The Endangered Lakeplain Prairie
According to the Michigan Natural Features Inventory, “Lakeplain wet-mesic prairies are globally imperiled: Michigan’s lakeplain wet-mesic prairies have been reduced in number and size so that today less than 1% of the original community remains. Similar losses of lakeplain prairie have occurred throughout its range.
A total of 25 lakeplain wet-mesic prairies have been located in Michigan, ranging from 2-146 acres (0.5-59 hectares) in size and totaling 641 acres (259 hectares). Nineteen of these prairie remnants, or 40% of the state’s lakeplain wet-mesic prairie acreage, occur entirely on private, unprotected lands. The largest concentrations of prairie remnants are in southwest Wayne County, on and near the St. Clair River Delta in St. Clair County, and along the Saginaw Bay shoreline in Tuscola County.
Because of their proximity to the Detroit metropolitan area, prairie remnants in Wayne County and the St. Clair River Delta are experiencing extreme development pressure.” Michigan Natural Features Inventory, P.O. Box 30444 - Lansing, MI 48909-7944, Phone: 517-373-1552
The Michigan Environmental Council has written a report about the affects of development on the natural environment, particulary regarding the endangered lakeplain prairies of Brownstown Township. Read Here
These photos were taken in the Sibley Prairie,
within a mile of Lakeplain Prairie Farm
Get the Latest Version of
Adobe Acrobat Reader