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rcurl
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Michigan Natural Areas Council
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Aug 1 20:20 UTC 1994 |
The Michigan Natural Areas Council began in 1946 as a conservation
committee of the Michigan Botanical Club, and became a separate
organization a few years later.
At the outset, the Council recognized that the most effective means to
save native species is to preserve the habitat, whole ecosystems. Under
the leadership of Stanley A. Cain and other outstanding field botanists, a
framework of principles was developed to serve as a guide to the
evaluation of natural areas and recommendations to their management. Over
the years, the Council has seen to the dedication of over 100,000 acres in
Michigan. The publication of reports on field surveys continues to serve
as an informational recource for interested persons.
The pressure of urbanization and development and the destruction of
habitats by uncaring use call for renewed efforts by citizens to save
parts of the natural world for future enjoyment.
The MNAC is a non-profit organization and their membership is open to
all individuals and organizations interested in furthering their
goals. Dues are currently $15/year. Write to:
MNAC
c/o Emily Nietering, treasurer
231 Nash Street
Dearborn MI 48124
This Item will publish selections of public interest from _Michigan
Natural Areas News and Views_, a quarterly of the MNAC. Discussion is, of
course, welcome.
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| 15 responses total. |
rcurl
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response 1 of 15:
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Aug 1 20:53 UTC 1994 |
From _Michhgan Natural Areas News and Views_, May 12 1994:
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*MNAC nominates area for Natural Resources Trust Fund*
On behalf of the Michigan Natural Areas Council, Mac Deuparo filed a
nomination form with the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund proposing
state purchase of a 96 acre tract surrounded on three sides by the Bald
Mountain Recreation Area. Strategically located, this tract serves as a
buffer to high quality natural areas on adjacent public lands. It is also
critical to the protection of Clear Creek wastershed basin where Clear
Creek feeds into two of the major trout streams remaining in Southeast
Michigan: Trout Creek and Paint Creek. About a dozen years ago, this tract
was ranked number 2 statewide but it was not purchased because of land
prices.
This year the Natural Resources Trust Fund program received 66 nominations
for purchase of state lands by the Department of Natural Resources. The
Department will be completing evaluations for the state-purchase proposals
by July 1. Recommendations will be transmitted to the Trust Fund Board on
August 17. Our tract was nominated by two parties - the Council and
William Rathburg, a retired manager of Bald Mountain.
DESCRIPTION: The tract, located in Orion Township, lies behind Lake Orion
High School. The school administration favors state purchase and believes
the area is ideally suited for nature education.
The proposed high density housing development in the uplands would cause
severe erosion and thus impair streams, wetlands, and other natural features.
Paul Thompson, who has studied the area extensively, states: "This tract
is part of a larger ecosystem which contains a diverse collection of
excellent welands including cattail marshes, swamp forests, white cedar
swamps, sedge meadows, and tamarack bogs. Located in the center of a cedar
swamp is a very large fen where over one hundred plants have been
identified." (See also "South Bald Mountain Fen Community Reconnaissance
Report", 1978, published by the Michigan Natural Areas Council.)
William Rathburg describes the area as follows: "The stream (Clear Creek)
flows from west to east. At one point the stream passes through a narrow
gorge with near vertical banks from which the water trickles down. The
banks are covered with various ferns, mosses, and wildflowers such as
trillium, jack-in-the-pulpit, various violets, adder tongue, spring beauty,
hepatica, etc. White cedar trees grow on the banks and fallen cedars
criss-cross the stream and adjacent upland."
CONCLUSION: Long term losses due to the consequence of NOT purchasing this
land may far outweigh the initial costs. Urban sprawl has wiped out many
prime natural areas in Oakland and it is increasingly important to save
those that remain. The proposed purchase of this land may well represent
the last opportunity to PREVENT degrading of natural values on both public
and private land.
We encourage members to send a letter of support. Please refer to
Nomination No. 94-846 - Bald Mountin Fen and Area. Send letter to:Robert
L. Couvreur. Program Manager, Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund,
Department of Natural Resrouces, Box 30425, Lasning MI 48909.
