From the Archives: The Splendors of Keweenaw Country

from the Spring 2012 feature story in Michigan Nature magazine (with updates)

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Stunning vistas of Lake Superior. Rugged shoreline harboring secluded sandy beaches. Hidden inland lakes glittering in the sunlight. Remote old-growth forests with towering, cathedral-like canopies.

Few places in the Midwest offer the natural beauty and solitude found in Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula.

Overlook at MNA’s Russell and Miriam Grinnell Memorial Nature Sanctuary at Bare Bluff. Photo by Kelly Ramstack.

The Michigan Nature Association has been working to protect the splendors of “Keweenaw country” since 1973. After decades of hard work by volunteers and generous support from donors, MNA currently owns approximately 20 nature sanctuaries along the peninsula,  protecting a spectacular array of habitat types and rare species.

Given its name by the Ojibwa Indian tribe meaning “a place of crossing,” Indigenous people inhabited the remote region as early as 7,000 years ago. It was these native tribes that began the copper culture so commonly associated with the Keweenaw. Along with Isle Royale National Park, the Keweenaw is the only place in the country with evidence of prehistoric mining by Native Americans.

Industrial mining began in the 1840’s and the area quickly became one of the nation’s leaders in copper exports, but the industry declined and the old mining shafts and remaining ghost towns now add a unique sense of history to the natural beauty that characterizes the Keweenaw. The mining legacy endures in both positive and negative ways. The Keweenaw National Historic Park was established in 1992 to celebrate the life and history of the Keweenaw Peninsula. But stamp sands left behind from those mining operations now threaten important spawning grounds for fisheries and other important natural features.

A Rich Natural Heritage

The Keweenaw’s distinctive geologic past and location now make it an ideal habitat for a variety of wildlife. Forming one of the Great Lakes flyways, the Keweenaw is a crucial stop for thousands of raptors traveling north in the spring and south in the fall. Bald eagles, hawks and peregrine falcons can all be seen during their migratory journeys in the Keweenaw. Birds share the habitat with larger mammals such as black bear, moose, wolf and bobcat, showcasing the ecological diversity that can be found in the peninsula.

Estivant Pines Nature Sanctuary photo by Kyle Rokos.

MNA’s Estivant Pines Nature Sanctuary remains one of the most extraordinary sites for visitors to explore untouched Keweenaw wilderness. Saved from logging in the 1970s, the first 160 acres acquired in 1973 have grown to slightly over 570 total acres. Those who visit can immerse themselves in one of the largest stands of old-growth eastern pine in the Midwest, with trees reaching up to 125 feet tall and five feet in diameter. Copper mine pits dug three to four thousand years ago by Native Americans can also be spotted off the sanctuary’s Cathedral Grove trail if hikers look closely.

Much of the rock material found in the peninsula was created by ongoing volcanic activity about 1.1 billion years ago during the Mid-Continent Rift, which left behind layers of thick rock that are exposed in the northern reaches around the Keweenaw. The basin that was created from this rift eventually formed current-day Lake Superior. This massive syncline was filled with sediment and now separates the rock found on the Keweenaw from Isle Royale, which is composed of the same material.

More recently, after the last ice age more than ten thousand years ago, retreating glaciers carved out the many interesting hills and features that can be seen on the Keweenaw today. And sea stacks and cave structures formed by the powerful glacial lakes left behind can be seen throughout the peninsula, including MNA’s Grinnell Memorial Nature Sanctuary.

Protecting a Scenic Treasure

Northeast of the towering Estivant Pines is the Keweenaw Peninsula’s storied Brockway Mountain Drive, the highest road between the eastern Alleghenies and the Black Hills of South Dakota. The steep cliffs and stunning views of Lake Superior, the world’s largest freshwater lake, make this one of the most scenic stretches of road in America. And as the road reaches the summit of Brockway Mountain, there is often more to see than Lake Superior. Raptors, which can be viewed flying at eye level, are among the tens of thousands of birds that migrate through the area.

MNA now owns six natural areas along Brockway Mountain Drive, including the 150-acre James H. Klipfel Memorial Sanctuary adjacent to the summit of Brockway Mountain. Tucked away in the Klipfel Memorial Sanctuary are rare plants found only on the Keweenaw, like the heart-leaved arnica. Once privately held, the summit of Brockway Mountain itself is owned by Eagle Harbor Township as part of an ambitious conservation plan for the area.

MNA’s Upson Lake Nature Sanctuary. Photo by Jason Whalen | Fauna Creative

Public and privately-owned natural areas along Brockway Mountain Drive not only conserve land but promote tourism, the mainstay of the local economy. Unfortunately, the scenic vistas so important to the Brockway Mountain experience could be negatively impacted by the siting of a proposed cell phone tower next to an MNA nature sanctuary. In addition, migratory birds, such as eagles, falcons, and hawks, could suffer increased mortality rates, and running electrical lines across the landscape could also cause further loss of habitat for rare plants and wildlife. The Eagle Township Board denied a special use permit for the tower in September 2021, but that may not yet be the end of that issue should tower proponents try to find ways around local zoning.

