Saving Nature at Ives Road Fen

Cutleaf Toothwort Dentaria laciniata (Chuck Pearson)

Can we save nature? This question has vexed humans for some time.  Several generations ago, we wanted to be saved from nature: from the wild animals beyond the campfire, floods and droughts, storms at sea. Then, with our increased technological prowess, the question became seemingly irrelevant.  For the last four decades, since the first Earth Day, as we became more fully aware that we depend on nature to sustain us, some people have worked, even fought, to save nature.  And thanks to efforts by people organized through groups like The Nature Conservancy, much of nature has been saved.


Now, as we confront the complexities of the relationship between humans and nature, we seem more conflicted.  Perhaps we have saved enough of nature, and some people believe it's not worth the additional effort to save any more.  Others are discouraged about how much of nature keeps slipping away and are angered about our slow progress in saving it.  And some, looking hard at the foundations of nature--the chemistry and physics of our world--are alarmed.

Why, and for whom, and how are we saving nature?  All tough questions that are rightly being asked.  The answers are not always easy, and the implications behind the questions, not to mention the answers, challenge how we live and what we believe.  All of it can tax my energy, or startle me awake  in the night.  But on a beautiful Saturday in May, I found a curative for the discomfort from, if not a full answer to, the question, "Can we save nature?"


Garlic Mustard, a pungent plant introduced by European settlers, threatens the Nature of the Great Lakes. It grows in our northern woods and crowds out the cutleaf toothwort, the trillium, the trout lily, and all the other signature wildflowers that make being out in May in Michigan so special.  Like many others who care for a special place in the woods, I have spent many a Saturday gently pulling out garlic mustard in the Spring before it goes to seed.  While I usually donate my time in a woodlot along the Shiawassee River, recently I spent a day at The Nature Conservancy's Ives Road Fen Preserve which straddles the River Raisin south of Tecumseh.

Every Saturday from April through November, volunteers work somewhere on the 700 acres Ives Road Fen Preserve.  In the Spring, the primary task is removal of garlic mustard from the floodplain forest; its health is important to the quality of the watershed and the River.  In Fall, volunteer efforts are directed to removing woody plants from another part of the Preserve: a rare fen that stretches out below the bluff of a glacial moraine, but above the River.  A fen is a wetland fed by the underground flow of water, rather than collected surface water (see my earlier post "Marsh, Fen, or Swamp?").  The water is highly alkaline and whole communities of special plants live only in this ecosystem. The fen at Ives Road is particularly diverse in the flora and fauna found there: the white flowers of of prairie Indian plantain and the song of Blanchard's cricket frog are two of the highly valued rare species that live in the fen.

Preservation Depends on Restoration at Ives Road Fen and for many other parts of nature.  When the site was acquired in 1987, many unique plants were identified, but they were in danger of disappearing because of several invasive plants, most notably glossy buckthorn, an ornamental plant that spreads quickly into open areas like a fen.  In addition, drainage tiles and ditches had been installed on the property in an unsuccessful attempt to make it productive for agricultural uses.  Nearby, gravel pits had been dug and suburban development encroached on the site.  Saving this piece of nature would require more than buying it.

The Nature Conservancy has made a significant investment in Ives Road Fen.  Not only buying the original fen and acquiring surrounding lands, but in re-engineering hydrology to restore the natural flow of water, carefully burning parts of the sites to encourage the growth of native plants, and attacking the invasive species that had degraded original environment.  Scientists have closely studied the site, and restoration professionals have guided the work, to ensure that the right actions were taken at the right time in the right places, but it has been volunteer labor that has made possible the restoration of Ives Road Fen.

Just a few seasons ago, The Nature Conservancy declared victory with the removal of the last adult glossy buckthorn, a milestone achieved after thousands of hours of volunteer work.  An estimated 2.5 million buckthorn stems have been cut, and more than 400 piles of debris have been burned; in addition, thousands of purple loosestrife and other invasive plants have been eliminated.  The end result is the expansion of a damaged six acre wetland to a functioning fen of 100 acres.

Why Bother? is a question some may ask.  Countless individuals have dedicated large parts of their professional and volunteer lives to this restoration project.  School groups, employees from Ford and Delta, Americorps workers, and Saturday warriors have battled muck, bugs, thorns, heat, cold, poison sumac and other discomforts to save a wetlands that to the untrained eye may not seem that special.  And the work must continue, with prescribed burns, removal of new invasive species, and other maintenance projects.  A stand of rare oaks, remnants of the oak openings that used to define this part of the Great Lakes till plain, survives and, with attention, could once again thrive.  Fields are being restored as prairies, gravel pits returned to nature, and woodland wildflowers are being uncovered from smelly weeds.

