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.

2025 Field Trip Schedule

Meetings

Meetings occur in November, January, February, March & April, on the 3rd Monday of the month at the People’s Church, 1758 10th St. N, Kalamazoo MI 49009. Socializing begins at 6:30 PM and the presentation starts at 7:00 PM.

2025 Southwestern Chapter Officers

Executive Committee: Joe Trapp, Michael Dombos, Abbie Bristol, Wayne Roussel

Secretary / Treasurer: Wayne Roussel

Useful Links

Michigan Botanical Society

The Great Lakes Botanist https://journals.publishing.umich.edu/glbot/

The Michigan Botanist (1962-2006) https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000497763

Winter Wildflowers: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ldnum/WinterWildflowers%281973%29dblpgs.pdf

University of Michigan Herbarium https://michiganflora.net/home.aspx

State of Michigan

Michigan Natural Features Inventory (MNFI) https://mnfi.anr.msu.edu/services

Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) https://www.michigan.gov/dnr

Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) https://www.michigan.gov/egle

MSU Extension Service https://www.canr.msu.edu/outreach/

 W.K. Kellogg Biological Station (KBS)  https://www.kbs.msu.edu/

 Kellogg Bird Sanctuary http://birdsanctuary.kbs.msu.edu/

Conservation

Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy (SWMLC) https://swmlc.org/

Michigan Nature Association (MNA) https://www.michigannature.org/

Chikaming Open Lands https://chikamingopenlands.org/

The Nature Conservancy https://www.nature.org/en-us/

Michigan Audubon https://www.michiganaudubon.org/

Land Conservancy of West Michigan https://naturenearby.org/

Michigan Wetlands Association https://miwetlands.org/

Michigan Prescribed Fire Council https://www.firecouncil.org/

Wild Flower Association of Michigan https://wildflowersmich.org/

Michigan Lakes and Stream Association (MLSA) https://mymlsa.org/

Kalamazoo River Watershed Council (KRWC) https://kalamazooriver.org/

Conservation Districts

Michigan Association of Conservation Districts https://www.macd.org/

Allegan Conservation District https://www.allegancd.org/

Barry Conservation District https://www.barrycd.org/

Berrien Conservation District https://www.berriencd.org/

Calhoun Conservation District https://www.calhouncd.org/

Cass Conservation District https://cassccdistrict.org/

Kalamazoo Conservation District https://www.kalamazooconservation.org/

St Joseph Conservation District https://stjoecountycd.com/

Van Buren Conservation District https://vanburencd.org/

Invasive Species & Cooperative Invasive Species Management Areas (CISMA)

Michigan Invasive Species https://www.michigan.gov/invasives/take-action/local-resources/view-cisma-locations-as-a-list

Midwest Invasive Species Information Network (MISIN) https://www.misin.msu.edu/

Barry, Calhoun & Kalmazoo CISMA contact: bckcisma@gmail.com

SW x SW Corner CISMA https://vanburencd.org/invasive-species/

Southern Michigan IST https://stjoecountycd.com/smist-cisma#:~:text=Southern%20Michigan%20Invasive%20Species%20Team,a%20multitude%20of%20regional%20partners.

West Michigan CISMA https://wmconservation.net/

Nature Centers

Kalamazoo Nature Center https://naturecenter.org/

Pierce Cedar Creek Institute https://cedarcreekinstitute.org/

Whitehouse Nature Center https://www.albion.edu/about/our-campus/whitehouse-nature-center/

Sarett Nature Center https://sarett.org/

Native Plants & Gardens

Kalamazoo Area Wild Ones (KAWO) https://kalamazoo.wildones.org/

Hidden Savanna Nursery https://www.hiddensavanna.com/

Adjacent

Michigan Entomological Society https://www.michentsoc.org/

Indiana Native Plant Society https://indiananativeplants.org/