National Trails Day 2018 - A Wildflower Walk at Quigley Creek Natural Area

I'm not always the best person to lead hikes - I tend to walk through swamps...

 
Last Saturday (June 2nd) was National Trails Day.  In celebration of the day, the Chippewa Watershed Conservancy hosted two events.  In the morning CWC Board Member and Former Executive Director Stan Lilley led a bird walk at the Hall's Lake Preserve.  In the afternoon I led an outing to search for wildflowers at Quigley Creek Natural Area.  Although I think the beginning of June is sort of an in-between season for wildflowers, I was pleasantly surprised by the number of plants that we positively identified.  Trees are not included in this list because we did not focus on them and only mentioned a few species in passing.

Thank you to everyone who came out and followed their guide (That would be me.) through a swamp.  You were all good sports about the experience!

A dozen people showed up to search for wildflowers.

Now here's the list of species that we recorded.

Herbaceous Plants
Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum)
Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense)
Feathery False Solomon's Seal (Maianthemum racemosum)
Big-leaf Aster (Eurybia macrophylla)
Moneywort (Lysimachia nummularia) - non-native
Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
Early Meadow Rue (Thalictrum dioicum)
Golden Ragwort (Packera aurea)
Spring Avens (Geum vernum)
Swamp Buttercup (Ranunculus hispidus)
Common Black Snakeroot (Sanicula marilandica)
Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)
Spotted Touch-me-not (Impatiens capensis)
Canada Mayflower (Maianthemum canadense)
Hog-peanut (Amphicarpaea bracteata)
Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
Wood Nettle (Laportea canadensis)
Cleavers (Galium aparine)
Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)
Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris)
Starflower (Trientalis borealis)
Large-flowered Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum)
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
Swamp Saxifrage (Saxifraga pensylvanica)
Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum)
Yellow Flag Iris (Iris pseudacorus) - non-native

Wild Columbine

Wild Geranium

Swamp Saxifrage

Yellow Flag Iris - a potentially invasive species

Ferns
Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis)
Cinnamon Fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum)
Northern Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum pedatum)

Cinnamon Fern

Shrubs
American Fly Honeysuckle (Lonicera canadensis)
Running Strawberrybush (Euonymus obovatus)
Bristly Greenbrier (Smilax hispida)

Why nature?

Why nature?



Let me explain that better.  Why should people care about nature?

With technology it is possible to instantly connect with people around the globe, but people alive today are more disconnected from nature than at any previous point in human history.  This disconnection is unfortunate, because exposure to nature has been proven to be good for people.


Scientists are just beginning to measure the positive effects of nature on our well-being, but available
research indicates that it has the following effects:

It reduces stress,

 
reduces heart rate,

increases concentration,

 
improves learning,

 
and improves the retention of knowledge.

I currently sit on the board of directors for two organizations that know all about the value and power of nature.

The Chippewa Watershed Conservancy (CWC) protects natural habitat and open space in the counties of the Chippewa River watershed.  The CWC currently protect over 600 acres of land on twenty-two preserves in Mid-Michigan.  These preserves protect woodlands, wetlands, and river frontage throughout the Chippewa River watershed.  With the exception of a couple of preserves that have limited access, these preserves are currently open to the public. 

The Michigan Alliance for Environmental and Outdoor Education (MAEOE) has the goal of promoting environmental literacy through education.   To achieve this goal, MAEOE hosts an annual environmental education conference, certifies teachers in environmental education, gives environmental education grants to its members, and offers online education resources.

Field Trip - Boardman River Fish Weir, Traverse City, MI

Coho and Chinook Salmon are not native to the Great Lakes.  They were introduced into the Great Lakes in the 1960s by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in an attempt to solve two problems.

The native population of Lake Trout was nearly extinct due to a combination of overfishing and predation by non-native Sea Lampreys.  Also, populations of a non-native fish the alewife exploded in the Great Lakes.  Alewives frequently experienced seasonal die-offs as they exhausted food supplies.  Their bodies would then wash up on Great Lakes beaches making them inhospitable.  Both Sea Lampreys and Alewives were introduced to the Great Lakes when the Welland Ship Canal.

By introducing Salmon, the DNR hoped to revive the Great Lakes sport fishery and reduce Alewife populations to an acceptable level.   The introduction was a wild success.  Today, Salmon remain a popular sport fish in the Great Lakes.

Great Lakes Coho and Chinook Salmon sped most of their lives swimming in the open waters of the lakes.  At the age of three, they return to rivers to spawn. After these salmon spawn they die just like all Pacific Salmon species; Atlantic Salmon live after after spawning and return to the ocean.

When salmon were first introduced in the Great Lakes this caused a huge problem in Traverse City.  Four dams spanned the river preventing salmon from migrating far upstream (one of these dams has been removed and two others are slated for removal).  This meant that when the salmon spawned and consequently died they did so within the city limits of Traverse City.  Saying that the resulting smell was unwelcome is an understatement!

The solution was to build a harvest facility to collect salmon from the river before they could spawn and die.  This facility, known as the Boardman River Weir, consists of a weir that blocks passage upriver, a fish ladder that leads to a series of survival tanks, and a building that contains sorting tables and other equipment for processing the fish.

The weir allows water downstream, but blocks fish from traveling upstream

The fish ladder is staggered to allow salmon to rest before swimming up each spillway.

The holding tanks and fish ladder a fenced off to prevent people from taking salmon.

