Regional Landscape Ecosystems of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin
SUB-SUBSECTION VII.6.2. Stutsmanville
DISCUSSION: This small sub-subsection consists of steep sand ridges deposited by the glaciers, as well as some high sand dunes near the present Lake Michigan shoreline. It is almost entirely forested.
ELEVATION: 750 to 1,330 feet (229 to 405 m).
AREA: 219 square miles (566 sq km).
STATES: Michigan.
CLIMATE: Growing season is approximately 140 days along the Lake Michigan shoreline and as short as 110 days at the eastern, upland edge of the sub-subsection. Extreme minimum temperature ranges from -30½F to -34½F, with coldest temperatures inland. Average annual precipitation is 30 to 32 inches. Average snowfall is 80 to 120 inches; lake-effect snow off Lake Michigan that increases rapidly with elevation.
BEDROCK GEOLOGY: Glacial drift is several hundred feet thick over the underlying Devonian shale, sandstone, limestone, dolomite, and evaporites (Dorr and Eschman 1984, Milstein 1987).
LANDFORMS: Large, broad ridges of sandy ground moraines, some nearly 500 feet high. Glacial drift is generally several hundred feet thick.
LAKES AND STREAMS: No major lakes or streams.
SOILS: Primarily well drained sands and sandy loams. The moderate to steep slopes of the sub-subsection account for the well-drained soils. The narrow, often steep valleys between the ridges are poorly or very poorly drained, but they account for only a small part of the sub-subsection's surface area.
PRESETTLEMENT VEGETATION: The predominant vegetation of the sub-subsection was northern hardwood forest dominated by beech, sugar maple, hemlock, basswood, hophornbeam, and yellow birch. Lowlands, restricted to relatively narrow valleys between the ridges, were dominated by northern white-cedar, or occasionally tamarack or mixed conifers. The largest wetland noted was approximately 1.5 square miles in area.
NATURAL DISTURBANCE: No natural disturbances noted.
PRESENT VEGETATION AND LAND USE: Several Native American fields were noted on the sloping ridges of this sub-subsection within 1 to 2 miles of the shoreline. After European settlement, most of the forests were logged; but little agricultural development has occurred on the large, steep ridges.
RARE PLANT COMMUNITIES: None identified to date.
RARE PLANTS: Cirsium pitcheri (Pitcher's thistle), Iris lacustris (dwarf lake iris), Mimulus glabratus var. michiganensis (Michigan monkey-flower), Tanacetum huronense (Lake Huron tansy).
RARE ANIMALS: Buteo lineatus (red-shouldered hawk), Charadrius melodus (piping plover), Sterna caspia (Caspian tern), Trimerotropis huroniana (secretive locust).
NATURAL AREAS: Little Traverse Conservancy Preserves: M. Shrotleff, E. Johnston, Sims-Moffat.
PUBLIC LAND MANAGERS: State Forests: Mackinaw; State Parks: Wilderness.
CONSERVATION CONCERNS: Sub-subsection contains part of Wilderness State Park, which supports many characteristic landscapes found along the northern Great Lakes shoreline.
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