of the Rouge Superior Land Conservancy (613) 722-2090 (519) 257-6710 (313) 792-9627 (734) 482-7414 www.wetlandfund.com Kensington Metropark Lake Erie Metropark Museum www.ijc.org U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Ducks Unlimited, Inc. www.therouge.org www.bendor.org/slc.shtml Nature Center and Nature Center Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region 3 Great Lakes/Atlantic Region Office Land Protection Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Huron-Clinton Government – United States 1-800-657-3775 (734) 623-2000 Huron River Watershed Council The Nature Conservancy Authority Metropolitan Authority http://midwest.fws.gov www.ducks.org (734) 769-5123 Michigan Chapter Thames Talbot Land Trust (248) 685-1561 (734) 379-5020 Army Corps of Engineers www.hrwc.org (517) 316-0300 (519) 652-2189 www.metroparks.com www.metroparks.com Detroit District U.S. Geological Survey East Michigan Environmental http://nature.otg/wherewework/ (313) 226-6767 Biological Resources Division Action Council Friends of St. Clair River northamerica/states/michigan Nature Conservancy of Canada Matthaei Botanical Gardens The Madison Heights Nature Great Lakes Science Center (248) 258-5188 www.friendsofstclair.com (416) 932-3202 University of Michigan Center at Friendship Woods Belle Isle Aquarium (734) 994-3331 www.emeac.org/ Washtenaw Land Trust (734) 998-7061 City of Madison Heights (313) 852-4075 www.glsc.usgs.gov Johnson Creek Protection Group (734) 302-LAND Nature Centers -U.S. and Canada www.lsa.umich.edu/mbg (248) 585-0100 www.ci.detroit.mi.us/recreation/cen- Great Lakes Commission (734) 761-1010 www.washtenawlandtrust.org ters/M/belle_isle/belleM.htm Government – Canada (734) 971-9135 www.jcpg.org Ojibway Nature Centre Nankin Mills Nature Center Gerald E. Eddy Geology Center www.glc.org West Bloomfield Land (519) 966-5852 Wayne County Road Commission Michigan Department Dossin Great Lakes Museum Canadian Wildlife Service River Raisin Watershed Council Conservancy www.ojibway-ca/index.htm (734) 261-1850 of Natural Resources (313) 852-4050 (819) 997-1095 Greening of Detroit (517) 263-5614 7299 Verona Drive www.waynecounty.com/parks/nank Waterloo Recreation Area www.ci.detroit.mi.us/recreation/cen- www.cws.ec.gc.ca (313) 237-8733 www.riverraisin.org West Bloomfield, MI 48322 Longwoods Road Conservation in_ic.htm (734) 261-1900 ters/M/belle_isle/belleM.htm www.greeningofdetroit.com (248) 788-3940 Area, Resource Centre and Environment Canada Detroit American Heritage River Ska-Nah-Doht Iroquoian Village Oakwoods Metropark Leslie Science Center Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority Inquiry Centre Michigan Odonata Survey (313) 568-9594 Non-government and Museum Nature Center Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation 1-800-477-2757 1-800-668-6767 Insect Division, Museum www.tellusnews.com/ahr Organizations – Canada (519) 264-2420 Huron-Clinton Metropolitan (734) 997-1553 www.metroparks.com www.ec.gc.ca of Zoology www.lowerthames- Authority www.ci.ann- http://insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/ Land Protection Carolinian Canada conservation.on.ca/Longwoods (734) 782-3956 arbor.mi.us/Parks/LeslieScience/le Michigan Department Essex Region Conservation Authority michodo/mos.html (519) 873-4631 RoadCA.htm www.metroparks.com slie.htm of Agriculture (519) 776-5209 Bluewater Land Conservancy www.carolinian.org Environmental Stewardship Division www.erca.org National Wildlife Federation P.O. Box 611424 Pinery Provincial Park Visitor Pine River Nature Center Holliday Forest (517) 241-0236 (734) 769-3351 Port Huron, MI 48061-1424 Ducks Unlimited Canada Centre St. Clair County Regional Education and Wildlife Preserve www.mda.state.mi.us Essex County Stewardship Network www.nwf.org (705) 721-4444 (519) 243-8574 Service Agency (734) 261-1900 /environm/index.html Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Grosse Ile Nature and Land www.ducks.ca www.pinerypark.on.ca (810) 325-9106 www.waynecounty.com/parks/ (519) 354-6274 Rouge River Bird Observatory Conservancy www.sccresa.org william_p_holliday.htm Michigan Department of www.ontariostewardship.org/ Environmental Interpretive Center (734) 676-6657 Essex County Field Naturalists’ Point Pelle National Park Nature Environmental Quality Essex/essex.htm University of Michigan-Dearborn www.ginlc.org Club Centre Seven Ponds Nature Center Private 1-800-662-9278 (313) 593-5338 (519) 733-9972 (519) 322-2365 Michigan Audubon Society www.michigan.gov/deq Lower Thames Valley Conservation www.umd.umich.edu/dept/ Holly Land Trust www.ojibway.ca/ECFN.htm www.pc.gc.ca/pn- (810) 796-3200 DTE Energy Authority rouge_river 304 S. Broad Street, Suite A np/on/pelee/index_E.asp www.geocities.com/sevenponds/ (313) 235-4000 Michigan Department of Natural (519) 354-7310 Holly, MI 48442 Federation of Ontario Naturalists www.dteenergy.com Resources www.lowerthames- Southeast Michigan Greenways (416) 444-8419 Rondeau Provincial Park Sterling Heights Nature Center (517) 373-1207 conservation.on.ca Initiative Independence Land Conservancy www.ontarionature.org Visitor Centre (586) 446-2711 Ontario Power Generation www.michigan.gov/dnr Community Foundation for 8062 Ortonville Road (519) 674-1768 (416) 592-2555 Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Southeast Michigan Clarkston, MI 48016 Holiday Beach Migration www.rondeauprovincialpark.ca Stony Creek Metropark www.opg.com Natural Area Preservation Main Office – Peterborough (313) 961-6675 Observatory Nature Center City of Ann Arbor (705) 755-2000 http://greenways.cfsem.org Livingston Land Conservancy Essex Region Conservation Wawanosh Wetlands Conservation Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Ford Motor Company Department of Parks and Recreation www.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR/ (810) 229-3290 Authority Area Education Centre Authority 1-800-392-3673 (734) 996-3266 Southeastern Michigan Raptor www.livingstonland (519) 736-3772 www.mvca.on.ca/wawa.html (586) 781-4242 www.ford.com www.ci.ann- Ontario Parks Research conservancy.org www.hbmo.org www.metroparks.com arbor.mi.us/framed/parks/nap.htm 1-800-ONTARIO (734) 379-5020 x 5736 A.W. Campbell Conservation Area Smith Group JJR www.ontarioparks.com www.smrr.net Macomb Land Conservancy Lambton Wildlife Incorporated Nature House Metro Beach Metropark 1-866-SMITHGROUP National Oceanographic and (586) 784-5848 www.sarnia.com/groups/ (519) 847-5357 Nature Center www.smithgroup.jjr.com Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Rural Lambton Stewardship Network Southeast Michigan Resource www.savingplaces.org lwi/lwi.html Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Great Lakes Environmental (519) 354-5013 Conservation and Development Authority Research Laboratory (GLERL) www.ontariostewardship.org/ Council Michigan Nature Association Little River Enhancement Group University of Michigan-Dearborn (586) 463-4581 (734) 741-2235 LAMBTON/lambton.htm www.semircd.org (517) 655-5655 (519) 735-0418 Environmental Interpretive Center www.metroparks.com http://www.glerl.noaa.gov St. Clair Region www.michigannature.org www.lilreg.com/ (313) 593-5338 Conservation Authority Southeast Michigan Stewardship Ontario Federation of Anglers www.umd.umich.edu/dept/na Indian Springs Metropark Oakland County Planning & (519) 245-3710 Network Monroe County Land Conservancy and Hunters Nature Center Economic Development Services www.scrca.on.ca www.snre.umich.edu/ (734) 279-2149 (705) 748-6324 Dinosaur Hill Nature Preserve Huron-Clinton (248)858-0720 stewardshipnetwork www.bendor.org/mlc.shtml www.ofah.org City of Rochester and Rochester Metropolitan Authority http://www.co.oakland.mi.us/peds/ Upper Thames River Community Schools (248) 625-7280 Southeast Michigan Council Conservation Authority Southwest Detroit North Oakland Headwaters Sarnia-Lambton Environmental (248) 656-0999 www.metroparks.com of Governments (519) 451-2800 Environmental Vision Land Conservancy Association www.livinglibrary.com/dinohill (313) 961-4266 www.thamesriver.on.ca (313)842-1961 (248) 846-6547 (519) 332-2010 www.semcog.org comnet.org/local/orgs/sdev www.nohlc.org www.sarniaenvironment.com