Inside the building, processing tables are used to sort salmon for shipping to distributors.  Tubes lead to a recovery tank so trout, steelhead, and Atlantic Salmon collected in the weir can be returned to the river.

Carbon Dioxide and Oxygen are used as an anesthetic to calm the fish so they can be handled for processing.  The basket on the right is used to lift the anesthetized fish up onto the sorting tables.

The number of salmon (and other species) collected are recorded and posted so the public can see what is happening.  Windows look in on the processing facility

During the fall salmon run, staff from the Michigan DNR is on site to answer questions and give tours of the facility.  We are lucky enough to know several of the DNR employees at the weir and we were allowed to stay inside the fence taking photos as long as we wanted.

Once in the holding pens salmon just cruise around as there is nowhere further upstream for them to go.  Occasionally one will jump up out of the water, sometimes even landing on the concrete walkway.

The weir spans the entire river, blocking passage upstream upstream, but allowing water through

Despite the barrier, a small number of salmon jump over the weir and continue upstream.

Debris has to be removed from the weir periodically so water can flow through.  If the water flows over the weir salmon will be tempted to jump over instead of entering the fish ladder.

The view of the facility from the weir.

While we were watching several fish attempted to make their way up the fish ladder.  Some of the fish had an easy time; others struggled to make it upstream.  The staggered spillways ensure that there is an area of slack water at each level, allowing tired fish to rest before ascending to the next level.

This salmon just swam up the ladder

This salmon jumped up the spillway to the next level.

The bright sunlight made it easy to see the salmon as they swam around the holding pens.

Unfortunately not every salmon that makes it up the fish ladder survives until harvest.  Some salmon are simply too exhausted and beat up by their journey.  When that happens the dead fish are removed from the pen and disposed of.

DNR employee Francis Majszak gaffs a dead salmon and removes it  from the holding pen at the Boardman River Weir.

This dead salmon had a surprise.  That's a juvenile Sea Lamprey attached to its tail fin.

A closer view of the juvenile lamprey.  Because the Sea Lamprey is an invasive species it was destroyed rather than being returned to the river.

If you would like to learn more about the Boardman River Weir, the brochure shown below can be downloaded from the Michigan DNR.  The fish weir typically remains in operation through October.  It's only a 2 hour drive from Mid-Michigan and is a great place to visit while in the Traverse City area, especially when combined with a fall color tour of the Old Mission Peninsula, Leelanau Peninsula, or Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

Field Trip to Peterson Natural Area (12 August 2017)

Field trip participants (Cathy Murray, Dick and Diana Moreau, and Ruth Chapman) pose by the preserve sign

 
On Saturday August 12th, I led a field trip to the Chippewa Watershed Conservancy's Peterson Natural Area.  At 79 acres, Peterson NA is one of the largest preserves in the CWC's inventory.  It is also (probably) one of the least visited.  Located in Mecosta County, Peterson NA is much closer to Big Rapids (less than 10 miles) than it is to Mt. Pleasant (approximately 40 miles).  This distance from Mt. Pleasant puts off the radar for most CWC supporters - if you are going to Peterson Natural Area you are making a time commitment.

Despite the distance from Mt. Pleasant (or in my case from Alma), visiting Peterson Natural Area is worth the effort.  Here are a few pics from that visit.

Ruth was wearing a walking cast and needed a helping hand to navigate a couple stretches

Goldenrod Soldier Beetle (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus) on Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)

The surprise of the day was finding a Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) in the wet meadow that runs down the center of the property.  The Wood Turtle is considered a Species of Special Concern by the State of Michigan so it is always a thrill to see one.  Wood Turtles do frequently spend much of the summer in upland areas, but I didn't suspect that the small stream running through Peterson Natural Area would bring one to the property from the nearby Muskegon River.  I actually found this turtle with my feet - while walking through the tall grass of the meadow, I stepped on what initially I thought was a rounded rock.  Surprise!

Cathy photographing the Wood Turtle

Who wouldn't love that face!

Joe-pye Weed (Eutrochium maculatum) was growing everywhere along the stream.

Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) adds its magenta hues to the landscape mosaic.

Mating Yellow-collared Scape Moths (Cisseps fulvicollis) on Common Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)

Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) nectaring on Swamp Milkweed

The upland parts of the property (northwest quarter) is very different from the low area along the stream.  It is very dry and sandy.  The Michigan Natural Features Inventory pre-settlement vegetation map indicates that Peterson Natural Area was once covered with Beech-Sugar Maple-Hemlock Forest, but the vegetation on this hill is currently more like that found on a Dry Sand Prairie or Oak-Pine Barren.  Pre-settlement maps indicate that two areas of  Oak-Pine Barren could be found within two miles of Peterson NA in the past.

Near the end of our walk, we found three Monarch caterpillars.  All three were in their 5th instar and were almost ready to enter the chrysalis stage.  The first two caterpillars were feeding on Common Milkweed plants.

Ruth zooms in on a Monarch caterpillar

The third caterpillar was crawling around on the side of a large rock.  In the hours before forming a chrysalis, Monarch caterpillars (and those of other butterfly species) often wander far from their host plant.

If you are interested in visiting Peterson Natural Area, this is the best time of year to do so.  The late summer wildflowers in the wet meadow are at their peak and the fall asters and goldenrods will be blooming soon.  If time allows, I may try to take one more trip over before the bloom is done.