The Wetlands

There are a wide variety of wetlands in the Saginaw Valley. A large majority of the Saginaw Bay Watershed is Deciduous Swamp Forest which are found along the floodplains of most streams and also in depressions within the landscape, providing habitat for a diversity of animals and plants. Most of the swamps in this area on loam or clay have been drained, cleared, and farmed. Mainly of our present swamps were marshes prior to drainage (Evers, 1994, p.22).

Wetlands store carbon on land. Draining and degradation of wetlands transforms properties into a net source of greenhouse gas emissions. The restoration of damaged wetlands can halt emissions of carbon dioxide and even reverse them, causing carbon removal form the atmosphere.

Many high quality wetland areas existing in the Saginaw Bay area are currently under threat of development and/or alteration. These wetlands are extremely important to the health of Saginaw Bay as a whole, as they contribute to water quality, flood control, wildlife and fish habitat and the overall health of the Great Lakes.

Vernal pools are small, isolated wetlands that occur in forested settings throughout Michigan. Vernal pools experience cyclic periods of water inundation and drying, typically filling with water in the spring or fall and drying during the summer or in drought years (Michigan Natural Features Inventory).

Most vernal pools in Michigan are less than 1 hectare in size. Vernal pools reside in wet forest types with mineral soils such as floodplain forest, flatwoods, and hardwood swamp. Arenac County within the Saginaw Bay Watershed possesses high water tables that support (and supported) vernal pools.

Vernal Pools provide critical habitat to a broad diversity of plants and animals, releasing clean water to lakes and streams, holding excessive floodwaters and preventing widespread flooding, facilitating groundwater recharge, and serving as a source for recreation, inspiration, and beauty (MDNRE).

Pre settlement maps of the Saginaw Bay Watershed indicate that a large majority of the area was beech maple and hardwood forest and home to many vernal pools.

Vernal pools contain many indicators of wetland conditions, as data derived from monitoring the cyclical patterns of vernal pools, could lead to suggestions about regional climate change.