The Keweenaw Peninsula is a special place, with special people. They believe in conservation and practice it in countless ways. MNA is proud of the many relationships and partnerships we have forged in the Keweenaw over the years as we have worked together to ­protect critical habitat, strengthen local communities, and prepare the next generation to meet the challenges ahead.

And we are just getting started. …

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As MNA celebrates our 70^th Anniversary in 2022, we look forward to protecting habitat for rare, threatened, and endangered species in the Keweenaw Peninsula and other exceptional lands throughout the state. Land acquisitions on and around Brockway Mountain have been ongoing, most recently with an additional 42 acres on Brockway and a 60-acre addition to the Estivant Pines Nature Sanctuary, increasing the sanctuary to 570 acres and adding a half-mile of frontage on the Montreal River—one of Michigan’s cold-water rivers that provides critical spawning grounds for trout and habitat for other aquatic species.

As part of a multi-agency partnership, MNA also supports the effort to secure nearly 16,000 acres of land for the public trust for habitat protection and recreational use. The Keweenaw Outdoor Recreation Coalition—a 300-plus member organization of individuals, businesses, and recreation, conservation, and community organizations—is currently working to have the land purchased using Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund dollars. If successful, the campaign would secure permanent, public access to these recreational and conservation lands that are now in private ownership and at risk for development.

But it is not just the conservation and recreation values that inspire Keweenaw residents to act. “There’s a soul that exists here… and at the heart of that is the wilderness,” explains Keweenaw resident and photographer Steve Brimm in a video that MNA created with the help of award-winning videographers Fauna Creative.

MNA is proud to be part of protecting the splendors of Keweenaw country. The work that we do would not be possible without the incredible support of our members, donors, and the generations of individuals who have helped us achieve our mission. And we look forward to continuing this work in the future, across the state, to protect Michigan nature forever, for everyone. You can join us at michigannature.org.

Celebrating Migratory Birds on World Migratory Bird Day

by Zoë Goodrow

World Migratory Bird Day is on May 14^th this year, where over 700 events and programs around the world will take place to educate the public on migratory birds and how to conserve them. Migration is a spectacular event – especially in Michigan. Two major flight paths, or “flyways”, run through Michigan. These paths are the route birds take between their breeding grounds up north and their overwintering grounds in the south. You can track this migration on the website birdcast.info. Nearly 400 species of birds pass through Michigan via either the Atlantic or Mississippi Flyway. Our Great Lakes habitat serves as a critical stop for migratory birds, resulting in exceptional opportunities for Michiganders to observe them. Because Michigan is such a critical stop for migratory birds, the availability of suitable habitat for them is essential for their survival. A study published in “Science” in 2019 said three billion birds have been lost in Michigan since 1970. There are species of migratory birds that are important to Michigan’s biodiversity that are threatened by habitat loss and other issues that impact environmental health.

Common loon with chick. Photo by Joni Roberts

One of the first species to pass through during spring migration is the common loon. A beloved and iconic species in our state, the common loon nests in northern Michigan. Common loons return to the same nesting site each year, and each year more nesting sites are destroyed from lakeshore development, damming, or poor water quality. Their diet consists of macro invertebrates and fish, which also share the same threats. Common loons can live over 30 years – because of their longevity and their place higher up in the food chain, they are considered indicator species of water quality and environmental health. In recent years, much research has been done to understand the impact of lead, mercury, and PFAS accumulation in common loons. Efforts to conserve loon habitat and increase the number of breeding pairs in Michigan have been underway for years, and numbers have been slightly rising. There are an estimated 500-700 breeding pairs in Michigan, which is a success given the goal of the Michigan Loon Recovery Plan is to maintain at least 575 breeding pairs.

Another migratory bird that is the focus of significant conservation efforts in Michigan is the purple martin. Although the global population of purple martins is stable, the Michigan population has been steadily and steeply declining for the past six decades. Over one-third of their population has disappeared in the last 50 years. This decline is a result of a combination of factors including nesting habitat loss, competition with invasive species, decreased prey availability from insecticide use, and climate change. Conservation efforts include providing nesting boxes in purple martin habitat. Research suggests that nesting boxes (often referred to as “condos”) installed by purple martin “landlords” across the state are the only thing keeping the species alive. There are numerous outreach programs in Michigan and beyond to educate the public about purple martins and the individual actions that can be taken to protect their populations, including limiting insecticide use, creating native plant habitat, and installing nesting boxes.

Kirtland’s warbler. Photo courtesy Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

The Kirtland’s warbler is an exceptional conservation success story – one that shows how collaborative work and adaptive land management can lead to the comeback of a species. In 2019, this beloved songbird was removed from the endangered species list after once being nearly extinct. Scientists worked with land managers in Michigan to conserve and expand suitable habitat for the Kirtland’s warbler by creating and maintaining young jack pines stands across the state. This practice in combination with managing brown-headed cowbirds, who parasitize Kirtland warbler nests, are what led to the thriving population of Kirtland’s warbler we have in Michigan today.