136 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 137 G LOSSARY

A biota–animal and plant life of a region. consumer–an organism that eats plants embayment–a bay. fragmentation–the process, usually the I mesic–moderately moist. periphyton–benthic algae that grow or animals for its food. result of development or agriculture, in attached to surfaces, such as rocks abiotic–a nonliving factor in an envi- biotic–the living organisms in a ericaceous–plants of the heath family, which natural areas, such as a forests impervious surfaces–hard surfaces microclimate–climates of small or larger plants. ronment (e.g. light, water, temperature.) community, including all of the plant contaminant–something that makes such as bog rosemary and leatherleaf, or wetlands, are cut away or changed within a watershed including rooftops, specific areas as contrasted with the and animal life in a community. water, soil, or air unsuitable, unclean, which usually prefer to grown in acid so that only small, isolated remnants of parking lots, streets, sidewalks, and general climate of the area. pesticide–a chemical preparation used acid–substance with a pH value or toxic; a pollutant. substrates. the original community remain. driveways that do not allow water to control populations of organisms. less than 7. bog–peat-accumulating wetland with to infiltrate soils. migrate–to pass seasonally from pioneer species – plants that are typi- precipitation as the dominant water cover–the vegetation, debris, erosion–the process by which the G one region or climate to another. cally shade-intolerant, short-lived, and acidophiles–plants that live indicator species–plant or animal source, typically acidic and normally and irregularities of the land that surface of the earth is worn away game fish–fish large enough to be the first to grow in land that has been in acidic soils. dominated by Sphagnum spp. mosses. provide concealment, sleeping, by water, glaciers, winds, and waves, communities whose presence indicates mitigation (of wetlands)–restoration, disturbed by fire, agriculture, or other caught by recreational sport fishermen; good habitat or water quality; species feeding, and breeding areas which is often intensified by land- sport fish. creation, enhancement, or preservation events. alkaline–substance with a pH value buffer–areas or strips of land for wildlife. clearing practices related to farming, that offer a signal of the biological con- of wetlands that expressly compensates greater than 7. dition of a given area. in permanent vegetation, designed residential, industrial development, genetic diversity–the chromosomal for unavoidable wetland losses due to plankton–small, passively floating to intercept pollutants and sediment. D road building, or logging. diversity available within a species. development actions. or weakly mobile aquatic organisms. anaerobic–lacking oxygen. Buffers include riparian buffers, filter invasive species–a species of animal deciduous plant–a plant that sheds or plant that is moved, usually by strips, windbreaks, and living all its leaves every year during erosional features–topography and geology–the science that deals with moraine–an accumulation of gravel, point source pollution–pollution that aquifer–an underground geological snow fences. landforms shaped by flowing water intentional or unintentional human and stone carried and deposited by originates from a specific, identifiable formation or group of formations a certain season. the dynamics and physical history intervention, from its native location and glacial ice. of the earth, rocks, and the earth’s glaciers, often forming mounds or hills. location. Point source pollution can be containing water. Aquifers are sources bulkhead–a retaining structure to a new location; without natural discharged from any pipe, ditch, chan- of groundwater for wells and springs. decomposer–microorganisms, fungus, physical, chemical, and biological predators or consumers in the new of timber, steel, or reinforced or insects that convert dead organic eutrophication–describes changes. nel, tunnel, conduit, well, concentrated concrete used for shoreline a phenomenon in water bodies that location, an invasive species can N feeding operation, sewage discharge autotroph–an organism capable of self- materials into inorganic materials. become a nuisance species that protection or harbors. occurs when waters are rich in mineral grassland–an area in which grasses naiad–the juvenile form of the pipe, landfill leachate collection nourishment by using inorganic materi- and organic nutrients. It results in a threatens or eliminates native species; system, vessel, or other floating craft. als as a source of nutrients and using decomposition–chemical breakdown and wildflowers are the dominant also known as non-native species, dragonfly, damselfly, or mayfly. C of a compound into simpler proliferation of plant life, especially vegetation. photosynthesis or chemosynthesis as a algae, that reduce the dissolved oxy- exotic species, or nuisance species. pollinator–a creature, often an insect, source of energy (e.g. plants.) calcareous–chalkiness due to the compounds, often accomplished nearshore waters–a band of varying presence of calcium carbonate. through the aid of microorganisms. gen content and often causes the gravel–a sediment type, consisting width around the perimeter of a lake bird, bat, moth or butterfly that conveys death of other organisms in the water. invertebrates–organisms without a flower’s pollen from the anther to the B of small stones and cobble. a backbone. between the land and the deeper off- canopy–the cover formed by the delist–a term used by the International shore waters, as determined by the stigma. backfill–material, often dirt or broken tallest, leafy upper branches of trees Joint Commission (IJC) to indicate exotic species–organisms Great Lakes Basin–the five Great Lakes J thermocline; the part of a large lake in concrete, used to fill the space behind in a forest. when water and habitat quality (plant or animal) introduced plus the watershed land that surrounds which fish spawn, waterfowl feed, and pollution–the introduction of harmful a retaining wall or other shoreline standards within an Area of Concern to a habitat where they are them; the largest freshwater system K mammals prey. substances or products into an envi- hardening structure. carnivorous–animals that eat meat; have improved to the point of non-native. They are often severe in the world. ronment. a plant that eats insects. no longer being a concern. agents of habitat alteration L native species–an animal or plant barrens–level or slightly rolling land, and degradation and are a major Great Lakes coastal marsh–a that originated in a particular place population–the quantity of a certain usually with relatively infertile sandy channelization–human engineering delta–a geological formation that cause of the loss of biological