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Crooked Lake Marsh

Recognition:

  • Nominated for Legal Dedication
  • The Nature Conservancy Natural Areas Registry

Size: 397 acres

Location: Approximately 8 miles west of Allegan

Management: Allegan State Game Area

Activities: Outdoor education, nature study, photography, birdwatching, hunting, wildflower viewing

Importance: Crooked Lake Marsh is the largest of Michigan's coastal plain marshes, a relict community of plant species disjunct from the North Atlantic coastal plain communities. At one time part of a larger lake that included Little Tom Lake to the west, Crooked Lake Marsh is now a soft-water seepage lake with no inlet or outlet. Although one of several coastal plain marshes in southwestern Michigan, Crooked Lake Marsh shows a greater diversity of habitats than most other sites in the state. Its water level fluctuates greatly, not only throughout the season but also from year to year. During years of low water levels, sedges dominate extensive peat/mud flats which are exposed during the summer.