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The Michigan Nature Association has many stunning wetland habitats among our 164 nature sanctuaries and plant preserves, these are a three of the best: |
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Robert T. Brown Nature Sanctuary
19 Acres in Keweenaw County
The Brown Sanctuary is a northern fen surrounded by a small pond and bordered by a black spruce (Picea mariana), tamarack (Larix laricina), and white cedar (Thuja occidentalis) swamp. The fen is comprised of sphagnum moss that supports a variety of shrubs and herbaceous plants. Most of the shrubs are members of the heath family (Ericaceae) and include leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata), bog rosemary (Andromeda glaucophylla), bog laurel (Kalmia polifolia), Labrador tea (Ledum groenlandicum), and both small and large cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccos and V. macrocarpon). Sedges are common in the Brown Sanctuary and include candle lantern sedge (Carex limosa) that grows on the floating sphagnum mat along the pond margin. Several species of orchids are also found here.
Several carnivorous plants abound in this fen: pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea), round leaved sundew (Drosera rotundifolia), and hidden fruited bladderwort (Utricularia geminiscapa), the latter floating in shallow water near the mat edge. Since the fen is a nitrogen-poor environment, these unique plants capture and digest insects and other food to obtain the necessary nutrients. |
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Dowagiac Woods Nature Sanctuary
235 acres in Cass County
Many wildflower enthusiasts agree they’ve never seen such a magnificent display as the Dowagiac Woods in spring. This sanctuary is a living example of what the lowland forests were like when early settlers arrived. Here an amazing lushness reigns in the rich, untouched leaf mold of the centuries. Countless plants flourish in Dowagiac Woods, where over 50 species of wildflowers bloom in the spring. Nearly 50 kinds of trees have been found in the sanctuary, including blue beech, black ash, chinkapin oak, cork elm, black walnut and hackberry. The Ohio buckeye tree thrives here in all sizes, from seedlings to giants; two people can scarcely reach around the trunk of one specimen. At least 49 kinds of birds nest here. Yellow warbler, northern yellowthroat and ruffed grouse can be heard. Not surprising in the moist woods is the presence of the Acadian flycatcher. |
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Goose Creek Grasslands Nature Sanctuary
70 acres in Lenawee County
This prairie fen is a unique wetland found only in the glaciated Midwest. Hydrological processes and fire play important roles in these habitats. Many rare plants and animals thrive here. These wetlands also provide a natural water filter for the local watershed. |
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Hamilton Township Coastal Plain Marsh
79 acres in Van Buren County
This is one of three MNA sanctuaries that protect a coastal plain marsh, a wetland plant community home to many species usually found on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. More than 40 such species – known as disjuncts because they’re separated from their original home ground – grow in Michigan’s coastal plains.
Among the disjuncts found at Hamilton Township Coastal Marsh are bald-rush, tall beak-rush, tooth-cup, false pimpernel, seed box, many-fruited loosestrife and meadow beauty. Most exciting of all, the warty panic grass, thought to be extinct in Michigan, was found here in 1988 when drought conditions exposed the marsh bottom. |
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