Seney National Wildlife Refuge
Encyclopedia
The Seney National Wildlife Refuge is a managed wetland
in Schoolcraft County
in the U.S. state
of Michigan
. It has an area of 95,212 acres (385 km²). It is bordered by M-28
and M-77
. The nearest town of any size is Seney, Michigan
. The refuge contains the Seney Wilderness Area and the Strangmoor Bog National Natural Landmark
within its boundaries.
is oriented towards maintaining living space for bird life, North American river otters, beaver
s, moose
, black bear
s and gray wolves
also live in the refuge. 211 separate species of birds have been logged at Seney, including duck
s, bald eagle
s, trumpeter swan
s, osprey
, sandhill crane
s, and common loons. On the western side of the National Wildlife Refuge, a parcel is officially designated as a wilderness
with an area of 25,150 acres (102 km²).
ecosystem, characterized by rapid glacial meltoff from an exposed sandy plain. The friable sand, exposed to the weather, was sculpted by wind and water into parallel strips of dune highland and wetland.
During the 1930s, work crews employed by the Civilian Conservation Corps
(CCC) rebuilt, restored, and expanded the wetland drains, this time for active wetlands management purposes. These CCC ponds and drains are still used by the wetlands managers that staff the current National Wildlife Refuge. The Seney National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1935.
was a threatened species. Widespread, year-round hunting
(legal and illegal) had reduced the North American population of free-flying Canada geese to a trickle of birds who avoided human beings as much as possible. One of the priorities of the new Seney NWR was to establish a refuge for free-flying Canada geese.
In January 1936, during the first winter of the Seney Refuge's operation, the refuge trucked in 300 pinioned Canada geese. These flightless geese were given a fenced-in pond
area within the Refuge and were fed. It was hoped that they would produce a crop of goslings that would establish a migratory pattern of behavior and voluntarily return to the Refuge. The goslings were banded so that if they returned, the Refuge's small staff would know it.
Every year a shrinking crop of Canada goslings was hatched and flew south for the winter, but few or none returned in the following spring to Seney. Poaching
was apparently continuing in the geese wintering grounds and on the flyways. Meanwhile the parent population of wing-clipped Canada geese diminished between 1936 and 1945 from 300 to 45.
March, 1946 saw the first significant return of sixteen banded, free-flying Canada geese. This tiny flock
bred true in the following years. The Seney Canada goose breeding population had multiplied to 3,000 birds by 1956, and continued to expand thereafter even after local hunting was re-legalized. The Seney National Wildlife Refuge's Canada goose project is considered to have been one of the key programs in re-establishing the Canada goose as a major wetland bird of North America.
Seney NWR acts as the administrative unit for the following other refuges:
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
in Schoolcraft County
Schoolcraft County, Michigan
-National protected areas:* Hiawatha National Forest * Seney National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 8,903 people, 3,606 households, and 2,498 families residing in the county. The population density was 8 people per square mile . There were 5,700 housing units...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. It has an area of 95,212 acres (385 km²). It is bordered by M-28
M-28 (Michigan highway)
M-28 is an east–west state trunkline highway that almost completely traverses the Upper Peninsula in the U.S. state of Michigan, from Wakefield to near Sault Ste. Marie in Bruce Township...
and M-77
M-77 (Michigan highway)
M-77 is a state trunkline highway in the Upper Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. It runs from US Highway 2 near Blaney Park in the south to Grand Marais in the north. The highway borders the Seney National Wildlife Refuge. The northern half has been designated as a Scenic Spur of the Lake...
. The nearest town of any size is Seney, Michigan
Seney, Michigan
Seney is an unincorporated community in Schoolcraft County in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States. The town is built on the outskirts of the Seney National Wildlife Refuge, administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It was featured in the Ernest Hemingway short story "Big...
. The refuge contains the Seney Wilderness Area and the Strangmoor Bog National Natural Landmark
National Natural Landmark
The National Natural Landmark program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only natural areas program of national scope that identifies and recognizes the best examples of biological and geological features in...
within its boundaries.
Birds, animals and wilderness
While the Seney National Wildlife RefugeNational Wildlife Refuge
National Wildlife Refuge is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the world's premiere system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife and plants...
is oriented towards maintaining living space for bird life, North American river otters, beaver
Beaver
The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...
s, moose
Moose
The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...
, black bear
American black bear
The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...
s and gray wolves
Gray Wolf
The gray wolf , also known as the wolf, is the largest extant wild member of the Canidae family...
also live in the refuge. 211 separate species of birds have been logged at Seney, including duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
s, bald eagle
Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
s, trumpeter swan
Trumpeter Swan
The Trumpeter Swan, Cygnus buccinator, is the largest native North American bird, if measured in terms of weight and length, and is the largest living waterfowl species on earth. It is the North American counterpart of the European Whooper Swan.-Description:Males typically measure from and weigh...
s, osprey
Osprey
The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...
, sandhill crane
Sandhill Crane
The Sandhill Crane is a large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird references habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills in the American Midwest...
s, and common loons. On the western side of the National Wildlife Refuge, a parcel is officially designated as a wilderness
Wilderness
Wilderness or wildland is a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity. It may also be defined as: "The most intact, undisturbed wild natural areas left on our planet—those last truly wild places that humans do not control and have not developed with...
with an area of 25,150 acres (102 km²).
