Grayling Visitors Bureau

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 1, 2010

Contact: Christine Schwerin 517-335-7792 or Mary Dettloff 517-335-3014

Michigan Historical Marker Recognizes Successful Efforts to Save Kirtland’s Warbler

Visitors heading north this summer have a new reason to stop at the Michigan Department of Transportation Rest Area just north of the I-75/US-127 junction — a Michigan Historical Marker celebrating the decades-long work of conservationists to save the Kirtland’s warbler. The Kirtland’s warbler is one of the world’s rarest birds. It lives in Michigan during the summer months and flies south to the Bahamas for the winter. It was named after Dr. Jared Kirtland, whose Ohio farm provided the first identified specimen in 1851. The small blue-gray bird has a bright yellow breast and a black streak on its back, and only nests in the grass at the bottom of young jack pine trees. This specific type of habitat is found in Michigan’s northeastern Lower Peninsula, making it a popular spot for the endangered bird. The population has rebounded from just 167 known nesting pairs in 1974 to more than 1,700 pairs as of 2007.

The marker was a collaborative effort between the Michigan Historical Commission (MHC), the Michigan Environmental Council (MEC), and the State Historic Preservation Office, which administered the marker program until October 2009. MHC and MEC are partnering to create the Michigan Conservation Trail with startup funding from the Americana Foundation. The Kirtland’s warbler marker is the second in what is envisioned to be a series of linked historic sites and associated educational materials. The first in the series-the Detroit River marker-recognizes the work of conservationists and sportsmen’s groups to demand tougher state water pollution laws. The marker was placed at the headquarters of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge in Trenton in 2007.

The Michigan Historical Commission has been the public arm of state history programs since 1913. It advises the director of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment and approves Michigan Historical Markers. The Michigan Environmental Council, a charitable organization, is a coalition of more than 70 organizations created in 1980 to lead Michigan’s environmental movement in achieving positive change through the political process.

The partnership designated June 2, 2010, as the dedication day for the marker, which includes an illustration of the warbler. For more information about this and other historical markers, visit www.michigan.gov/markers.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment is committed to the conservation, protection, management, and accessible use and enjoyment of the state’s environment, natural resources, and related economic interests for current and future generations. Learn more at www.michigan.gov/dnr.