by Gary Siegrist
May 2020
I became involved with Haehnle in the early 1970s as a student at Jackson Community College studying field biology and local ecology. As the years passed, I have had more opportunities and responsibilities at Haehnle, most recently in the daily supervision of the sanctuary. Throughout the years, I have solidified my belief in restoration management, largely by spending time with Kay Charter and reading the works of Dr. Douglas W. Tallamy.
Haehnle Sanctuary is located in northeast Jackson County bordering the Waterloo Recreation Area. On January 22, 1955, Casper “Cap” Haehnle gave 497 acres, including Mud Lake Marsh, to Michigan Audubon in the name of Phyllis Haehnle, his daughter who died in 1950. Since then, Haehnle Sanctuary has grown to over 1,000 acres and is a place of refuge for more than 250 native plant species and 200 bird species.
In the early years, and up until the 1990s, the idea of managing the sanctuary was one of “let nature take its course,” and included no removal of invasive plant species. Large colonies of non-native invasive plants—including autumn olive, glossy and common buckthorn, and varieties of honeysuckle—were present on the landscape and allowed to flourish. Cutting and mowing was limited to one trail. We now understand this approach was ineffective and harmful, and by not interceding we most certainly would have lost our native ecosystems.
Armed with knowledge and continuing education, what started as a few volunteers armed with loppers and chainsaws impacting small areas twice a year has evolved into weekly work crews restoring many acres. Our use of prescribed burns to maintain an evolving landscape has been essential in bringing back a healthy plant environment.
Partnering with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), we began a new phase of battling non-native plants using mechanized equipment. We now use hydro-hoes with large cutting units (over six feet) and aerial spraying of glossy buckthorn by helicopter. This has allowed us to move from affecting a half-acre a year to twenty or more acres at a time. To date, we have reclaimed almost 90 acres in our varied habitats, which include grasslands, woodlands, wetlands, wet meadows, a large fen complex, and black oak barrens.
So why all the hard work? The phrase “they will come if you build it” works here at the sanctuary.
Haehnle has always been a preserve for sandhill cranes and waterfowl. Now an influx of birds that had been absent for many years includes Black Terns, Least Bitterns, and American Bitterns calling from the edges of the cattails, Trumpeter Swans nesting, and Marsh and Sedge Wrens chattering up a storm. From our observation hill, fall raptor viewing includes Merlin, American Kestrel, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Northern Harrier, and Rough-legged Hawk later in the fall. Bald Eagles nest just north of the sanctuary and can be seen most days. Broad-winged Hawk kettles and Peregrine Falcons are present a few times each fall.
Managed by a volunteer committee for Michigan Audubon, the sanctuary continues to enhance the property by expanding the biodiversity of its natural communities with the use of native plants. Haehnle Sanctuary continues to serve its intended purpose as a sanctuary for wildlife in an increasingly developed world.
My appreciation to Kay Charter. Our chance encounter evolved into a life-changing education for me on environmental preservation and, just as importantly, a deep and lasting friendship.