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By Hannah DeHetre, MNA Intern

The Michigan Nature Association is a land conservation organization that works to protect and preserve natural areas in Michigan by recruiting local volunteers to help maintain MNA sanctuaries as well as implementing conservation education. MNA was founded in 1952, as a bird study group, and now the organization owns and manages over 175 sanctuaries across Michigan. MNA relies heavily on volunteers and environmental stewardship. According to Rachel Maranto, the Stewardship Coordinator in the Lower Peninsula, volunteers are the “bread and butter” for MNA because “Michigan is such a big state and there are very few staff covering the state, so what is accomplished hinges on volunteer participation.” A massasauga rattlesnake that we saw at one of the MNA sanctuaries this summer. The Massasauga is, as of 2016, listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act (Service, U. F.), demonstrating the importance of preserving MNA sanctuaries (photo: Rachel Maranto).

To manage over 175 sanctuaries across Michigan, volunteers come out and help with work days. Over the summer, the work days involved the removal of invasive species such as autumn-olive, garlic mustard, and phragmites. According to Maranto, the management practice that is predominately used to control phragmites is spraying of herbicide. Due to her limited time, volunteers, and funding, herbicide backpacks are the tools used to deal with phrags, and it normally takes three days throughout the season to hit all the phrags in Saginaw Wetlands. Maranto also said that ideally, she would like to try mowing the phrags in the winter when the ground is frozen, and then spraying in the spring so that the vegetation is shorter, and therefore less herbicide would have to be used and it would be easier to spray. According to Maranto, the main goal of MNA in dealing with phragmites, especially at Saginaw Wetlands, is containment. Right around the sanctuary is a large invasion of phragmites around Lake Huron, and so without large-scale cooperation, all MNA can do is control the phrag invasion within their own sanctuary.

This summer, I interned at the Michigan Nature Association as a Stewardship Assistant. I spent the summer traveling to sanctuaries all around southeastern Michigan doing site-monitoring, setting up boundary markers, and most importantly: removing invasive species. We used various techniques to remove invasive species (not just phrags), such as just pulling them out of the ground, herbicide spraying, and cutting the plant and dabbing herbicide sponges on the cut stem. During my time with MNA, I got to meet some really great and dedicated volunteers, who were taking time out of their day, in the heat, to make their neighborhood a nicer place by managing their local sanctuary. Maranto told me that MNA attracts volunteers who are engaged and dedicated to helping MNA, so whenever someone leaves, it is hard to fill their shoes. For a small-scale conservation organization like the Michigan Nature Association, volunteers are vital for invasive species management. This was an interesting thing for me to learn this summer, as it really emphasizes the importance of local people caring about their neighborhood. The entrance sign to Leflgen Sanctuary (photo: Hannah DeHetre)

My last day interning for MNA was phrag spraying at Saginaw Wetlands. Rachel, another intern, and I spent hours walking around and spraying any phragmites that we saw. It was hot and sunny, I had on a really heavy herbicide backpack, and it was really hard work. It takes real dedication and passion to work that hard for a goal that some people think is impossible to achieve, and when I asked Maranto if she ever feels discouraged, or like she is fighting a losing battle, she said that overall she is not discouraged with the work the MNA does and any discouragement that she may feel just comes from a tough day spraying phrags in the heat. She also says that overall she has seen an improvement in the phrag management in the five years that she has worked for MNA. She says that typically, one year they spray a large stand of phragmites, the next year they are dead, and the following years, volunteers just have to come back and spray any repsouts- so there is improvement, which is why Maranto does not feel discouraged.

