Goals: the long-term goal of this project is to restore and enhance the globally significant ecosystems at maple baynatural area (mbna) and petobego state game area (psga) to support populations of…

Goals: the long-term goal of this project is to restore and enhance the globally significant ecosystems at maple baynatural area (mbna) and petobego state game area (psga) to support populations of rare and threatened plants inmichigans coastal dune habitats. Investment in the project will build upon work conducted under cooperativeagreements F18AC00777 and F22AC01137-00, where invasive species treatment was conducted to reducepopulations of invasive glossy buckthorn to levels manageable by the michigan department of natural resources(mdnr). A comprehensive botanical survey for psga will be completed through the scope of F22AC01137-00 andsimilar data is already available for mbna. Project partners will install fencing and signage to guide visitor accessthrough sensitive dune habitat and protect known populations of rare and threatened species. Additionally, locallysourced native plants will be used to restore erosion sites and mitigate impacts of human disturbance.psga and the adjacent maple BAY natural area create roughly 1.8 miles of contiguous shoreline along the east arm ofgrand traverse BAY. Both the federally threatened pitchers thistle (cirsium pitcheri) and state threatened lake hurontansy (tanacetum huronense) are known to occur at these sites.activities: funding of this proposal will allow the grand traverse regional land conservancy (gtrlc) to hire seedsyouth conservation corps to build and install up to 4200-FT of cable fencing to guide visitors around the most heavilyimpacted areas at mbna and psga. Gtrlc will support these protection efforts by developing signage discussing thesensitive dune habitat and species found within.building on the success of volunteer workdays at mbna and psga, gtrlc will host 3 workdays targeting invasivespecies on 11 acres of relatively pristine coastal dune habitat found at mbna and psga. Target species will includespotted knapweed and bladder campion which directly compete with lake huron tansy and pitcher s thistle at thesite.high-traffic and erosion prone areas will be restored using locally sourced native plants through the use of volunteerworkdays. IT is anticipated that 2-4 workdays will be needed to complete this work.outcomes: guiding user access to the property through the use of a cable fencing system and blocking of social trailswill limit disturbance to populations of rare and threatened species. Native dune species, primarily grasses, will be usedto restore and stabilize highly eroded areas throughout the site. Workdays will continue at these sites ensure the rarespecies located in these coastal dune habitats are free from the competitive pressure of invasive species. Combinedwith the proposed restoration activities, these efforts will result in improved habitat connectivity in the region andprovide critical wildlife corridors.continued restoration and protection of maple BAY natural area and petobego state game area to meet the habitatrequirements of threatened plants will result in healthy, functional ecosystems that are capable of supporting a rangeof wildlife and the natural resources that local community members depend on. Furthermore, the project arearepresents the northern extent for some of these species in michigan and restoration will particularly benefit those atriskpopulations. The project will also maintain and build upon current collaboration and cooperation between USFWS, mdnr, andgtrlc, demonstrating the effectiveness of projects engaging stakeholders at the federal, state, and local level. Theinclusion of grand traverse county as a new project partner advances the scope of collaboration for this project area.