Wetlands Month featured wetland: Crow Island State Game Area
 May is American Wetlands Month – a month to appreciate and enjoy the wonders of wetlands!
Explore one of Michigan’s finest wetlands at the Crow Island State Game Area in Saginaw.
When heading north, have you ever looked to your right while driving over the Zilwaukee Bridge to see acres and acres of cattail marsh? You’re looking at portions of the Crow Island State Game Area. Crow Island straddles the Saginaw and Bay county line and features 3,500 acres of marsh, forest and crop land.
The Crow Island State Game Area is situated along the Saginaw River and lies on either side of M-13. The marshlands provide important habitat for nesting and migrating ducks, geese, herons, terns and other wetland birds. The marshes are also home to muskrats, beavers, frogs, turtles, snakes and plenty of other wetland critters.
Crow Island is intensively managed for waterfowl and other wetland wildlife. Several habitat projects have been completed in the past few years, including a drawdown (removing the water) and prescribed burn in the East Marsh to reduce invasive phragmites and to create a 50/50 hemi-marsh of cattail cover and open water. Ducks love this type of habitat for nesting and feeding. Check out the Crow Island Annual Report to see other habitat projects completed in 2016.
These wetlands are open to hiking, canoeing, kayaking, wildlife photography, fishing and birding. Bring a lunch and make a day of exploring the wetlands of Crow Island!
Michigan’s state game and wildlife areas are free to wildlife watchers. Hunting license fees pay for habitat management at these areas. Even if you are not a hunter in the traditional sense, consider purchasing an $11 base license to benefit the creatures you hunt with your binoculars, cameras and spotting scopes.
The Crow Island State Game Area has many important partners that make its habitat management possible. Annually, Environmental Consulting & Technology, Inc. (ECT) completes a bio-blitz species survey for the game area. This year’s survey will occur on July 19, starting at 8:30 a.m., with July 20 reserved as a rain date. All you need are sturdy waterproof hiking boots, binoculars and a sack lunch. Department of Natural Resources and ECT staff members will meet at the west game area entrance off of East Kochville Road, just to the east of North Westervelt Road. For more information on this event, please contact Holly Vaughn at 313-396-6863.
We’ll see you at Crow Island this spring!
/Editors’ note – Contact: Holly Vaughn, 313-396-6863. An accompanying photo is available below for download.
Suggested caption: Mallards are year-round residents of Crow Island State Game Area./
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr.
|
