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Location Details
In order to better protect the biodiversity of the sanctuary, including the diversity of wildflowers, songbirds, reptiles, amphibians, and other species, the ability of the forest to regenerate and remain healthy, and to protect the quality and diversity of the wetlands, Michigan Nature Association will be implementing a deer management program at Saginaw Wetlands Nature Sanctuary during the fall of 2022. The program has been planned with the safety of sanctuary users, neighbors, adjoining parks, and wildlife inhabitants in mind. The program is being conducted under a deer management agreement with a team of sportsmen experienced in sharpshooting white-tailed deer. **Note that this notice is not an invitation for open public hunting of white-tailed deer within the sanctuary.** The program will operate, and the sanctuary will be closed to visitors, Friday through Monday between October 1 and November 7, 2022 as well as all days between November 11 and December 4, 2022.
This is a Class C nature sanctuary, meaning that the sanctuary can only be visited with the assistance of an MNA. Visits can be arranged by calling the MNA office at (866) 223-2231.
Saginaw Wetlands protects the rarest plant community in Michigan: the lake plain prairie. Of the nearly 160,000 acres of lake plain prairie estimated in the 1800s in Michigan, less than 0.5 percent remain today. In fact, the Michigan Natural Features Inventory believes that only 14 such prairies exist in Michigan today, totaling only 511 acres.
This sanctuary was identified in spring 1983 by ecologist and naturalist Fred Case, MNA Executive Secretary Bertha Daubendiek, and a group of volunteers. MNA staff and volunteers felt the best way to protect the rare species found in lake plain prairies was by setting aside a large tract of property for preservation. After an exhaustive search, four parcels of land were purchased in 1984. The sanctuary continued to grow through purchases of 13 additional properties, the most recent completed in 2008.
Saginaw Wetlands is composed of lake plain oak openings, wet prairie, wet mesic prairie, old field, southern hardwood swamp, and mesic southern forest. The lakeplain prairie found at Saginaw Wetlands Nature Sanctuary is considered a critically imperiled natural community in Michigan and globally due to the low number of occurrences and vulnerability of these sites to degradation. Home to unique and rare plants, the landscape provides important breeding habitat for grassland birds, waterfowl and other migratory birds, and a diverse array of mammals, reptiles and rare insects.
The expansive prairie remnant found here is predominantly shadegrass prairie with dominant grasses, mainly Indiangrass, Blue jointgrass, Big Bluestem, cord grass and sedges. Wildflowers of note include Blue-eyed grass, toadflax, gentians, Kalm’s lobelia, Ohio goldenrod, and dense blazingstar.
For additional information, contact the MNA office at (866) 223-2231.