Regional Landscape Ecosystems of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin
SUB-SUBSECTION VI.2.2. Cassopolis Ice-Contact Ridges
DISCUSSION: Sub-subsection consists of the narrow band of end moraines at the northern edge of the subsection, and also the band of steep, ice-contact features that run roughly north-south through the western half of the subsection.
ELEVATION: 850 to 1,150 feet (260 to 350 m).
AREA: 761 square miles (1,974 sq km).
STATES: Michigan.
CLIMATE: See subsection.
BEDROCK GEOLOGY: See subsection.
LANDFORMS: Steep, narrow bands of ice-contact and end-moraine ridges. The ridges are broken periodically by outwash channels. The height of the ridges ranges from 50 to 200 feet. Glacial drift is 250 to 350 feet thick (Akers 1938).
LAKES AND STREAMS: Kettle lakes are common, as are linear lakes that occupy abandoned drainageways of glacial meltwater streams. Many of the smaller kettles are now occupied by bog or swamp vegetation. Many small streams originate near the margins of the sub-subsection.
SOILS: Well drained and excessively well drained loamy and gravelly sands characterize most of the uplands. Organic soils are common near the margins of the kettle lakes. Organic soils in the kettle bogs can be several feet thick.
PRESETTLEMENT VEGETATION: The steep upland ridges were originally dominated by oak-hickory forest; white oak was the dominant species. White pine became a common co-dominant in the northern third of the sub-subsection. Oak savanna, also dominated by white oak, with some black oak, occurred on some south and west aspect slopes and on some of the more gently sloping ridges. Kettle depressions supported hardwood swamps, tamarack swamps, shrub swamps, and bog.
NATURAL DISTURBANCE: Both natural and anthropogenic fires were probably important within the sub-subsection, but fires probably did not carry as well as on the surrounding flat outwash plains of Sub-subsection VI.2.1.
PRESENT VEGETATION AND LAND USE: Although many of the steep lands were either cleared for crops or grazed by livestock, many of the farms have failed. Much of the land is now managed for timber and wildlife; several State game areas are located here. Residential developments are expanding from nearby urban areas.
RARE PLANT COMMUNITIES: Prairie fens are common along the margins of the sub-subsection. Oak savanna has converted to oak forest, but may yet be restorable. White oak-white pine savanna and forest, once quite common, persist locally.
RARE PLANTS: Baptisia lactea (prairie false indigo), Baptisia leucophaea (cream wild indigo), Cacalia plantaginea (prairie Indian-plantain), Cypripedium candidum (white lady's-slipper), Eryngium yuccifolium (rattlesnake-master), Filipendula rubra (queen of the prairie), Gentiana puberulenta (downy gentian), Sabatia angularis (rose pink), Scutellaria elliptica (hairy skullcap), Sporobolus heterolepis (prairie dropseed), Valeriana ciliata (edible valerian).
RARE ANIMALS: Dendroica cerulea (cerulean warbler), Neonympha mitchelli mitchelli (Mitchell's satyr), Nerodia erythrogaster neglecta (copperbelly water snake), Oarisma poweshiek (Poweshiek skipper), Sistrurus catenatus (eastern Massasauga rattlesnake), Tachopteryx thoreyi (greyback). (King rail was historically common.)
NATURAL AREAS: The Nature Conservancy Preserves: Thompson Road Prairie (AMTRAK); Michigan Nature Association Preserves: Pennfield Bog; Other: Russ Forest (Michigan State University), Baker Sanctuary, Kalamazoo Nature Center.
PUBLIC LAND MANAGERS: State Game Areas: Barry, Crane Pond, Three Rivers; State Recreation Areas: Yankee Springs.
CONSERVATION CONCERNS: Residential expansion into the remaining forested areas of the sub-subsection is isolating some of the State game areas, reducing their ability to support viable populations of both game and non-game species and making their management more difficult. These forested areas also function as important migration corridors for song birds.
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