On Saturday September 26, 2020 ALPA board members joined Paul McNellis to spruce up the entrance area on Parkview. Members trimmed and cleared weeds around signs and spread mulch to keep the weeds down. A water bag was placed around the tree planted recently in memory of Arthur Falk who was an ardent supporter of the Preserve. We are planning more projects in the future and will need some volunteers. Contact us to sign up.
August, 2020 ALPA BOARD APPROVES STATEMENT SUPPORTING KEEP KALAMAZOO WILD
The board of directors of the Asylum Lake Preservation Association endorses the effort of the Stewards of Kleinstuck's "Keep Kalamazoo Wild" campaign to purchase twelve acres adjacent to the Kleinstuck Preserve in order to keep it undeveloped. Especially, since we understand the devastating impact of development on the border of precious green space in the city, we feel an urgency to make sure that this land is purchased by the Stewards to prevent a possible development of over 100 housing units on the land at 2000 Hudson Street. We invite our members and friends to visit the Keep Kalamazoo Wild website: keepkalamazoowild.com to find out the details of the campaign and how to contribute. The purchase of the land and the arrangements for holding it are secure; all that is needed is financial support from the community.
Garlic Mustard has got to go
If you’re a gardener or a conservationist, you know this plant. It leaps into any space it can find and chokes out anything (like native grasses, trillium, other beautiful flowers,) and even after it’s pulled out leaves a chemical in the soil so that nothing can take its place unless carefully planted there, thus leaving that space for it to invade again. This is why we have the "garlic mustard army," which pulls this noxious invader every spring in Asylum Preserve before it sprouts seeds and gets even worse. When possible, WMU includes garlic mustard pulls in its public outreach events to help control what has become one of the preserve's most persistent invasive plants. A garlic mustard decomposition area is dug at the preserve each year so the collected plants can be buried on site as a more environmentally friendly alternative to sending the weeds to a landfill.
Where Youngsters Learn to Love the Land
Students journal and experience nature up close up as they learn to be stewards of the land at the Asylum Lake Preserve
The day starts with Buster Bronco welcoming third graders to the 274-acre Asylum Lake Preserve. The 150 students from four schools – Mattawan Early Elementary, Montessori School in Kalamazoo, El Sol Elementary and Woodward Magnet of Kalamazoo Public Schools – are about to spend the day on the land. The day grew from the Kalamazoo No Child Left Inside Initiative developed by the Kalamazoo Nature Center and is rooted in the understanding that children who have positive experiences outside are more likely to become conservation stewards. Its goal is to get students outdoors to explore, observe, appreciate and connect with the natural environment and each other.
The program has been ongoing for four years now. It started with a pilot program in 2010 for 68 students and has welcomed nearly 150 students for the day in each of the subsequent years.
The way it works is children participate in activities at stations set up throughout the Preserve. Western Michigan University students, serving as nature guides, lead the students from station to station where they take samples from Asylum Lake, study water ecology, and learn about invasive species by pulling out garlic mustard plants.
The youngsters also practice journaling and build leadership skills throughout the day.
The elementary students have the opportunity to build relationships with youngsters from other schools as they are encouraged to team up with them for their activities.
About 20 volunteers help make the day possible
The program encourages youngsters to be curious about nature.
The event is organized by the University's landscape services department and president's office. It was created by an employee from each of those units to complement the program developed by the Nature Center and local public schools in partnership with WMU.
What do these two creatures have in common?
A Chipping Sparrow and a Gray Frog
You wouldn’t think this frog and chipping sparrow have a lot in common--other than they both live in the Asylum Lake Preserve and they depend on the protection of their habitat here to survive. But they share another trait--they both change their calls or songs when their environment is filled with the noise that we humans make, especially traffic noise.
Since the Asylum Lake Preserve has in fact a lot of background noise, often a whole lot of background noise, it’s a good place to find out about those changes that our animal friends make in something so basic as their calls to each other.
Two graduate assistants in the WMU Biology Department working with WMU Assistant Professor in Biological Sciences Sharon Gill are comparing the calls of the animals at Asylum Lake Preserve with those at a nearby preserve, one which is far away from “anthropogenic noise” (the noise we create).
It’s one of the adjustments animals have to make to our presence that we don't often think about.
The History of Asylum Lake and the Surrounding Land
ASYLUM LAKE: A FASCINATING HISTORY
1830-1839
1830-1839: Settlers purchase land in the area. Among them is Enoch Harris, the area's first black settler. They arrive on this "Genessee Prairie" from Ohio in 1830, bringing seeds which it is said were used to plant the first apple orchard in Kalamazoo County. Harris is so respected that his neighbors often ask him to mediate property disputes, which must have been numerous and complicated in those early days. The Harrises are buried in Genessee Prairie Cemetery, at Parkview Ave and 11th St., where there is a them is Enoch Harris, the area's first black settler. They arrive on this "Genessee Prairie" from Ohio in 1830, bringing seeds which it is said were used to plant the first apple orchard in Kalamazoo County. Harris is so respected that his neighbors often ask him to mediate property disputes, which must have been numerous and complicated in those early days. The Harrises are buried in Genessee Prairie Cemetery, at Parkview Ave and 11th St., where there is a historical marker dedicated to them.