The areas around Saginaw Wetlands are really infested, and MNA has to fight against that, and as I said before, MNA’s goal in phragmites management is containment, and that the best invasive management practice is to discover the invasion and remove it before it can get out of control, which MNA is doing well. When asked about MNA’s future plans for dealing with phragmites, Maranto said that if resources and personnel do not change, then it will be more of the same: spraying herbicide with volunteers who are willing to help. However, if some sort of biocontrol were to be developed and implemented, MNA would be a willing participant in that management practice. Another opportunity that Maranto would be interested in would be more collaborating with neighbors of sanctuaries, and with the help of partners to share the administrative burden and workload, bigger equipment could be used for ecological management. Another intern, Liz, and I taking a break after LOTS of phrag spraying. We still have a smile on our faces! (photo: Rachel Maranto)

The Michigan Nature Association is a conservation organization that manages and protects over 175 sanctuaries throughout Michigan. While working there this summer, I learned about and employed various management practices used by MNA to remove invasive species from their sanctuaries. More than that though, I learned about the power of local volunteers. These are people who just care about nature, and about their neighborhoods, and are willing to spend hours in the summer working hard outside for the sake of taking care of these sanctuaries. Effective conservation and management can only happen with the help of these volunteers (so go out and volunteer)! Bonus: Monarch caterpillar that we saw at Saginaw Wetlands (photo: Rachel Maranto)


Congratulations to our 2018 Photo Contest winners! Thank you to everyone that submitted a photo – we had many great options to choose from! Photos were submitted in three categories: Flora & Fauna, Landscapes, and People in Nature in order to capture Michigan’s natural beauty.

“Cedar Waxwing” by Heike DeWolf 
“Beetle” by Nancy Pokerwinski 3rd Place: Dani Weng Honorable Mention: Dustyn Blindert 1st Place: Nancy Pokerwinski 2nd Place: Mary Zednik

Second Place:
“Got an itch!” by Mary Zednik

Third Place:
“Knit Craft” by Dani Weng

“Goodnight Tom Boy” by Dustyn Blindert


“Mission Creek” by Paul Mrozek 2nd Place: Deb Traxinger 3rd Place: Ellen Stevens Honorable Mention: Michael Crawford 1st Place: Paul Mrozek

“Pancake Ice” by Deb Traxinger

“One Golden Morning” by Ellen Stevens

“On the Black River” by Michael Crawford

People in Nature

“Gotcha!” by Mary Zednik

“Capture the Sun” by Greg Bodker

“On the Edge” by Dustyn Blindert

“Couple on Icy Beach” by Nancy Pokerwinski Honorable Mention: Nancy Pokerwinski 3rd Place: Dustyn Blindert 2nd Place: Greg Bodker 1st Place: Mary Zednik 2018 marks the 45th anniversary of a remarkable example of what people can do when they join together to make a difference. In August of 1973, after a statewide campaign rallying the support of people across Michigan, MNA prevented Michigan’s largest remaining stand of old growth white pine forest from being destroyed forever. Because people across the state helped MNA purchase the land, nearly half-a-century later you can visit MNA’s Estivant Pines Nature Sanctuary, walk its trails, and experience first-hand a majestic virgin forest that has been undisturbed for hundreds of years.

This year, MNA received a special challenge in honor of the 45th anniversary of the campaign to save Estivant Pines from logging. The grant will provide the $90,000 we need to purchase 60 acres along the southern border of Estivant Pines, but only if we show strong statewide support by raising an additional $90,000 for general stewardship.

Support Protecting Michigan Nature this #GivingTuesday

We need 45 individuals to give $100 between now and midnight Tuesday, November 27. As an added incentive, your $100 gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar. Donate to help save the Pines!

Expanding a 510-acre Living Museum of Michigan’s Old White Pine Forests

The majestic white pines at Estivant were once slated for logging and would have been lost were it not for MNA’s members, donors and volunteers who answered the call of concerned locals to save this Michigan natural treasure.

No single project has introduced more people across Michigan (and the nation) to the work of MNA and the importance of protecting Michigan’s natural heritage than Estivant Pines.

And there is no more inspiring example of what MNA can accomplish when we all pull together than the successful effort to protect Estivant Pines.

So much more than the white pines were saved! The dense, old growth forest canopy provides habitat for 85 species of birds, including 15 species of warblers. Many other animal species that prefer a mature forest habitat utilize these unique woods, including the pine marten. The pine marten was nearly eliminated from Michigan’s northern forests in the early 20th century.

