MICHIGAN BOTANICAL SOCIETY
SOUTHWESTERN CHAPTER
Black River Preserve
Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy
Craig Elston, President
Michigan Botanical Society, White Pine Chapter
Saturday May 16, 2026, 10 AM to noon
The White Pine Chapter and the Southwestern Chapter are combining for a trip to SWMLC’s Black River Preserve near South Haven in Van Buren County. The Black River Preserve has 120 acres of heavily rolling Southern Mesic Forest and Southern Floodplain Forest with pockets of wet meadow and fallow upland fields. The spring ephemeral wildflowers should be excellent.
Mesic Southern Forest is an American beech- and sugar maple-dominated forest found on flat to rolling topography with predominantly loam soils. The natural disturbance regime is characterized by gap-phase dynamics; frequent, small windthrow gaps allow for the regeneration of shade-tolerant, canopy species.
Southern Floodplain Forests are diverse bottom-land deciduous forests occupying the low-lying areas adjacent to streams and rivers and subject to periodic over-the-bank flooding and cycles of erosion and deposition. The species composition and community structure of Floodplain forests vary with flooding frequency and duration. Acer saccharinum (silver maple) and Fraxinus pennsylvanica (green ash) are the major over-story dominants. These dynamic forested systems represent an interface between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
Insect repellent, sunscreen, water as well as suitable clothing are suggested. The trip difficulty level is rated moderate.
As a Michigan native, Craig Elston has always been interested in nature all his life. Craig has been leading interpretive hikes at the Hudsonville Nature Center, Hoffmaster State Park, Frederik Meijer Gardens, the Michigan Botanical Society, various events for MSU County Extensions in West Michigan as well as other garden clubs and nature organizations. His interest in Michigan’s native flora is not just observation but includes photography, propagation and cultivation.
Directions: The address is 69401 8th Ave, South Haven MI. From the Kalamazoo area, take M-43 (West Main St) west for 36 miles to 72nd St in South Haven Township. At the traffic circle, take the second exit (72nd St North). In 8 miles, turn right (east) on to 8th Ave. In 1.5 miles the Preserve is on the right (south). The coordinates are 42.38953889431622, -86.21838138355123.