Endangered Species Important

Melissa H. Koval and Angela G. Mertig
Michigan State University Department of Fisheries and Wildlife and
Department of Sociology

Since 1999, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) Wildlife Division and researchers in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Michigan State University (MSU) have been surveying Michigan residents about various wildlife issues in the state. By evaluating the public's opinion about wildlife issues, the MDNR can better manage wildlife in everyone’s best interests. The 2001 “Resource Attitudes in Michigan” survey included issues on endangered species management in Michigan. A representative sample of 2,000 Michigan residents were contacted for their opinion.

The survey found that people in Michigan are very supportive of MDNR efforts to manage and protect endangered species. Seventy-three percent of the public felt the amount of time and money currently spent managing endangered species should continue or be increased. Very few people believed that the current level of spending is too much. Nineteen percent were unsure how to answer this question.

Since managers have limited resources to manage endangered species, it was important to find out what people feel is the best way to use those resources. Respondents were given a list of several management options for endangered species and asked to choose which one they prefer (see Figure 1). Members of the public are most supportive of managers “using equal effort for all endangered species” and “focusing effort on species in the greatest danger of extinction.”

At times, limits on access to public areas in which endangered animals live are needed to protect the species. A question was included to find out how people feel about limiting certain activities on public lands in order to protect endangered species. Again, people are very supportive of limiting human activities on public lands in order to protect endangered species. They are the most supportive of limiting off-road vehicles, followed by limiting timber harvest, road development, and mining activities. The public is least supportive of limiting bird-watching access on public lands, but nearly half would still support limits to bird-watching if doing so would protect endangered species.

Even limiting private property rights to protect endangered species received a high level of support. Seventy percent of Michigan residents support protecting endangered species on private property. Thirty percent believe that private property rights should be protected, even if it means that some species might become extinct. Comparing this question to similar questions in two recent national studies, Michiganians tend to be more supportive than the national average. A 1999 Gallup Poll found 61 percent supporting restriction on private property for endangered species and a 2001 Los Angeles Times poll found 58 percent support.

Finally, survey participants were asked to identify which groups of endangered species were most important to protect. In general, members of the public feel it is important to protect all groups of endangered species; however, endangered birds, mammals, and fish rank at the top of their list. Endangered plants are considered the next most important, followed by reptiles, amphibians, and, finally, insects. Overall, people who are most supportive of protecting all of these groups of endangered species are women, younger people, urban residents, residents of Michigan’s southern Lower Peninsula, and people who participate more frequently in bird-watching, hiking, and camping than do others. Not surprisingly, those who tend to be more supportive of protecting endangered species also tend to show higher levels of concern about the environment, as measured by other questions on the survey.

If you would like more information about this study, please contact Melissa Koval (E-mail: kovalmel@msu.edu) or Angela Mertig (E-mail: mertig@msu.edu; toll-free phone: 1-888-206-4350) in the MSU Department of Fisheries and Wildlife.

Bat Festival a Big Success!

The Organization for Bat Conservation, Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), Nongame Wildlife Fund, and the Dickinson Area Partnership, announce the first-ever Great Lakes Bat Festival to be held in Michigan’s beautiful Upper Peninsula.

The two-day festival will take place at the picturesque Pine Mountain Resort in Iron Mountain, Michigan, August 10 and 11, 2002. The festival will feature bat experts from around the Great Lakes region, including Dr. Allen Kurta from Eastern Michigan University, Rob Mies and Kim Williams from the Organization for Bat Conservation, Bill Scullon from MDNR Wildlife Division, and many others. Live bats will be shown at a variety of programs presented by the Organization for Bat Conservation including some common Great Lakes insect-eating bats, as well as vampire bats and large, flying fox fruit bats from Africa. Programs will run continually from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, August 10, and Sunday, August 11.

Other program topics will include: the role of abandoned mines as hibernating sites for bats, the backyard bat house, bat friendly ways to evict bats from a residence, managing your land for bats and other wildlife, bat conservation efforts, and much more. The important role of wetlands and wetland wildlife will also be presented.

A special evening program at Millie Hill Mine in Iron Mountain will be held at 7 p.m. on Saturday, August 10. This mine provides a winter hibernation site for bats in the Great Lakes region and holds 25,000 bats from August through April each year. The program will include the mist net capture of several of its inhabitants by trained researchers.

Kids activities are scheduled throughout the 2-day event. Young and old can try their hand at building bat houses, talking to authors of bat books, or visiting the bat store with lots of interesting stuff to buy.

For more information contact: Organization for Bat Conservation at http://www.batconservation.org.
 