Where was the lake? Early maps show only a small pond-like body of water on the site that is now Asylum Lake. It is believed a horse-drawn scoop, like this one, carved dirt out of a nearby hillside to make the earthen berm we see today, thus making the lake the size we know now.
1887-1959
1887-The State Legislature purchases 357 acres for an addition to the "Michigan Asylum for the Insane." At this point, the lake, which had been previously named after the settlers who owned the land, becomes known as "Asylum Lake."
The Colony Farm operation: 1887-1959: This was what we might think of as the "agricultural and campus" phase of the land, as it becomes part of the farming operation run by the hospital and the campus of the hospital itself. It is called the Colony Farm. (What is now Drake Road was called Colony Farm Road, and the Asylum’s presence was reflected in the original name of Oakland Drive, Asylum Ave.)
Patients who are able to do farm work cultivate the land, tend the cows and pigs, and raise food for the patients and for the animals. Besides providing food, which makes the hospital self-sustaining, farming has therapeutic value for the patients who are given meaningful work and fresh air, the only "medications" available to them.
By the 1950’s, the hospital’s annual report states that it owns approximately 1,388 acres of land, a majority of which is dedicated to agricultural activities.
"Cottages," really large houses, are built, three of them along the south ridge of the lake, as is a home for the resident director. Though these cottages look elegant, they are, sadly enough, overcrowded from the beginning. Patients suffer from influenza epidemics, tensions in relationships, and other difficulties from this overcrowding.
1910: The tunnels: An interesting feature of the hospital campus is the tunnels which connect some of the buildings to the newly constructed Rich Cottage.
“During the stormy days of winter” says the Gazette, “or inclement weather in the summer, patients will not be compelled to buffet with the elements in going from the cottages to the dining room.”
“(It is) illuminated with electric lights and the patients are protected from wintry winds and snow in their passage from the cottages to the dining room.”
Rich Cottage provided house-keeping services, heating utilities, nurses’ sleeping quarters, a large kitchen and generalized dining services.
The opening of the new building is celebrated with a dance to which all the employees are invited, according to the Kalamazoo Gazette of October 19, 1910.
ASYLUM LAKE: A FASCINATING HISTORY
1959-1971
Farm operations end, land is sold off, patient population shrinks: As the cost of growing food and raising animals becomes greater than buying it, and as new medications shorten hospital stays, the population and the farming operations decline. The piggery closes in the mid-50's as it is polluting the lake and the water table, and creating health concerns as housing development was expanding westerly toward the farm.
Adding to the cost of the farm operation is the fact that many of the new patients are former WWII soldiers who are inexperienced in working farms and operating farm machinery.
As Dr. Clarence Schreier, the head of the hospital, says in 1955, "the majority of our patients now are city-bred, and not only know nothing about farming but look with great distaste on this form of activity ... years ago much of the farm work was manual, or by horse, but now tractors and machines do the work ... the cost of farm operations has risen ... while the therapeutic value of the farms has decreased."
In psychiatric hospitals across the state and the nation, fresh air and manual labor are replaced by new medications and community placement programs.
In 1957 the legislature passes a resolution ending farming operations throughout the state. The cottages are emptied and eventually demolished by 1971.
The Asylum Lake Property is declared surplus to the institution’s needs.
1973-1990s
1973-1990s: The land begins to return to a "natural state." As the cottages are demolished, the underground tunnels remain. They serve one useful purpose--as a practice area for the local police SWAT team. But they are a serious safety hazard, and are eventually blown up and filled in, so that only hidden traces of them remain.
The land as a desirable commodity: During this period, the land, returning to its "natural" state, is an appealing target for many developers, and many initiatives for its use are proposed during this era.
They include:
• a Planned Housing Development with 1500 units
• an armory
• a children’s psychiatric hospital;
• an industrial park
• a golf course
• a city park with a boat launch, shelter, bathroom facilities.
As the legislation is finally passed, an interesting discussion goes on about the name of the area.
Though some suggest calling it "Fair Oaks," Rep. Welborn prevails when he says that it should remain "The Asylum Lake Preserve," because "due consideration (should) be given to the past history of the surrounding area,"...even though perhaps "many of us are ashamed of the past when the Kalamazoo State Hospital was an insane asylum."