Strangmoor Bog
The Seney NWR's western wilderness area, designated by federal law as the Seney Wilderness Area, includes the Strangmoor Bog National Natural Landmark. The Strangmoor Bog was landmarked as being the best surviving example in the 48 states of a sub-arctic patterned bogPatterned ground
Patterned ground is a term used to describe the distinct, and often symmetrical geometric shapes formed by ground material in periglacial regions...
ecosystem, characterized by rapid glacial meltoff from an exposed sandy plain. The friable sand, exposed to the weather, was sculpted by wind and water into parallel strips of dune highland and wetland.
History
The Seney National Wildlife Refuge is built upon the remains of the Great Manistique Swamp, a perched sand wetland located in the central Upper Peninsula. After its forests were heavily exploited in 1880-1910, promoters attempted to drain the swamp for farmland. The drainage was a failure and left the wetland criscrossed with canals, ditches, and drainage ponds. Much of the property was then abandoned for unpaid property taxes.During the 1930s, work crews employed by the Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
(CCC) rebuilt, restored, and expanded the wetland drains, this time for active wetlands management purposes. These CCC ponds and drains are still used by the wetlands managers that staff the current National Wildlife Refuge. The Seney National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1935.
Canada geese
When the Seney National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1935, the Canada gooseCanada Goose
The Canada Goose is a wild goose belonging to the genus Branta, which is native to arctic and temperate regions of North America, having a black head and neck, white patches on the face, and a brownish-gray body....
was a threatened species. Widespread, year-round hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
(legal and illegal) had reduced the North American population of free-flying Canada geese to a trickle of birds who avoided human beings as much as possible. One of the priorities of the new Seney NWR was to establish a refuge for free-flying Canada geese.
In January 1936, during the first winter of the Seney Refuge's operation, the refuge trucked in 300 pinioned Canada geese. These flightless geese were given a fenced-in pond
Pond
A pond is a body of standing water, either natural or man-made, that is usually smaller than a lake. A wide variety of man-made bodies of water are classified as ponds, including water gardens, water features and koi ponds; all designed for aesthetic ornamentation as landscape or architectural...
area within the Refuge and were fed. It was hoped that they would produce a crop of goslings that would establish a migratory pattern of behavior and voluntarily return to the Refuge. The goslings were banded so that if they returned, the Refuge's small staff would know it.
Every year a shrinking crop of Canada goslings was hatched and flew south for the winter, but few or none returned in the following spring to Seney. Poaching
Poaching
Poaching is the illegal taking of wild plants or animals contrary to local and international conservation and wildlife management laws. Violations of hunting laws and regulations are normally punishable by law and, collectively, such violations are known as poaching.It may be illegal and in...
was apparently continuing in the geese wintering grounds and on the flyways. Meanwhile the parent population of wing-clipped Canada geese diminished between 1936 and 1945 from 300 to 45.
March, 1946 saw the first significant return of sixteen banded, free-flying Canada geese. This tiny flock
Flock (birds)
A flock is a group of birds conducting flocking behavior in flight, or while foraging. The term is akin to the herd amongst mammals. The benefits of aggregating in flocks are varied and flocks will form explicitly for specific purposes...
bred true in the following years. The Seney Canada goose breeding population had multiplied to 3,000 birds by 1956, and continued to expand thereafter even after local hunting was re-legalized. The Seney National Wildlife Refuge's Canada goose project is considered to have been one of the key programs in re-establishing the Canada goose as a major wetland bird of North America.
Seney NWR today
As of 2007, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, administrator of the Seney National Wildlife Refuge, was reporting that the refuge hosted approximately 88,000 visitors annually.Seney NWR acts as the administrative unit for the following other refuges:
- The Huron IslandsHuron IslandsThe Huron Islands are a group of eight small, rocky islands in Lake Superior, located about three miles offshore from the mouth of the Huron River in northwestern Marquette County, Michigan. Together they comprise the Huron National Wildlife Refuge, which was established by President Theodore...
/Huron National Wildlife Refuge in Lake Superior. - The Lake Michigan division of the Michigan Islands National Wildlife RefugeMichigan Islands National Wildlife RefugeThe Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge is a designation for eight Michigan islands in the North American Great Lakes. Owned by the United States federal government, they were set aside for ecosystem protection purposes by President Franklin D. Roosevelt 1943.Charity, Little Charity,...
. - The Whitefish Point Unit on Lake Superior in the eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan where the Whitefish Point Bird ObservatoryWhitefish Point Bird ObservatoryThe Whitefish Point Bird Observatory is located in Chippewa County, Michigan, USA, adjacent to the Whitefish Point Unit of the Seney National Wildlife Refuge. It operates as a non-profit, affiliate education and research facility of the Michigan Audubon Society. The Society and the WPBO together...
conducts research on migrating birds. In 1998, the United States Coast GuardUnited States Coast GuardThe United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
transferred 33 acres (13.4 ha) from the Whitefish Point Light Station to USFWS to form the Whitefish Point Unit of the Seney NWR. The USFWS shares governance of the former light station with the Michigan Audubon SocietyAudubonAudubon may refer to:* John James Audubon , French-American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter-Places in the United States:* Audubon Canyon, California* Audubon, Iowa, city* Audubon Township, Montgomery County, Illinois...
and the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical SocietyGreat Lakes Shipwreck MuseumThe Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum is located at the Whitefish Point Light Station north of Paradise in Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The light station property was transferred to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society , the Michigan Audubon Society , and the United States...
through a Management Plan. The USFWS has final oversight at Whitefish Point.