DNR - Winter 2003

Two recently implemented programs provided matching funds to state programs for wildlife species with the greatest conservation need. Both the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Program (WCR) and State Wildlife Grants (SWG) Program funds can be used as match for state funds. For each dollar of Nongame Fish and Wildlife Fund money spent on approved projects, the WCR or SWG will provide $3 in match. Combined, Michigan is eligible for over $3 million dollars in federal matching funds. This has allowed the Natural Heritage Program to expand projects and programming for nongame, threatened, and endangered species.

Inventories
Eastern Box Turtle by Eric Tobin

In this past year, we have implemented projects involving inventories on state lands. Over 50 state public land areas were visited involving over 285 site surveys. These surveys found and updated over 100 records of rare species or habitat occurrences. New sightings were found for Henslow’s sparrow, Louisiana waterthrush, and grasshopper sparrow. Other locations for Blanding’s turtles, eastern box turtles (such as the one to the right found in southwest Michigan), and tamarack tree cricket were found in southern lower Michigan. Additional surveys are planned for summer 2003.

Herp Posters
Another portion of the funding is being used to update and redesign the four herp species posters produced by the Program. The Turtle poster was completed in 2002, and the Frog and Toad poster is currently being printed. The last two posters - Snakes and Salamanders - are slated for completion in fall this year. Response to the new design has been great.

Invasive Species
One of the biggest threats to Michigan’s native wildlife populations is the spread of invasive species. Plants like purple loosestrife and buckthorn are replacing important wetland plants. Autumn olive and honeysuckle invade and crowd out important grassland and forest understory plants. A portion of the federal funds has been set aside to take aggressive measures in controlling these invasive plants and restore native vegetation to sites.

Wildlife Viewing Web Site
For people who like to view wildlife, funds are being used to convert the Michigan Wildlife Viewing Guide to a web based format. Soon visitors and wildlife enthusiasts will be able to visit the state website and locate viewing areas, find out information on seasonal wildlife occurrences, or even find out about wildlife shows and events. In addition, work on individual sites will improve the visitor’s enjoyment and experience.

Surveys
In supporting survey efforts, federal funds were used to monitor bald eagles and other raptors as well as support the frog and toad survey. Additionally, 2002 marked the start of the second breeding bird survey. A similar project conducted 20 years ago led to the publication of the first Atlas of Breeding Birds in Michigan. The new atlas project will require five years of survey work with an additional one to two years to produce a second edition of the atlas.

And More...
Federal match funds have also supported osprey releases, grassland restorations, and prescribed burns. Future projects will include several surveys, management activities, the dedication of an interpretive site for endangered and threatened species, a children’s information booklet on endangered species, and the development of a statewide biodiversity atlas.

The first event of its kind, the Great Lakes Bat Festival was recently held in Iron Mountain. “The Festival was designed to educate the public about the beneficial role bats play in the environment and to teach people about the importance of protecting critical bat habitat we have here in Michigan,” said Bill Scullon from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Division.

The August festival drew over 1500 participants from as far away as California, New York, and Florida. This was a summer family vacation for many attendees. "It was a tremendous success” said Rob Mies, Co-founder and President of the Organization for Bat Conservation (OBC), a Michigan-based educational non-profit conservation group. The OBC partnered with the MDNR Wildlife Division and the Natural Heritage Program to plan the event. The festival featured live bats from around the world, bat researchers from across the country, MUCC Wetland Wildlife Encounters program, programs by Bat Conservation International, and discussions on the importance of abandoned mines as critical bat hibernacula.

The highlight of the festival was an evening program at the Millie Hill Mine Bat Viewing Site in Iron Mountain. One of the largest known populations of over-wintering big brown bats and little brown bats in Michigan use this abandoned iron mine. The MDNR protected this site in 1993 by installing a large bat cage that allows bats to freely come and go while keeping people out. During the evening program, researchers demonstrated to a crowd of more than 350 people how bat detectors are used to pick up the ultrasonic calls from bats, how to repel, and how to capture bats using nets. Some of the captured bats were fitted with special glow markers that enable researchers to follow them as they feed on insects during the night. The glow markers are similar to a child’s glow stick and simply fall off the bat after a couple of hours.

Based on the success of the first Great Lakes Bat Festival, plans are already underway to expand for next year. Stay tuned for further announcements.