freshwater wetland ecosystem that lacustrine–of, or pertaining to, a lake. or region. species living in a certain location. soil and few trees. of river channels to enlarge, straighten, occurs where a stream or river diversity; often referred occurs along the coast of the Great embank, or protect existing channels, deposits sediment into a receiving to as introduced, alien, Lakes, which is highly influenced by lakeplain–old lake bottom non-native–in conservation terms, an predator–an animal that kills and eats bedrock–the rock underlying soils create new channels, or protect basin or lake. or non-indigenous species. fluctuating water levels. of the ancestral Great Lakes. organism that has been introduced to other animals. ranging from zero (when exposed adjacent structures. an area in which it did not originate. by erosion) to several hundred feet deposition–the act or process of F ground water–water beneath the land use planning–the process of prey–animals that are killed and eaten in elevation. clay–a sediment type, consisting of being deposited (e.g. the placement of fauna–animals, collectively. earth’s surface that supplies wells deciding appropriate uses of land. nonpoint source pollution–pollution by other animals. particles less than 0.002 mm in diame- excavated soils or dredged materials in and springs. Precipitation that is that comes from many different sources benthic–relating to the bottom of a ter. A soil type consisting of greater a new location; sediments transported fen–peat-accumulating wetlands absorbed into the ground replenishes landforms–hills, valleys, low areas, and over a broad area. It usually caused producer–a green plant or bacterium body of water. than 40% clay, less than 45% sand, and by water current to a new place.) with groundwater as the dominant groundwater. lakes that comprise the topography of by rainfall or snowmelt moving over that uses photosynthesis or less than 40% silt. water source, and a variety of plant an area; a natural feature of a land and through the ground. As the runoff chemosynthesis; constitutes the first benthic macroinvertebrate–an aquatic dike–a human-made barrier built species, including grasses and sedges. H surface. moves, it picks up pollutants, finally trophic level in a food chain. invertebrate animal large enough climate–general prevailing weather around a wetland designed to control habitat–the arrangement of food, depositing them into lakes, rivers, to be seen with the human eye. patterns of a region, based on temper- water levels within an enclosed area. floodplain–the land bordering a river or larva–the immature, wingless, streams, and wetlands. Farm fields Q Macroinvetebrates include insects, water, shelter or cover, and space feeding stage of an insect. ature, air pressure, humidity, precipita- stream that is subject to flooding. The suitable to animals’ needs. and parking lots, or from an unseen clams, crayfish, snails and worms. tion, sunshine, cloudiness, and winds. diversity–variety. floodplain is built up of sediments from location, such as an underground R An analysis of the types and numbers overflow of the stream. life history–the developmental history storage tanks or failing septic relict–a plant, animal, or geological of macroinvertebrates present in a headwaters–the origin or upper of an individual or group. climax community–a stage in ecologi- dredging–the process of using machin- tributaries of a river. systems are sources of nonpoint feature that has survived in stream is a very useful indicator cal succession in which a community ery to remove sediments from the bot- flora–plants, collectively. source pollution. a considerably changed environment. of water quality and habitat conditions. litter layer–the forest floor of organisms, especially plants, is sta- tom of a waterway. herb layer–the layer of soft-stemmed ble and capable of perpetuating itself. food chain–the transfer of food energy characterized by fallen, decomposing nuisance species–see invasive species. remnant–a small, fragmented piece benthos–the bottom of a river, lake, (non-woody) plants growing close to leaves, decaying stumps, mosses dune–a sand hill or sand ridge formed from one organism to another as each the forest floor. of a previously large, intact natural sea, or ocean. community–a group of plants and ani- by the wind, usually in deserts or near consumes a lower member and in turn and lichens. O community. mals living and interacting with one lake and ocean shorelines. is preyed upon a higher member. herbaceous vegetation–non-woody organic matter–plant and animal biodiversity–the variety of organisms another in a specific region under rela- loam–a soil type, consisting revetment–a wall, often constructed living in a particular area or region. vegetation, including ferns, sedges, of a moderate amount of sand, silt, matter that is in the process of tively similar conditions. E food web–the totality of interacting emergent, submerged, and decomposing. of masonry or concrete, to protect This can include diversity within food chains within an ecological com- and clay; a soil composed of 7-27% an embankment from water erosion. species (genetic), and diversity ecology–the study of relationships floating plants. clay, 28-50% silt, and 23-52% sand. conifer–a plant that bears its seeds in between organisms and their munity. organism–a living thing; a form of life of ecosystems. cones; mostly needle-leafed or scale- rhizome–a horizontal underground environments. heterotroph–an organism requiring lowland–land that is low or level composed of parts that work together to leafed; mainly evergreen. forb–a broad-leaved flowering plant, organic compounds for its principal carry on the various processes stem, usually rooting at the nodes. biomass–the total mass of a living such as black-eyed susan and wild in comparison to adjacent terrain. material in a given environment. ecosystem–a system defined source of food. of life. connecting channel–a waterway or by the interaction of a community bergamot; a wildflower; does not riparian–of, situated, or dwelling long strait between two lakes (e.g. the include grasses, sedges, trees and M on the bank of a river or stream. biome–a large geographic area with of organisms with their physical hydrology–the study of the occurrence, P St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, and environment. shrubs. circulation, distribution, and property macrophyte–a plant, especially an somewhat uniform climatic conditions; Detroit River are a connecting channel aquatic plant, large enough to be PAH–Polyaromatic hydrocarbon. riverine–of, or pertaining to, a river. a complex of communities character- of the natural waters on Earth. between Lake Huron and Lake Erie.) ecotone–the transition zone between fossils–any remains, impression, or visible to the naked eye. ized by a distinctive type of vegetation trace of a living thing from a former PCB–Polychlorinated biphenyl. river mouth–the lower end of a river or and maintained under the climatic con- two different plant communities, such hypsithermal–elevated temperature. conservation easement–legal as between a forest and a prairie. geologic age. marsh–low, wet land, often treeless stream where water is discharged into ditions of the region. agreement that restricts landowners with open water, generally character- parent material–rock or glacial a larger body of water, such as a lake. to uses that are compatible with ized by grasses, sedges, cattails, and sediment from which soils originate. conservation and environmental rushes. values.

