KEHL LAKE NATURAL AREA
A Leelanau Conservancy Preservation Project
The Kehl Lake Natural Area (KLNA) is 100 acres located in Leelanau Township in Leelanau County. The hundred acre preserve includes about 1700 feet of the southwest shoreline of Kehl Lake (also shown as Leg Lake on many maps). For over 100 years, local residents and visitors have used the Kehl Lake area for personal enjoyment and have cherished the land for its natural beauty. Today, Kehl Lake is Leelanau County's only undeveloped private lake.
The natural features of this area are some of the most notable in the county, comprising of a variety of ecological communities and habitats. The majority of the preserve is wooded. Although the dominant tree species and understory is various throughout the site, the entire woodlands can be described as a mixed coniferous-deciduous woods. Because of the low elevation, most of this woodland is very damp. The ancient White Pine, around since the time of dinosaurs, is a dominant feature along the shoreline of Kehl Lake. Some of them are thought to be over 200 years old.
During the Lake Nipissing geologic stage, much of the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula, including Kehl Lake area, was part of a broad submerged sandbar. The level of Lake Nipissing, 1500 to 4500 years before present, was about 20 feet higher than present day Lake Michigan. Kehl Lake was a low depression in this now exposed sandbar and continues to hold water because of its lower elevation. During periods of high water, Kehl Lake has an outlet to Lake Michigan.
The entire shoreline, with its diverse flora and fauna, is a fragile environment. Many species of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and other wildlife inhabit the shoreline for nesting sites, cover, food and water. The shoreline is also used by migrant bird species which feed and rest along the protected shoreline including herons, shorebirds, and swallows. Loons and Kingfishers are also common visitors to this beautiful inland lake. Birders can join the Leelanau Conservancy staff on a number of natural history outings to Kehl Lake throughout the year to view the diversity of wildlife.
Kehl Lake Natural Area also has a rich cultural history. The number of years the area has been inhabited by people is unclear. There are several verbal and physical indications that the Native American tribes used this area for many purposes, including ceremonies, summer encampments, hunting, and gathering. As late as the 1930's Indian burials still were performed near Kehl Lake. Keewaydinoquay Peschel of Leland remembers the fire dancing ceremonies held near the lake by members of the Wabeno sect. The resources available in this area also attracted people. Cathead Bay teemed with fish. Medicinal herbs could be collected from the forest floor. Keewaydinoquay told the Conservancy that the place was called "Legging Lake" by the Indians. The word in Ojibway wouldbe Midassaigan. There stands today, one ancient white pine along the shore, a "marker tree", designating a camping site in use for hundreds of years.
In 1858, John and Elizabeth Kehl came from Buffalo, New York, to a land that remained unscarred by the human hand. Kehl settled and cleared a portion of his property for farming. John Kehl received a certificate for his 100 acres in 1863, just previous to his enlistment in the Union Army. He saw the war through and was present at Lee's surrender at Appomattox. Returning home in 1865, he raised a family on the property, farmed the southern portion, and his children eventually went on the become prospering Northport business owners. Today, the pear trees growing in the old field, lead one to believe there was an orchard at one time. However, the type of farming done over the years has not been researched.
The land passed through several individual owners until 1966 when Margaret Hall sold the land to the American Wonderland Corp. In 1972 the property was purchased by a trio of Leelanau summer residents who recognized its beauty and development potentials. In the mid 1980's the area was considered by the Michigan Nature Conservancy for purchase, but was never completed. The State of Michigan negotiated unsuccessfully to purchase the land northeast of Kehl Lake for an expansion of the Leelanau State Park. In 1989 the property was offered for sale to the Leelanau Conservancy and a purchase agreement was signed in 1990. The Kehl Lake Natural Area was officially dedicated in 1992, a conservation initiative made possible by private donations from over 250 donors. Today, a hiking trail is open to the public and the Leelanau Conservancy provides a variety of education programs for all ages at the site.
This list of flora and fauna is made from actual, but random, observations made by Education Director Chip Francke from April through August, 1992. This list is not complete, but will give the reader a general indication for the common plants and animals encountered in the KLNA. Many more observations will be added to this list in the future.
A species list compiled June 17-18, 1982 by the Michigan Nature Conservancy is also included. This inventory was conducted on the entire Kehl Lake area including north of the lake. It is not known which of the species listed actually occur in the KLNA. Many of the species will be found on both lists. The fauna list does not include invertebrates or fish at this time. The flora list does not include nonvascular plants, grasses or sedges.