My first visit to the Preserve came after several days of struggling with big issues like the threats to the Great Lakes and the changing climate of the Earth. For me, I found the task of pulling out individual garlic mustard plants a simple task, that was profound in its meaning and its effect.  I was humbled to be in a woods I could not see beyond, and humbled to know that my one morning's effort paled in comparison to the work of the regular and frequent volunteers working with me. But I thought of all the damage done to this place, and all the harm done to nature elsewhere, and my singular action became not just a tiny offering of help to this Preserve; rather, it helped restore me as well.  Call it a romantic idyll, or karma, or atonement, but I came away from the day inspired to do more, to act on the opportunities--large and small-- before me.

How can we save nature? One plant and one person at a time, in one place that matters to us.   Chuck Pearson, the volunteer who has directed his retirement years to restoring Ives Road Fen Preserve, answers the question of "Why?" most directly: "I like the plants; I like the animals.  I feel like it's something I can save."

TNC's Roldofo Zuniga-Villegas and volunteer Chuck Pearson, two of the many people dedicated to restoration

How to Visit - How to Help -- Ives Road Fen Preserve is not generally open to the public, but special tours are possible:  click here to learn more about the Preserve.

The best way to visit the Preserve is on a Saturday morning as a volunteer.  Click here to learn more about how you can help restore and preserve this special area.  The Preserve also has a Facebook page.

Volunteers on a recent workday (Chuck Pearson)                                             

Celebrating Lake Erie

How to save a lake, and a Great Lake at that?  This is the question that faces those of us who care about the body of water that supports more fish, and sport fishing, than any other Great Lake; the lake whose shorelines provide some of North America’s most critical habitats for migrating waterfowl; the freshwater source of drinking water for 11 million people; and the lake that ties together the history and economy of two countries and five states.  The lake of course is Lake Erie, the smallest, shallowest, and perhaps most underappreciated of the Great Lakes.

On September 20 and 21 of 2012, trustees of The Nature Conservancy from the Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan Chapters gathered in the middle of Lake Erie to discuss what the nation’s largest conservation organization could do to help heal, protect, and promote Lake Erie.  Many public and private entities have both new and long-standing commitments to this threatened lake.  Notably, the International Joint Commission (IJC), the high-level body established in 1909 to monitor and protect the waters between Canada and the United States, recently adopted (only) three priorities for the next three years: the first is to improve water quality in Lake Erie (ijc.org/leep/).   The challenges, and the opportunities, are serious and real.

Gibraltar Island.  The first freshwater biological field station in the nation was established in 1895 on a small rock outcropping on the north side of Put-In-Bay, the town at the social center of Ohio’s Lake Erie Islands.  Today, the Stone Laboratory is operated by the Ohio State University as both a research and education facility; it is also home to the Ohio Sea Grant program.  Visible from the Lab is a tall memorial commemorating the peace that the United States and Canada have enjoyed for almost 200 years now; cooperation between the two countries will be necessary to restore Lake Erie.  As a place for scientists and conservationists from the Great Lakes to meet, Gibraltar Island was perfect.

View from the Peace Memorial of Put-in-Bay; Gibraltar Island is in the upper center

The islands in the middle of the western end of Lake Erie--Kelly’s, South Bass, and Pelee are the biggest of many low, rocky outcroppings—provide many ecological and economic benefits.  The shallow waters surrounding them are among the most productive in the Great Lakes and fishing here is part of the culture; neo-tropical warblers and other birds hop across the islands on their migrations north and south, and birdwatchers from around the world follow them; tourists and vacationers flock to the resorts, docks and open-air bars that are a short ferry ride from the mainland; and historic and well-visited wineries take advantage of the micro-climate.  The principle that our economy depends on nature is not an intellectual abstraction here.

Phosphorous, Farming, and Fish.  Cool mornings, fresh breezes, and glinting sunlight invigorated those of us on Gibraltar Island, and we (literally) jumped aboard an opportunity to go out on the water on small research vessels to learn about the ecology of Lake Erie.  On this day in this year, the story was a good one:  while the water clarity measured by a secchi disk was much less than I saw a few weeks ago on a ferry in northern Lake Huron, the sampling we made of the plankton and algae that clouds the water revealed to us the base of the food web that makes the fisheries of western Lake Erie so phenomenal.  The quick trawling run we made returned a plethora of fish:  walleye, yellow perch, and non-native white perch, but no invasive gobies. One statistic can say much, and the data point of the day was this: while Lake Erie contains only 2 percent of the total water in the Great Lakes, 50 percent of the fish live here.

