I found another fen.

[Glenn]

I visited another area near my house that looked like it had potential to have CPs growing there. It is in Oakland County, MI. This site was along a stream that flows between two lakes. It is nestled in a valley between two glacial moraines. It is on private property.

I-75 cuts the stream in half and a trophy home development ($300,000 plus) has been built where I am sure additional fens once stood. They did leave a few swamps which they call nature preserves. On the other side of the freeway there are huge homes located on the hills overlooking the stream. Fortunately no one has developed the low lying areas, yet.

This fen was not as diverse as the one I described in my previous post. I was only able to find Drosera rotundifolia and Utricularia intermedia. The area was very beutifull with the stream, fens and cedar swamps. I can only hope it stays that way!

 

[Ozzy]

Hi Glen,
Is there anyway that you can find out who the owner of the property is. If so let me know.
Good going on this find.

 

[Glenn]

Judging from the fencing and removal of pine trees for planting elswhere I would guess it is either a homeowner at the end of the dead end street where I parked, the nursery nearby or the car dealership. To find out for sure, I would have to go to the county and look at plat maps. I suspect it may be several people.

Can I ask why you want to know?

 

[Ozzy]

I think that the owner should know what they have. Let them know how rare the plants are. That's the first step in saving it. If they plan on developing the land, see if we can get pemission to relocate as many plants as possible.
I'm not suggesting that you should do anything confrontational. Just inform them of what they have and ask what their plans are.

 

[Glenn]

I like the way you think Ozzy. This spot is beautiful and it would be a shame to see it developed. I would love to see it become a park or preserve, not likely.

I think the area is at risk more form the surrounding development which is adding nutrients into the ground water and as runnoff (lots of very green lawns). There are lakes at each end of the stream which are fully developed.

Most of the homes are on wells so there is also pressure on the water table. I drove through the nieghborhood on the other side of the freeway and everyones trees, houses, lawn ornaments, etc. were all rust colored from thier sprinklers wetting everything with the iron rich well water.

If I can find the time, I will see if I can check out the plat maps for the area to see if it is one big plot or several.

 

[mat_man444]

maybe you can offer him a small sum of money(like a hundred dollars) and give the plants away or relocate them. I'm sure people including myself would be more than happy to help out. What do you think.  Also if you do don't forget to save the sphanghum moss.
I do think it is necessary to do something soon because the fertilizers will kill them.

 

[Glenn]

Unless a site is about to be developed, I wouldn't advocate collecting the plants. I am worried about the long term health of the site, runoff, etc. The site and plants should be preserved if at all possible.

 

[Ozzy]

I agree. You should only relocate the plants if the site is about to be developed. A good rule of thumb to use is only collect if the bulldozer is on the site and is about to bulldoze the plants.

 

[mat_man444]

ya. I guess ozzy is right about the rule of thumb.

 

[Copper]

Find out who is developing the land and speak with them. They may cooperate with you and even assist in the safe removal of the plants. They may not even know what they have.