Snake Island / Mud Lake Natural Area Recognition: Legal Dedicated Natural Area, The Nature Conservancy Natural Areas Registry Size: 244 acres Location: In the eastern portion of Bois Blanc Island, in the Straits of Mackinac Management: Mackinaw State Forest Activities: Hiking, wildlife viewing, hunting, non-motorized fishing, photography, bird watching, wildflower viewing Importance: Contains a portion of pristine Lake Huron shoreline, including cobble beaches. The inland swell and swale topography reflects formed lake levels, and results in swamps, marshes, and ponds separated by gravelly, forested ridges. Dwarf lake iris, a federal and state threatened plant, can be viewed in the area. A colony of herring gulls inhabits Snake Island, osprey feed at Mud Lake, and the area also has extensive and quite old beaver workings.   Dwarf Lake Iris

 
Creature Profile

Wood Turtle (Clemmys insculpta)
(Photo by James Harding)

The object drifting down the river appeared to be nothing more than bark from one of the long-deceased trees that had fallen into the river. As it neared the canoe, the bark suddenly began swimming at an angle to the current and toward the nearest shore. Not accustomed to seeing bark swim, my partner and I followed the object to the shallow water where its head popped above the water transforming itself into a turtle. We stopped and examined this relict of the time of dinosaurs. The yellow on the underparts of its neck, legs, and stomach, plus the highly visible growth rings of the scutes on the carapace identified this species as a wood turtle.

Once our quick examination was completed, we released the turtle into the river where it swam into the current and once again became a floating piece of bark. It was an uncommon but not rare encounter with one of Michigan’s fascinating wildlife species.

As its scientific name, Clemmys insculpta, implies, the shell of the wood turtle is one of the most ornate of the turtles in Michigan. A noticeable keel running down the back of the carapace and the pointed edges of the scutes along the back edge add to its sculpted appearance.

Wood turtles live in rivers with sandy-bottomed streams and rivers. They spend most of their time in the river but can be found wandering through the upland areas edging the stream or river. These turtles are omnivores eating a variety of plants and animals and carrion found in and along the river. Wood turtles employ a unique technique to hunt earthworms. Using either an alternating foot stomp, or by lifting and dropping its shell on the ground, they create vibrations in the ground. These vibrations will cause earthworms to surface where they are quickly snatched for a meal. Anglers seeking bait can employ a similar technique. A stick stuck in the ground and wiggled back and forth to create vibrations will cause earthworms to leave the ground.

Egg-laying occurs in the exposed sand banks of rivers. Females lay 3-to-18 eggs in late-May or June. After about six weeks of incubation in the warm sand, nestlings hatch and head to the water. It may take as many as 20 years before these new hatchlings begin to produce offspring of their own.

The population of wood turtles in Michigan has declined in recent years. It is currently considered a species of concern. Threats include predation by raccoons and skunks. In some areas, egg and hatchling mortality can exceed 80 percent. Water pollution and sedimentation can impact survival of turtles. Reduction of nesting areas through stream bank stabilization has also impacted turtle populations in local areas. The commercial pet trade and removal of individual turtles for personal pets has also reduced populations.

The future for this species is uncertain, but finding solutions to a number of the threats is important in making sure the wood turtle remains part of Michigan’s Wildlife Heritage.
 

 
WOLF 8120
by Tom Weise, Michigan DNR Biologist

She lived on the Seney National Wildlife Refuge in Strangmoor Bog, a vast sea of sedge and willows broken by streams and scattered battleship ridges of jack pine aligned in a north-by-south pattern as if by design. It is a wilderness area now because the early settlers could not drain it, although they tried, the evidence is still here. I know the bog is here yet because it costs too much to change it, higher ground is easier to exploit. It is our land now, abandoned because nobody wanted it.

The sedge meadows have diamonds of interconnecting trails kept open by deer, moose, bear, and wolves, forming patterns within the pattern. Some of the trails have been there for hundreds of years; caribou may have used them. Time moves slower here.

The place is alive in early summer, a land of blackflies, mosquitoes, and nesting birds. Ravens and bald eagles look down from the top and know all is well. The ravens, sandhill cranes, trumpeter swans, and loons that live here are the only ones with voices loud enough to answer a howling wolf. Beavers still dam the creeks and drainages to make a home for themselves, in turn providing places for many other plants and animals. Beaver themselves provide food for wolves.

No people live here now; there are no farms nearby. Nobody comes except the biologist, an errant hunter, or a noisy snow sled in winter. The wolves’ main connection with our civilization is at the highway to the north where wolves sometimes go to feed on deer roadkills left behind by drivers in a hurry for something. This is the place where people get to see wolves; many did. Some even saw 8120 because she was wearing a radio collar. That is how I got to know her. She was captured in Schoolcraft County as an adult on June 18, 1998, along the M-28 Seney stretch west of town. She weighed 81 pounds and was healthy, judging by her glossy silver-gray coat. For now, we need to know how many wolves there are and where they live, until they are at a point where they can be left alone.