***********
(MDNR recommendations are to be presented to the meeting of the Trust Fund
Board on 17 August 1994. The Board will finalize selection on 14 December.)
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rcurl
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response 2 of 15:
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Sep 14 05:56 UTC 1994 |
From _Michigan Natural Area News and Views_, 2 September 1994.
**********
*MNAC Challenges Golf Course Development in Rich Woods in Lower Huron Metro
Park in Wayne County.*
Members of MNAC's executive board have expressed grave concerns to the
Huron-Clinton Metroparks (HCMA) over their proposal to build an 18-hole
golf course on land containing perhaps the finest example of lowland
forest remaining in southern Michigan. After learning of the proposed golf
course, which is included in the Metroparks' five year development plan,
members of the MNAC board explored the old growth woods with Tony Reznicek
serving as guide. The unusually rich woods contains over seventy species
of woody plants alone, more than found in all of Europe! Many large trees
dot the woods, some likely more than 200 years old. Especially impressive
is a giant black walnut and some very large and old sycamores. Other big
trees include black maple, bur oak, white ash, red ash, beech, tulip
poplar, and chinkapin oak. With large forest-grown specimens of Kentucky
coffee-tree, one also wonders about the use of this site by Native
Americans and potential for archaeological resources on the site. There
are also large specimens of bladdernut and pawpaw, and in areas the woods
almost take on a tropical appearance because of the dense pawpaw canopy.
On the tour, MNAC board members noted four species currently listed under
Michigan's Endangered Species Act, two species listed as Special Concern,
and another candidate species for federal listing as Threatened or
Endangered. To date, no thorough inventory of the flora and fauna has been
done, and a rich woodland like this, relatively devoid of invasive exotic
species may well include additional rare plants and animals. The woods
also contains several wetlands in former river channels that are connected
to the Huron and thus would be regulated under Michigan's Goemare-Anderson
Wetland Protection Act.
Following our tour of the woods, several members of the executive
board met with Dan Duncan, landscape architect with HCMA, at a meeting set
up by Paul Rentschler of the Huron River Watershed Council. Duncan
mentiuoned that while their five year plan calls for a 18-hole golf course
at Lower Huron, it could conveivably be built in other parts of the park
(including the existing nature-study area) by reassigning other uses. He
also noted that HCMA does not see itself as a conservation agency but
primarily as a provider of recreational opportunities and the lands they
own must be justified in terms of use. Member of MNAC and the Huron River
Watershed Council argued that HCMA should reconsider its role as a land
management agency and steward of a network of valuable lands along the
rivers of southeastern Michigan, recognizing and addressing the need for
ecosystem management. As an outcome of the meeting, MNAC board members
agreed to consider assisting HCMA in inventorying the site and its special
resources.
It should be noted that under the efforts of Paul Thommpson, MNAC
prepared a report in 1981 documenting the importance of this floodplain
woods. A copy of the report was sent to HCMA at that time and it was
understood by members of MNAC that this precious resource would be
protected.
************
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mjs
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response 3 of 15:
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Sep 25 05:52 UTC 1994 |
This is absolutely unbelievable.
A golf course is little more than a parking lot.
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mwarner
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response 4 of 15:
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Sep 26 01:04 UTC 1994 |
I think you've hit on the definition of the word "metropark".
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rcurl
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response 5 of 15:
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Sep 26 05:06 UTC 1994 |
It is reported that the prior Metropark director was concerned with
all the resources of the parks, and not narrowing management to
recreation (defined as forms of amusement).
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mwarner
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response 6 of 15:
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Sep 26 22:43 UTC 1994 |
Golf is a very narrow form of recreation, and largely excludes a great
number of people from a sizable area of land. Permanently. This seems to
be in conflict with the broad access and dense per capita concept of land
use for Metroparks. That an arguably sensitive or unusual area would be
used should also shear a cotter pin in the machinery of Metroparkprogress.
If Yellowstone, or other supposedly sensitive and treasured areas were
as severely restricted as an average golf course (park you car offsite or
on the perimeter, walk, or at worst drive, quiet, small battery driven
vehicles, in small groups either preregistered or waiting in line for a
restricted access time, you would have a fabulous way to keep
people from overrunning an area. Now just toss out the golf course.
