MICHIGAN BOTANICAL SOCIETY

SOUTHWESTERN CHAPTER FIELD TRIP

Rich Tamarack Swamp & Rich Conifer Swamp

at Pierce Cedar Creek Institute

With Brad Slaughter,

Orbis Environmental Consulting

Saturday May 17, 2025, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Both Rich Tamarack Swamp and Rich Conifer Swamp are groundwater influenced, minerotrophic forested wetlands with organic soils (i.e. peat and muck). Tamarack Swamps are dominated by tamarack (Larix laricina) and occur primarily in southern Michigan. Rich Conifer Swamps are dominated by a dense canopy of northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis) and are more typical in northern Michigan.

Pierce Cedar Creek Institute (PCCI) is an 850-acre nature center, environmental education center, and biological field station located in south-central Barry County.  Wetlands cover approximately 35% of PCCI. For more information about the flora of PCCI, see: Slaughter, B. S. (2020) Vascular Flora of Pierce Cedar Creek Institute, Barry County, Michigan. The Great Lakes Botanist 59:99-158.

Swamps are wet and muddy, so rubber boots are recommended. While on a trail the hiking will be moderate, but in the swamps, it will be slow and muddy. Insect repellent, sunscreen, water as well as suitable clothing are suggested. The trip difficulty level is rated moderate but may be difficult in places.

Brad Slaughter, Botanist with Orbis Environmental Consulting, has 18 years of experience managing projects and conducting floristic inventories, vegetation sampling, surveys and mapping of rare plants, invasive plants, and plant communities, and ecological threat assessments. He has expertise in the classification and description of plant communities and is coauthor of A Field Guide to the Natural Communities of Michigan. Brad serves on the Michigan Rare Plant Technical Advisory Committee and managed Michigan’s Natural Heritage Database of rare vascular plant element occurrences for several years. He also coauthored the most recent iteration of Michigan’s Floristic Quality Assessment.  In addition to his extensive writings, Brad regularly delivers presentations and field trips for a variety of audiences and is Vice President of the Michigan Botanical Society.

Directions: Pierce Cedar Creek Institute is at 701 W. Cloverdale Road, Hastings MI 49058. From Kalamazoo, take Gull Road (MI-43) northeast through Richland and Delton to the village of Cloverdale. Look for the Michigan Department of Transportation sign “Pierce Cedar Creek Nature Preserve.”  Turn right (east) onto Cloverdale Road and travel 4.5 miles (portions of the road are unpaved). The entrance is on the right (south).  If you reach the intersection of Cloverdale and M-37 you have gone too far.  The coordinates are 42.53707608008733, -85.30374962922168.