1990: Asylum Lake Preservation Association forms: In response to proposals to use some of the property for an industrial park, residents from throughout the region form the Association and lobby against having the natural state of the area so radically changed.
Intense and sometimes bitter debate goes on for several years around the issues of having the land which was originally conveyed as open public space now being used in a different way. Finally, an agreement is reached whereby WMU would use the land south of Parkview for a research and business park, and the land north of Parkview would be preserved to "promote ecosystem integrity and natural aesthetics, ensure passive recreation, support research and education."
Dr. Elson Floyd, president of WMU, and the City of Kalamazoo also establishes a fund at the Kalamazoo Community Foundation that yields an annual income to preserve and maintain the natural area. Expenditure of this money is determined by the Asylum Lake Preserve Management Council, which has members from the University, the surrounding neighborhood associations and the Asylum Lake Preservation Association.
How did the Preserve come to be?
You’ve read the long and fascinating history of the land we now call the Preserve. But the land would not be the sanctuary it is now without the efforts of many people in the community, who lobbied for the area at a time, in the early 1990’s, when many people thought it should be developed.
That is when the Asylum Lake Preservation Association (ALPA) and the Asylum Lake Preserve Management Council (ALPMC) came into existence. ALPA has continued to be a community-based advocacy group for the Preserve, holding community gatherings, publishing newsletters like this, helping to put dog waste bags and pamphlet stations in the Preserve, and informing the community about issues with a Facebook page and a Web page.
The Management Council has charge of the moneys from the Community Foundation Fund and decides on expenditures for the upkeep and protection of the Preserve. It consists of seven University members and six Community Representatives from local groups like ALPA, the Environmental Council, the Environmental Concerns Advisory Committee to the Kalamazoo City Commission, and neighborhood associations located near the Preserve.
When you enter the preserve at the Parkview entrance, you'll notice a large stone at the beginning of the paths. This is a memorial to the people who made the Preserve possible as a quiet natural haven for the Kalamazoo area. Beginning in the early nineties, a group of citizens mobilized the community to keep the Preserve from being developed so that the whole community could enjoy it as a haven of calm nature.
At the base of the stone is a tribute plaque funded by ALPA and placed by David Nesius to commemorate two of those people, Renay and Montford Piercey. It acknowledges the value we place on the energy and dedication of the Pierceys’ and those like them have made to the community.
ALPA members at tribute plaque that commemorates Renay and Monford Pierceyf or their energy and dedication on behalf of the Preserve.
Left to right: Lauri Holmes, Donna Tellam, Tom Holmes, Mark Hoffman, David Nesius, Cal Mastin, and Mary Sue Hoffman.
Water Quality in the Preserve
Work must be done to keep Asylum Lake alive.
Hydrologists from WMU and elsewhere report that the water quality of Asylum Lake and Little Asylum is poor. While researchers continue to monitor, test, and learn more about what we all might do improve its quality, much is already known.
The major pollutant in the lakes is phosphorus from fertilizer used on yards and gardens of area homes, apartment complexes, and businesses. Phosphorus enters the lakes via groundwater and storm sewer inflow. Studies show that most of it stays in the lakes’ sediment and surrounding groundwater.
Phosphorus causes increased growth of algae and other plants (biomass). These, in turn, remove oxygen and block sunlight from the water. Whether growing or decaying, algae and biomass remove oxygen from the water and make the water stagnant and unhealthy for fish and other aquatic life.
The best way to reduce phosphorus loads in the Preserve is to stop it at its source, i.e., get homeowners and business owners to reduce their use of fertilizers. Storm sewer drainage into the Preserve can also be adjusted so that phosphorus drains first into filtration and treatment systems or into soil where some of it will remain.
It’s harder to limit the salt that runs into the lakes from roads, sidewalks, and parking lots surrounding the Preserve. We can, of course, ask neighbors, business owners, and our municipalities to limit salt use in winter. Yet, we all know the perils of walking and driving on icy surfaces.
But salt never disappears from water, even as it moves through the soil. And the salt level in the Preserve’s lake water is rising.
One way that lakes stay healthy is through a twice-a-year natural cleansing and aerating process called inversion or “lake turnover.” In the fall, water on top of the lake cools and sinks, while the warmer bottom water rises. This process reverses in the spring. It’s nature’s way of supplying oxygen-rich water from the surface layer to the stagnant water at the bottom. It also exposes all the water to sunlight and guarantees healthy plant life, which in turn supports healthy fish and animal life.
But salt water is denser than fresh water. (That’s why we can float in it!) So, salt water sinks to the lake bottom and stays there, thus preventing the mixing and turnover essential for a healthy aquatic environment.