138 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 139 heat sink, 14 Raisin River, 29, 30 Basswood, LOSSARY NDEX Highland Recreation Area, 103 Remedial Action Plan (RAP), 114 Tilia americana, 82, 84, 90, 96, 100 G I Holiday Beach Conservation Area, 53 Ridgetown, Ontario, 9 Bergamot, Monarda fistulosa, 61, 66, 67 Holiday Beach riparian zones, 38 Big bluestem, Andropogon Migration Observatory, 53 River, Belle, 29 gerardii, 56, 57, 61, 66, 78, 102 Holocene Epoch, 6 River, Black, 29 Birch, Betula spp., 104 Houghton, Dr. Douglas, 83 River, Canard, 39 Bitternut hickory, Hubbard, Bela, 32, 42, 48 River, Clinton, 29, 30, 41 Carya cordiformis, 104 –rivers, streams, –undomesticated animals living actualism, 7 riverine system stormwater or stormwater runoff– W wildlife Humbug Marsh, 51 River, Huron, 29, 39, 94 Black ash, Fraxinus nigra, 82, 86, 88, 90 ditches, and drains as well as the water that flows over the ground after in the wild. Agassiz, Louis, 7 –water that has been used hydrologic cycle, 20 River, Pine, 29, 30, 38, 123 Black cherry, adjacent buffers that border them a rainstorm; water that quickly runs off wastewater agriculture, 109 within homes, businesses, factories, or River, Sydenham, 29, 30, 38, 40 Prunus serotina, 66, 87, 100 along with the fringe of adjacent paved surfaces and into storm sewers. woodland–land having a cover of trees aquatic ecosystem, stressors, 112 outdoor activities and discharged back Ice Age, 6 River, Thames, 12, 29, 33, 40 Black chokeberry, upland areas. and shrubs (less densely than a forest.) aquatic food chain, 26 impervious surfaces, 116 –plants that grow under into the environment. Rondeau Provincial Park, 101 Aronia melanocarpa, 88 submergent Areas of Concern (AOCs), 114 industrial heritage, 110 runoff–precipitation, snow melt, water; submerged. X Rural Lambton Black-eyed susan, –the land area that drains insects, 103 or irrigation water that runs-off the watershed Belle Isle, 16 Stewardship Network, 122 Rudbeckia hirta, 60 into a single body of water such as a xeric–dry interglacial period, 7 land into surface water. Runoff can subwatershed–the drainage area Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs), 114 Black gum, Nyssa sylvatica, 84 lake, river, or stream. interlobate area, 10 Shiawasse and Huron Headwaters carry pollutants from the air and of a small creek or stream, which flows Benthic macroinvertebrates, 27, 40 Black oak, Y International Joint Resource Preservation Project, 120 land into receiving waters. into a larger river; a component of Bickford Oak Woods, 48, 92 Quercus velutina, 66, 87, 100, 102 waterway – a lake, river, or stream. Commission (IJC), 114 shrub-carr, 94, 88 larger watershed. birds, grassland, 62 Black spruce, Picea mariana, 82, 88 Z invasive forest plants, 99 Sibley Prairie, 63 S birds, forest, 95 Black walnut, Juglans nigra, 96 –the replacement of plant wetlands – an area that is inundated or zone of saturation–point at which invasive aquatic species, 31, 34, 113 soil, 14 sand–a soil type, consisting succession birds, marsh, 45 Black willow, Salix nigra, 90, 93 species in an orderly sequence of saturated by surface water or ground- groundwater totally saturates the soil. Islands, Detroit River, 19 Southeast Michigan of particles between 0.05 and 2.0 mm Blue Heron Lagoon, 123 Bloodroot, Sanguinaria development. water with a frequency and duration Water in the zone of saturation will Island Lake Recreation Area, 102 Raptor Research, 53 in diameter. bogs, 82-83 canadensis, 97, 100 sufficient to support vegetation adapt- flow into a well and is called ground isostatic rebound, 11 Springfield Township, 80, 120 ed for life under those soil conditions. water; an aquifer. Brownstown Township, 9 Blue ash, Fraxinus quadrangulata, 84 savanna–a grassland with scattered surface water–water on the surface St. Lawrence Seaway, 17 Blue-beech, Carpinus caroliniana, 90 of the earth. Swamps, marshes, fens, and bogs are Lake Erie Metropark, 53, 115 trees, either as individuals or clumps. Carolinian Life Zone, 3, 84 St. Clair National Wildlife Area, 50 Blueberry, Vaccinium spp., 66, 100 examples of wetlands. Lambton Wildlife Inc., 67 A transitional community between Canard Valley Conservation Area, 94 St. Clair River Delta, 18-19 Blue-eyed grass, swamp–a wetland dominated by trees land-use planning, 118 prairie and forest. Central Michigan University, 35 St. Johns Marsh, 51 Sisyrinchium albidium, 60 and shrubs, with standing water, Leamington, 9 Chemical Valley, 105, 110 Stevenson, Robert, 56 Blue flag iris, Iris virginica, 74 limited drainage, and often neutral Lighthouse Cove, 24 sediment–fragmented material that Clean Water Act, 114 Stonycreek Metropark, 8 Blue-green algae, Oscillatoria spp., 27 or slightly acidic soils. London, 29 originates from weathering of rocks climate, 14 submergent aquatic plants, 27-28 Blue joint grass, and is transported by, suspended Lorne C. Henderson Clinton River Trail, 58 succession, 85 Calamagrostis canadensis, 56, 66, 78 in, or deposited by water or air. T Conservation Area, 86 Clinton River Watershed Council, 127 swamp, conifer, 88 Bog rosemary, Andromeda Lotus Garden Club of Monroe, 43 temperate zone–the part of the Earth’s communities, wooded, 84 swamp, hardwood, 90 glaucophylla, 82 shoreline–the line where shore Lower Huron Metropark, 85, 94 surface lying between the Tropics and connecting channels, 16 swamp, shrub, 