(( But then how do you make money? And how do you provide the people with
an affordable golf experience? Nope. Preserving *yet another* natural are
comes at just too high a price. Build that golf course. Otherwise,
someday, we'll all just step off our front porches and sink up to our
chins in the inevitable swamp or dark forest left in the wake of yet
another environmental crusade. ))
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rcurl
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response 7 of 15:
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Oct 22 20:32 UTC 1994 |
The Michigan Natural Areas Council will hold their ANNUAL MEETING on
SUNDAY, 6 November 1994, beginning at 2:00 PM, at the University of
Michigan Matthaei Botanical Gardens (1800 Dixboro Rd., Ann Arbor).
PROGRAM
Chairman's Report on 1994 Activities.
Treasurer's Report on 1994 Finances.
Tribute to Paul W. Thompson (1909 - 1994).
Introduction of 1995 Elected Officers.
SLIDE PRESENTATION: Dr. Sulvia Taylor, on "Saving Lower Huron Metro Park's Old
Growth Forest"
FEATURED SPEAKER: Dr. Warren H. Wagner, on "Beginnings of Federal Listing
of Endangered Plant Species and Some Recent Developments"
The meeting is open to the public, and also affords a chance to visit the
Botanical Gardens arboretum (interior plant exhibits).
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rcurl
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response 8 of 15:
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Feb 15 06:06 UTC 1995 |
From _Michigan Natural Areas Council - News and Views_ 28 January 1995
*Michigan Natural Features Inventory completes survey of Lakeplain Prairie
and hopes to build public support for protection*
The Natural Features program has completed its year-long study of
tallgrass prairie on Michigan's glacial lakeplain. The study estimates
that Michigan once contained some 158,000 acres of lakeplain prairie, 80%
of which occurred in the Southeast counties along Lake Erie, the Detroit
River, and Lake St. Clair. Another 18% was found in Bay and Tuscola
counties in the Saginaw Bay region, and the remaining 2% was found in
Allegan and Berrien counties in the southwestern part of the state. For a
description of the wondrous beauty of these prairies, note the following
description by Cadillac in 1702:
"All around this river [Detroit] are such grand prairies with grasses so
high that a man can scarcely be seen in it. Across the prairies are
scattered large clusters of trees, yet these trees are marvelously tall,
and except for the great oaks, have almost no branches but near the
top....
"At the entrance to Lake Erie are boundless prairies which stretch away
for 300 miles. There the mighty buffalo find pastures in abundance.
Deer are seen by the hundreds, as well as elk, black bears, otters,
beavers, and opossums. Wolves find abundant prey, but often at the cost
of their lives, because wolf skins are in demand. Game is very
common--wild geese, all kinds of wild ducks, swans, quail, woodcocks,
rabbits, prairie chickens, turkeys, and a stupendous number of wild
pigeons.
"I have seen birds of rare beauty. Some have plumage of a red fire color,
the most vivid possible, with spots of black on the tail and the wings.
I have seen others yellow, with tails bigger than their bodies; some sky
blue with red breasts; some with markings like great butterflies. I have
heard pleasant warblings from all these birds, especially from the red
birds with large beaks. There are many cranes, both gray and white, that
stand taller than a man. The savages value the white cranes for their
feathers.
"This country is so temperate, so fertile, so beautiful, that it may be
called the earthly paradise of North America. It deserves all the care
of the king to attract residents to it, so that a solid settlement may be
built.
Today, less than 1% of this historical lakeplain prairie survives, and
major sites found in St. Clair, Wayne, and Monroe counties lie directly in
the path of development. This unique ecosystem is considered globally
imperiled and critically imperiled within Michigan. Numerous rare
vascular plants are associated with these prairies, many of them being
disjuncts from their primary ranges. Animal surveys also have identified
numerous prairie insects, some of which are extremely rare in Michigan.
King rail, a marsh bird with declining populations throughout the Midwest,
has been found on Harsen's Island in the St. Clair Delta, an area long of
interest to MNAC members. Developing strategies for protecting these
lakeplain prairie ecosystems will be discussed at meetings with the
representatives of various conservation groups in SE Michigan in February.