The biological productivity of Lake Erie extends beyond its shoreline, or really vice-versa.  The watershed, which at its western end encompasses northeastern Ohio, southwestern Michigan, and parts of Indiana, contains rich farmland and supports a vital agricultural economy.  The Maumee River, the largest single tributary to the Great Lakes, drains this land and its mouth is the active port of Toledo.  The organic matter from this watershed transferred into the sun-warmed, shallow waters of western Lake Erie creates a perfect breeding ground for algae, plankton, and other plants that support the insect larvae, small fish, and other creatures that feed the gamefish that end up on the plates of anglers.

Extent of algae bloom in 2011 in Western Lake Erie (the Detroit River is in upper left)

But while humans have long benefitted from this natural land-water ecosystem, something has gotten out of whack in the last few years.  In 2011, warm weather and high levels of dissolved phosphorous (P) spawned a bloom of algae that Lake Erie had not experienced for decades.  In addition to fouling beaches, reducing oxygen levels, and driving fish (and fishermen) out of coastal areas, the rich soup of nutrients supported the growth of several species of blue-green algae including microcystin, a toxic cyanobacteria that can kill fish, birds, and mammals. While the full chain of scientific connections has not yet been made, it is clear that a rise in recent years of phosphorous in Lake Erie plays a key role.  This past summer, the near drought conditions have reduced run-off, and algae growth has been much lower.  However, another wet and warm year could easily spawn another algae bloom.

We Have Been Here Before.  In 1971, that keen cultural observer Dr. Seuss wrote about the mythical Humming Fish's search for a new clean-water home: “They’ll walk on their fins and get woefully weary in search of some water that isn’t so smeary.  I hear things are just as bad up in Lake Erie.”  In the 1960s, Lake Erie was declared dead as a result of algae blooms, the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland caught fire, and concern for the smallest of Great Lakes helped spur  the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972.  The resulting investments in upgraded sewage treatment systems, bans on some detergents and fertilizers, and positive changes in agricultural practices resulted in major declines in phosphorous levels, cleaner water, and a restored Lake Erie.  In the 1980s, Dr. Seuss republished "The Lorax," source of the Humming Fish, deleting the above reference.  Now, people are quoting the original version again.

The shallow depth of Lake Erie makes it an ideal environment to grow algae, of both good and bad varieties.  The shallow depth also means that the total volume of water in the Lake is less than any other of the Great Lakes, and thus the water in the Lake, which is ever-flowing in from the Detroit River and out over Niagara Falls, turns over in just a few years.  The water in low-flow, deep Lake Superior takes several hundred years to be replace.  Thus, in the 1970s, the reduction in phosphorous inflows quickly resulted in a clean Lake Erie.

With the hope that reductions in phosphorous and rapid turnover can again help the Lake recover, scientists are looking into the sources and pathways that bring "Big P" into the Lake.  What we use to wash our clothes, how we get our lawns green, and how we make our crops grow all effect the amount of phosphorous in the ecosystem.  Lots of attention is being paid to agricultural practices:  what kinds, and when and how, fertilizer is applied to fields; when plowing does or does not occur; how we drain farmland and design ditches; and the types of crops grown in and out of season; all of these may play a role.

The Nature Conservancy has for several years worked in the upper watershed of the Maumee River to promote agricultural practices that reduce the run-off of fertilizer and sediment; now those efforts are being redoubled and expanded (read more here).  Many partners--from local conservation districts and agricultural supply companies to university researchers and advocacy groups on both sides of the border--are all seeking ways to reduce the amount of phosphorous in Lake Erie and thus reduce the algae blooms that threaten to kill the Lake again.

Where is the Coast? Lake Erie's water quality suffers too from the loss of wetlands along its coast and at the mouths of the rivers and creeks that flow into the lake.  These areas reduce erosion, slow down water, and allow plant life to absorb phosphorous and other nutrients.  Historically, the boundary between land and water in Western Lake Erie has been hard to define, as the shallow waters transitioned into marshes and upland swamps.  Over time, the boundary became hardened by dikes and development, coastal wetlands were drained or filled, and waterways dredged.  Now, this natural filter has been lost and 95 percent of the native wetland habitat destroyed.  Fortunately, public wildlife refuges and private duck hunting clubs saved some important areas (read here about my trip to Erie Marsh).

