Michigan Point Betsie Piping Plover HCP (Benzie County, MI):$550,823 (partially funded). This grant will acquire inholdings of piping plover habitat along Lake Michigan within the Zetterberg Preserve. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and The Nature Conservancy have developed this acquisition strategy to support the Magic Carpet Woods Association Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) by providing land management and protection for both the piping plover and the Pitcher’s thistle. This site is designated piping plover critical habitat and is ranked by the Michigan Natural Area as very good quality for Pitcher’s thistle. The site was identified in the Pitcher’s thistle recovery plan as an acquisition target to meet the recovery goals for the plant. A Lake Michigan dune and swale management plan will be jointly developed by The Nature Conservancy and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources that will guide protection and management activities to aid in the recovery of both species.
Photo by USFWS
Recovery Land Acquisition Grants
Iowa Northern Monkshood and Iowa Pleistocene Snail Recovery Land Acquisition (Clayton County, IA): $326,887. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources will acquire 167 acres for the conservation and protection of the Northern monkshood and the Iowa Pleistocene snail. Both species require cold, moist conditions provided by the outflow of cold air on algific talus slopes. The site is in the Cow Branch and is adjacent to a 110 acre unit of the Driftless Area National Wildlife Refuge. It contains sinkholes and critical buffer areas important to the function of the algific slope habitat that both species depend upon.
Michigan Conservation Easement Acquisition for Mitchell’s Satyr (Washtenaw County, MI): $268,625. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources will acquire two conservation easements for Mitchell’s satyr totaling 129 acres. The Mill Creek fen area is geologically and biologically unique, providing habitat for over 32 State and federally listed plant and animal species, including the eastern massasauga and Blanding’s turtle. These acquisitions will protect the existing ecosystem by preserving the high-quality fen and supporting uplands. The project will serve as a model for subsequent land protection on adjacent lands.
photo by John Shuey
Wisconsin Eastern Prairie Fringed Orchid in Wisconsin(Rock County, WI):$93,800. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will purchase a conservation easement on approximately 61 acres of eastern prairie fringed orchid habitat and surrounding oak savanna. The Department will hold the easement and manage the land in perpetuity for the long-term benefit of the orchid. The site contains natural communities including wet prairie, wet-mesic prairie, and oak savanna. Monitoring results for the last few years indicate this is one of Wisconsin’s larger populations containing between 50-100 flowering plants. The acquisition greatly complements the management and protection efforts occurring at the site and on adjacent properties.
