The pristine water quality of Glass Creek in Barry County makes it an important body of water in Michigan and Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy along with five partners have been given funds to help keep it that way.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has awarded a $270,499 matching grant to the Land Conservancy and its partners -- Barry Conservation District, Michigan Audubon Society, Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), Pierce Cedar Creek Institute and Tyden Ventures.
One thing that makes Glass Creek pristine is that most of its water springs from and winds through natural land that is already being conserved. The latest funds will be used to to permanently conserve land in the Glass Creek Watershed.
The watershed will be protected by purchasing land and development rights adjacent to the
Barry State Game Area, which in turn provides additional protection of Barry County's natural resources for wildlife and recreation. The Land Conservancy's goal is to conserve an additional 1,000 acres in and around the Barry State Game Area within the next 10 years.
The Glass Creek area is home to 23 species under the protection of The Endangered Species Act, including the
cerulean warbler -- the fastest declining songbird in North America. The warblers prosper only in mature, contiguous forests over 8,000 acres in size. Conserving more forested land around the game area where these birds can be found is important to their future.
Most streams, due to years of nutrient and sediment loading, are candidates for restoration not protection, says Joanne Barnard, executive director of the Barry Conservation District.
"However," Barnard says, "the water quality in Glass Creek benefits greatly from the natural forests and wetlands of the Barry State Game Area, which limit polluted runoff and maintain cool temperatures to support the trout fishery."
Writer: Kathy Jennings, Second Wave Media
Source: Pamela W. Larson, Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy
John Fraser photo: Glass Creek as it flows through the Perry Family Farm Conservation Easement property, protected by SWMLC since 2005.
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