September 27, 2025 | Thank you so much to the volunteers who showed up for our Fall Volunteer Day. It was a beautiful morning and we got a lot accomplished. We wrapped young trees to help protect them from deer, prepared areas within the Preserve where Oak trees will be planted and collected trash. It was great to see everyone! We hope you'll join us for our next volunteer morning
August 23, 2025 | A dedicated and energetic group of about 12 volunteers enjoyed the late summer morning helping to tag trees and learn about which trees will need protection from the weather, beavers and deer. On September 27, volunteer crews will go back and either wrap these same trees with protective devices or wider fencing. The oaks and hickory trees are flagged for special attention. ALPA hopes to keep these native hardwoods thriving in the preserve for many years to come.
May 2025 | While the lake levels continue to fluctuate, volunteers have been trying to stay ahead of the beavers and other floating debris at the area where the lake drains into the creek and Little Asylum Lake. More volunteers are always welcome as this seems to be a never-ending job.
May 2025 | After having to reschedule due to poor weather conditions, the prescribed burn in areas F3 and F8 happened a couple weeks ago and it was a pretty thorough burn, here are a few smoke and fire images. We all highly respect the power of fire, and how quickly the plants come back up to seek sun. In many areas you can hardly see evidence of the burn at all just a few weeks later.
April 25 | The garlic mustard pull on Saturday, April 26 was a success! We had two good crews of about 16 in both morning and afternoon. It was a mix of ages but mostly high schoolers getting their community service credits for graduation. They were all great and hung in there until we filled about 32 big trash bags with the invasive plant. Thanks to all who joined in.
There were a couple of "flash mob" pulls later as the plants matured quickly. These were announced on Facebook and Instagram. s.
As the blossoms fade and the seed pods appear, we are ending the GM pull for the season. Many lessons were learned.
Besides the fact that this has been a good spring for everything growing, blossoming and becoming full - garlic mustard came in as a healthy, abundant and overwhelming crop. There were many willing participants in this year's harvest of the escaped "culinary" herb, who pulled hundreds of pounds of the plant, but we couldn't get it all.
Many thanks to the anonymous volunteers who continued to pull at Parkview and Winchell the second weekend. It felt like another 100 lbs of plant mass removed.
March 24, 2025
ALPA's Volunteer Stewardship program is off to a great start! On March 22nd, 39 volunteers turned out to pick up >200 lbs of trash, adjust protective oak tree wrappings, and kick-off a Plant Inventory project. They also got to know the Preserve better, and had a fun time. Thanks to all who braved the cold and wind!
Volunteer trash pickers focused on the Preserve perimeters and roadways where the most litter and trash collects. When rain falls in these areas, trash washes down toward Asylum Lake and its headwaters stream at the bottom of Drake Rd hill. Removing trash from these areas supports ALPA's managment plan priority of Water Quality.
Volunteers also began to selectively re-wire-wrap oak trees along the lake's shoreline, to ensure the oaks have plenty of room to grow. This supports ALPA's management plan priority of supporting a Keystone Species Balance in the Preserve, protecting stands of oak trees which support many important types of life at the Preserve.
A smaller group of volunteer stewards also began a Citizen Science project to identify plant and tree species in specified squares within the Preserve. By recording their relative abundance each month throughout the year, volunteers will support ongoing native species restoration and rehabilitation efforts in the Preserve. This will help to inform the Council on how to improve native plant restoration through seeding this fall.
Photo by Sharon Koole
March 1, 2025 | ALPA has begun working with WMU and the Asylum Lake Management Council on a new Stewardship Program. The program will be facilitated by members of the ALPA Board and hopes to be supported by a large core group of volunteers. Projects will be determined and overseen by the Management council and funds for any projects will be provided by the funds set aside for the property. Some of the planned projects include creating a grid map and inventory of desirable land undesirable plants in adult and flowering stage, future plantings of desired species, garlic mustard pull and other plant removals, trash removal, wildflfower plantings, and rain garden maintenance. We would love to have you join us on this endeavor - just sign up to volunteer.
Garlic Mustard pull: On April 27, nearly 30 volunteers from ALPA, local high schools, and WMU helped with removal of garlic mustard, an invasive plant, in selected areas of the preserve. This event has been an annual event and is planned again for sometime next spring.
Controlled burn: In May WMU conducted a controlled burn, as they have been doing for many years. Controlled burns are tentatively scheduled to take place in forested management areas F4 and F7 in the spring/summer of 2025. Effort will be made to inform the public of these maintenance projects as the management council continues with restoration of under canopy native planting in the preserve.