The combination of too much phosphorus and salt robs lake water of its oxygen, kills healthy aquatic plant life, and eventually kills or drives out the animals that no longer have food or oxygen to survive. Reducing the amount of these pollutants coming into the lakes could help them recover some much-needed balance.
Students and faculty from the Environmental Studies program at WMU continue to sample and test water in the Asylum Lake Preserve through the year. The canoes sometimes tied to trees near the south side of Asylum Lake aren’t pleasure boats. They were bought with part of a National Science Foundation grant to WMU and are used to take samples from the lake water and the lake bottom.
We are fortunate to have local experts who are learning about our environment and sharing that knowledge so we can preserve the natural gifts that we have in the Asylum Lake Preserve.
Let’s all do our part to keep our lake water clean and healthy.
Looking Ahead for Asylum Lake
LOOKING AHEAD FOR ASYLUM LAKE
Changes in the landscape: In the spring and summer of 2012, the Management Council of WMU contracted to have the path from the Winchell entrance past the end of the lake improved.
The path was resurfaced, erosion control terracing and drainage were put in place, native plants planted along the path, and the berm was repaired and widened to its original size.
What’s in the future? The Management Council plans to continue to remove invasive plants and to encourage native plants. A trail which will make the Preserve accessible to handicapped persons is being worked on and hopefully will become a reality in the near future.
Since the preserve has at times in its history been an oak-savanna, farmland, residences for the State Hospital and a natural area, “restoring the area to its natural state” is a complicated issue.
However the goal of the Management Council and ALPA is “to assure that the Preserve remains a natural space, to see that it is preserved as a habitat for wildlife, and for continued use by the whole community.” The many historical and ecological factors will be sorted out as we plan for the future care of the Preserve.
Each year the Management Council identifies, prioritizes and budgets for projects within the Preserve.
Join ALPA, come out and volunteer and stay in touch. We need you!
Controlled burns really are 'rocket science'
Control burns at Asylum Lake
You’re going to WHAT?
Many people greet the idea that prairies or forests are going to be purposely burned with disbelief, since we’ve been raised to understand that fires kill the valuable plants and animals in a forest or a prairie.
But the fact is that such fires occurred before we became the dominant species on this planet, and these fires actually helped keep the native plants strong.
Now we set fires to burn off invasive species and regenerate the prairie.
But, "prescribed burns" are, in the words of one expert, "rocket science!"
You don’t just go into a forest or onto a prairie and light a match.
Paul MacNellis, retired Director of Landscape Services at WMU and a controlled burn expert, says that such conditions as wind direction and speed, barometric pressure, relative humidity, solar gain, atmospheric mixing--up to 187 factors in some cases--have to be checked out before the go-ahead is given.
The prairie at the western edge of the Preserve has been overdue for a controlled burn, as it is being overwhelmed by invasive species and needs a “clearing out” to allow native plants whose seeds are under the ground to re-sprout. So, a burn is planned for the future. We will inform you of the date when it is set, when the weather conditions are just right
What's going on under the ground? Hydrogeology of Asylum Lake Preserve
Students learning hydrogeology at the Asylum Lake Preserve, on the right are students working at Asylum Lake
Hydrogeology. That's the scientific word for it. Back in the mid-'90s the Department of Geosciences at WMU developed a test site and buried metal drums and pipes in a distant corner of the prairie at the Preserve. Now, every summer, hydrologists from places such as Virginia, Minnesota, Peru, Japan, Denmark, and Norway, come to Kalamazoo for a seminar course that teaches them to monitor the level and quality of the groundwater, and how to detect oil drums, pipes and other items that have been buried underground which threaten the quality of the groundwater in places where the barrels or pipes are rusting or leaking.
Using electric, magnetic, and ground-penetrating radar tools they practice on a far corner of the prairie, learning how to detect the barrels and pipes. They take these skills back home to help clear the environment of buried trash that can cause pollution.
The barrels and pipes buried in the Preserve do not pose a threat to the Preserve. They are clean and nondegradable. You could think of them as "seeds" planted there to help train the growing number of professionals now being employed in the field of environmental studies and ecology.
A second project of the hydrogeology program in Asylum Lake Preserve studies its groundwater. Each summer a special seminar spends a week drawing samples from wells located in the preserve.
Wells? You may be wondering, will someone fall down one of these wells while innocently taking a walk or a run? The simple answer is "never."
These are not the kinds of open wells that people fall into. In fact, it would be a challenge to even find one of them, since the tops are covered with metal plates that are locked and bolted down flat to the surface.
When the water samples are taken to test the flow and quality of the groundwater, seminar students (people from all over the U.S. and the world) camp out in the field next to the wells. They take samples on regular intervals over a 40-hour period and work to protect the site.
To learn more about these efforts, you can visit the website of the WMU Department of Geology (https://wmich.edu/geology).