The Nature Conservancy has set, and moved on, several ambitious goals to restore the coastline of Lake Erie.  Already, 2,500 acres of wetlands have been re-established along the western end of the Lake, thanks in part to funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and other public and private sources.  Partnerships with Ducks Unlimited has helped fix and open dike systems so that wetlands have become connected with the flow of the Lake and waterfowl sites created.  Working with both public and private landowners, the Conservancy is halfway towards its goal of having 40 percent of the area within one mile of the shore in natural habitat.  Finally, land stewards appear to have found ways to get the upper hand on phragmites, the invasive marsh grass that crowds out native plants and animals and retards water flow.

Scheeff Nature Preserve

Place Matters.  In Western Lake Erie, The Nature Conservancy is successfully moving from its traditional focus on specific preserves to managing the whole ecosystem that is Lake Erie.  But with the move from sites to system, place still matters; it's just a matter of scale.  To mentally comprehend a whole Great Lake as a place requires an informed observer, but several things help.  First, getting out on the water gave me a true appreciation for the liquid, moveable nature of the place.  Secondly, standing on points of land and ascending the Peace Memorial above Put-In-Bay allowed me to see the full sweep of the ecosystem.  And finally, moving around--by car across the coastland of northeast Ohio, by ferry from and to the mainland, and by bike around South Bass Island--provided me with an appreciation of Lake Erie, and the people, who define this place.

After an intellectually challenging meeting, I was fortunate to be able to spend a little extra time exploring the place I was in.  I started my trip with a bike, and then walk, around the nine-acre Scheeff East Point Nature Preserve at the northern tip of South Bass Island.  On an island, small spots can take on a significance well beyond their size, and this is true with this coastal point that provides an important migratory landing pad for both birds and monarch butterflies.  As well, the endangered Lake Erie water snake comes ashore here.  Saving the property was a hard fought effort by locals, who acquired the site after old homes and vegetation had been cleared by a prospective developer.  On the day I visited, new sycamores were being planted to restore the site.  This is where it begins, with individual people caring enough to save a place.

The task before us is twofold.  First, we need to transfer the love of place from the specific to the whole landscape.  Lake Erie can be saved if we can change policies in two countries, if we can find the will to make large public investments in land and infrastructure, and if we can modify the cultural practices in how we use the land.   Second, if we can think about the whole ecosystem that is Lake Erie and celebrate what makes it special, then people from many walks of life will be inspired to take the individual actions necessary to save it.

If you plan to visit.  Lake Erie's shores and islands have a robust tourist infrastructure that takes in wildlife enthusiasts, boaters, anglers, and even those looking for a get-away resort or amusement park.  A comprehensive website www.shoresandislands.com is a good starting point to plan a visit.

The Ohio Sea Grant program has made available several useful publications about Lake Erie, including "Explore the Lake Erie Islands:  A Guide to Nature and History Along the Lake Erie Central Coast Trail" that contains useful background information, maps, and detailed advice on observing the natural history of the area (click here to order or download)

Thank you to the talented and committed Great Lakes staff of The Nature Conservancy for making this visit to Lake Erie possible.  Photo on the left is of TNC's Ohio State Director Josh Knights helping with fish sampling.  Thanks too to the Stone Lab staff for their hospittality.

Thank you to Lana Pollack, co-chair of the International Joint Commission, for the Dr. Seuss reference and for her leadership on Lake Erie (read more here).

Birdwatching on Lake Erie

The mission of the Nature Conservancy (TNC) is to protect and promote biodiversity, which includes the wide variety of plants and animals that inhabit our planet.* And while TNC scientists implement comprehensive strategies to preserve habitats for many species, for some of us our blood quickens a little bit more for those certain species with feathers. Yes, wildflowers and rare plants, endangered reptiles and amphibians, and even fish have intrigued me at times, but birds have consistently charmed me and drawn me out of doors to distant places at difficult times of day.

Birds are a signature species for several places in the Great Lakes, and in the spring the Western end of Lake Erie is a particular hot spot for migratory birds on their way from the tropics to the wooded northern forests around Lake Superior and beyond. Thus, it was with some anticipation and excitement that I got to spend a Saturday morning in May at the Erie Marsh Preserve just north of the Michigan-Ohio border. Those of us on the outing were particularly fortunate to have with us a first-rate birder, TNC's James Cole, who is as enthusiastic about birding as he is knowledgeable.