Efforts to protect these resources will certainly include land
acquisition, prairie restoration and management, and public education and
management.
For further information, contact Dennis Albert, ecologist with the
Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Box 30444, 5th Floor Mason Building,
Lansing, MI 48909-7944.
Quotation taken from "Cadillac's Miracle: Antoine la Mothe de Cadillac"
1702, printed in William Joseph Seno's book Up Country: Voices from the
Great Lakes Wilderness. Heartland Press (1985) pp. 124-125
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rcurl
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response 9 of 15:
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Sep 26 15:23 UTC 1995 |
The following are brief selections from the Fall MNAC NEWSLETTER. You
can read the entire issue in /rcurl/mnac.news
LAKEPLAIN PRAIRIE TO BE FOCUS OF FALL MEETING
Mike Penskar, Denny Albert and William MacKinnon from the Michigan Natural
Features Inventory program will present their survey of Michigan's
lakeplain prairie at MNAC's fall meeting on Sunday, November 5th. It's
estimated that less than 1% of the original lakeplain prairie in Michigan
remains and many remnant sites are now threatened by development. The
talk will be proceeded by a brief business meeting and will be held at the
Mathaei Botanical Garden on Dixboro Road in Ann Arbor, on Sunday, November
5th, beginning at 2:00 p.m.
DNR SPLIT SHOULD CONCERN ENVIRONMENTALISTS
Without any public input, Governor John Engler issued Executive Order
1995-18 on August 1st, splitting the DNR effective October 1st. The order
creates a new Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) with the following
transferred from DNR: Air Quality, Environ-mental Response, Environmental
Assistance, Surface Water Quality, Underground Storage Tank, Waste
Management, the Office of Administrative Hearings, the Office of the Great
Lakes, and the unfilled environmental coordinator post. DEQ will also
contain the environmental investigations unit of DNR's Law Enforcement
Division, most programs of the Geological Survey Division, and the
permitting programs (e.g., wetlands, sand dunes, and the Great Lakes
shorelands) of the Land and Water Management Division.
Several features of this plan should arouse real concern for Michigan
environmentalists. First of all, the plan calls for a two-year phase out
of Environmental Conservation Officers. Responsibility for enforcement of
the state's pollution laws would then go to the Michigan State Police who
have no experience with environmental enforcement. Second, the DEQ will
have no public oversight or public accountability. Third, all appeals
will be handled by the new agency's director, Russell Harding who was
recently accused of "betraying the public trust" in his position of Deputy
Director of DNR by Attorney General Frank Kelly. MEC has joined the
Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) in calling for public hearings
on the split of DNR and confirmation hearings on Harding's appointment.
Carol Miseldine, Executive Director of MEC, noted that "MEC is extremely
concerned about this appointment because of the actions he has taken
during his tenure with the DNR. In lock step with Governor Engler,
Harding has systematically dismantled Michigan's previously held national
reputation in environmental protection. The public is entitled to hear
about the ideology of the director of a publicly funded agency entrusted
with protecting Michigan's drinking water, air, and surface water.
Confirmation hearings would be the most effective way to ensure that the
public understands where the new director stands." (from MEC, August 4,
1995 and the Citizen's Wetland Report, July-August 1995)
LOWER HURON GOLF COURSE PROPOSAL
As was reported in the last issue of the MNAC newsletter, MNAC board
members Tony Reznicek, Sylvia Taylor, Kathleen Thomson, and Bob Grese
attended the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority's meeting in April and
testified against the golf course proposed for the old-growth floodplain
forest in the Lower Huron Metropark. At that meeting, the commissioners
asked if MNAC members would be willing to give the commissioners a tour of
the woods at their next meeting on July 13. On July 13, when Tony
Reznicek, Bob Grese, Judy Kelly and Judy Thompson (Sierra Club) met at the
site as was requested by HCMA Director William Sherman, they learned that
the commissioners had taken a walk on their own earlier that morning. To
make matters worse, as preparation for the commissioner's walk, HCMA
employees had mowed the open fields and a 5-foot swath through the woods,
without regard for the rarer species found along the path or concern over
the weed seeds that were certain to have been brought in with the mower.
