The red-legged spittlebug and the blazing star borer moth are just two of the benefactors of the Department of Natural Resources' stewardship program that the Parks and Recreation Division conducts at state parks and recreation areas around southern Michigan.

The rare insects, along with many native plant species, benefit from the removal of invasive plants to help restore and maintain fragile, native ecosystems in southern Michigan.

The red-legged spittlebug is known to occur in 15 counties in the Lower Peninsula, preferring grassland and prairie fens, like those found at Brighton State Recreation Area in Livingston County. Though not much is known about the life of the spittlebug, the DNR does know the work of the stewardship program in southern Michigan helps the insect's habitat.

"The work of the stewardship programs is representative of what Michigan used to be," said Ray Fahlsing, DNR stewardship program manager. "These projects focus on the remnants of ecosystems that used to be much more prevalent in our state, such as the prairie fens of Waterloo and Brighton recreation areas, the dry sand prairie of Pinckney State Recreation Area and the oak barrens of Island Lake Recreation Area in Livingston County."

"These are parts of Michigan that were here originally, and they harbor many rare species," Fahlsing added.

The State Park Stewardship Program addresses cultural and natural resource issues within the entire state parks system. Efforts focus on resource preservation, management and restoration. On the natural resource side, maintaining and restoring representative Michigan landscapes and native ecosystem is a primary goal. Control of invasive plants is an important part of the DNR's efforts to restore and maintain ecosystems at the natural community level. The DNR also endeavors to restore natural communities with all their component plant and animals, natural processes and natural disturbance regimes. The goal of the program is to manage entire ecosystems and natural communities, not just components of them. The Stewardship Program also addresses user created damage, such as erosion. It assists in achieving balance between recreational use/recreational development and resource protection. For instance, the program addresses emerald ash borer, gypsy moth, oak wilt and other internal and external treats to park natural resources.

The Core Volunteer Stewards is a two-year pilot program to help meet the overwhelming need for ecological restoration in Michigan state parks. It focuses on seven southeast Michigan parks, but the DNR hopes to use it as a model for other areas of the state. Volunteers engage in seed collecting, planting, rare insect monitoring and other tasks as well as invasive plant control. Core Volunteer Stewards is only one effort of the DNR Stewardship Program.

The program recruits core groups of volunteers who work on projects with the DNR to restore and maintain the remnant, fragile ecosystems. The key areas the program focuses on are Algonac State Park and Bald Mountain, Brighton, Highland, Island Lake, Pinckney and Waterloo recreation areas. Monthly volunteer workdays are scheduled at all these locations, and the work focuses on everything from invasive plant removal to native seed collection to planting native wildflowers. A typical workday lasts three hours.

"Volunteers arrive for a workday, learn about the activity, target invasive species, gather the necessary equipment and then perform the activity," said Laurel Malvitz, natural resource coordinator for the stewardship program, describing a typical day for a volunteer. "Throughout the year, you can do everything from cutting large invasive shrubs with loppers and bow saws and making brush piles to hand pulling weeds, collecting native seeds or planting native grasses and wildflowers."

"The stewardship program is a direct connection to the vital conservation work we need in these ecosystems," said Parks and Recreation Division Chief Ron Olson. "Not only does the program provide volunteers willing to help us, it provides a way for us to reach out to citizens and show the importance of protection and conservation work in our state. Our volunteers are making a huge difference."

Much of the work that the volunteers focus on is the removal of invasive plants from the state parks and recreation areas targeted in the program.

"Invasive plants are so aggressive," Fahlsing noted. "They will take a complex ecosystem and make it simple. The disease and things that feed on the invasive plants don't come with them, which allows them to completely take over a highly complex and fragile ecosystem."

Some of the more notable invasive plants in Michigan are purple loosestrife and garlic mustard, but Fahlsing cautions even some plants commonly sold in nurseries and landscaping businesses are seen by many as invasive. He said that glossy buckthorn, usually sold as a landscaping shrub, has been destroying wetlands in Michigan.

In other instances, an invasive plant has been intentionally introduced by the DNR, Fahlsing said. He cited the examples of autumn olive and multifloral rose, two species that were introduced as wildlife food, but became "a little too successful." Both species are now considered invasive plants, he said, noting that there are equally successful native species that could be used in their place, such as native dogwoods.

An emerging invasive plant is oriental bittersweet, which is becoming the "kudzu of the north," Fahlsing said. Kudzu is an invasive vine that was originally imported from Japan. It now covers at least seven million acres of the southeastern United States and can grow as much a foot a day during the summer months. Fahlsing said the oriental bittersweet is becoming similarly aggressive and very hard to kill, and is having an impact at Highland State Recreation Area in Oakland County.

Private property owners who are facing a battle with invasive plants on their property can get help from a variety of resources. A good place to start is the Stewardship Network (www.stewardshipnetwork.org), which is an organization that works to preserve, restore and manage Michigan's natural lands and waters. The organization sponsors workshops to help property owners manage their lands, including the identification and removal of invasive species. Local conservation districts also have a lot of information to share with homeowners who are battling invasive plants on their property. The Michigan Association of Conservation Districts has a Native Plants Gateway on its Web site, www.macd.org, which provides a very thorough list of resources about invasive weeds and how to control them. The Nature Conservancy's invasive weed site http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/ also is an excellent resource.

Individuals or organizations interested in the Core Volunteer Stewards Program in Southeast Michigan can call Laurel Malvitz at (248) 685-2187.