Comments Regarding “BIODIVERSITY STEWARDSHIP
AREA” designation
For the Jordan River Watershed
Friends of the Jordan welcome the Biodiversity Stewardship
Areas designation initiative by the DNRE and the Core Design Group. We
commend the hard work by the many individuals involved over the years
and are encouraged that these efforts are making progress. The areas
proposed are clearly unique habitats representing diverse ecotypes
throughout Michigan.
We are concerned however that the original Core Design
Group’s consensus recommendations were significantly downsized. In so
doing, the concept of fostering biodiversity is diminished by further
isolating these select high quality habitats. We hope further
consideration will be given to linkage within and among the various
ecosystems.
Biodiversity is the ecological result of the biological
integrity of an ecosystem. Biological integrity is the condition whereby
all the interrelated components that drive, nourish and sustain living
communities are functional and self-sustaining over time. The watershed
ecosystem represents the most fundamental environmental entity which
incorporates and integrates the biologic, chemical, geologic and
hydrologic forces on a landscape level. Watershed ecosystems thus
contain, within a definable land mass, the key ingredients that
constitute biological integrity which allows for biodiversity.
One reason for the continued decline of our natural world is
the failure to view it in a comprehensive, integrated manner. An
endangered species requires suitable habitat. Wild rivers depend on
unfragmented hydrology. Eagles, song birds, trout, salmon and countless
other species migrate up and down their native ecosystems. All along
their respective journeys, complex webs of life weave an interdependent
fabric of biodiversity.
Previous attempts at conservation and environmental
protection have too often been limited in scope or narrow in focus.
Rarely does biodiversity flourish on an isolated tract of land or a
certain reach of stream. Fragmentation of natural ecosystems simplifies
biological integrity and diminishes biodiversity. It is essential that
we recognize and respect biological integrity as a prerequisite for
biodiversity and pattern our management practices to reflect this
complexity. Watershed-Based Ecosystem Management addresses this paradigm
in a realistic, comprehensive manner.
The Jordan River Watershed embodies some of Michigan’s most
outstanding natural treasures. Widely known as the “Jordan Valley” its
unbroken forests, free-flowing streams and near wilderness setting have
provided numerous generations with unparalleled natural splendor. Rich
and diverse plant and animal communities flourish in this premier
watershed ecosystem. Conifer swamps along the streambanks and its vast
wetland habitat give way to the majestic hardwood forests and
meadowlands. These natural habitats are essential for biodiversity and
sustainability.
Cold water springs bubble out from the high glacial plains in
northeastern Antrim County, meandering down the steep forested
hillsides, merging to form the legendary Jordan River. The river and its
tributaries derive over 90% of their flow from groundwater discharge,
not runoff, so their flow rates, water temperatures and purity are
unusually constant and of high quality. These features are unique among
Michigan’s rivers and contribute to the Jordan River’s renowned fishery.
In all, nearly 100 miles of streams join and then disperse into a rich
and biologically diverse floodplain or estuary at Lake Charlevoix’s
South Arm. Collectively these features meld, making the Jordan River
Watershed a rare vestige of a natural riverine ecosystem.
The Jordan River Watershed Ecosystem is widely recognized as
the “Crown Jewel” of Michigan’s watershed ecosystems. It possesses a
full range of ecological components resulting in a high degree of
biological integrity and biodiversity including; large blocks of
forested land, unfragmented headwaters, intact riparian zones,
contiguous greenbelts and ecological corridors. Its 125 square miles
traverse from its headwaters aquifers (elevation 1,190 feet) to the
floodplains of Lake Charlevoix (elevation 590 feet). The Jordan Valley
State Forest (25,000 acres of undeveloped public forest land and a
protected part of the Mackinaw State Forest) is managed for multi-use
sustainability in a near natural setting by the Jordan Valley Management
Plan. The 100 miles of free-flowing streams unite to form the pristine
Jordan River, a blue ribbon trout stream and the first river in Michigan
to be designated “Wild and Scenic” under the state’s Natural Rivers Act
of 1972.
The exceptionally well preserved biological integrity of the
“Jordan Valley” is testament to the resilience of nature and the vision
of conservationists who, collectively through the generations, worked to
conserve and protect this incredible place. The Friends of the Jordan
therefore submit that the Jordan River Watershed, in its entirety, is
uniquely qualified to be designated as a Biodiversity Stewardship Area.
We further submit that the hydrologic watershed, which includes the
critical groundwater recharge zones (see map below) and the
“Conservancy” protected lands along the lower river corridor, all the
way to Lake Charlevoix, be included. These rich and crucial lands are
key components to the biological integrity of the watershed. We also
contend that the previously nominated “Old Growth” and “Natural Areas”
should be considered as these features are seriously under- represented
in Michigan’s State Forests. The Jordan River Watershed is a priceless
natural heritage and should be an important component as well as a vital
link to other ecosystems in Michigan’s “Living Legacies.”
Respectfully,
The Board of Directors, Friends of the
Jordan River Watershed Inc., 1/10/11