Below the towering trunks of the pines live an astonishing array of wildflowers, such as asters, baneberry, pyrolas and twinflower. More than a dozen species of orchids and over 23 species of ferns, including spleenwort, maidenhair and holly fern, are also scattered across the forest floor. Adding 60 Acres Near Where the Eight-Foot-Diameter “Leaning Giant” Once Stood

The additional 60 acres comes in two tracts, one on either side of the old growth white pine forest where the Leaning Giant was found years ago. Many of the more adventurous visitors to Estivant Pines Nature Sanctuary take a rough and rugged hiking trail and cross the Montreal River to see the famous Leaning Giant, a celebrated white pine with a trunk eight feet in diameter. Named a Michigan champion white pine in 1971, the Leaning Giant was later brought down in 1987 by a fierce north wind but you can still see its massive trunk lying across the forest floor today.

With your support, we can meet this ambitious challenge and acquire this remarkable property. Along with old growth white pines, the 60 acre property contains large cedar and eastern hemlock trees and would serve as an important buffer to the heart of Estivant Pines. Wetlands found on the property are integral to the hydrology of an emergent wetland on the existing sanctuary that is regularly used by American bittern, a species of special concern in Michigan. Acquiring the 60 acres would also ensure the protection of a half mile of the Montreal River with frontage on both sides. Join the Michigan Nature Association for the
Annual Fall Recognition Dinner and
Silent Auction to Benefit Environmental Education
Celebrating Estivant Pines 45th Anniversary

Friday, November 16 at 6:30 p.m.
Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center – East Lansing

Join Us for a Night of Music and Celebration!

Join MNA as we recognize the donors and volunteers who make our
continued success possible. The Annual Fall Recognition Dinner and Silent Auction
will honor those who dedicate countless hours to MNA and reflect
on another year of success.

MNA will announce those being honored with the Volunteer of the Year Award,
Mason and Melvin Schafer Distinguished Service Award,
Richard W. Holzman Award, and more! Special Musical Guest – Back by Popular Demand!

Root Doctor

Root Doctor plays a diverse mix of classic soul and R&B alongside traditional blues
and inspired original material. Along with over 20 years of club, concert and festival
performances, they have released four recordings to local and national acclaim.


Dr. Dave Ewert
2018 Edward G. Voss Conservation Science Award Recipient

As an acclaimed scientist, Dave is a Kirtland’s Warbler Program Director
and Senior Conservation Specialist for the American Bird Conservancy.
Dave will share first-hand insights into the successful international efforts to bring
the Kirtland’s warbler back from the brink of extinction and challenges for the future.

All proceeds from the silent auction will go to the Environmental Education Fund
to provide nature education opportunities for students and families in Michigan.
See the variety of fun Michigan experiences offered in the 2018 Silent Auction Catalog!


Tickets ($30 each) can be purchased by contacting
Jess Foxen at 866-223-2231 or email@example.com.
Please include your meal choice of either chicken, salmon, or vegetarian.
The deadline to register is November 15.
Register online here.


The creation of a collaborative space at our headquarters in Okemos where nonprofit, agency and other partners can gather has been a vision since we purchased our building a few years ago. That vision is now reality with the recent completion and furnishing of our new Margaret and Clifford Welsch Environmental Education Room. Thank you to the Welsch family!

Fostering conservation dialogue and action are primary motives behind the construction of the new room, made possible by a generous gift from Margaret and Clifford Welsch, enthusiastic supporters of MNA’s education mission. The Welsch Education Room has already been used for meetings, training workshops, educational seminars, and collaborative partnerships by groups such as Michigan Audubon, Michigan Forest Association, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Michigan Wetlands Association and the Michigan Vernal Pool Partnership. Flexible seating and table arrangements can accommodate theatre, classroom or workshop configurations for as many as 100 participants. The room is available to any nonprofit but reservations are required, and reasonable fees may be applied for use of the room outside of normal business hours. Contact email@example.com to inquire about reserving the room.

