• National Wildlife Refuge System
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Region 3
• About Seney
• Seney History
• Satellite Refuges
  • Whitefish Point Unit
  • Huron NWR
  • Harbor Island NWR
  • Michigan Islands NWR
  • Kirtland's Warbler Wildlife Management Area
• Contact Us
• Seney Natural History Assoc.

The Flickr site is brought to you courtesy of Seney Natural History Association.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Kirtland’s Warbler Wildlife Management Area (WMA) was established in 1980 in response to the need for more land dedicated to the recovery of the Kirtland’s Warbler, an endangered species.  The warbler is a small, neotropical migrant that summers in Michigan and, to a limited extent, Wisconsin and Ontario, and winters in the Bahamas.  By the mid-twentieth century, the bird was in trouble.  Wildfire, a natural ecological process vital to producing its habitat, had been reduced in frequency and extent, severely reducing the bird’s population.  The WMA contains 125 separate tracts of land totaling 6,684 acres located throughout eight counties in the northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. 

The Kirtland’s Warbler is a specialist.  The finicky little bird spends its summers living in a very specific type of fire-dependent forest habitat.  It needs young jack pine forests with a number of small grassy openings.  The warbler tends to nest in groups; nests are placed on the ground among grasses or other plants such as blueberries and under the limbs of 5 to 16 foot tall jack pines.  When the trees mature the lower branches die due to shading by upper branches and the warblers move on to other young jack pine stands. 

A survey of Kirtland’s Warbler in 1951 found 432 singing male birds.  By the 1970s, fewer than 200 singing males were surveyed on an annual basis.  In 1967, the species was placed on the Federal Endangered Species List.  Due to management efforts, the bird’s population began to recover in the 1990s.  In 2008, the total estimated population of singing males in Michigan was 1,791.  Although the Kirtland’s Warbler has surpassed its numeric recovery goals, safeguards will have to be put into place before it will be removed from the endangered species list.

Kirtland’s Warbler WMA tracts are surrounded by Michigan state forests that are designated to be managed for the benefit of 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 and the existence of summer homes and other human developments in these areas. 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.

The Comprehensive Conservation Plan for Kirtland’s Warbler Wildlife Management Area was signed on September 10, 2009, completing a planning process that began in 2006. Management highlights include:

1. Management of jack pine stands will shift toward a more ecologically- based approach that better emulates natural, wildfire-generated jack pine stands.
2. The Service will explore opportunities for land exchange and consolidation with the state of Michigan and possibly the U.S. Forest Service. The Service and others involved in Kirtland’s Warbler recovery believe than consolidation could increase the total area of land managed for the warbler as well as increase efficiency for state and federal agencies.

Kirtland’s Warbler WMA is not staffed but is instead managed by the staff of Seney National Wildlife Refuge near Seney, Michigan. Office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday - Friday. If you would like to contact the Refuge you may email kirtlandswarblerrefuge@fws.gov or call (906) 586-9851.

Allowable Activities

• Kirtland’s Warbler WMA is open during daylight hours only when Kirtland’s Warblers are not nesting.
• Kirtland’s Warbler nesting season begins in May and ends in August.
• Environmental Education/Interpretation opportunities include Kirtland’s Warbler Birding Tours conducted jointly by Michigan Audubon Society and the East Lansing Ecological Services Field Office.  Their website also contains fact sheets and status updates on the warbler. The US Forest Service also provides Kirtland's Warbler tours.
• Kirtland’s Warbler WMA units are open to hunting per state regulations during game seasons that do not coincide with the nesting season for Kirtland’s Warbler.  Baiting, all-terrain vehicle (ATV) use, and using dogs to hunt bears or deer is not allowed.
• Wildlife Observation and photography are allowed, except during the Kirtland’s Warbler’s nesting season.
• Fires, camping, and off road vehicles are not permitted.

To find out more information about the Kirtland's Warbler Wildlife Management Area you may read its Comprehensive Conservation Plan.

Published Papers & Reports

A bibliographic archive of published papers, meeting notes, etc. associated with the recovery of Kirtland's Warbler. All material may be found at the Kirtland Community College, Roscommon, Michigan. Published papers can be found through traditional means.