The success story of the Kirtland’s warbler, and the stories of other important migratory birds in Michigan, are testaments to the importance of habitat conservation and restoration. At the Michigan Nature Association (MNA), we work to acquire, protect, and maintain natural areas that are home to important habitat for endangered and threatened migratory birds. With the help of organizations like MNA from the local to the national level, legislators, scientific research, and generous donations – more conservation success stories are possible. This migration season, see how you can help protect these species that are important to Michigan’s biodiversity. One action Michiganders can take is, at the recommendation of the DNR, remove bird baths and feeders to mitigate the risk of HPAI (avian flu) to migratory birds.

Celebrating Michigan’s Wilderness on World Rewilding Day

Today, March 20^th, Michiganders across the state are celebrating the start of spring. We, too, look forward to all that this season brings including wildflowers, bird migration, and more. But today, we are especially excited about World Rewilding Day—established in 2021, World Rewilding Day raises awareness of the need for large, ‘wild’ habitat in the fight against climate change-driven extinctions.

An aerial photograph showing the Ottawa National Forest. Photo by Jason Whalen | Fauna Creative

Our recently-released video “Keep the U.P. Wild” explores one such effort in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The Keep the U.P. Wild Coalition last year began a campaign to add federal Wilderness designation to more than 40,000 acres of land in the western U.P., and has since grown to include more than 300 organizations.

Designation requires congressional action, which would provide the highest level of federal land protection for the four areas within the one-million-acre Ottawa National Forest in the western Upper Peninsula: The Trap Hills, Ehlco Area, Norwich Plains, and Sturgeon River Gorge Wilderness Addition.

If successful, wilderness designation would protect these areas for biological diversity, not resource extraction, while still providing opportunities for their respectful use, enjoyment, and economic benefit.

 “The scientific community has learned … that connections and scale really play an important role in the ability of many species to exist over time,” said MNA Conservation Director, Andrew Bacon. Wilderness designation at this scale would most certainly benefit the flora and fauna and provide for the natural processes that help reduce the effects of carbon in the atmosphere—one of the leading drivers of climate change.

Watch our video today, and learn more about this campaign and the coalition members at keeptheupwild.com.

Michigan’s Landscape Architects – Beavers

The Michigan Nature Association prides itself on protecting habitat for many different species, through the conservation and stewardship at our more than 180 Nature Sanctuaries. But there are times when the needs of one species are counterproductive to the needs of another.

Historically, the American beaver was hunted—nearly to extinction—by fur trading Europeans. Their resurgence across the Midwest has been thanks to conservation efforts, not only for them but also for other species as well.

A beaver swims through a pond. Photo by Lauren Ross.

Beavers are incredible builders, able to construct lodges up to 8 feet wide and 3 feet high, using only their teeth to cut branches and logs, which must then be transported over land and water to the construction site. They are also incredibly effective dam builders—significantly affecting the flow of rivers and streams, which can then flood hundreds of acres of land, creating the ponds and lakes that they require for survival. 

Beaver dam at an MNA Nature Sanctuary. Photo by Andrew Bacon.

This keystone species are the architects of wetlands and pools in riparian ecosystems—the area between land and rivers and streams. Their damming and wetland creation is invaluable for a wide diversity of wetland birds, herptiles, and insects. Where beavers are allowed to operate in their natural capacity, there are tremendous benefits for wildlife and water quality within the riparian corridor.

However, in sensitive habitats like the prairie fens, found at a particular MNA Nature Sanctuary in Oakland County, these habitat architects can actually have a destructive effect by flooding and killing these rare plant communities and the rare species which occur within them. One of the two creeks that flow through the sanctuary has been dammed by beavers for over a decade and has enlarged the lake on the eastern side of the sanctuary. If left alone, the dams could eventually flood the fen and create an emergent marsh habitat comprised primarily of cattail, pond-lilies, and other wetland species. And though this type of habitat is common across the state, the transition in this particular location is not ideal.

Prairie fen (left) photo by Dave Cuthrell, Emergent marsh (right) photo by Joshua Cohen courtesy MNFI.

The prairie fen at this sanctuary is one of the last places on earth where the federally endangered Poweshiek skipperling makes its home. The loss of occupied prairie fen habitat at this sanctuary would have a catastrophic effect on the global population of these tiny butterflies.

After consulting with several conservation scientists about the issue, MNA conservation staff determined that the beaver activity constitutes a grave threat to the rare species found within the prairie fen, and that sanctuary management would include curtailing the flooding in order to maintain access to the sanctuary. This approach—prioritizing the needs of more rare species over more abundant ones—is commonly taken by conservation organizations at both the local and national levels.

Humans, like beavers, are capable of altering their surroundings in ways that most other species are not. Like the beaver and the butterfly which cannot know that in this place is nearly all that remains of the Poweshiek skipperling, humans too have a limited amount of knowledge to guide our activities. It is, however, with conscientious and scientific thought. Nature forces us to make some very difficult decisions at times—so as we work to protect Michigan nature for everyone, we must also recognize when one species requires more of our efforts than another.