92 Bottlebrush grass, Hystrix patula, 96 and water meet. lumbering, 108 the Arctic, characterized by warm contaminated sediments, 114 Bottle gentian, Gentiana andrewsii, 63 Talbot Trail, 9 summers, cold winters, and moderate controlled burns, 59, 66, 122 Bur oak, Quercus macrocarpa, 66, 90 shoreline hardening–the installation springs and falls. kame, 8 tallgrass prairie, 56-61, 63-64 Cranbrook Institute of Science, 8 Bushy pondweed, Najas flexilis, 28 of artificial shoreline structures such Kensington Metropark, 96 The Nature Conservancy, 6, 63 Crosswinds Marsh, 122 Butterfly milkweed, Asclepias as concrete docks, steel breakwalls, terminus–the southernmost edge kettle, 8 till, 7 incarnata, 60 berms, and concrete revetments of a glacier. kettle and kame topography, 8 transpiration, 20 designed to prevent erosion and Darby, William, 43 Butterfly weed, Asclepias Detroit River, International tributaries, 22 protect properties from being washed –of, or pertaining to land. Macomb Buffer Initiative, 123 tuberosa, 65, 102 terrestrial Wildlife Refuge, 37 away. In the process, natural marsh, 73 University of Michigan, 35 Buttonbush, Cephalanthus Dow Prairie, 57 vegetation and habitat is eliminated. topography–the elevational pattern mayfly, 29 University of Michigan-Dearborn occidentalis, 92 dragonflies, 76-77 of the soil surface, including its relief mastodon, 13, 106 Campus Natural Area, 54 Canada tick trefoil, shrub layer–the part of a forest floor meadow, 59 Desmodium canadense, 61 and the position of natural and Eastern deciduous forest region, 3 urban sprawl, 117-120 characterized by shrub growth or manmade features. melt-water, 8 Canada wild rye, Elymus end moraine, 7 urban wildlife, 124 young trees (woody vegetation.) Michigan Department canadensis, 57 energy pyramid, 27 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 35, 67, 123 toxic–a poison or something that has of Natural Resources, 35 Cardinal flower, Lobelia cardinalis, 94 eskers, 8 U.S. Geological Service, 35 siltation–the deposit of or been poisoned. Michigan Nature Association, 81, 98 Chokeberry, Aronia melanocarpa, 66 evaporation, 20 accumulation of very tiny soil Michigan Natural vernal pools, 91, Choke cherry, Prunus virginiana, 100 particles (silt.) –any river or stream that tributary farmland preservation, 119 Features Inventory, 63 Common buckthorn, Rhamnus connects with a larger river or stream Walpole Island, 25, 19, 30, 50, 70-71, 106 fens, prairie, 80 migration, bird, 54 -55 cathartica, 99 silt–a soil particle between 0.05 before reaching its final outflow. Waterfowl, 46, 55 fish, at risk, 36 migration, fish, 33 Common bur reed, and 0.002 mm in diameter; a soil type. water-lain moraine, 8 fish, exotic, 34 migratory flyway, 54 -55 Sparganium eurycarpum, 73 trophic level–a group of living things Wawanosh Wetlands, 74 –dead trees that are still fish, Great Lakes, 32-33 Minden Bog, 83 Common cattail, Typha latifolia, 73 snags that share the same level in the food Wayne County Community College - standing or have partially fallen. forest, floodplain, 93 moraines, 7, 10-12 chain. Downriver Campus, 84 Common milkweed, forest, beech-maple, 96 mussels, freshwater, West Bloomfield Asclepias syriaca,61 slough–a hollow filled with mud forest, oak-hickory, 100 Unionidae, 29-31, 37 U Woods Nature Preserve, 75 Common mountain mint, and water (e.g. an inlet from a river.) fragmentation, 87 native landscaping, 121 understory–part of a forest where tall wet meadow, 78-79 Pycnanthemum virginianum, 66 fungus, 96 natural community, 3 shrubs and shade-tolerant trees grow wildflowers, woodland, 97 Common water plantain, soil–a dynamic natural body composed furbearers, marsh, 48 nearshore waters, 25 beneath the main canopy. Wildlife Habitat Council, 122 Alisma subcordatum, 73 of mineral and organic materials and fur trade, 107 living forms in which plants grow. oak barrens, 102-103 Coontail, Ceratophyllum demersum, 28 upland–land above the level where oak savanna, 56, 65-68 zooplankton, 27 Coral mushroom, Hiericium water flows or flooding occurs. glacial erratics, 7 spawn–to deposit eggs or sperm glacial grooves, 7 Ojibway Prairie Complex, 64 SPECIES INDEX ramosum, 96 directly into water, as fish do. V glacial history, 10-11 Ontario Ministry Cotton grass, Eriophorum spp., 82 glacial lakes, 9 of Natural Resources, 35, 64 Plants Cucumber tree, Magnolia –plant and animal –all the plants that grow species at risk vegetation glacial lobe, 10-11 outwash, 8 acuminata, 84 species in which populations are in a region or area. Alternate-leaved dogwood, glacial period, 6 Culver’s root, Veronicastrum declining to low levels; species that are Palmer Park, 86 Cornus alternifolia, 94 glacial sediment, 7 virginicum, 61 listed as special concern, threatened, vernal pool–ponds or small lakes physiographic regions, 12 American beech, Fagus grasses, warm-season, 57 or in danger of extinction. that occur only in springtime. periphyton, 27 grandifolia, 86, 87, 93, 96, 97, 100 Diatom, Fragillaria spp., 27 Great Lakes Coastal Complex, 64 [vernal = springtime] phytoplankton, 26, 41 American chestnut, Dogwood, Cornus spp., 66 Great Lakes coastal marsh, 43 spring ephemerals–forest wildflowers Pine River Nature Center, 94 Castanea dentata, 84 Downy arrowwood, Great Lakes System Profile, 17 that flower in the spring before nearby vertebrate–organism having Pinery Provincial Park, 67, 101 American elm, Ulmus Viburnum rafinesquianum, 100 Great Lakes trees can produce leaves and a backbone. pit-and-mound topography, 86 americana, 88, 90, 93 Dragon’s mouth, Arethusa bulbosa, 88 Water Quality Agreement, 110 block sunlight. Point Pelee National Park, 66, 101 American hazelnut, Duckweed, Lemna minor, 73 Grosse Ile Land Conservancy, 78 Pointe Mouillee State Game Area, 50 Corylus americana, 66 Dutchman’s breeches, ground moraine, 7 precipitation, 20 American lotus, Nelumbo lutea, 43 Dicentra cucullaris, 97, 100 Aromatic sumac, Rhus aromatica, 102 hardwood swamp, 90 Proud Lake Recreation Area, 82 Dwarf chinquapin,