Connecticut Warblers, redstart, and other small songbirds can be difficult to spot because of their small size, their proclivity to ascend to the tops of trees or, depending on the species, hide low in dense shrubs. Plus, it seems just as you get a fix on one and lift up your binoculars, the bird chooses that moment to flit to another spot. Thus, a knowledge of bird songs is critical to identification. While we easily saw the common, and very bright, yellow warbler and baltimore oriole, we had to rely on James's song knowledge to find the rare and elusive Connecticut warbler, a bird only occasionally spotted at the Erie Marsh Preserve.

The shoreline of Lake Erie is an important, perhaps under appreciated, resource of the Great Lakes. As birds migrate north through middle America and Ohio, they run into 240 mile long Lake Erie. They either must stop and rest up for a fly over the Lake, or detour around its Western end. In either case, the shoreline becomes an important place for birds to seek shelter while they wait for the right weather conditions, and refuel on the many insects just hatching out in the first few warm days of the year. Studies by TNC and others, as well as the observations of birders for over a century, show that the first few miles of land along the coast are critical habitat areas for migrating birds. Unfortunately, the lakefront has historically been a site for industrial activities and more recently a desirable place for residential development. Now only about 25% of the one-mile area coastal zone is in natural cover; TNC scientists have set a goal of restoring landscapes to achieve a 40% natural cover area.

There are two pieces of good news. First, several significant marsh and other coastal habitats have been preserved in national wildlife refuges, state parks, duck hunting areas, and private land conservancies. Erie Marsh Preserve has been the home of a hunt club since 1870 and TNC and duck hunters still cooperate to protect its critical wetlands. Second, development and bird habitat are not incompatible land uses. Power plants, shipping facilities, and other commercial development typically are surrounded by large expanses of undeveloped land that can be managed to provide habitat areas, often in a cost-effective manner. For instance, 12 of DTE Energy's facilities in the area have certified wildlife habitats. Likewise, landscaping around homes can favor trees, shrubs, and other native species over lawns. Typically, this can enhance property values. The Nature Conservancy and its partners in Ohio have developed a guide Managing Habitats for Migrating Land Birds in the Western Lake Erie Basin that provides interesting background information as well as practical suggestions for landscaping.

Wetlands for birds, wetlands for fish are two of the benefits of coastal marshes. However, we sometimes struggle to meet both goals. In pre-setttlement times, most of Western Lake Erie consisted of shallow waters, extensive wetlands and poorly drained soils; it was hard to determine where lake ended and land began. Not only did this provide great habitat for ducks, shorebirds, and migratory songbirds, the warm quiet waters supported the spawning of fish species and provided shelter for their early growth.

Over time, the draining of onshore wetlands for farming and development, and the rise of lake levels led to the loss of this valuable and variable habitat. Early on, duck hunters saved some of the important coastal waters by building levees and controlling water levels. This has proven to be a boon for waterfowl, but barriers between lake and wetlands have diminished fish habitat. Managing the captive wetlands is also expensive, as pumps are required to control water levels within impoundments (see photo), levees need to be kept in repair, and habitats must be managed for invasive species like phragmites. All of these are issues at Erie Marsh

TNC recently received a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) to reconnect some of Erie Marsh with Lake Erie so that fish and other aquatic species can move back and forth from open water to coastal wetland. This project will involve extensive monitoring by TNC to determine the benefits and impacts of this effort; lessons learned here might be applied throughout the Great Lakes. In addition to re-opening marshes, falling lake levels also create opportunities to re-establish coastal wetlands. This too may be a strategy employed in Western Lake Erie.

One last birding reward was had on our day when we stopped to look out over the shallow waters adjacent to Erie Marsh. Amidst a flock of cormorants and some late migrating waterfowl, we spotted a large white bird. Upon close examination, what we thought might be a swan turned out to be a White Pelican, a very rare species in this part of the Great Lakes. Perhaps more pleasant surprises will be created with careful management and attention to the entire Lake Erie ecosystem of land and water.

Directions: Erie Marsh is off Exit 2 on I-75. You will need to head north on Summit Road (this wiil require a U-turn if you get off I-75 southbound). Turn right on Bay Creek Rd, then in less than a mile turn right on Dean Rd. The address is 3149 Dean Rd, Erie, MI 48133. Proceed to the Preserve sign and Erie Shooting Club; park next to buildings. For safety reasons, the Preserve is closed from September 1 to December 31 of every year.

