A nature sanctuary in Addison is about to get more visitor-friendly thanks to a generous donation and some volunteer labor.
An effort to fix up and expand the boardwalk running through the Lakeville Swamp began this week using $5,000 in materials purchased with a contribution from Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI), a national outdoor gear and clothing retailer.
Located south of Lakeville, off Rochester Road, the 76-acre nature sanctuary is one of 165 natural areas around the state owned and maintained by the Michigan Nature Association (MNA). It was acquired by the MNA and opened to the public in 1963.
‘REI has been so generous in giving us this grant for supplies,? said Sherri Laier, stewardship director for the MNA.
She noted the current boardwalk is largely comprised of scrap wood and in some areas needs to be lifted off the ground.
‘This has just been a Godsend from REI,? Laier said. ‘It’s tough when you’re a nonprofit.?
Volunteers are working hard this week to construct 500 feet of brand new boardwalk.
Not only does having a sturdy boardwalk running through the property afford visitors the opportunity to tread through swampy areas without boots or getting their feet wet, it also helps prevent numerous sensitive plants from being trampled or otherwise damaged.
‘We get a lot of visitors,? Laier said.
Lakeville Swamp is the most biologically diverse area in the county with more than 400 species of native plants, seven of which are classified as ‘threatened? by the state.
The Michigan Natural Features Inventory designated the Lakeville Swamp as the most species-rich area in the county and in southern Michigan. ‘We’re protecting a really, really important part of Oakland County right there,? Laier explained. ‘It has four different habitats or plant communities that are unique in Michigan because they’ve been replaced by development.?
The first habitat is a prairie fen, which is a very special type of wetland that’s home to many rare plants.
Next, there’s the oak-hardwood forest, an upland plant community dominated by oak trees, but also containing an abundant supply of hickory and maple trees.
Laier noted this type of habitat ‘has been replaced all through Michigan because people just love to build their homes there.?
Those seeking a little bit of northern Michigan in their own backyard will enjoy the relict conifer swamp, which is how the sanctuary got its name.
Here visitors will see white cedar and tamarack trees thriving in cool glacial depressions. They will also find plants of northern heritage such as twinflower, bunchberry, goldthread, bog rosemary, fringed polygala, blue bead lily, Labrador tea and creeping snowberry.
‘It’s a type of plant community that you usually find up north, but it’s here in southern Michigan,? Laier said. ‘That’s why it’s so special.?
The fourth and final habitat visitors to the Lakeville Swamp will encounter is a southern wet meadow, commonly referred to as a sedge meadow.
This type of wetland is found all along Stony Creek, the headwaters of which are located throughout the Lakeville Swamp. Stony Creek is one of five major tributaries of the Clinton River.
Besides plants, the Lakeville Swamp is a sanctuary for numerous amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds.
‘We have a huge number of owls,? Laier said. ‘We found quite a few nesting owls this spring.?
But hikers should beware because there’s one animal you don’t want to encounter ? the poisonous Massasauga rattle snake. Be on the look out and wear boots.
The swamp also provides clean breeding waters for many types of fish.
Laier believes protecting examples of Michigan’s native environments is as critical as protecting things of historical or archaeological significance.
‘Our history of our native plants and animals is just as important,? she said. ‘Keeping that intact, we believe, is just as essential as keeping our lighthouses or our museums.?
‘People may never have known what a prairie fen is if we hadn’t set this piece of property aside back in the 1960s,? she noted.
For more information about the MNA or Lakeville Swamp please visit www.michigannature.org or call (517) 655-5655.