As a scientist and conservation planner with The Nature Conservancy (TNC), I have long known the importance of the Northern Lake Huron shoreline for birds, rocky and sandy beaches, and rare, highly diverse ecosystems such as Alvars, dunes, and coastal fens and the rare species that inhabit them.

I first learned of North Point Peninsula 20 years ago, and was instantly struck by its surprisingly remote feel, along with the quality of the shoreline and adjacent wetlands and boreal forest. The point had not been well surveyed for rare species, but a few were known and we confirmed their existence, including dwarf lake iris and Pitcher’s thistle, both endemic to the Great Lakes region.

History of the North Point Peninsula

North Point extends about five miles into Lake Huron from just east of Alpena. Its limestone bedrock core is overlain by sands deposited by Lake Huron as the land surface rebounded from the weight of the glaciers over thousands of years and undulating old beach ridges are still visible on the forest floor.

Thousands of years before Lake Huron existed as we know it, when waters were at their lowest point in the Great Lakes basin, a land bridge extended from North Point southeastward to what is now Amberley, Ontario. Herds of caribou migrated along this ridge, and the people living here roughly 9,500 years ago exploited that physiography by constructing drive lanes and hunting blinds to funnel the animals for easier harvest.

This close relationship between people and the Great Lakes coast continues to this day, though the caribou have largely vanished from the basin; the Great Lakes and its tributaries sustained people with clean water, fish, and transportation routes, among many other benefits for millennia.

The shallow, rocky coast that was formerly part of the Alpena-Amberley Ridge became a particularly treacherous area for ships navigating Lake Huron, and over 100 shipwrecks are known within the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, the largest such sanctuary in US Great Lakes Waters.

Ecology and Importance of the Area

Boreal Forests cover much of North Point and extend almost 15 miles northward along the coast, representing one of the southernmost, large chunks of boreal forest in Michigan.

Hundreds of acres of rich conifer swamp occur in low-lying areas and swales between the ridges. On the northern shore of the peninsula lies a coastal fen of over 200 acres, as well as Great Lakes marsh that in low-water years extends across portions of Misery Bay to nearby Crooked Island, providing critical habitat for fish and water birds.

In addition to the rare plants, the USFWS has also identified habitat for the Federally Endangered Hine’s emerald dragonfly, one of a handful of places it is known to persist. Finally, peninsulas such as North Point are very important for migrating birds seeking food and rest after crossing the Great Lakes and for concentrations of Monarch Butterflies that form surreal, tremulous clouds of orange and black.

Partnering to Protect North Point “Following years of partnership with the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the sanctuary’s active Friends group, and with the support of several generous donors, TNC in 2018 acquired 1,400 acres on North Point Peninsula. TNC is currently managing the property with plans to hand over those responsibilities in the near future.”

Doug Pearsall, Ph.D. is Senior Conservation Scientist for The Nature Conservancy in Michigan