* The full statement: "The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive."

Photo credits: all bird photos are from Cornell Bird Lab www.birds.cornell.edu; other photos by Anna Owens

Wildflower Walk at Nan Weston Preserve

One of the joys of living in the Great Lakes region is a springtime walk in the woods. After a cold winter and a wet spring, sunshine calls us out to explore and reconnect with the living world, and nothing celebrates rebirth more than colorful wildflowers poking through brown leaves and the sound of spring peepers. On Easter Sunday, April 24, my family made an outing to TNC's Nan Weston Preserve at Sharon Hollow near Manchester, and we were rewarded with an early showing (including the hepatica shown here). The floral display is just beginning and should be good for several weeks to come.

The Nan Weston Preserve reminds us of what Michigan once looked like, and contains some important lessons for what we can do to preserve and restore the ecology of the Great Lakes. Historically, much of lower Michigan, Indiana and Ohio contained mature beech-maple forests interspersed with wetlands and prairie openings. Now, the landscape is reversed, and most of the land is opened up by agricultural practices and the woods remain in smaller, too-isolated patches. Today, the preserve is 249 acres of mostly woods with several streams and pools scattered across the site along with a few open fields.

The topography of the south central Great Lakes region was shaped by the glaciers which left large moraines and small hillocks of dry soil with lowland wet areas in between, and one can readily see this landscape in the spring at Nan Weston Preserve. Before the trees leaf in, skunk cabbage and a few small wildflowers provide the only green. Pools of water and streams are dark on the landscape, and the bare grey trunks of trees provide vertical definition. Up above, warblers and other songbirds flit about.

Vernal pools are an important part of this place. In amongst the trees, small low spots collect the snowmelt and abundant spring rain. While some of these areas feed into streams, the smaller pools slowly drain into the soil, feeding Michigan's abundant groundwater table. Before the summer dry-up, these ponds provide an important breeding ground for amphibians that need water to reproduce. Salamanders, newts, toads, and frogs depend on these ephemeral wetlands, and in spring the chorus of spring peepers looking to attract a mate fills the woods. Sadly, the conversion of woods to farmland and residential sites often results in the filling in or drying up of these unique vernal pools. Fortunately, the sturdy boardwalks of the Preserve trail make it possible to view the plant and animal communities in these pools close up.

Water Quality of the pools and streams on site are important to breeding amphibians, but the Preserve and the surrounding landscape also influence the water quality of a much larger area. The River Raisin is found on the southern boundary of the Nan Weston Preserve and it is fed by waters from the area. The slow streams and undisturbed wetlands allow for filtration of water, the well established plant communities retain soil, and the deciduous forest shades the water and keeps it cool. Several research and data collection efforts show that this is among the healthiest and cleanest stretches of the River Raisin. To quote from a 2002 study of the area by The Nature Conservancy, "The forest also serves to buffer the river from surrounding land uses, and undoubtedly is an important factor in the maintenance of the high quality nature of the aquatic system in the mainstem." (A link to this and other reports can be found at the website of the hard-working River Raisin Watershed Council).

The River Raisin is a major tributary into western Lake Erie, and to protect and restore this portion of the Great Lakes we need to pay attention to the water that flows into it. And to ensure the cleanest water in streams and rivers, we need to pay attention to the land. Over time, the watershed of the River Raisin, like many watersheds in Michigan, has been converted from forests to farmlands, and this has increased the sediments, fertilizers, and pollutants flowing into our Great Lakes. To the degree we can preserve, or restore, wetlands and woodlands along our waterways, then we will be working to protect our great freshwater resources as well.

Thus, while we enjoy Nan Weston Preserve for the color of its woodland flowers and the sound of it amphibian inhabitants, it serves an important role in the larger effort to restore the Great Lakes. The family and friends of Nan Weston who made this preserve possible with their donations to The Nature Conservancy preserved a place, and it remains a special place to the many people who have explored it on their owns, with their families, or as part of a class. We recognize and photograph the plants and animals that live on the site, but just as important in the larger picture is the role that healthy landscapes play in creating healthy rivers and lakes.

Directions. To get to the site, head south on M-52 from Chelsea for 7.4 miles and turn right (west) on Pleasant Lake Road. Go 3.2 miles and turn right on Sharon Hollow Road and then turn left at Easudes Road. In less than one mile, the preserve will be on your left; park on the south side of the road. Here is a link to google maps.

(thanks to Anna Owens for the photographs)