By Ian Ableson, Conservation & Stewardship Director
In December of 2025, Ashley Capital generously donated two properties to Six Rivers Land Conservancy, totaling around 180 acres. It happened fast—conversations about the potential donations started in the fourth quarter of the year, and by the end of the year, we owned the property. While fall and winter assessments were perfectly sufficient to tell us that these properties are high-quality natural areas worthy of protection, they weren’t the ideal time to assess biodiversity.
A First Spring Visit to a New Preserve
On May 7 of 2026, I visited one of our new 90-acre preserves in the early spring season for the first time. Tired and a little jet-lagged from attending an international wedding that weekend, I figured that getting out into the field would be a good way to kickstart my brain, get me back into the stewardship mindset, and start thinking about spring fieldwork.
When I made my way into the forest, my initial impression wasn’t great. It looked like we had a lot of work to do. A dense, green, hazy shrub layer in a Southeast Michigan forest usually means invasive species—buckthorn, autumn olive, honeysuckle, and privet being likely culprits.
In my mind, I was already estimating the number of days needed to perform cut-stump treatments on the shrubs, identifying locations for brush piles, sorting through potential funding sources… Then I realized that my eyes had deceived me. In actuality, the shrub layer at this new preserve was one of the healthiest I’d ever seen.
Discovering a Healthy Spicebush Population
What I’d assumed to be a thicket of invasives was actually a large population of spicebush (Lindera bezoin) stretching uninterrupted through acres of forest. I was relieved, of course, to realize that we didn’t have years of work ahead of us to clear the forest of invasive species, but I was even more thrilled that the dense shrub layer predominantly consisted of such a fantastic native Michigan plant.
Why Spicebush Matters for Native Wildlife
Spicebush might be an unassuming shrub, but its endless ecological functions exemplify the benefits of native plants. Audubon.org lists 13 different families of birds that may be attracted to spicebush, comprising over 240 species, including such sensitive groups as the wood warbler, the thrushes, and the vireos.
It’s difficult to know the exact number of pollinators that spicebush attracts, but it blooms early in the spring when there are not many nectar sources around, providing a vital food source for countless insects. And it serves an incredibly important role as the larval host for a beautiful black butterfly, the appropriately named spicebush swallowtail, whose caterpillars spend the entirety of their early lives on the shrub.
It’s likely that once upon a time, millions of acres in Southeast Michigan had similarly large spicebush populations, but it’s a rare sight in current times. So why has it survived in this particular spot?
How Disturbance Affects Biodiversity
I can’t be sure, but I assume it mostly has to do with a lack of disturbance.
Much of the land in Southeast Michigan has seen disturbance in some form or another. Some land was previously converted to agriculture, and the ecosystem we see now is the result of decades of regrowth. Sometimes a forest was logged, or a wetland’s hydrology redirected. Some species will be able to survive in the altered ecosystem, but many of them will not, severely affecting the resulting biodiversity.
Understanding the Coefficient of Conservation
In the ecological field, we use a scale called the coefficient of conservation as a way to assess native Michigan plants’ tolerance for disturbance. It’s a 1-10 scale.
Species on the low end of the scale will happily grow in disturbed soil. The plants that fill in old agricultural fields and roadside ditches, including species like cottonwoods, red maples, some of the goldenrods, poison ivy, and certain sedges and grasses can be found on the low end of the scale.
On the other hand, plants that score a 7-10 on the coefficient of conservation scale usually require especially high-quality undisturbed habitats to survive. Our spicebush ranks a 7, indicating a relatively low tolerance to disturbance.
This new 90-acre preserve has indeed been relatively free of human-made disturbance for many decades. Even better, the entire property has been fenced for the majority of its history, allowing it to be the definition of a natural sanctuary in an otherwise highly developed area. I hope to find many more pockets of similarly sensitive species through the seasons as our stewardship staff familiarizes ourselves with the new preserve.
Why Native Plants Belong in Human Landscapes
All native Michigan species play an important role in our local ecosystems, same as the spicebush. However, much of the land in Southeast Michigan is now converted to human uses. In many spaces, the only greenery left is that which humans have planted.
For many years, the landscaping and gardening industries shied away from planting native species, focusing instead on showy tropical flowers. However, while these traditional garden plants may be large and colorful, they are ecological dead zones for many native Michigan species. Insects can’t drink their nectar, birds can’t eat their fruit, and mammals can’t consume their leaves. It’s one less food source for all of the wildlife in our neck of the woods.
Thankfully, in recent years, the world of backyard conservation has embraced native gardening as a way to fill the void and boost up biodiversity in the suburbs, cities, and rural areas of the Nature Near You.
Benefits of Native Gardening
There are a variety of benefits to native gardening, both ecological and practical. On the practical side, native plants are better adapted to Michigan’s climate than non-native flowers.
They’ve evolved a variety of adaptations to deal with Michigan’s unpredictable weather patterns and harsh winters. Once established, native plants rarely need watering and typically don’t require fertilizers or other nutrient input.
Once planted, most native plants are excellent at self-sustaining their populations, which cuts down on the need to replant in subsequent years. And many native Michigan plants are just as extravagant and showy as their tropical kin—for example, take a look at these pictures of wild blue lupine, Michigan lily, and New England aster. Rain gardens are also a popular solution for dealing with localized flooding in a lawn or by the side of a driveway, as native floodplain plants are able to store excess rainwater far better than a close-cut lawn.
Creating Pollinator Habitat With Native Plants
On the ecological side, the benefits of native plants can’t be overstated. A native garden is one of the best ways to establish pollinator habitat on a property of any size. Planting even a handful of native Michigan flowers will provide essential nectar sources for butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, and more. To truly optimize the ecological benefit provided by your native garden, it’s essential to plant flowers with different bloom times.
A garden that has flowers blooming at different times of year, from early spring to late summer, is an ideal pollinator habitat. When planting, assess your area before choosing species. Is your soil dry or moist? Sandy, loamy, or mostly clay?
Do you have a lot of open sunlit areas, or do you need some species that will do well in the shade? All of these factors will contribute to deciding which native Michigan plants will thrive on your property.
Native Shrubs and Backyard Conservation
In addition to flowers, don’t overlook native shrubs for your landscaping to really enhance your property’s backyard conservation potential! Spicebush, witch hazel, serviceberry, nannyberry, and ninebark are just a few of the native shrubs that you can plant to enhance the biodiversity in your backyard.
Birds are especially attracted to native shrubs, including species that won’t readily appear at birdfeeders. They’ll eat the berries, perch on the branches, and hide amongst the foliage.
Certify Your Native Garden
If you have a native garden and want to get your native garden certified, we offer a Native Garden Certification program to landowners who meet a few criteria for native gardens. Check out more details on our Native Garden Certification page to sign your garden up and receive a beautiful sign to display in your garden!