We found her location from the air several times but only saw her twice. The first time was last September. First the deer, then two wolves. There was a wolf with her! It was the first time since last winter’s tracking that we knew she still had a packmate. No pups though, but then they don’t travel much with the adults yet. Both wolves looked up at us briefly as they trotted along the trail just behind the deer. The lead wolf gave chase but quit after a short run.

The second time I saw them, they were lying down sunning themselves on a sandy stream bank near a bend of Marsh Creek. It was mid-October; days don’t get any more brilliant. Not a cloud, full sun, no haze, an incredibly blue sky. The maples were glowing embers of orange and red against dark green pines. Aspens and birches were vivid yellow. She didn’t even acknowledge our presence this time. Her mate got up, made a bowing stretch, and laid back down. We were appropriately snubbed.

Then we lost her. I don’t know where she went. When we finally found her in December, we heard the quick beat of the mortality signal. She was dead or had lost her collar. A crew went in after the snow quit falling just before dark on winter solstice day. Judging by the size of the hole, she was killed by a hunter using a large caliber muzzleloader. There is no sense, no explanation for this wanton act. When will we ever learn?

I would like to know that her spirit still moves with the early morning fog through Strangmoor Bog. I hope her partner will find another mate. Wolves belong here. We will be watching.

 
Researchers Track Snakes
(Photo by Matt Heumann)

This spring researchers will be using radio telemetry equipment to follow snakes at Indian Springs Metropark in Oakland County. This project is a cooperative effort between the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority (HCMA) and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Telemetry uses a tiny radio transmitter surgically implanted into a snake. The signal is picked up by special monitoring equipment.

There are two primary objectives to the telemetry study. First, we seek clarification of the behavior of massasaugas in areas that include expansive upland open habitats such as old fields and savannahs. Second, we are interested in the behavior of massasaugas in areas of human use and how to manage conflicts between massasauga conservation and human recreation.

Up to 15 massasaugas will be implanted with transmitters. They will be monitored for two activity seasons to study their patterns of movement. Data on habitats the snakes are using and when they’re using them will be collected. This work will also reveal corridors used and barriers perceived by the snakes. Work at this southern Michigan site will complement efforts conducted in fens in northern Indiana and in coniferous swamps farther north to provide a broader perspective of habitat needs and massasauga behavior across Michigan.

In addition to clarifying the basic biology of massasaugas, a component of this project will be to identify opportunities to promoting the conservation of the massasauga.

As of early April, seven snakes had been captured for the project. Snakes will be monitored regularly throughout the spring and summer, then periodically in the fall to establish hibernacula. If necessary, additional snakes will be implanted in spring 2003. All snakes will then be monitored in spring and summer 2003. Their transmitters would then be removed. Snakes added to the study that year would be followed to their hibernacula (wintering quarters) and transmitters removed in spring 2004.

The eastern massasauga rattlesnake population has declined throughout its range from western New York and southern Ontario, to Iowa and southward to Missouri. It is either included on lists of endangered and threatened species or watch lists in every state it occurs. The primary causes of its decline are habitat loss and persecution. The USFWS listed the massasauga as a candidate for the federal species list. Since massasauga are more common in Michigan than anywhere else in its range, the Natural Heritage Program has agreed to cooperate in a multi-state planning effort to describe how threats to the species will be minimized. The goal is to assure the long-term protection of massasauga populations and eliminate the need for federal listing. .
 

Proud Lake Nature Study Area Recognition: Legally Dedication Natural Area Size: 105 acres Management: Proud Lake State Recreation Area Location: Approximately 10 miles southwest of Pontiac Activities: This natural area is very difficult to access and is a very fragile ecosystem. Importance: Located upon a pitted outwash plain, the area’s outstanding feature is a deep depression formed as a glacier receded and left behind a large ice-block. The crater was created by the weight of the ice-block, which ultimately melted. This depression now houses a floating (quaking) bog and tamarack area. The bog area and surrounding woodland encompass one of the richest botanical spots in southeast Michigan. This area provides habitat for many showy and/or unusual plants.

 
Bits & Pieces

• A painted bunting spent some time in Rogers City recently. A southern species, the sighting was even more unusual by the fact it was there in February when it should have been enjoying the warmth of the southeastern coast of the US.
   
• The Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology is looking for volunteers with a number of bird-related studies. One example is work being done on forest fragmentation. Volunteers select a species such as wood thrush or veery and establish a survey point in their area. For more information contact them at: www.birds.cornell.edu/bfl.
   
• Remember to visit the Michigan E-Store to purchase patches, books, and prints. Funds generated through these sales help support activities supporting nongame, threatened and endangered species.
   
• Recent observations indicate that a male osprey has returned to Kensington Metro Park. The male was released in 1998 as part of the southern Michigan recovery project and has returned home with a girlfriend. Mating activities and nest construction were observed. No eggs have been laid yet.