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December 1, 2003PRESERVING MICHIGAN'S WATERSOfficials work to preserve flats areaBy BREE FOWLERAssociated Press Writer CLAY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - An oasis of marsh and prairie in the shadow of Detroit provides a refuge for many plant and animal species, but is becoming increasingly vulnerable itself. The St. Clair Flats is one of the largest freshwater deltas in North America, taking in over 80 square miles of U.S. and Canadian land and water in the northeast corner of Lake St. Clair. The landscape varies widely, from dry fields of rare prairie grasses to deep canals and channels that surround tiny islands and flow to the lake. The diversity makes it suitable habitat for migratory waterfowl, sport and forage fish, muskrats and other aquatic life. That it exists, even flourishes, just 30 miles northeast of Detroit and its booming suburbs makes the flats all the more remarkable, said Ernie Kafcas, a wildlife biologist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. "It's unbelievable actually," Kafcas said. "How are these animals surviving, especially ducks? Here we are, in a setting where millions of people are on their doorstep." But as housing developments creep nearer, concerns are rising that wildlife will be squeezed out. State agencies and private groups are making plans to protect the flats area through land acquisition and a long-term management plan. Longtime resident Ron Mynatt agrees the flats need help. He has watched people flock to the area, craving its natural beauty and an escape from hectic urban life. Luxury home construction sites wedged between century-old waterfront cottages are testimony to the growing popularity. "You need to tell those people over there to leave us alone and give the wetlands a break," said Mynatt, 75, gesturing in the direction of Detroit. "It's nice to be able to walk down here. It's so peaceful. You hear the chirping of the crickets and you don't hear the traffic of the city." Last year, officials representing Lake St. Clair and the western Lake Erie watershed, which includes the flats, were awarded a $1 million grant under the North American Wetland Conservation Act. The grant will fund a number of projects in the flats area. Among them: restoration of rare lakeplain prairies at Algonac State Park and the St. John's Marsh Wildlife Area, said David Brakhage, director of conservation programs for the Great Lakes division of Ducks Unlimited, which sought the grant. The best way to prevent encroachment is for the DNR to buy land and expand state wildlife areas. About $600,000 of the grant is earmarked for that purpose. The department now controls about 2,500 acres in St. John's Marsh. The two-year grant program, administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, required the state and Ducks Unlimited to put together $3 million in matching funds in the form of cash, funds spent on watershed projects in the last two years and land acquisitions, Brakhage said. Brakhage said that maintaining the flats is a critical part of protecting the waterfowl population of North America. "It's a natural funnel for waterfowl that migrate through this region," he said. "Those habitats are extremely important for several species of ducks as a migratory stop over site." As if the human threat weren't enough, officials also are fighting a natural invader of the flats - a plant called phragmites. Scientists aren't sure, but they suspect the tall grass species is a hybrid of a native plant and a European variety that somehow found its way to the region. The new plant has spread in recent years, killing off many native grasses that once thrived in the flats by blocking out the sun for plants closer to the ground, prompting environmental officials to look for ways to control it. They've tried herbicides and mowing. Scientists with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Vicksburg, Miss., are working on a pathogen designed to kill just phragmites, Kafcas said. For people who call the flats home, nothing is more important than preserving the flats for future generations. "We need to keep these areas," Mynatt said. "I'm an old timer. I don't want to see them destroyed before I go." ---- On the Net: Michigan Department of Natural Resources, http://www.michigan.gov/dnr Ducks Unlimited, http://www.ducks.org |
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