MANDY DUNLAP MANDY Arrowhead, Sagittaria spp., 73 hawk migration, 52-53 Quercus prinoides, 102

140 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 141 Michigan lily, Lilium michiganense, 60 Slippery elm, Ulmus rubra, 82 Witch hazel, Hamamelis virginiana, 100 Cerulean warbler, Dendronica Gadwall, Anas strepera, 46 Northern pike, Esox lucius, 27, 31, 33, 34 Spotted turtle, Clemmys NDEX Mountain mint, Small cranberry, Vaccinium Wood betony, Pedicularis cerulea, 95 Giant reed grass, Northern pintail, Anas acuta, 46 guttata, 37, 44, 78, 88 I Pycnanthemum virginianum, 60 oxycoccos, 82 canadensis, 60 Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, 34 Phragmites australis, 51 Northern shoveler, Anas clypeata, 46 Stickleback, Gasterosteus spp. 34 Small green wood-orchid, Channel darter, Percina copelandi, 36 Gizzard shad, Dorosoma Northern water snake, Striped skunk, Mephitis mephitis, 124 Needle grass, Stipa spartea, 102 Platanthera clavellata, 88 Yellow birch, Betula Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus cepedianum, 27, 34 Nerodia sipedon, 73 Stonefly, Plecoptera spp., 27 New Jersey tea, Ceanothus Small white lady’s-slippers, alleghaniensis, 88, 90, 96, 98 tshawytscha, 34 Grasshopper sparrow, Nuthatch, Sitta spp., 92 Sucker, Catostomus spp., 33 americanus, 66 Cyripedium candidum, 60 Yellow coneflower, Ratibida Chorus frog, Pseudacris spp., 73 Ammodramus savannarum, 102 Swamp metalmark, Northern hackberry, Celtis Smooth aster, Aster laevis, 61 pinnata, 60 Coho salmon, Oncorhynchus Gray catbird, Dumetella Osprey, Pandion haliaetus, 27, 37 Calephelis muticum, 81 Early meadow rue, Thalictrum occidentalis, 93 Sphagnum moss, Sphagnum spp., 82 Yellow fringed-orchid, kisutch, 34 carolinensis, 54 Ovenbird, Seiurus aurocapillus, 87 dioicum, 93 Northern pin oak, Quercus Spicebush, Lindera bezoin, 88 Platanthera ciliaris, 88 Common carp, Cyprinus carpio, 34 Gray fox, Urocyon Timber wolf, Canis lupus, 4 Eastern cottonwood, Populus Painted turtle, Chrysemys picta, 27 ellipsoidalis, 102 Spotted knapweed, Yellow lady’s-slipper, Cyripedium Common goldeneye, cinereoargenteus, 37 Trout perch, Percopsis deltoides, 90, 93 Passenger pigeon, Ohio goldenrod, Solidago ohioensis, 81 Centaurea maculosa, 59, 102 calceolus, 79 Bucephala clangula, 46 Gray squirrel, Sciurus omiscomaycus, 34 Eastern hemlock, Tsuga Ectopistes migratorius, 98 Ostrich fern, Matteuccia Spring cress, Cardamine bulbosa, 94 Yellow oak, Quercus muehlenbergii, 48 Common loon, Gavia immer, 51 carolinensis, 100, 124 Tubernose goby, Proterorhinus canadensis, 96, 98 Peregrine falcon, Falco peregrinus, 125 struthiopteris, 94 Stiff goldenrod, Solidago rigida ssp. Yellow star-grass, Hypoxis hirsuta, 60 Common tern, Sterna hirundo, 37 Great blue heron, Ardea marmoratus, 113 Eastern prairie fringed orchid, Praying mantis, Stagmomantis Painted trillium, Trillium undulatum, 98 Glabrata, 102, 103 Common whitetail damselfly, herodius, 26, 51, 75 Tundra swan, Cygnus Platanthera lecophaea, 58 carolina, 103 Panicled aster, Aster simplex, 78 Sugar maple, Acer Animals Plathemis lydia, 76, 77 Great egret, Ardea alba, 42, 50 columbianus, 46, 47 Eastern redcedar, Juniperus Pugnose minnow, Paw-paw, Asimina triloba, 84 saccharum, 85, 87, 96, 100, 104 Alewife, Alosa pseudoharengus, 34 Cottontail, Sylvilagus floridanus, 68, 73, Greater scaup, Aythya marila, 46 virginiana, 66 Opsopoeodus emiliae, 36, 41 Vesper sparrow, Pooecetes Peach-leaved willow, Sullivant’s milkweed, American badger, Taxidea taxus, 68 92, 124 Green darner, Anax junius, 76 Eurasian watermilfoil, Pugnose shiner, Notropis anogenus, 36 gramineus, 102 Pennsylvania sedge, Asclepias sullivantii, 60 American bittern, Botaurus Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus, 27 Green-winged teal, Anas crecca, 46 Myriophyllum spicatum, 28 Pumpkinseed, Lepomis gibbosus, 33 Virginia opossum, Didelphis Carex pennsylvanica, 57, 66, 100 Sundew, Drosera spp., 82, 83 lentiginosus, 78 Coyote, Canis latrans, 37, 66 Pickerelweed, Pontedaria Henslow’s sparrow, Ammodramus virginiana, 84, 124 False foxglove, Aureolaria flava, 67 Swamp cottonwood, American kestrel, Falco Raccoon, Procyon cordata, 53, 73 Duke’s skipper, Euphyes dukesi, 63, 78 henslowii, 62, 102 Virginia rail, Rallus limicola, 50 Fen star sedge, Carex sterilis, 80 Populus heterophylla, 92 sparverius, 63, 68 lotor, 27, 37, 44, 73, 92, 124 Pignut hickory, Carya Swamp milkweed, Asclepias American widgeon, Anas Hooded merganser, Flowering dogwood, Cornus florida, 84 Eastern bluebird, Sialia sialis, 63, 66, 68 Rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus Water snake, Nerodia spp., 27 glabra, 66, 100, 102 incarnata, 78, 79 americana, 46 Lophodytes cuculattus, 46 Flowering spurge, Euphorbia Eastern fox snake, Elaphe mykiss, 33, 34 