Brief Land-Use History of Ludington, Michigan
My hometown is located across Lake Michigan in the coastal town of Ludington, Michigan. Ludington is on the northwest side of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Because it is close to Wisconsin, it has a similar environmental and social history. As we have learned in class, glacial movements carved Lake Michigan and deposited sediments that influenced the landforms and vegetation in the area. As glaciers made their final retreat, trees and prairies migrated northward resulting in varying ecoregions in Michigan. In its early history, Michigan was mostly forestland. As with Wisconsin, the Northern region was a mix of northern mesic forest and pine barrens [1].
The earliest recorded people in Michigan used the land for copper mining [2]. The Ottawa people were the next group to inhabit the western side of Michigan. Because they relied on water for navigation and harvesting of wild rice, the many rivers and Lake Michigan made the northwestern area of Michigan a good place to live. They also harvested maple syrup, berries, and nuts, hunted game, fished, and cultivated corns, beans, and squash [5]. The arrival of Europeans forcibly reduced their land extent.
The ecology of the forests in Northern Michigan made for great logging opportunities and European settlements began to form in the mid 1800s. Michigan’s lumber industry surpassed Wisconsin’s and was the national leader in lumber production from 1869 to 1900 [2]. Logging along with fire suppression resulted in a change in the forest ecology from northern mesic forest to aspen birch forests [1]. Also during the logging period, the Big Sable River just north of Ludington was dammed by a logger to create a holding pond for logs, now called Hamlin Lake [3]. This completely altered the ecology of the area from forests to wetlands or fully aquatic habitats. Settlements followed by urbanization resulted in complete removal of forest; the city of Ludington is now a non-forested area. Railroad car ferries were built to link lumber transportation between Michigan and Wisconsin at the Ludington harbor, again illustrating the importance of water to the area’s populations and growth [4].
As the logging industry faded, the shoreline of Hamlin Lake and the coastal features of Ludington made it into a tourist destination as it is today. Much of the land in the Ludington area is now protected for recreational uses including fishing, hiking and swimming. The Ludington State Park, Manistee National Forest and Nordhouse Dunes are a few examples. Tourists also come to ride the S.S. Badger, a ship built during the peak of the maritime transportation industry to carry freight that now carries passengers for transportation and recreation.
While much land is protected, this area of Michigan struggles with various ecological issues. As a result of European colonization and fire suppression, invasive species such as Japanese knotweed and garlic mustard are outcompeting native species [7]. Native fisheries struggle due to the invasive sea lamprey. Traveling in ballast water collected in oceans, zebra mussels are also a threat to the native aquatic ecosystems [6].
[1] Historical ecology of the upper midwest. North Central Region Forest Management Guides. (n.d.). Retrieved May 27, 2022, from https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/fmg/nfmg/fm101/eco/p1_historical.html
[2] Michigan State University Extension. (n.d.). Michigan Forest History. Retrieved May 27, 2022, from https://mff.forest.mtu.edu/PDF/1-TreeBasics/3-History.pdf
[3] Hamlin Lake Dam. Hamlin Lake. (2021, November 18). Retrieved May 28, 2022, from https://hamlinlake.com/hamlin-lake-dam
[4] Ludington Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. (2018, March 16). History of Ludington Michigan. PureLudington. Retrieved May 27, 2022, from https://pureludington.com/Area-History
[5] The Michigan Legislature. (n.d.). A Brief History of Michigan. Retrieved May 28, 2022, from https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/publications/manual/2001-2002/2001-mm-0003-0026-History.pdf
[6] State of Michigan. (n.d.). Status and strategies for established aquatic invasives. Michigan Invasive Species. Retrieved May 29, 2022, from https://www.michigan.gov/invasives/stateresponse/status-and-strategies-for-established-aquatic-invasives
[7] North Country CISMA. (n.d.). High Priority Invasive Species. Retrieved May 29, 2022, from https://www.northcountryinvasives.org/high-priority-species.html
Hi Meredith, great post. I thought it was really interesting how your history was similar to the history we learned in class while your town was on the coast, I would have though this would make the area use much different. Similarly to class and other home towns mining was common early on and Europeans decreased natives land. Another similarity was the importance of water to the area and the logging indies try which thrives in the town. The most interesting thing I noticed was how after the logging industry died down the area turned into a tourist destination instead of turning to another resource.
ReplyDeleteMeredith! Thanks for sharing about your hometown, it really showed me some of the similarities in environment for both Wisconsins and Michigan. My hometown in Wisconsin also was shaped by the logging industry. I didn't know that Michigan had a greater logging industry than Wisconsin in the 19th century, guess we'll give you that one if you let us have our winning sports teams ;)
ReplyDeleteLOL I'm a packer fan so that's ok with me
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