This mowing showed complete disregard for the threatened and endangered
species survey for the site which is still underway.
Following this abortive field trip, MNAC president Sylvia Taylor wrote a
letter to Director Sherman and is still waiting for a reply. To date, the
commissioners and Sherman have received numerous letters from MNAC
members, Sierra Club members, MI Botanical Club members, Huron River
Watershed Council members, and others urging them to protect this valuable
ecosystem. Members of the MNAC Board plan to schedule a hearing before
the next HCMA Commissioners' Meeting in October. Call Bob Grese
(313-663-4047) if you would like to attend.
The Audubon Society and Sierra Clubs are both planning fall walks through
this spectacular woods. The Audubon walk is scheduled for Sunday, October
15 from 7:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Meet at the Pittsfield School, 2543
Pittsfield Blvd. at 7:30 a.m. The date for the Sierra Club is unknown at
present.
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rcurl
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response 10 of 15:
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Nov 1 07:28 UTC 1995 |
The Michigan Natural Areas Council will hold their ANNUAL MEETING on
SUNDAY, 5 November 1995, beginning at 2:00 PM, at the University of
Michigan Matthaei Botanical Gardens (1800 Dixboro Rd., Ann Arbor).
PROGRAM
Chairman's Report on 1995 Activities.
Treasurer's Report on 1995 Finances.
A Program will follow on
"Michigan's Lakeplain Prairie"
by Mike Penskar, Denny Albert and William MacKinnon of the Michigan
Natural Features Inventory.
The meeting is open to the public, and also affords a chance to visit the
Botanical Gardens arboretum (interior plant exhibits).
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rcurl
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response 11 of 15:
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Nov 12 00:32 UTC 1995 |
I have built an initial homepage for the MNAC. It consists now of only
the contents of the MNAC brochure (and has no links). "Under
development", as they say... It can be read with
lynx /u/mnac/www/mnac.html
or, if you come in by the web, at the URL
http://www.cyberspace.org/u/mnac/www/mnac.html
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rcurl
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response 12 of 15:
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Nov 14 19:58 UTC 1995 |
The URL
http://www.cyberspace.org/~mnac/
may now be used. There is a link to the MNAC newsletter "New and Views" in
the homepage.
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rcurl
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response 13 of 15:
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Feb 12 08:19 UTC 1996 |
The February 1996 issue of the MNAC newsletter is now readable from
the above URL. The September 1995 issue can be read in
/u/mnac/www/news.html.9.95
The biggest issue currently is the plan by the Huron Clinton Metropark
Authority to build a(nother) golf course where there is currently
an old-growth floodplain forest, in Lower Huron Metropark. There is
information about what MNAC has been doing about this, in our newsletters.
However there is a much more thorough description in the recent
(#110 February 1996) issue of AGENDA. You can pick up a free copy of
AGENDA at Border's Books.
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rcurl
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response 14 of 15:
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Apr 14 21:07 UTC 1996 |
The April 1996 isue of the MNAC newsletter is now readable through
the MNAC homepage http://www.cyberspace.org/~mnac/
The February 1996 issue is therefore /u/manc/www/news.html.2.96
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rcurl
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response 15 of 15:
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Apr 14 21:16 UTC 1996 |
That should have been /u/mnac/www/news.html.2.96 I should mention
to just read it as text, since its not named for browser reading.
The April issue describes the recent events with regard to the threatened
golf course at Lower Huron Metropark. In a nutshell, the HCMA Commission
has decided to not build the planned 18 hole course. This decision was
influenced by the creation of the Lower Huron Ecosystem Coalition, of
some dozen regional environmental and conservation organizations, led
primarily by the MNAC and the Huron River Watershed Council.
There are also announced in the April iissue the next public meeting of
the MNAC in East Lansing, on Sunday 28 April, and on the previous day
(Saturday 27 April) the "6th Michigan Land Trust Conference", being
held at the UM Chrysler Center on North Campus.
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