Wellston Nature Reserve

The Wellston Nature Reserve, founded in 2001, is dedicated to the preservation of the natural ecosystems of West Michigan. The Reserve is also dedicated to the study of plant and animal communities that are an integral part of those ecosystems, in general, and to the study of the plant and animal communities that are part and parcel of the ecosystems found within the preserve boundaries.

The Preserve is located in the Village of Wellston, Michigan. (Plate 1) Wellston is situated in southern Manistee County, in the northwest of Michigan's lower peninsula. The village lies approximately 190 miles ( 304 km) northeast of Chicago and a similar distance northwest of Detroit.

Wellston occupies part of a sandy glacial outwash plain that extends north and south for approximately 50 miles (80 km) in either direction. End-moraine ridges may rise 150-300 feet ( 45.7 to 91.4 meters) above the plain and some of the extensive end-moraines have been developed into winter sport resorts.

Located 19 miles (30.4 km) east of Lake Michigan, the village lies within the Manistee National Forest. Because there are numerous federally-owned lakes and rivers nearby and thousands of acres of forestland, nearly all open to the public, Wellston is a year-round center of recreation and it is a popular vacation destination. The village is located just south of U.S. Highway 55, the principal artery between the cities of Cadillac and Manistee.

Entry to the Wellston Nature Reserve is located at the southeast corner of Elm and Spring Streets. The Reserve currently consists of five village lots for a total area of approximately 35,000 ft² (.80 acres or .25 hectares). Plate 2 shows the extent of the property, which includes lots 1,2,3,4 and 11 of Block 18, Second Addition to the Village of Wellston. Plate 2 also shows Pine Creek, a tributary to the Manistee River which is situated just south of the south end of the Preserve. The Reserve is situated south of Wellston Elementary School and Crystal Lake (Plates 9 and 10) is just a five-minute walk away.

The Wellston Nature Reserve is composed of several ecosystems. Most of Lot One (Plates 3 and 4) is covered by Scotch pine trees (Pinus sylvestris) which were planted as seedlings in 1963. The stand is dense but has been invaded by aspen and wild black cherry. The Scotch pines in their turn have seeded Lots 2, 3, and 4, and numerous small Scotch pine trees mingle with other pines, aspen, oaks and forest edge shrubs and small trees. (Plate 5)

Lot 11 is nearly all forested although the age of the trees varies considerably. Some oak trees on east side of the lot are likely more than 75 year of age, while there remain many early succession trees such as the aspen (Plate 5) and wild black cherry along the west half of the lot. The south end of Lot 11 is predominately a shrub community composed of dogwood, blueberry, and sweet fern (Comptonia peregrina) (Plate 6), although white oak and Scotch pine are present in the community as well.

Of especial interest is the bracken-grassland that occupies much of lots 2 and 3 ( Plates 7 and 8). Plate 7 shows a stand of braken fern (Pteridium aquilinum) in the summer and Plate 8 shows another view of the stand in September, after the first frost of the year has killed the leaves of the plants. Growing amoung the braken ferns there are a number of other plants, in particular,the prairie grass, little blue stem (Andropogon scoparius). Andropogon grows well on the sandy soil of the Reserve and it is prominently seen in Plate 7. After frost has killed the above-ground portions of the bracken ferns, the clumps of little blue stem are placed in singular relief.

In 2004, insect populations in the Reserve were sampled. Participating in this endeavor, were Sumengen Sutomo, Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia,(Plates 11 and 12); and Hannah-Maria Jacques, environmental health scientist, who is also the owner and contact person for the Reserve.