Walleye, Stizostedion Pin oak, Quercus palustris, 66, 90 Swamp rose mallow, Acadian flycatcher, Empidonax House sparrow, corollata, 65 vulpine gloydi, 44, 64 Rainbow smelt, Osmerus mordax, 34 vitreum, 27, 31, 33, 34, 51 Pink lady’s slipper, Cyripedium Hibiscus moschetos, 43 virescens, 87 Passer domesticus, 68, 124 Fringed gentian, Gentiana crinita, 61, 81 Eastern fox squirrel, Sciurus niger, 68 Red fox, Vulpes vulpes, 68, 75, 124 Wandering glider, acaule, 88 Swamp thistle, Cirsium muticum, 78 Arrow clubtail, Stylurus spiniceps, 77 Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake, Indigo bunting, Passerina cyanea, 68 Red-breasted merganser, Pantala flavescens, 76 Garlic mustard, Alliaria petiolata, 99 Pitcher plant, Sarracenia spp., 82, 83 Swamp white oak, Quercus Sistrurus catenatus Mergus serrator, 46 White bass, Morone chrysops, 27 Ginger plant, Zingiber officinale, 93 Poison sumac, Rhus vernix, 80, 82 bicolor, 66, 82, 90 Bald eagle, Haliaeetus catenatus, 64, 78, 81, 88 Karner blue butterfly, Redhead, Aythya americana, 46, 55 White perch, Morone americana, 34 Golden Alexanders, Zizia aurea, 60 Pondweed, Potamogeton spp., 28, 73 Switch grass, Panicum virgatum, 61 leucocephalus, 24, 27, 37, 41, 51, Eastern meadowlark, Lycaeides melissa samuelis, 67, 69 Redheaded woodpecker, Melanerpes Whitefish, Coregonus clupeaformis, Golden ragwort, Senecio aureus, 93 Poplar, Populus spp., 90 Sycamore, Platanus occidentalis, 90, 93 53, 104, 115 Sturnella magna, 62 Killdeer, Charadrius vociferous, 117 eryhthrocephalus, 98 White-tailed deer, Odocoileus Golden-seeded spike rush, Prairie cord grass, Spartina Beaver, Castor canadensis, 24, 48, 92 Eastern pondhawk, Killifish, Fundulus spp., 34 Red-shouldered hawk, virginianus, 37, 66, 73, 92, 101 Eleocharis elliptica, 80 pectinata, 61, 78 Tall sunflower, Helianthus giganteus, 61 Black bear, Ursus americanus, 4, 104 Erythemis simplicicollis, 77 King rail, Rallus elegans, 45 Buteo lineatus, 95 Wild turkey, Meleagris Grass of Parnassus, Prairie dropseed, Sporobolus Tall water parsnip, Sium suave, 73 Black bullhead, Ameiurus melas, 34 Eastern red damselfly, Redside dace, Clinostomus gallopavo, 99, 104 Parnassia glauca, 80 heterolepsis, 81 Tamarack, Larix Black capped chickadee, Lake chubsucker, Erimyzon sucetta, 36 Amphiagrion saucium, 76 elongatus, 40, 41 Wood duck, Aix sponsa, 46, 47, 92 Grass pink, Calopogon tuberosus, 82, 88 Pumpkin ash, Fraxinus profunda, 90 laricina, 48, 80, 82, 88, 89 Poecile atricapilla, 92 Lake herring, Coregonus Eastern sand darter, Red-tailed hawk, Woodchuck, Marmota monax, 37, 124 Gray dogwood, Cornus racemosa, 80 Purple loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria, 75 Tatarian honeysuckle, Lonicera Black crappie, Pomoxis artedi, 32, 34, 36 Ammocrypta pellucida, 36 Buteo jamaicensis, 101 Purple trillium, Trillium erectum, 97 tatarica, 99 nigromaculatus, 34 Lake sturgeon, Acipenser Yellow bullhead, Ameiurus natalis, 34 Eastern screech owl, Otus asio, 99 Red-winged blackbird, Hard-stemmed bulrush, Pussy willow, Salix discolor, 80 Tickseed, Coreopsis lanceolata, 66 Black duck, Anas rubripes, 46, 55 fulvescens, 32, 33 – 35, 36, 37, 41 Yellow perch, Perca Eastern spiny softshell, Agelaius phoeniceus, 75 Scirpus acutus, 80 Touch-me-not, Impatiens capensis, 94 Black redhorse, Moxostoma Lake trout, Salvelinus flavescens, 32, 33, 34 Quaking aspen, Populus Apalone spinifera spinifera, 44 Ribbon snake, Thamnophis Hepatica, Hepatica spp., 100 Trout lily, Erythronium americanum, 97 duquesnei, 36 namaycush, 32, 34, Yellow warbler, Dendroica tremuloides, 90 Elk, Cervus elaphus, 4, 104 sauritus, 73 Highbush blueberry, Vaccinium Tuliptree, Liriodendron tulipifera, 96 Black saddlebags, Tramea lacerate, 76 Lake whitefish, Coregonus petechia, 54 Queen Anne’s lace, Daucus carota, 59 Emerald shiner, Notropis Ring-necked duck, Aythya collaris, 46 corymbosum, 82, 88 Tussock sedge, Carex stricta, 78, 80 Black tern, Chlidonias niger, 45 clupeaformis, 32, 34 atherinoides, 27 River otter, Lontra canadensis, 29, 48 Hoary puccoon, Twigrush, Cladium mariscoides, Blanchard’s cricket frog, Acris Larch casebearer, Zebra mussel, Dreissena Red ash, Fraxinus Eurasian water milfoil, River redhorse, Moxostoma Lithospermum canescens, 60 crepitanis blanchardii, 81 Coleophora laricella, 89 polymorpha, 113 pennsylvanicus, 88, 96 Virginia creeper, Parthenocissus Myriophyllum spicatum, 113 carinatum, 36 Honeylocust, Gleditsia tricanthos, 93 Blanding’s turtle, Emydoidea Larch sawfly, Pristiphora erichsonii, 89 Redbud, Cercis canadensis, 93 quinquefolia, 86 European starling, Sturnus vulgaris, 68 Rock bass, Ambloplites rupestris, 34 Hop tree, Ptelea trifoliata, 84 blandingii, 78, 79, 88 Largemouth bass, Red maple, Acer rubrum, 88, 100 Eyed brown, Satyrodes eurydice, 78 Rose-breasted grosbeak, Blazing star borer moth, Papaipema v Micropterus salmoides, 33, 34 Indian grass, Sorghastrum Red oak, Quercus rubra, 85, 93, 96, 100 Walnut, Juglans spp., 104 Pheucticus ludovicianus, 54 beeriana, 61 Least bittern, Ixobrychus exilis, 45, 50 nutans, 56, 61, 80, 102 Red-osier dogwood, Cornus Waterweed, Elodea canadensis, 28 Fawn darner, Boyeria vinosa, Round goby, Neogobius Bluegill, Lepomis macrochirus, 34 Leopard frog, Rana pipens, 72, 73 Indian plantain, Cacalia plantaginea, 80 stolonifera, 80 Water stargrass, Heterantha dubia, 28 Five-lined skink, Eumeces fasciatus, 99 melanostomus, 34, 35, 113 Blue