The Nature Conservancy in Michigan - Carl A. Gerstacker Nature Preserve at Dudley Bay

Carl A. Gerstacker Nature Preserve at Dudley Bay

The preserves encompases all of Little Trout Lake

The preserve contains Little Trout Lake and part of Lake Huron’s northern shore
© Harold E. Malde

Why You Should Visit
The Carl A. Gerstacker Nature Preserve, 890 acres around Dudley Bay located in Chippewa and Mackinac counties, includes over four miles of Lake Huron’s northern shoreline. Dudley Bay features one of the most spectacular bedrock shorelines in Michigan. To the east of Dudley Bay, the rocky shoreline grades in to sand beach and cedar forest. The preserve offers a rich tapestry of intertwined habitats, including an inland lake, interdunal wetlands, conifer swamps and mixed hardwood forest. Northern forests of pines and hardwoods grow on old dune ridges leading north to Little Trout Lake. Approximately 80 acres of excellent white pine and hardwood forest regeneration occurs west of Little Trout Lake. The remaining upland forests are all second growth in varying stages of regrowth. These habitats provide shelter to an abundance of endangered and threatened plant species such as Dwarf lake iris, Houghton's goldenrod and Pitcher's thistle. Visitors might also see a variety of animals including the loon, pileated woodpecker, osprey, wolf and several species of neotropical migratory songbirds such as the American redstart and magnolia warbler.

Location
Chippewa and Mackinac Counties in the Upper Peninsula

Hours
We discourage you from visiting from October through January since we permit deer hunting in these woods. For information on hunting at this or other Conservancy preserve, please contact Danielle Dalgord at ddalgord@tnc.org or (906) 225-0399. You must obtain a permit to hunt on Conservancy preserves as we like to keep track of deer populations.

Conditions
The Nature Conservancy allows hunting for white-tail deer on this preserve to reduce an unnaturally high deer population in the area and reduce threats too many deer pose to our conservation targets. Hunting at this site is at full capacity for 2007, but if you'd like to sign up for 2008, contact the UP Michigan office at upmichigan@tnc.org or (906) 225-0399.

The month of May presents one of the best times of the year to visit this preserve as migratory songbirds are either resting, en route to other destinations, or settling on breeding territories for the summer. In mid-September, take a walk down the trail leading to Little Trout Lake and enjoy the spectacular beauty of an autumn day. Bring insect repellent, a hat and sunscreen.

Please avoid trampling Pitcher’s thistle plants that may be along the beach. Most of them should be flagged to aid identification and awareness.

How to Prepare for Your Visit
Please see "Preserve Visitation Guidelines"

Directions
From Cedarville, Michigan:

From the intersection of M-134 and M-129, travel east on M-134 12.4 miles to the Conservancy preserve sign on the left (north side of the highway). For trail access, turn left on the small road next to the preserve sign. The road continues a short distance to the trailhead.
For lakeshore access, continue past the preserve sign for less than 1 mile to a large pulloff on the right (south) side of the highway. There is a second preserve sign here, and access by foot to Lake Huron.

What to See: Plants

Houghton’s goldenrod: This species is named in honor of Douglass Houghton, Michigan’s first State Geologist, whose survey team discovered this Great Lakes endemic on the north shore of Lake Michigan during an 1839 expedition.
Dwarf lake iris: This miniature iris grows nowhere else in the world but in the Great Lakes Region. It tolerates full sun to near complete shade, but flowers mostly in semi open habitats. These areas can be very long and narrow strips bordering the high water line, or large flat expanses located behind the open dunes of the Great Lakes shoreline.

What to See: Animals

Pileated woodpecker: These crow-size woodpeckers have a large crest of red crown feathers, a wingspan of almost 30 inches, and a long, black bill presenting a distinctive silhouette. They live in large mature tracts of forests in Michigan that often contain a number of dead and dying trees used both for feeding and as nesting cavities.
Common Loon: Best known for their almost violent mating dances and eerie wails, these goose-sized, long-bodied water birds have stout, sharp beaks. Since their webbed feet are located at the back of their bodies, instead of underneath, common loons are unable to walk on land or take-off from land, but are extremely powerful swimmers and very skillful at catching their diet of fish, frogs, crayfish, leeches and aquatic insects.
Grey Wolf: Also known as timber wolves and eastern timber wolves, greys are the largest member of the Canid family (wild dogs), which also includes coyotes, and red and gray foxes. As adults, gray wolves average 30 inches in height at the shoulder and 65 pounds. While wolves can go for a week without eating, when they do eat, their meal may include 20 pounds of meat at a time.

Why the Conservancy Selected This Site
The preserve was created in 1993 through the generosity of Marilyn Twining and her family who, over a period of years, sold the Conservancy the major parcels of land to protect them as the Little Trout Lake Preserve.

What the Conservancy Has Done/Is Doing
In honor of a combined grant from The Dow Chemical Company Foundation, the Herbert H. & Grace A. Dow Foundation and the Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation, the preserve was renamed in 1996 after Carl E. Gerstacker. Gerstacker was the former chairman of the board and director of The Dow Chemical Company as well as a founding member of the Conservancy’s Michigan board of trustees. This grant secured the purchase of the largest segment of shoreline at the preserve.

Sources for information include MNFI and MDNR.