Skegemog Wilderness Area Stewardship Committee

After what has been a longer than normal winter, spring is finally here and we are just a few short months from another summer season in Northern Michigan. In addition to all the exciting activities that await us when warm weather arrives, we also look forward to the short few months when we can enjoy some of nature’s beauty in the Skegemog Wilderness Area. Since many of you do get out to enjoy the area year round, perhaps it would be better to say that summer is the time when we can tend to a few projects to improve the area.

For those of you who are not entirely familiar with the Skegemog Wilderness Area, it consists of 3300 acres of state-owned land protected by conservancy that surrounds the eastern 1/3 of Lake Skegemog. It is teeming with wildlife and it has miles of trails for walking, biking, or cross country skiing. There are two viewing platforms and extensive boardwalks to help you through the wetland areas.

2007 Recap

We started 2007 with our annual meeting on May 2nd at the Hauser house on Skegemog Point. About 20 people attended. In addition to discussing 2006 activities and planning activities for 2007, we heard from Jerry Grieves (DNR) and Tray Posavatz from the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy (GTRLC) regarding upcoming forest management activities.

Our first project day was June 2nd. It consisted of two teams of workers who primarily cleaned up some of the downed trees and branches that had fallen across the platform trail and the North Shore Pathway. We also brought back some discarded scraps of metal and old tires. A dozen or so people showed up and we actually got a lot done in just a half day of work.

Trail marking experts, hard at work
Our second project day was July 6th. There were two key projects that day: adding mulch to the platform trail through the swamp and marking a pathway from the Rapid City Rd. parking area to the south end of Round Lake Rd. Adding mulch from somewhere else can be a source of invasive plant species, so to do that job we brought in a power chipper, so that we could grind up dead plant material already in the swamp and use that to cover the pathway. To mark the new pathway, we had our "experts" trained by GTRLC on how to properly prepare and mark trees along the way. You will now be able to see trees with unmistakable purple markings to find your way over that path segment. We were very fortunate on that day to have tacky fly strips for our hats to keep the deer flies at bay. It was indeed another enjoyable day spent with fellow volunteers.

On July 20th we met with DNR and GTRLC personnel to discuss our revised management plan for the wilderness area. The primary thrust of that meeting was to look at ways to manage certain wooded areas in an effort to gradually return re-growth areas to their more natural mixed variety forest. There were also some areas where "invasives" like Scotch Pine needed to be brought into check. There is also a plan to selectively log areas where very fast growing poplars have sprung up in previously logged areas so that the slower growing, native hardwoods like oak, maple, beech, and ash can flourish. In cases like these the DNR contracts loggers to do the thinning work. This is a small area and since poplar is not a high dollar variety of wood, it probably won’t happen soon.

We wrapped up the season on September 15th with our second annual Skegemog Wilderness nature walk and picnic. A few brief rain showers didn’t manage to dampen the spirits of the hearty souls who turned out for the event.

Early mornings are for the birders
Although I have no claim to be anything of a birder, my wife, Butch, and I went on an early morning bird walk last May in the swamp with our local Audubon expert, Bob Carstens and artist and naturalist, Tom Ford. I was thinking that I must be crazy to sign up for early morning birding. Six a.m. arrived way too early, but we were at the trailhead and ready to go with a group of about a dozen other insomniacs. The weather was perfect - cool with a cloudless sky. Off we went to the swamp with Tom pointing out some beautiful plant species that we had walked past many times not knowing they were there. At the same time, Bob was making a few, well-practiced bird calls to see what he could stir up. Soon he was getting return calls from more birds than I could readily recognize.

We continued on our way through the swamp, stopping frequently to view a plant or listen for a new bird call and then continuing a bit further. A little after sunrise, we arrived at the platform to discover a spectacular sight. Looking out over the swamp with the sun behind us was like seeing it for the first time, all over again. There were birds and flowers in every direction, all illuminated by the rising sun. Nature at its finest. We even had the good luck to see a rare wading bird called Virginia Rail as it scurried under the platform, while we were up top. This view of the swamp definitely made the early get-up well worth it.

I’m sure that Bob and perhaps Tom will consider leading another nature walk or two again this year. We’ll try to get the word out, but you should also watch the paper for a public announcement. I hope you can join us this year.

What’s ahead for 2008?
I’m glad you asked. There is never a shortage of projects for our ever-growing taskforce of volunteers. Here are a few of the projects being considered which will be discussed in greater detail at our annual spring meeting on May 6, 2008.

1. Maintaining existing pathways, to include spring cleanup of fallen trees and branches and trimming new growth which obstructs the pathways
2. Expanding the pathways beyond their present boundaries. Specific ideas are connecting the North Shore Pathway to Aarwood Ct.; creating a clearer pathway from the three ponds area to the railroad bed; and adding a new pathway to the southern Torch River area. This is the year we intend to prepare accurate GPS maps of the pathways and we will continue to improve markings for trails
3. Continue to pursue a solution for the crumbling buildings in the Three Ponds area.
4. Work with the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy to produce an educational DVD to tell the public about the wonderful area we all have here.
5. Repairing and upgrading the platform along the north side of the Torch River to make it more handicap accessible.
6. Understanding possible plans to incorporate the railroad bed into a larger network of trails between Kalkaska and Acme.
7. Attempt to schedule three work days and pick a date for our third annual Skegemog Wilderness Area Picnic.

The May 6, 2008, spring meeting of our Stewardship committee will be held again at the Hausers’ house at 9240 Skegemog Point Rd. at 7:00 p.m. I promise not to go past 9:00 p.m. We hope that you can join us for this important meeting. We’re not even asking for any dues or donations. We are always interested in having new members who are interested in this wonderful natural resource that happens to be in our back yard. We also welcome an extra helping hand on one of our work days, if you’ve got a few extra hours you can spare. If you have any questions or issues we can discuss, please contact me at (231) 620-5750 or dave@davehauser.net. You can also contact Dale Claudepierre at (248) 644-7614 or dalec@comcast.net. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Dave Hauser