jay, Cyanocitta cristata, 124 Lesser scaup, Aythya affinis, 46 Ironweed, Vernonia fasciculata, 61, 66 Red pine, Pinus resinosa, 66 White ash, Fraxinus americana, 100 Freshwater drum, Aplodinotus Ruddy duck, Oxyura jamaicensis, 46 Redhead grass, Potamogeton White cedar, Thuja occidentalis, 82, 88 Blue pike, Stizostedion vitreum grunniens, 34 Loggerhead shrike, glaucum, 32 Jack-in-the-pulpit, Arisaema richardsonii, 28 White lady’s slipper orchid, Lanius ludovicianus, 62, 102 Salmon, Oncorhynchus spp., 33 Blue-winged teal, Anas discors, 46, 55 atrorubens, 97 Reed canary grass, Phalaris Cyripedium candidum, 80 Hickorynut, Obovaria olivaria, 31 Lynx, Lynx lynx, 4 Sauger, Stizostedion canadense, 32, 36 arundinacea, 78 White oak, Quercus Bigmouth buffalo, Ictiobus Scarlet tanager, Joe-pye weed, Eupatorium Mudpuppy mussel, Mallard duck, Anas platyrhynchos, 46 Richardson’s sedge, Carex alba, 48, 66, 87, 93, 96, 100, 102 cyprinellus, 36 Piranga olivacea, 87, 95 maculatum, 61, 78 Simpsonaias ambigua, 31 Mayfly, Hexagenia spp., 26, 27 richardsonii, 80 White pine, Pinus strobus, 66, 82, 98 Bobcat, Lynx rufus, 4 Sea lamprey, Petromyzon Meadow vole, Kentucky blue grass, Riddell’s goldenrod, Solidago White prairie gentian, Gentiana Bobolink, Dolichonyx oryzivorus, 62, 102 marinus, 104, 113 Northern riffleshell, Microtus pennsylvanicus, 55 Poa pretensis, 57, 117 riddellii, 66, 81 alba, 70 Bridle shiner, Notropis bifrenatus, 36 Sedge wren, Cistothorus Epioblasma torulosa rangiana, 29, 31 Milkweed beetle, Tetraopes Kentucky coffee tree, Gymnocladus Riverbank grape, Vitis riparia, 93 White water lily, Nymphaea Broad-winged hawk, platensis, 78, 79 tetraophthalmus, 103 dioicus, 84, 93, 94 Rose pogonia, Pogonia tuberosa, 73 Buteo platypterus, 53, 55 Purple lillyput, Tozolasma lividus, 31 Semi-palmated sandpiper, Ameiurus Mink, Mustela vison, 73, 74, 75, 92 ophioglossoides, 88 Whorled pogonia, Isotria Brown bullhead, Purple wartyback, Calidris pusilla, 54 Large cranberry, Vaccinium nebulosus, 34 Mitchell’s satyr, Neonympha Rough blazing star, verticillata, 88 Cyclonaias tuberculata, 31 Sharp-shinned hawk, macrocarpa, 82 Brown-headed cowbird, mitchellii, 81, 88 Liatris aspera, 66, 102 Wicket spike rush, Eleocharis Accipiter striatus, 55, 68 Large-flowered trillium, Molothrus ater, 54 Monarch butterfly, Rue anemone, Anemonella rostella, 80 Rainbow, Villosa iris, 31 Short-billed dowitcher, Trillium grandiflorum, 97 Brown thrasher, Toxostoma rufum, 68 Danaus plexippus, 54, 81 thalictroides, 100 Wild celery, Vallisineria Rayed bean, Villosa fabalis, 30, 31 Limnodromus griseus, 54 Leatherleaf, Chamaedaphne Brown trout, Salmo trutta, 34 Mooneye, Hiodon tergisus, 36 americana, 28 Round hickorynut, Short-eared owl, Asio flammeus, 78 calyculata, 82 Buffalo, Bison bison, 4, 63, 66, 104 Moose, Alces alces, 4 Sand milkweed, Asclepias Wild columbine, Aquilegia Obovaria subrotunda, 31 Silver chub, Hybopsis storelana, 36 Loesel’s twayblade, Liparis loeselii, 88 Bufflehead, Bucephala albeola, 46 Mullberry wing butterfly, amplexicaulis, 102 canadensis, 97 Silver shiner, Notropis Little bluestem, Schizachyrium Bullfrog, Rana catesbeiana, 27 Snuffbox, Epioblasma triquetra, 30, 31 Poanes massasoit, 78 Sassafras, Sassafras Wild geranium, Geranium photogenis, 40, 41 scoparius, 61, 66, 67, 80, 102 Burrowing mayfly, Hexagenia spp., 29 Muskellunge, Esox Smallmouth bass, Micropterus albidum, 84, 98, 100 maculatum, 93, 97 Wavy-rayed lamp mussel, Mayapple, Podophyllum peltatum, 97 Butler’s garter snake, masquinongy, 4, 27, 31, 33, 34 dolomieu, 4, 33, 34 Scarlet oak, Quercus coccinea, 100 Wild ginger, Asarum Lampilis fasciola, 31 Maidenhair fern, Adiantum pedatum, 94 Thamnophis butleri, 64, 92 Muskrat, Ondatra Snapping turtle, Chelydra Sedge, Carex spp., 82 canadense, 93 White catspaw, Epioblasma Marsh bellflower, Shagbark hickory, Carya ovata, 96, 102 zibethicus, 29, 37, 48, 73, 92 serpentina, 73 Canada goose, Branta oblique perobliqua, 31 Campanula aparinoides, 78 Shrubby cinquefoil, Potentilla Mute swan, Cygnus olor, 46, 47 Snow goose, Chen caerulescens, 46 Wild lupine, Lupinus canadensis, 46, 47, 123 Marsh blazing star, fruticosa, 80 Snowy owl, Nyctea scandiaca, 55 perennis, 66, 67, 102 Canvasback duck, Zebra mussel, Dreissena Northern brook lamprey, Liatris spicata, 58, 60, 61 Shumard oak, Quercus shumardii, 92 Song sparrow, Melospiza melodia, 124 Wild plum, Prunus americana, 66 Aythya valisineria, 28, 46 polymorpha, 28, 30 – 31, 35 Icthyomyzon fossor, 36 Marsh fern, Thelypteris palustris, 72 Silver maple, Acer Southern flying squirrel, Wild rice, Zizania aquatica, 43, 70 Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, 124 Northern flicker, Colaptes auratus, 124 Marsh marigold, Caltha palustris, 90, 93 saccharinum, 88, 90, 93 Frosted elfin, Callophrys irus, 69 Glaucomys volans, 98 Winterberry, Ilex verticillata, 66, 88 Cecropia moth, Hyalophora Northern madtom, Noturus Mat muhly, Muhlenbergia Skunk cabbage, Symplocarpus Spotted gar, Lepisosteus oculatus, 36 Wintergreen, Gaultheria cecropia, 103 stigmosus, 36 richardsonis, 80 foetidus, 82, 93 Spotted salamander, procumbens, 82 Northern harrier, Circus cyaneus, 55, 78 Ambystoma spp., 91

142 EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD: A BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR THE PHYSICALLANDSCAPE| EXPLORE OURNATURALWORLD THE BIODIVERSITYATLAS OF THELAKE HURON TOLAKE ERIE CORRIDOR 143