To complement the Welsch Education Room, plans are underway to convert the grounds at our building from conventional office park landscaping to native plants friendly for birds, butterflies, bees and pollinators. The goal is to use the outdoor space to educate landowners and businesses about the importance and attractiveness of native landscaping. Members of District IIB of the Michigan Garden Club donated plant signs for MNA headquarters to help visitors identify a wide variety of recently installed native plants. The project to transform our conventional office park landscaping to one that is bird, bee, and pollinator friendly is a collaboration between Michigan Nature Association, Michigan Audubon (and a grant from National Audubon’s Plants for Birds program), Christopher Hart of HartScapes LLC, many volunteers, and now District IIB.

By Abby Pointer, MNA Intern

As our summer slowly shifts into Michigan’s favorite season, the humidity will disappear into a brisk breeze and leaves will turn happy orange and red. You might partake in festive, nature oriented activities such as apple picking, birding, or fall color walks. Our reason for doing this is to enjoy some time with friends and family, but have you thought about the reason why nature acts as it does in the fall? Since Autumn is a transitional season, often the plants and animals we see are in a transition period as they prepare for a long winter. For instance, birds are migrating back from their summer homes to somewhere less chilly for the winter. To many avid birders’ delights, we are lucky in Michigan to be able to see rare species such as warblers, vireos, and thrushes migrating. If you visit Whitefish Point, it is an excellent place to spot the migrating loons and, if you look towards the skies, you might also spot the soaring wingspans of sharp shinned hawks, bald eagles, and ospreys.

While the birds fly south, mammals take advantage of fall fruiting trees and plants. Species such as squirrels, chipmunks, and even bears might be more active as they prepare themselves for winter by gathering food and preparing nests or dens. Many types of berries and nuts ripen for consumption in the fall, and as the temperature cools, fungi also begin to sprout. The production of berries, nuts, and seeds this time of year cleverly coincides with the time that birds are stopping to snack during migration and when small mammals bury nuts for sparser months. These fruits and nuts are the structures that enable the dispersal of seeds, so these animals in transition are essential in the process of creating new plant life for some tree and shrub species such as red chokeberry, blackhaw viburnum, and common ninebark. Acorns from oak trees and hickory nuts serve the same purpose and are spread by small mammals in a process sometimes known as “scatter hoarding”. While animals collect the nuts from trees for winter hibernation, the trees themselves have a very charismatic process that prepares them for their own kind of hibernation. During the winter months, deciduous trees go into a period of dormancy where they survive off the energy they stored during the sunny summer months, and they drop their leaves that contain chloroplasts (structures that turn light from the sun into plant food) to conserve energy. Leaves of trees can sense a shortening period of daylight, and eventually stop producing the chemical chlorophyll that make leaves green, and then we can see bright colored pigments such as orange and red that were previously masked by green all summer. We see the best fall colors when there is a wet growing season followed by a cool, frostless fall. Visit an MNA sanctuary to see this trees in action. Enjoy the colors!

There is good news on the front to stem the decline of wildlife in Michigan – a powerful plan exists that could counter otherwise devastating trends.

As our feature story explains (p. 18), Michigan’s updated Wildlife Action Plan, facilitated by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources with the help of MNA and other conservation partners, is designed to provide a strategic framework to coordinate conservation in Michigan for wildlife and their habitats.

We believe the Wildlife Action Plan is a conservation strategy for the state unlike anything we have had before. MNA is aligning our goals and actions with those of the Wildlife Action Plan across all our programs – land protection, habitat restoration, stewardship, outreach and education – to ensure we are providing as much value as we can.

We are proud to be a champion for the Wildlife Action Plan, but it will take many collaborators to fully implement it. As Amy Derosier, the Michigan DNR’s Wildlife Action Plan Coordinator, says in our Q&A (p. 33), “Ultimately, it will take many people at the table who care and are engaged” to implement the Wildlife Action Plan and address our growing wildlife crisis. We couldn’t agree more.
 



Michigan Nature Association