Seiner's Point
Recognition:	Proposed for Legal Dedication, The Nature Conservancy Natural Areas Registry, State of Michigan Forest Plan
Size:	2,502 acres
Location:	The very western portion of Mackinac County, on the shore of Lake Michigan
Management:	Lake Superior State Forest
Activities:	Hiking, hunting, photography, nature study, scenic vistas, bird watching, wildflower viewing
Importance: This site exhibits all of the significant natural features characteristic of the northern Great Lakes shores: dunes, interdunal wetland, cobble beach, Great Lakes endemic plants, and rare shorebirds. The interdunal swales here are the longest known in Michigan. They provide a good example of this uncommon community (fewer than 50 quality sites anywhere) which is restricted to the shores of the Great Lakes. This natural area is among the longest stretches of Lake Michigan shoreline not bounded by roads and cottages, an example of Great Lakes shoreline mostly as it was at the time of settlement.

A new threat to Michigan’s native flora has arrived. In summer 2002, the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) was discovered in southeast Michigan. Native to Asia, this species is responsible for the destruction of millions of ash trees in Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, Washtenaw, and Wayne counties. It is unknown how the emerald ash borer arrived in Michigan, but experts think it may have been here as long as five years ago based on the age of affected trees.

The emerald ash borer belongs to a group of insects known as metallic wood-boring beetles (family Buprestidae). Adults are dark metallic green in color, measuring approximately one-half inch long and 1/16 inch wide, and are present only from May until late July. Larvae are a creamy white color and can be found under the bark of affected trees. The life cycle of this species spans one calendar year. Adults begin emerging in late May, with peak emergence in mid-June. Egg-laying occurs soon after emergence. After hatching, the borer goes through several larval stages, overwinters as a larva, and then pupates in the spring.

So far, the emerald ash borer has been found to infest ash trees (genus Fraxinus) only. In Michigan, this primarily includes white ash (F. Americana), black ash (F. nigra), and green ash (F. pennsylvanica). For the most part, trees greater than 2 inches in diameter and larger can become infested, and these can occur in woodlots as well as landscaped areas. While many trees affected by borers have been stressed or diseased, they will also infest healthy trees.

Infested trees exhibit top-down dieback, with 1/3 to 1/2 of branches dying the first year and the remaining canopy dying the following year. This is often followed by a large number of shoots arising below the dead portions of the trunk. Borers make a small (1/16 inch diameter) “D”-shaped hole when entering the tree and several distinct “S”-shaped tunnels may be present under the bark. Trees may also exhibit 2-4 inch vertical splits in the bark in response to larval feeding.

Although the emerald ash borer is a good flier, human activities are the primary cause of long distance spread. This includes moving infested trees, logs, and firewood. As a result, the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) has quarantined all ash trees and ash wood products in the affected counties. This quarantine makes it illegal to move any ash trees or ash wood products larger than one inch in diameter outside these six counties. If you have inadvertently moved ash wood products (including firewood) out of the six-county area, we urge you to contact the Emerald Ash Borer hotline at (866) 325-0023.

You can do your part by adhering to the quarantine and reporting any observations of borer activity to the Emerald Ash Borer hotline. For more information about the emerald ash borer, visit the MDA website at www.michigan.gov/mda, the USDA Forest Service emerald ash borer webpage at www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/eab, or the Emerald Ash Borer and Ash Decline site maintained by Dr. David Roberts, Michigan State University Extension, at www.msue.msu.edu/reg_se/roberts/ash/index.html.

If you’ve walked along the beaches of the Great Lakes in the eastern Upper Peninsula or northern Lower Peninsula, you may have shared the beach with one of Michigan’s rarest insects, the state-threatened Lake Huron locust (Trimerotropis huroniana). This member of the short-horned grasshopper family (Acrididae) inhabits coastal dune areas in northern Michigan, northeastern Wisconsin, and the central Lake Huron shoreline of Ontario.

The Lake Huron locust is a small insect, ranging from 1 to 1.6 inches (24-40 mm) in size. The body is usually silver to ash gray with darker brown and white markings. Males can easily be distinguished from females by their noisier flight and smaller body size.

The preferred habitat of the Lake Huron locust is sparsely vegetated, high quality coastal sand dunes. In these areas, it can occur in high numbers and is usually the dominant grasshopper species. Their numbers quickly decline where the open dunes progress inland into heavily vegetated, wooded, or disturbed areas. This species is ground dwelling, meaning it almost never climbs onto foliage or other supports.

Lake Huron locusts are herbivorous, feeding primarily by clipping off vegetation near the base of dune grasses and forbs. Species common in locust habitat include dune grass (Calamovilfa longifolia), beach grass (Ammophila breviligulata), and wild wormwood (Artemisia campestris). Nymphs (young locusts) may also supplement their diet by scavenging dead insects.

