All that money still seems too good to be true.
‘When I say the words out loud, it seems almost surreal,? said Springfield Township Parks and Recreation Director Jennifer Tucker. ‘We just got a $101,662 grant.?
She says the words slowly, as if still trying to convince herself it’s not a dream.
It all started when Tucker got a call from a friend who told her about some last- minute funds that were funneled into the United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service. He thought it might be a good match for the work she was doing in Springfield.
Tucker jumped on the web, found a phone number and dialed up. The agent she spoke with was a little surprised, and wondered where she heard about the funds.
It wasn’t something they were advertising, after all.
Still, the agency was willing to hear her out, and after a couple of meetings and several trips back and forth to Lapeer, Tucker not only had funds from the Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program for work in Springfield Township’s Shiawassee Basin Preserve, but she had an award far larger than the agency usually hands out.
‘Actually, they call it a cost share program,? she explained. ‘They’ll reimburse us after we do the work, and it’s work we’re already doing’like prescribed burning, and invasive species removal’but the cost-share allows us to do more’a lot more.?
Possibly Michigan’s largest, most pristine prairie fen, the Shiawassee Basin Preserve is a 600 acre, globally rare wetland system known for its array of native wildflowers and rare wildlife. Rare plants include Richardson’s sedge, white lady’s slipper, mat muhly, and prairie dropseed. The fen is also home to the Huron River leafhopper, angular spittlebug, tamarack tree cricket and the eastern massasauga rattlesnake.
‘The property speaks for itself,? said Tucker, who hired in as the township’s Parks and Rec director about 10 years ago. ‘We have so many rare and endangered species here, how can you ignore it??
Over the next seven years, Springfield Township Parks and Recreation will receive $101,662 for prescribed burning, invasive plant removal and control, wetland restoration, native plantings, and forest stand improvement.
Contained within the Long Lake Complex, The Shiawassee Basin Preserve has been classified as the largest, highest quality and most pristine fen in Michigan.
And, explains Tucker, since Michigan has the most fens in the world, it’s potentially the most highly ranked fen in the world.
‘Which is a lot of pressure,? she adds with a laugh. ‘It’s a hell of a lot of pressure.?
Funding from the NRCS will cover basic needs over the next seven years, plus allow for repair of a part of the fen dug up years ago for use as a livestock watering hole.
Tucker said she ‘absolutely loves? her job in Springfield Township, and credits her dad with encouraging her to follow her dreams and choose a career she would enjoy.
‘My dad worked at Yellowstone for a while, and that really was his dream,? she said. ‘But he had pressure to come home and work for the family business, and he’s never done what he really wanted to do. When I went to college, he said ‘make sure you do something you like.??
Tucker pursued an education in teaching, and planned to work in a park during the summers when school was out.
Eight credits short of graduation, she changed her mind.
‘I was always the kid stuffing dead fish in my pockets or bullfrogs in my baby carriage, that kind of thing,? said Tucker, the youngest of seven children in her family. ‘I went back and got my degree in parks and recreation management, and here I am. It’s the best decision I ever made.?
Tucker said she enjoys serving the community in the ‘recreation? half of her role, but also feels passionate about preserving and protecting the township’s unspoiled areas.
‘The resource can’t speak for itself,? she said. ‘We have to be an advocated for it because the next generation may not see the same things if we don’t take an active stance.?
‘People often don’t have the opinion that Parks and Recreation is a necessary service,? she continued. ‘I personally think it is, not just because I work for Parks and Recreation, but because if my house burns down, it can be rebuilt. That fen cannot. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. We have to take care of what we’ve been given; we have to be stewards of the land.?
Jay Blair, district conservationist with the USDA\NRCS, said the agency looks for a certain type of habitat’those that are considered rare, threatened, endangered or special interest’when awarding the funds, noting a particular interest in the area’s inland wetland prairies, fen, and vegetation.
The fen’s large size, rare species and relatively undisturbed nature, he said, are quite rare.
‘That’s why we awarded more money,? Blair explained. ‘We’re a federal agency but we have the ability to manage these funds as we see fit. The fact that they got awarded a lot more money indicates it’s really a nice big habitat. Our goal now is to reestablish those habitat back to their historical time.?
Blair said he was also impressed with the detailed planning already put in place by the township and its parks department.
‘It made our planning process easy,? he said. ‘With most organizations, we have to walk the property and sit down and educate them about what can be done and can’t be done. Since she already had a plan in place, it was easier to develop our plan, so it was great.?
Springfield Township Clerk Nancy Strole announced the news during an April 10 board meeting.
‘I think it’s remarkable,? she said. ‘Sometimes we are pretty tough on the parks commission and the park director as far as initiating or obtaining funds for maintenance, but here’s an example of how they not only succeeded but exceeded any kind of reasonable expectations.?
Strole said she was somewhat aware of Tucker’s efforts during the process, and knew the parks director was working on exceedingly short notice.
And, like Tucker, Strole said the land speaks for itself.
‘I like to think a little bit had to do with recognition of the quality of the Shiawassee Basin Preserve,? she said. ‘There’s more and more recognition; it’s world class and they know it, and they want to help. So congratulations, parks.?
Interested? Check out www.mi.nrcs.usda.gov