What began as a two-year pilot program to help meet the critical need for ecological restoration in several southeast Michigan state parks, has become an overwhelming success thanks to more than 800 volunteers who have taken part in the Department of Natural Resources' Core Volunteer Steward Program.

Over the past 18 months these volunteers have contributed more than 5,400 hours removing invasive plants, collecting native seed and planting native grasses and wildflowers at Algonac and Sterling state parks and Bald Mountain, Brighton, Highland, Island Lake, Pinckney and Waterloo recreation areas.

"The primary focus of the Core Volunteer Steward Program is habitat restoration for animals of greatest conservation need," said Laurel Malvitz, the program's coordinator. "Our volunteers are helping to restore and maintain fragile, native ecosystems that provide refuge for many rare species."

Species of greatest conservation need are wildlife species with small or declining populations or other characteristics that make them vulnerable.

"Often these animals are dependent on special habitats that also are disappearing," Malvitz said. "Later this summer volunteers will begin a new project to monitor rare insects in some of these habitats."

After the volunteers remove the invasive plants and reestablish native plant communities, the native ecosystems recover providing quality habitat for these rare species.

"Under Laurel's guidance and leadership, volunteers have accomplished a great deal in just 18 months," said Ray Fahlsing, DNR stewardship program manager. "We are already seeing significant benefits to a number of rare species."

At Algonac State Park, for example, volunteers spent eight days removing invasive autumn olive and honeysuckle shrubs from lakeplain prairies and savannas.

"These habitats are known to harbor several species of greatest conservation need, including the eastern fox snake, blazing star borer moth, Culver's root borer moth, red-legged spittlebug and two rare leafhopper species," Fahlsing said.

Volunteers also spent 385 hours collecting native grass and wildflower seeds and 440 more hours removing invasive shrubs at Island Lake Recreation Area to restore native oak barrens and grassland habitat for the Henslow's sparrow, savannah sparrow and the blazing star borer moth.

Over the past two years, volunteers spent more than 180 hours collecting seed at Highland Recreation Area and, earlier this summer, they spent another 70 hours planting wildflowers grown from that seed including tall coreopsis, wild lupine and rough blazing star.

"These efforts are helping restore native habitat for grassland birds like the grasshopper sparrow," said Malvitz.

Glossy buckthorn, a particularly aggressive invasive shrub in wetlands, is being removed from Brighton Recreation Area's Little Appleton prairie fen to restore habitat for eastern massasauga rattlesnake and insects such as poweshiek skipper and angular spittlebug.

The Graham Lake fen complex at Bald Mountain Recreation Area also has benefited from shrub removal.

"Prairie fens are globally rare wetlands fed by calcium-rich groundwater," Malvitz said. "In the past 18 months, volunteers have spent 250 hours removing glossy buckthorn and other invasive shrubs to maintain habitat for several species of rare turtles, such as the Blanding's turtle, eastern box turtle and spotted turtle."

Volunteers also spent 198 hours removing autumn olive and honeysuckle from prairie and oak savanna areas at Pinckney Recreation Area.

These efforts made growing room available for New Jersey tea and witch-hazel, two native shrubs, and native wildflowers such as wild lupine and hoary puccoon to improve breeding habitat for two rare butterflies, the persius duskywing and frosted elfin.

This spring two workdays and more than 60 volunteer hours were dedicated to pulling invasive garlic mustard along roadsides and trails within a high-quality forest at Waterloo Recreation Area.

"This activity will help protect trillium, wild geranium, round-lobed hepatica and other wildflowers and maintain habitat for cerulean warblers and hooded warblers, two important woodland species," Malvitz said.

The Core Volunteer Steward Program is funded by the Michigan State Wildlife Grant Program. Under this program, federal dollars are used by the DNR's Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks divisions to implement Michigan's Wildlife Action Plan, which is dedicated to helping wildlife species of greatest conservation need and their habitats.

"The 50% state match required to obtain the federal dollars comes from the estimated cost of labor that our volunteers donate," said Malvitz. "When we sign up more volunteers, we can leverage those dollars to take on more projects."

Individuals or organizations interested in taking part in the Core Volunteer Steward Program in southeast Michigan should contact Malvitz at malvitz@michigan.gov or (248) 359-9057.

A schedule of volunteer workdays may be found at www.michigan.gov/dnrvolunteers. Most workdays last three hours, and the activity depends on the season.

To learn more about what the DNR is doing to help Michigan's species of greatest conservation need, see the Wildlife Action Plan under "Wildlife & Habitat" on the DNR Web site.