High Quality Lakeshore Habitat, and more…Findings from a forest biologist. Part 2: Plants and Trees

A natural community summary of the Timber Shores property has found incredible conservation value and potential for restoration for this keystone lakeshore property in Leelanau Township.

Forest biologist and botanist Liana May of Borealis Consulting  assessed property in summer 2023.  For her report, May toured the target property with NCV Vice President Beth Linnea Verhey and also examined available ecological historical data and information on the property and this very rich area of the Leelanau Peninsula. 

Her report outlines the landscape’s historical and current natural communities as well as providing an abbreviated list of native plant species. Overall, May found the property to be of “significant conservation value, particularly for protections and restoration of Great Lakes shoreline communities.”

The Timber Shores property is 214 acres, including a sandy beach shoreline on Grand Traverse Bay, giving it a scale and ecological variety that is rich with plant life. Borealis Consulting identified many current native plant communities and several quality remnant habitat areas prime for restoration and worthy of protection. 

Baltic rush, silverweed, purple false foxglove, Kalm’s lobelia (Lobelia kalmia) and Little Green Sedge (Carex viridula), a small flowering plant, have long been associated with Great Lakes shoreline and dune-swale communities. Borealis’ findings suggest the presence of historic open-canopy conditions such as interdunal wetlands and/or wooded dune and swale community with open swales in the interior of the parcel in addition to rich conifer swamp areas. 

Joshua Mayer from Madison, WI, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Rob Routledge, Sault College, Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Two key native plants on the property are: Kalm’s lobelia, which is a high-conservation value plant that is dependent on high-quality open, calcareous wetlands such as interdunal hollows, fens, marshes and American brooklime (Veronica americana) that is found growing along the shoreline of the property. In addition to these specialized plants, a significant number of other native species were discovered:

o   Flowering Plants

§  Primrose (Oenothera spp.) -  

§  Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) - flowers July/Aug

§  Silverweed (Potentilla anserina) - flowers in summer/autumn

§  Purple false foxglove (Agalinis purpurea) - 

§  Kalm’s lobelia (Lobelia kalmia) - flowers July through September

§  Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) - flowers aug/sept

§  Joe Pye weed (Eutrochium maculatum) - flowers June through October

§  Tall goldenrod (Solidago altissima) -

§  Lanceleaf aster (Symphyotrichum lanceolatum) - flowers Summer/fall 

§  American brooklime (Veronica americana) - flowers May-October

§  Grey-stemmed goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis)

§  Frost aster (Symphyotrichum pilosum) - flowers August-Nov

§  Calico aster (S. lateriflorum) - flowers August-Frost

§  Northern heart-leaved aster (S. ciliolatum) - flowers Aug - Sept

§  Horse-mint (Monarda punctata) - flowers July through Aug

o   Edible Plants: 

§  Blackberries (Rubus alleghaniensis)

§  Raspberries (R. strigosus) 

§  Horsetail (Equisetum arvense), - edible when young

§  Riverbank grape (Vitis riparia) - edible leaves and fruit

The property has a number of small unconnected wetland depressions - sometimes referred to as swales- between the former campground pads- which are not surprisingly vegetated with early successional aspen (Populus tremuloides), balsam poplar (P. balsamifera), white ash (Fraxinus americana), paper birch (Betula papyrifera), American basswood (Tilia americana), northern white-cedar (Thuja occidentalis), willows (Salix spp.) and riverbank grape (Vitis riparia). Herbaceous vegetation includes bulrushes (Scirpus atrovirens, S. cyperinus), swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis), and sedges and grasses. 

Below is a list of trees currently identified on the property.

o   Native Trees: § Early successional aspen (Populus tremuloides)

§ Balsam poplar (P. balsamifera)

§ White ash (Fraxinus americana)

§ Paper birch (Betula papyrifera)

§ American basswood (Tilia americana)

§ Northern white-cedar (Thuja occidentalis)

§ Willows (Salix spp.)

The Borealis report states: “Current vegetation reflects patterns created by past disturbances.” Given that the former Timbers Shores property has been idle for several decades, the native plants and their seedbeds are fighting to naturally restore the landscape. This natural restoration can be greatly expedited with focused conservation and volunteer stewardship. However, further  development will disrupt the natural processes of these emergent forests and natural communities that are trying to again reclaim the property as their home. 

When plant communities thrive at such a large scale, it supports more species and greater biodiversity. For example, the former Timber Shores property already has a robust bird and butterfly community, especially during migration season. Over 250 bird species have been found in Leelanau County. Many of these visit the idle Timber Shores parcel.

Last summer, the milkweed found on the site was covered in monarch butterflies and other fluttering friends. The monarch butterfly is considered a threatened population in the U.S. due to pesticides, habitat loss (development) and a changing climate. This highly vulnerable species – among many other species of concern such as butterfly and pollinators such as bees and moths – need the protection of large open spaces to call home as the County develops further.  We want to be part of the controlled growth of the Peninsula where communities – both natural and human alike – thrive together.

We encourage you to support conserving and restoring this signature property. 

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NCV appreciates May’s work on the property.  In the next blogpost, we look into the shoreline on Grand Traverse Bay that makes this parcel so special. Read the first blog post about Wetlands here.

