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2008 Federal Duck Stamp Contest 1674 Refuge Entrance Rd. 906/586-9851 voice
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Satellite Refuges
Several satellite refuges are managed by Seney National Wildlife Refuge. Below find descriptions of their resources and accessibility.
Harbor Island National Wildlife Refuge
This 695 acre island is located one mile north of Drummond Island, Michigan, and 3.5 miles south of the United States-Canadian (Ontario) border in Potagannissing Bay on Lake Huron. Habitats included on this island consist of balsam/cedar lowlands and oak, beech, and maple uplands. Soil consists of shallow organics or sands over dolomite rock. Resident wildlife species include fox, grouse, snowshoe hare, white-throated sparrows, gray jays and magnolia warblers. Timber wolves from St. Joseph Island, Ontario, may hunt on the island during winter months. Eagles also use the island's large bay for fishing each spring and fall. For more information see the 1978 Harbor Island Report.
Access to the island is by private boat. Harbor Island NWR's sheltered bay is used by boaters for fishing, and as an overnight anchorage. A sand beach is also used for swimming. For more information visit the Refuge fact sheet on Harbor Island at http://refuges.fws.gov/profiles/index.cfm?id=31512
The lighthouse on West Huron Island in was built in1868 and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Huron Islands Lighthouse Preservation Association has formed to raise funds for its restoration.
Habitat of this unstaffed refuge varies from a sparse covering of red pines and white birch with ground-level vegetation to barren granite with scattered lichen growth. Resident wildlife species include merlins, bald eagles and a large gull colony on Cattle and nearby Rock Islands.
Access to the island is by private boat. The Refuge is located three miles off the south shore of Lake Superior and 18 miles east of the Keewenaw Peninsula. Only West Huron Island (Lighthouse Island) is open to the public, during daylight hours, for hiking and nature study.
All remaining islands are closed to the public, except by Special Use Permit to biologists, botanists, or other qualified persons in conjunction with approved studies. Exceptions are emergency landings by boats in distress.
Camping is prohibited on all islands, except that biologists, botanists and other qualified applicants may be permitted prescribed primitive-type camping only on West Huron Island (Lighthouse Island) by Special Use Permit, in conjunction with approved studies. For more information visit the Huron Island NWR Refuge Fact sheet: http://refuges.fws.gov/profiles/index.cfm?id=31511
Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge
Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge consists of Gull, Pismire, Shoe and Hat Islands. The islands are part of the Beaver Island group in the northern portion of Lake Michigan. They total 245 acres, and Gull Island accounts for 230 of those acres.
Pismire and Shoe Islands were officially designated as a Michigan Islands Wilderness Area.
Habitats vary considerably. Shoe Island has little to no ground cover and Gull Island has a grass and forb covered beach area above the high water line, a shrub-covered sand dunes area, and balsam fir and white cedar in the interior. Soils consist of shallow organics or sands over cherty limestone and dolomite. Wildlife species include double-crested cormorant and caspian tern nesting colonies. For more information visit the Michigan Islands NWR fact sheet: http://refuges.fws.gov/profiles/index.cfm?id=31522
Kirtland's Warbler Wildlife Management Area
Kirtland's Warbler Wildlife Management Area (KWWMA) is located throughout 8 counties in the northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Staff from Seney National Wildlife Refuge (Seney, Michigan) is responsible for land management at KWWMA. The Refuge is responsible for land management on 119 separate tracts totaling 6,684acres.
The Kirtland's warbler is an endangered neotropical migratory bird. The breeding range of this species is primarily restricted to the northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan, and several locations in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Wisconsin. This species winters on Bahamian islands in the Caribbean.
The Kirtland's warbler nests primarily in young jack pine forest growing on Grayling sand. This soil type is found only in a few counties in northern lower Michigan. The warblers prefer to nest in forests that are about 80 acres or larger with numerous small, grassy openings. Kirtland's warblers prefer to nest in groups. They build their nests only on the ground among grass or other plants like blueberries. Jack pine trees in it's nesting area must be about 5 to 16 feet tall and spaced to let sunlight reach the ground. The sunlight keeps the lower branches alive and bushy, hiding the Kirtland's warbler nest beneath them. When the trees grow larger, their upper branches block the sun and the lower branches die. Grasses and other plants become less dense. The warblers then cease use of the area.
USFWS tracts are surrounded by Michigan DNR state forests that are designated to be managed to benefit Kirtland's warblers. Although the bird has adapted to wildfire-regenerated jack pine, prescribed fire is not practical in most areas due to the explosive wildfire nature of jack pine. Homes are scattered all through the state forests and fire creates serious hazards to life and property. Because fire is not an acceptable means to regenerate most jack pine stands, timber sales, direct seeding and planting are often the only options to establish stands.For more information on Kirtland's Warbler Birding Tours in the area, visit the East Lansing Ecological Services Field Office website. There you'll also find fact sheets and status updates on the Kirtland's warbler. For more information visit the Kirtland's Warbler NWR fact sheet: http://refuges.fws.gov/profiles/index.cfm?id=31513
Located on the shore of Lake Superior, these 33 acres are not a separate National Wildlife Refuge but comprises a parcel of land managed by Seney NWR. It is an important migratory bird stopover. The land is adjacent to the Michigan Audubon Society's 2.7 acre Whitefish Point Bird Observatory and the 8.3 acre Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Museum.
