Oakland Township residents who use the Paint Creek Trail may have noticed changes in two trail areas recently. 

Many trail users are not aware that there are many types of prairie plants along the Oakland Township section of the trail. In 2002 the Paint Creek Trailways Commission (PCTC) acquired a 1-acre tallgrass prairie area located along the east side of the trail about a third of the way between the Silver Bell and Dutton Road trailheads.  For those familiar with the trail, it’s the field in which the deer exclosure cages were installed in the summer of 2002.

The PCTC obtained funding through grants from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Arts. This funding paid for an Ecological Study, which was done in 2001 and identified a controlled burn as one of the management tools to be implemented. The restoration and management of this area is the responsibility of the Oakland Township Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC).  The PRC is looking forward to working with residents on the restoration of this unique area.

Volunteers were used already at the site to help with the removal of woody plants that were starting to shade out the sun-loving prairie plants.  The prairie remnant site was successfully burned on Monday, November 4, 2002 and again on November 7, 2003.  The (PRC) contracted with a professional ecologist to conduct this prescribed ecological burn.                   

See the photographs below:

The other area where major changes have occurred is immediately north of the Gallagher Road parking lot.  This is where the PCTC has located a Prairie Restoration Art Project that was also funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.  The purpose of the art project is to interpret and celebrate our local prairie areas.  The art project, created by artist Al Hebert, consists of a copper bur oak leaf sculpture housed within a protective wooden installation.  Thank you to the volunteers who helped with the finishing and installation of the project.