Page 54 - Manistique Visitor Guide - 2023

54
Manistique Visitors Guide
Feature
Seney
Wildlife
OUR SERVICES:
Refuge
ANNUAL TREE AND SHRUB SALE FRUIT TREE PRUNING WORKSHOP
NATIVE PLANT, GRASSES, AND SEED SALES
SOIL EROSION AND SEDIMENTATION CONTROL PERMITS
WARBLER WONDERLAND BIRDING FESTIVAL MAY 20 & 21 ANNUAL SCRAP TIRE RECYCLING SCHOLARSHIPS FOR
TEACHERS AND STUDENTS FORESTRY ASSISTANCE INVASIVE SPECIES ID AND CONTROL
NATURAL RESOURCE TECHNICIANS
100 N Cedar St Manistique MI
906-286-2890 www.schoolcraftcd.org
schoolcraftcd@macd.org
By Ilsa Minor
2022 is a big year for the Seney National Wildlife Refuge.
The visitor center at the refuge was closed in 2021 and demolished, along with the office and boat house, earlier this year to make way for new facilities. Construction of a new headquarters building, which will include the refuge office and new visitor center, will begin in 2022. Unfortunately, the upgrades are expected to take several years, but a temporary visitors center will be located off River Road.
The office and visitor center construction project is not the only big change at the refuge this year. Four bridges at the refuge will be repaired on the Marshland Wildlife Drive and Fishing Loop in 2022, Refuge Entrance Road will be resurfaced, and the Pine Ridge Nature Trail will be upgraded. Work on the Pine Ridge Nature Trail will include repair work to earthen dikes and walkways, increasing wheelchair access opportunities, and repair- ing bridges and elevated walkways.
Plans to make changes at the Show Pools are also in the works. In the spring of 2018, animal burrowing in the North Show Pool low hazard dam caused the earthen dam to fail and drain most of the water. The South Show Pool was drained to prevent the pool’s dam from failing as well, and neither pool has been at full water capacity since. Long-term, the ref- uge plans to repair the pools and restore the water levels, making the pools fishable once again and restoring wildlife viewing options.
Preparing for the pools to be brought back better than ever will begin with a new wheel- chair accessible outhouse that is expected
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