| Fauna | Flora | |
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White-tailed Deer Rabbit Beaver Eastern Chipmunk Coyote Snowshoe Hare Weasel Porcupine Mouse Common Loon Pied-billed Grebe Double-crested Cormorant American Bittern Great Blue Heron Canada Goose Wood Duck Green-winged Teal Mallard American Widgeon Ring-necked Duck Greater Scaup Lesser Scaup Common Goldeneye Bufflehead Hooded Merganser Common Merganser Red-breasted Merganser Turkey Vulture Northern Harrier Sharp-shinned Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Golden Eagle (rare) Ruffed Grouse Sandhill Crane Killdeer Solitary Sandpiper American Woodcock Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull Yellow-billed Cuckoo Common Nighthawk Ruby-throated Hummingbird Belted Kingfisher Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Pileated Woodpecker Eastern Wood-Pewee Eastern Phoebe Great Crested Flycatcher Eastern Kingbird Tree Swallow Northern rough-winged Swallow Bank Swallow Barn Swallow Blue Jay American Crow Common Raven Black-capped Chickadee Red-breasted Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper House Wren Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby Crowned Kinglet Eastern Bluebird Veery Hermit Thrush Wood Thrush American Robin Brown Thrasher Cedar Waxwing European Starling Red-eyed Vireo Tennessee Warbler Nashville Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Magnolia Warbler Cape May Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Back-throated Green Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Pine Warbler Palm Warbler American Redstart Ovenbird Northern Waterthrush Common Yellowthroat Canada Warbler Scarlet Tanager Indigo Bunting Chipping Sparrow Vesper Sparrow Grasshopper Sparrow Song Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Bobolink Red-winged Blackbird Eastern meadowlark Common Grackle Northern Oriole Purple Finch House Finch American Goldfinch Spring Peeper Leopard Frog Wood Frog Red-backed Salamander |
Balsam Fir-Abies balsamea Eastern White Pine-Pinus strobus Red Pine- Pinus resinosa Eastern Hemlock-Tsuga canadensis Northern White Cedar-Thuja occidentalis Bigtooth Aspen-Populus grandidentata Quaking Aspen-Populs Tremuloides Balsam Poplar-Populus Balsamifera Pear-Pyrus sp. Apple-Malus sp. Pin Cherry-Prunus pensylvanica Choke Cherry-Prunus virginiana Sugar Maple-Acer saccharum Red Maple-Acer rubrum Mountain Maple-Acer spicatum Striped Maple-Acer pensylvanicum Black Walnut-Juglas Nigra Yellow Birch-Betula alleghiensis Paper Birch-Betula papyrifera Speckled Alder-Alnus rugosa American Beech-Fagus grandifolia Red Oak-Quercus rubra White Ash-Fraxinus americana Black Ash-Fraxinus nigra Ground Juniper-Juniperus communis Buffaloberry-Sherpherdia canadensis Honeysuckle-Lonicera sp. Olive-Elaeagnus sp. Bluberry-Vaccinium sp. Pussy Wilow-Salix Discolor Rose-Rosa sp. Dewberry-Rubus sp. Wild Raspberry-Rubus sp. Meadowsweet-Spirea alba Red-osier Dogwood-Cornus stolonifera Bunchberry-Cornus canadensis Staghorn Sumac-Rhus typhina Poison Ivy-Toxicodendron radiacans Wintergreen-Gaultheria procumbens Rattlesnake Fern-Botychium virginianum Lady Fern-Athyrium filix-femina Marsh Fern-Thelypteris palustris Sensitive Fern-Onoclea sensibilis Bracken-Pteridium aquilinum Interrupted Fern-Osmunda claytoniana Royal Fern-Osmunda regalis Intermediate Wood Fern-Dryopteris intermedia Ground Pine-Lycopodium clavatum Princess Pine-Lycopodium sp. Stiff Clubmoss-Lycopodium annotinum Water Horsetail-Equisetum fluviatile Helliborine-Epipactis helliborine * Smaller Purple Fringed Orchis-Platenthera psycodes Pink lady's slipper-Cypripedium acaule Green-leaved Rattlesnake Plantain-Goodyera oblongifolia Rattlesnake Plantain-Goodyera sp. Field Hawkweed-Hieracium pratense * Orange Hawkweed-Hieracium aurantiacum * Oxeye Daisy-Chrysanthemum leucanthemum * Spotted Knapweed-Centaurea maculsa * Yellow Goatsbeard-Tragopogon pratensis* Black-eyed Susan-Rudbeckia serotina Lance-leaved Coreopsis-Coreopsis lenceolata Pussytoes-Antennaria sp. Common Ragweed-Ambrosia artemisiifolia Pearly everlasting-Anaphalis margaritacea Daisy Fleabane-Erigeron annuus Calico Aster-Aster lateriflorus Lance-leaved Goldenrod-Solidago sp. Marsh Skullcap-Scutellaria epilobilifolia Wild Mint-Mentha arvensis Heal-all-Prunella vulgaris Yellow Bedstraw-Galium verum * Rough Bedstraw-Galium asprellum Partridgeberry-Mitchella repens Water Parsnip-Sium suave Queen Anne's Lace-Daucus carota * Canada Mayflower-Maianthemum canadense Yellow Clintonia-Clintonia borealis Asparagus-Asparagus officinalis * Indian Pipe-Monotropa uniflora Pinesap-Monotropa hypopithys Shinleaf-Pyrola ellipitica |
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| Flora (continued) | ||
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Swamp Cancles-Lysimachia terrestris Starflower-Trientallis borealis Bladder Campion-Silene cucubalis * Soapwort-Saponaria officinalis * Speedwell-Veronia sp. Common Mullein-Verbascum thapsus * Rough-fruited Cingeufoil-Potentilla recta * Wild Strawberry-Fragaria virginiana Common St. Johnswort-Hypericum perforatum * Cardinal Flower-Lobelia cardinalis Kalm's Lobelia-Lobelia kalmii Larger Blue Flag-Iris versicolor Horned Bladderwort-Urticularia cornuta Hoary Alyssum-Berteroa incana * |
Vetch-Vicia sp. Field Sorrell-Rumex acetosella * Fringed Polygala-Polygala paucifolia Goldthread-Coptis groenlandica Wild Sarsasparilla-Aralia nudicaulis Jack-in-the-Pulpit-Arisaema sp. Cattail-Typha sp. Common Milkweed-Asclepias syriaca Twinflower-Linnaea borealis Cypress Spurge-Euphorbia cyparissias * |
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