Borealis Consulting works for many conservation groups including federal and state agencies, municipalities and non-profits, including The Leelanau Conservancy.  Owner-operator Lianna May does natural resource management planning, floristic inventories and quality assessments, wetland delineations, threatened and endangered species surveys, invasive species surveys and management and is certified to write Michigan Forest Stewardship Plans, NRCS Fish and Wildlife Conservation Activity Plans, and NRCS Forestry Plans. For more see  Borealis Consulting

High Quality Wetlands, Rich Plant Life, Rare Coastal Habitat and more…Findings from a Forest Biologist.

Forest biologist and botanist Liana May of  Borealis Consulting toured the lakeshore  property targeted for acquisition and protection with NCV Vice President Beth Linnea Verhey, along with a review of  available ecological historical data on this environmentally-rich area of Leelanau.

This first blogpost on her report focuses on the wetlands on the property. May found that the existing wetland complexes on the property were historically part of the interdunal wetland, wood dune and swale complex and ‘rich conifer swamp’ that naturally characterize this part of the Leelanau Peninsula.

The former Timber Shores property currently has several kinds of wetland habitats, including two swamp varieties and an emergent marsh. There are also two fresh water creeks that run through the property and into Grand Traverse Bay. 

Ennis Creek is the larger of the two creeks flowing across the property, flowing through the northern third of the parcel. A smaller, unnamed creek runs from Ennis Creek south and then east into Grand Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan. Not only do these creeks support important marsh and wetland flora and fauna, but Ennis Creek’s high-quality aquatic habit supports native brook trout. 

Part of what makes these valuable wetlands possible is a dune and swale complex that covers nearly two-thirds of the property. Past man-made disturbances have “disconnected” some of the previously inter-connected wetland complex. The good news is that these previously filled and disturbed areas can be restored, to once again contribute to cleaner water flowing into the bay. 

The once prominent Rich Conifer Swamp is largely gone from the interior of the parcel. However, high-quality remnant parcels have survived along that portion of Ennis Creek that runs along the northern portion of the property and also across approximately 6.5 acres in the southeast corner of the property that was not used for the former campground facilities and parking. This rich conifer swamp area near the 1,800 feet of shoreline on Grand Traverse Bay is prime for successful restoration. 

The Hardwood-Conifer Swamp is the largest vegetation type identified on the parcel.  Swales that once defined the property were filled and altered so that the linear formations are now small, unconnected wetland depressions between the former, gravel-fill campground pads. 

Not surprisingly, these swales are vegetated with early successional aspen (Populus tremuloides), balsam poplar (P. balsamifera), white ash (Fraxinus americana), paper birch (Betula papyrifera), American basswood (Tilia americana), northern white-cedar (Thuja occidentalis), willows (Salix spp.) and riverbank grape (Vitis riparia). Herbaceous vegetation includes bulrushes (Scirpus atrovirens, S. cyperinus), swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis), and sedges and grasses. 

In sum, this unique property boasts a coastal landscape defined by sand and gravel beaches, interdunal wetlands, wooded dune and swale complexes and the remnants of a rich conifer swamp that are all ranked as vulnerable in the state of Michigan, with interdunal wetlands ranked as imperiled habitat. Such a special landscape is what helps to define Leelanau and protect our watershed, and it is deserving of conservation, restoration and careful stewardship. 

Globally, and in Michigan, wetlands are decreasing. Wetlands are critical in supporting coastal resiliency, water quality, birds, fish habitats, and plants. An important part of developing our region sustainably is recognizing the environmental and economic value of preserving wetlands. 

If you’d like to help protect the property, please consider supporting NCV. 

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NCV appreciates Liana May’s scientific study on the property.  In the next blogpost, we look into the plants she observed that make this parcel so special. 

Who is Borealis Consulting? Borealis works for many conservation groups including federal and state agencies, municipalities and non-profits, including The Leelanau Conservancy.  Owner-operator Liana May does natural resource management planning, floristic inventories and quality assessments, wetland delineations, threatened and endangered species surveys, invasive species surveys and management and is certified to write Michigan Forest Stewardship Plans, NRCS Fish and Wildlife Conservation Activity Plans, and NRCS Forestry Plans. For more see  Borealis Consulting.

Earth Month Blog Series

Warm greetings as we all get ready for spring!  

New Community Vision (NCV) continues to make exciting progress to acquire, preserve and restore the former Timber Shores property.  In April we also recognize Earth Month, a time where people around the world reflect on our relationship with nature and ways we can help protect this special corner of the planet where we live. So, over the next few weeks we will be sharing highlights with you from the valuable environmental investigation work conducted at the Timber Shores property last summer and fall. 

The findings from these environmental investigations supported a federal grant application and culminated in partnership with the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa (GTB), for whom the former Timber Shores property holds deep ecological and cultural significance.  In fact, historical documents from the early 1800’s refer to the area as Mashiigaki, and translations emphasize the term’s reference to the wetlands, creek, shoreline and these interconnected ecosystems.

Investigations also illuminated  the special environmental impact of the property within the EPA-approved Grand Traverse Bay Watershed Plan, which designates the shoreline, creek riparian corridors, and wetlands as a “Special Critical Area”.  

One of the most valuable inputs of our environmental studies was a Natural Communities Mapping by a forest biologist and botanist, Liana May of  Borealis Consulting.  The findings of her report will be presented in three separate blog posts/reports in emails to you and on our website.  As you will see, her assessment of the Timber Shores property indicates incredible and varied habitats and its potential for restoration, finding the property to be of “significant conservation value, particularly for protections and restoration of Great Lakes shoreline communities.”

Throughout the blog posts, the landscape’s historical and current natural communities are outlined as well as an abbreviated list of native plant species.  The first blogpost focuses on the wetlands on the property.