Category Archives: Plants and Plant Communities

Quote 2, Henry David Thoreau on Preserving Land

By rbrewer | Published: May 6, 2011

  Each town should have a park, or rather a primitive forest, of five hundred or a thousand acres, where a stick should never be cut for fuel, a common possession forever, for instruction and recreation. We hear of cow-commons and ministerial lots, but we want men-commons and lay lots, inalienable forever….   All Walden [...]

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Early Spring at Mildred Harris Audubon Sanctuary, Kalamazoo

By rbrewer | Published: April 9, 2011

In Oshtemo Township, it’s 64 degrees and sunny this afternoon and the wood frogs in the pond close to the road were clacking loudly.  This morning though, a few miles away at Harris Sanctuary, it was high 30s at the beginning and high 40s at the end. I spent the early part of the morning [...]

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Stewardship Work Days at Aububon’s Harris Preserve Sat 9 April AM and Tues 12 April early PM

By rbrewer | Published: April 8, 2011

Saturday 9 April 2011 is the first Harris Sanctuary (Audubon Society of Kalamazoo) stewardship day, or to be blunt, first work day.  Hours are 9-11 AM. The second work day is Tuesday, April 12, hours 5:30-7:30 PM. Anyone who has an interest in the sanctuary and its management is invited to join in the effort [...]

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Bicycle Trail Through or To the Ott Biological Preserve: A Decision Near

By rbrewer | Published: April 6, 2011

Following is a slightly revised version of a letter that I sent to members of the Calhoun County Board of Commissioners on 29 April 2011.  They will soon (Thursday, 7 April, 7 PM at the County Building, 315 West Green St. in Marshall) be taking an important vote related to whether the Calhoun County Trailways Association will [...]

Also posted in Conservation, Land Trusts (& other private land conservation), Michigan (including Kalamazoo) | 3 Comments

Wide Bike Trail Through the Preserve?: Speak Out to Save the Ott

By rbrewer | Published: March 9, 2011

Take Action on the Proposed Trail Through the Harvey Ott Biological Preserve The Calhoun County Commissioners will be the ones voting on the trail.  They may give more weight to messages from their constituents; nevertheless, it will be of value to them to know if the threat to the Ott Preserve is a matter of [...]

Also posted in Conservation, Land Trusts (& other private land conservation), Michigan (including Kalamazoo), Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Trail through the Ott Preserve: Going out of its way to pave the esker

By rbrewer | Published: February 26, 2011

Last Saturday, I took a walk with about twenty other people at the Harvey Ott Biological Preserve. This is where the Calhoun County Trailway Alliance wants to put a 10-foot wide paved cycling trail. Tom Funke, Director of Conservation for the Michigan Audubon Society, led the excursion. MAS owns about 20 sanctuaries. Tom is a [...]

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The Ott Preserve and Attacks on Perpetuity

By rbrewer | Published: February 18, 2011

Preserved natural areas are vulnerable.  I don’t mean they’re delicate.  It’s true that some will need a particular kind of management, such as prescribed fire, and some may not tolerate a lot of human traffic, but good-sized natural areas–a few hundred acres–are often fairly robust.  They’re vulnerable not because they’re fragile, but because there are [...]

Also posted in Birds, Conservation, Land Trusts (& other private land conservation), Michigan (including Kalamazoo) | 3 Comments

New Attack on the Harvey N. Ott Preserve, Battle Creek, MI

By rbrewer | Published: February 10, 2011

The Ott Preserve at the east edge of Battle Creek was the subject of an attack several years ago.  The 260 acres had been preserved early in the 20th century through joint efforts of local naturalists and John Harvey Kellogg.  In 1977, Calhoun County bought the preserve using money from the federal Land and Water [...]

Also posted in Birds, Conservation, Land Trusts (& other private land conservation), Michigan (including Kalamazoo) | 2 Comments

Our Little House in an Unpredictable Habitat

By rbrewer | Published: November 3, 2010

When I taught ecology to biology majors and minors I would occasionally include a question on the final exam something like this:  Describe two ways in which the study of ecology could save your life. I was happy to accept answers at any level of the environment from “If I don’t build my house in [...]

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The Plenteous Summer

By rbrewer | Published: August 14, 2010

When I go outside this summer I’m impressed by the amount of greenery.  I don’t have data, but it’s the greenest summer–the largest volume of foliage–I remember. This makes sense.  The limiting factors for photosynthesis, Biology 101 tells us, are temperature, light, and carbon dioxide.  Translating photosynthesis into plant growth–that is, new biomass–also involves availability [...]

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