Reproduction occurs in mid-summer. Males attempt to gain the attention of females by crepitating (the cracking noise caused by the flashing and snapping of their wings) in a courtship flight. Once mating occurs, females lay their eggs in the soft beach sands where they remain over winter. Nymphs will emerge in late spring and mature by mid-July to begin the cycle anew.

Extensive development of the Great Lakes shoreline has degraded or destroyed much of the Lake Huron locust’s former habitat. Management practices that keep natural dune processes in place are critical to the long-term survival of this species. You can do your part by: 1) Learning how to identify the Lake Huron locust and its habitat; 2) Keeping disturbance to a minimum; and 3) purchasing a critical habitat license plate. Revenues from license plate sales go directly towards the management of Michigan’s nongame, threatened, and endangered fish and wildlife.

For more information on the Lake Huron locust and many other species in Michigan, visit the MNFI species abstracts on the web. Simply visit www.msue.msu.edu/mnfi/abstracts.htm and click on the abstract you would like to read.

The next time you watch the sunrise or sunset on the Great Lakes, keep an eye on the beach too - you might just catch a glimpse of one of Michigan’s most unique insects!.

New Frog and Toad Display

A new interactive display has opened at the National Amphibian Conservation Center (NACC) at the Detroit Zoo. Funded by the Nongame Wildlife Fund, this interactive display features colorful photos of Michigan's 13 native frog and toad species. Push style buttons allow users to hear the different calls and match them up with the appropriate species. The display also provides information about the ongoing frog and toad survey conducted by the MDNR.

"By allowing visitors to match faces with the frog calls they hear in their own backyards, we hope to raise their awareness and sense of responsibility for native amphibian species," says Dr. Kevin Zipple, Curator of the NACC. Other exhibits at the NACC include a two-acre wetland featuring native Michigan flora, a theater with multimedia capabilites, and other features demonstrating amphibian life cycles and habitat.

For more information on the Detroit Zoo and NACC, visit www.detroitzoo.org.

Michigan's population of eastern massasauga rattlesnakes (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus) has declined in recent decades. The primary causes of this decline have been loss of habitat and human disturbance. In order to ensure the long-term survival of the species, an understanding of the distribution of local populations and critical habitats is necessary. In 2002, Michigan Natural Features Inventory (MNFI) conducted surveys in an attempt to gain such an understanding.

The eastern massasauga rattlesnake is Michigan's only venomous snake, occurring only in the Lower Peninsula and Bois Blanc Island in northern Lake Huron. Massasaugas can be found in neighboring states and Ontario, but Michigan appears to be its last remaining stronghold in the United States. Massasaugas are generally unaggressive, offering little danger to people willing to leave them alone.

In winter 2002, Dr. Bruce Kingsbury, professor of biology at Indiana-Purdue University, and graduate student Michelle Standora identified 77 potential core areas for 2002 surveys. These sites, all on publicly-owned lands, were identified based on habitat quality and prior rattlesnake occurrences.
MNFI surveyed 40 sites associated with 27 of these core areas in addition to five sites associated with other MNFI projects. A total of 80 rattlesnakes were observed by survey participants. Seven others were observed by outside sources, yielding a total of 87 rattlesnakes from 19 different sites. Of these 19 sites, six were birthing sites consisting of 5 adult females and a total of 28 young-of-the-year.

Survey efforts will continue in 2003 with an increased focus on survey gaps and identification of hibernation sites. MNFI also hopes to supplement surveys on public lands with additional surveys on private lands.
You can help by: 1) Learning how to identify the eastern massasauga rattlesnake and its habitat; 2) not disturbing any snakes you observe; and 3) reporting any rattlesnake observations online. You can also report observations to MNFI at (517) 373-1552.

You can obtain more information on the eastern massasauga rattlesnake and many other species in Michigan by visiting the MNFI species abstracts on the web. Simply visit www.msue.msu.edu/mnfi/abstracts.htm and click on the abstract you would like to read.

Dickinson Island / Harsens Island
Recognition:	Proposed for Legal Dedication, The Nature Conservancy Natural Areas Registry
Size:	2,110 acres
Management:	St. Clair Flats Wildlife Area
Location:	At the mouth of the St. Clair River, 25 miles northeast of downtown Detroit
Activities:	Bird watching, canoeing, hunting, non-motorized fishing, photography, scenic vistas
Importance: Aside from being the largest freshwater delta in the Great Lakes basin (and one of the largest in the world), the St. Clair River delta contains the largest area of unaltered coastal marsh in southern Michigan and perhaps the state. It is a well-known stopover for migrating waterfowl, and provides nesting habitat for other birds, including the state-threatened common tern. Only four other delta wetlands are known in Michigan. Several small, wet prairie sites on Dickinson and Harsens Islands provide habitat for rare plant species.