St. Pierre Wetland

Hamburg Township

The wetland is to the north of Bass Lake and is surrounded almost entirely by residential land and lies within Livingston County in Hamburg Township about 14 miles north-northwest of Ann Arbor.

History: This site was donated in 1975 by Sam and Angeline St. Pierre to be used for teaching and research in fisheries, wetland ecology, stream biology, etc.

Current Educational Use: Has previously been used by some Resource Ecology courses.

Current Research Use: Aquatic ecology.

Current Public Use & Outreach Activities: No Public Access to this site. For research access please contact SEAS-Facilities@umich.edu. Bass Lake is used by neighbors on their property for recreation throughout the year; fishing, boating, etc. The Lakelands Trail, a popular walking and biking trail, borders the northern end of the wetland property.

Ecological Features

Open water and low marsh vegetation. As the only undeveloped shoreline on Bass Lake, the wetland provides a valuable ecosystem in terms of water quality and wildlife habitat. The majority of St. Pierre wetland is covered with low marsh vegetation (cattail, sedge, etc.). Tree and shrub species found on the site include aspen (Populus tremuloides), willow (Salix sp.), silver maple (Acer saccharinum), and red-ozier dogwood (Cornus sericea). There are also several areas of open water in characteristic of a cattail marsh.

Soil: The soil type found in St. Pierre Wetland is Houghton Muck. It is poorly drained, organic, oxidizes readily and has a high water table.

Topography: This site has an elevation of 853 feet above sea level and is nearly flat. The wetland drains to the south, into Bass Lake.

Size

130 acres

Elevation

853 ft above sea level

Distance from campus

14 miles northwest

Open to Public?

No. For research purposes please contact seas-facilities@umich.edu

Hours

n/a

Current uses

Current Educational Use: Used by some Resource Ecology courses.

Current Research Use: Aquatic ecology.

Current Public Use & Outreach Activities: The edge of the wetland is accessible to the public from the water. Bass Lake is used for recreation throughout the year; fishing, boating, water skiing and swimming in the warmer months, and snowmobiling, cross country skiing and ice fishing in the winter. The Lakelands Trail, a popular walking and biking trail, borders the northern end of the wetland property. Residents adjacent to the site use docks or moorings in the property’s channel for small boats.

Opportunities

St. Pierre Wetlands is unique in being an undeveloped shoreline on a lake surrounded by residential area, within a complex of lakes, streams, and wetlands, and bordered by a popular recreational lake and bikeway.

Specific additional opportunities at this site:
•   The wetland is the only undeveloped shoreline on Bass Lake and provides opportunity for study of the ecological effects of different vegetative buffers on local water quality, the effect of a greenway trail on wetland vegetation, and/or public perceptions of wetland habitats and buffers.
•   Aquatic ecology and wildlife habitat studies of a typical southeast Michigan wetland
•   The high public use of this area is an excellent opportunity for students to practice communication, education, and outreach activities (create interpretive signage, on-site educational activities) on the ecological and recreational value of wetlands and/or different shoreline management.
•   A small shed could be developed to provide boat and equipment storage for research at this site.

Notes

No Public Access to this site. For research access please contact SEAS-Facilities@umich.edu