Goals: the long-term goal of this project is to restore and enhance the globally significant ecosystem atpetobego state game area (psga) to support populations of herpetofauna, rare and threatened…

Goals: the long-term goal of this project is to restore and enhance the globally significant ecosystem atpetobego state game area (psga) to support populations of herpetofauna, rare and threatened plants, and wildlife game species. Investment in the project will continue the control of invasive glossybuckthorn initiated under cooperative agreement #F18AC00777, reducing populations to levelsmanageable by the michigan department of natural resources (mdnr). A comprehensive botanicalsurvey has never been conducted at psga, limiting the information available to mdnr for managing theproperty. Project partners will expand survey and inventory efforts to provide land managers with datavital to maintaining healthy ecosystems and wildlife populations.psga and the adjacent maple BAY natural area (mbna) create roughly 4.8 miles of contiguous shorelinealong the east arm of grand traverse BAY. Both the federally threatened pitcher's thistle (cirsiumpitcheri) and state threatened lake huron tansy (tanacetum huronense) are known to occur at thesesites. Continued control of invasive glossy buckthorn along the woodland edge will directly benefit thesespecies by protecting the beach and dunes where they are located.removal of invasive species from psga will not only help protect the rare and threatened speciespresent there, but will also directly benefit priority game species identified in the psga master planincluding white-tailed deer, wood duck, ruffed grouse, cottontail, and mallards.activities: funding of this proposal will allow the grand traverse regional land conservancy (gtrlc) tohire an invasive species contractor to conduct treatment of invasive glossy buckthorn across 130 acresof the most heavily impacted areas at psga. Gtrlc will support these efforts by surveying and treatingthe surrounding area, approximately 129 acres, targeting satellite populations to further limit thespread of buckthorn throughout the property.building on the success of volunteer workdays at the adjacent mbna, gtrlc will host 4 workdaystargeting invasive species on 5 acres of relatively pristine coastal dune habitat found at psga. Targetspecies will be expanded to include spotted knapweed and bladder campion which directly competewith lake huron tansy and pitcher's thistle at the site.finally, gtrlc will conduct botanical surveys of high priority habitat at psga, develop a species list forthe property, and update natural community data providing greater resolution for determiningappropriate management actions.outcomes: data collected throughout the life of this project, and under cooperative agreement#F18AC00777, will be analyzed and presented as an invasive species management plan to mdnr. Thisplan will outline efforts taken to control glossy buckthorn across 259 acres at the site, provide invasivespecies distribution and population data, identify key stands requiring repeated treatment, and outlineactions necessary to maintain habitat integrity beyond the life of the project.continued restoration of petobego state game area to meet the habitat requirements of herpetofaunaand threatened plants will result in healthy, functional ecosystems that are capable of supporting arange of wildlife and the natural resources that local community members depend on. Furthermore, theproject area represents the northern extent for some of these species in michigan and restoration willparticularly benefit those at-risk populations. Information and findings compiled as a result of this workwill be provided as habitat management recommendations to be incorporated into master plans bymdnr. The project will also maintain and build upon current collaboration and cooperation between USFWS, mdnr, and gtrlc, demonstrating the effectiveness of projects engaging stakeholders at the federal, state, and local level.