Michigan Botanical Society,

Southwestern Chapter

The Southwestern Chapter, based in Kalamazoo, serves amateur and professional botanists and nature enthusiasts in the southwest corner of Michigan.

Field Trip to Dry Mesic Prairies in St Joseph County

Dr. Scott Warner

Conservation Associate - Botanist

Michigan Natural Features Inventory

Saturday July 4, 2026, 10am to noon

Dry-mesic prairie is a native grassland community that occurred in association with historic oak openings throughout much of southern Lower Michigan. Very little prairie remains in Michigan and St Joseph County has a few sites with a portion of the flora still intact.

We’ll start this trip at the Michigan Nature Association’s Sauk Indian Trail Prairie Plant Preserve and if time permits, we may be able to visit some additional sites in the vicinity

The Sauk Indian Trail Preserve is an unplowed remnant of an oak opening community with woody species typical of oak savanna, including hazelnut (Corylus americana) black oak (Quercus velutina) and bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa). Prairie wildflowers include butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), woodland sunflower (Helianthus divaricatus), yellow coneflower (Ratibida pinnata), round-headed bush clover (Lespedeza capitata), Virginia mountain mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum)and Solomon seal (Polygonatum biflorum). Native prairie grasses include big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) and Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans).

Level ground makes this a very easy walk. Mosquito repellent and/or netting, sunscreen, water as well as suitable clothing are suggested.

Dr. Scott Warner grew up in Berrien County and became interested in plants while working at a campground as a teenager. He received his BS in Biology from Western Michigan University and his PhD in Plant Biology from Michigan State University. He has been a conservation associate with MNFI since 2021 and a member of the Southwestern Chapter of the Michigan Botanical Society.

Directions: The approximate address is 69000 Shimmel Rd, Sturgis MI. From Kalamazoo take US-131 south. South of Constantine MI, turn left (east) on US-12 (West Chicago Rd). In about 8.1 miles, the preserve is at the corner of Chicago Rd and Shimmel Rd. There is small parking lot on Shimmel Rd. The coordinates are: 41.79400897846449, -85.50706030909025.

Field Trip to Liverpool Prairie Preserve & McCloskey’s Burr Oak Savanna Natural Area

Nathanael Pilla

Midwest Biological Survey LLC

SUNDAY July 12, 2026, 10am Eastern

On this trip, we will visit two sites in northwest Indiana managed by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources: Liverpool Nature Preserve and McCloskey’s Burr Oak Savanna Natural Area.

The western portion of the 18-acre Liverpool Preserve is a sand savanna that grades into prairie to the east. The eastern portion of the property is a moist sedge meadow/cattail marsh. Past sand mining operations exposed the moist, acidic sand which has been re-vegetated by numerous of rare plants including sundews (Drosera spp.), bluecurles (Trichostema dichotumum), bladderworts (Utricularia spp.), black-fruited spike-rush (Eliocharis melanocarpa), and carpets of club mosses (Selaginella spp).

Burr Oak Savannas once covered thousands of acres in northwestern Indiana and southwestern Michigan. Due to fire suppression over many decades, the open savanna and the prairie plants in the understory have been lost at nearly all sites. Burr Oak Savanna is now one of the rarest communities in Indiana and is extirpated from Michigan. The 55-acre McCloskey’s Burr Oak Savanna Natural Area, while somewhat degraded, has many pockets of burr oak savanna and tallgrass prairie vegetation.

Bring your lunch. We will start at Liverpool Preserve and around noon we will head to McCloskley’s Preserve to eat lunch and then explore the Burr Oak Savanna.

Level ground makes this a very easy walk. Mosquito repellent and/or netting, sunscreen, water as well as suitable clothing are suggested.

Nathanael Pilla is Botanist/Owner of Midwest Biological Survey LLC. He is co-author (with Scott Namestnik) of the Wildflowers of the Indiana Dunes National Park and a frequent contributor to the Great Lakes Botanist.

Carpool: If you are interested in carpooling from Kalamazoo, meet at the Oakland/Vincent Ave Park’n Ride lot at 8:00 am Eastern on Sunday 12jul2026. The coordinates: 42.239108673721454, -85.6156874853463.

Directions: Liverpool Preserve. The approximate address is 3351 Arizona St, Lake Station IN 46405. The coordinates are: 41.79400897846449, -85.50706030909025. Directions from Kalamazoo: Take I-94 west, to Hobart IN and then I-65 south. Exit the Interstate at W 37th Ave (Ridge Rd). Head east on W 37th Ave (Ridge Rd) and in 0.9 miles, turn left (north) on to Liverpool Rd. In 0.5 miles turn right on to Englehart St. In 0.1 miles turn left onto Arizona St. Park on the right (east) side of Arizona St.

McCloskey’s Preserve. The approximate address is 3950 W 49th Ave, Hobart IN 46342. The coordinates are 41.52939558836009, -87.30669903296784. Directions from Liverpool Prairie: Head south on Arizona St and turn right (west) on to Englehart St and then left (south) on to Liverpool Rd. In 2 miles, turn right (west) on to W 49th Ave. In 0.5 miles, we will park in the abandoned Elk Lodge parking lot on the right (north).