Water level drainage problem: Beaver deceiver and water level management efforts continue as maintenance for the continued flow of Big Asylum lake into Little Asylum Lake. The clearing away of vegetation debris has been handle by a few dedicated volunteers and Management crewmembers, if interested in helping with this ongoing maintenance project please contact Tom Sauber. When the deceiver is blocked with debris the lake level rises, which can negatively affect some species nesting along its edge.
Management plan update: The Asylum Lake Preserve Management Council is in the process of updating its management plan for the Preserve. ALPA has been providing input and has prioritized a number of areas it would like to see addressed: water quality improvements, creating a tree buffer along Drake Rd., native species improvements & invasive species mitigations, oak forest management, keystone species balance, community engagement and education,and trail maintenance. Paul McNellis will temporarily take the lead in implementing the plan at this time.
Trail management and erosion: Efforts to control erosion and accommodate the flow of water off of trails have recently been addressed during 2024 and will continue over the next few years as climate deals us more and stronger rain events. You may have noticed the addition of gravel to some trails, which is helping to slow the erosion.
Beaver management, tree wraps: In order to protect young oak trees from being harvested by beavers, a screen protector has been installed on the vulnerable trees around the lake's edge. This will be another ongoing project as each year already wrapped trees will need to have their screen sleeves enlarged to accommodate yearly growth.
Instagram, planned newsletter: ALPA now has its own Instagram account. Follow us @asylum_lake_association for news, happenings, and snapshots of what wildlife is out and about.We will also email a digital newsletter out soon. Check for links on this site under About/Newsletters, on Facebook and Instagram.
Looking for volunteers and stewardship plans: ALPA has been looking into developing a stewardship program, possibly in coordination with WMU. We are hoping to secure a list of potential, dedicated volunteers that would help throughout the year with projects such as: garlic mustard removal, trash and trail cleanup, erosion control, tree and flora plantings preparation and maintenance, beaver damage mitigation efforts, and informative walks. If you are interested in joining us a steward you can volunteer here.
Workday- blight and trash clean-up: Our planned fall cleanup day has been postponed until spring as well, but we encourage any visitors to bring a bag and collect any trash they see as they walk.
Tree planting: ALPA had hoped to have a fall planting project, but due to application of a fall herbicide in the designated areas, it has been postponed until spring.We will keep you posted!
Deer issues, EHD: A number of deer have been found in the Preserve, especially in the lake. They appear to have died from EHD, Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease; symptoms drive the deer to water to drink. The disease is transmitted by midges, and not from deer to deer, or to other animals or humans. Hopefully, favorable conditions for the insect breeding will decrease next year.
Dog leash efforts, fishing reminders: ALPA has been instrumental in providing some signage to remind fishermen to take care and remove all tackle from lake and shore to keep wildlife safe. Also, signs remind dog walkers to keep their pets on a leash to prevent damage to sensitive nesting areas for birds and animals.
Community partners: Some of our Board members recently met informally with The Stewards of Kleinstuck in an effort to coordinate efforts among different groups with similar goals. We are pleased to see the Oakland Drive Winchell Neighborhood Association has joined the MI adopt-a-drain program. Neighbors sign up to clean and monitor storm drains which lead to neighborhood waterways, including Asylum Lake.
Schools and groups using the Preserve: We have been pleased to see schools visiting Asylum Lake. Winchell School fourth-graders recently explored the Preserve to sketch, observe wildlife and enjoy a nature scavenger hunt. A group of students from Mattawan also enjoyed a similar field trip. While groups are welcome and encouraged to visit, please note that WMU requests that you contact them first so that there is no conflict with other groups or work projects.
Engagement with Imagine Kalamazoo 2035 Greenspace and the Environment: Some members of the ALPA board will be meeting with volunteers from other environmental organizations to discuss ways to provide positive feedback and suggestions to the city regarding future planning. We encourage all citizens to provide input as well. Here are some links to those surveys:
Imagine Kalamazoo Imagine It Survey Strategic Goals Survey
June/July2023 | WMU’s Tom Sauber and ALPA’s Tom Holmes have been working tirelessly to keep the water flowing from Asylum Lake into Little Asylum Lake. Ever since the beavers arrived a few years ago these hard-working animals have been trying to dam up the lake where it meets the creek. A fence-like “beaver deceiver” was installed and worked well for a time. This spring, however, everytime it was cleared the beavers worked diligently to dam it up. Due to concerns that the lake level was getting too high, WMU called in help to clear out and lower the connecting pipe. Once again the beavers attempted to dam the pipe, but current plans will have the company lower the pipe even more so it will be harder to block. We shall see!!!
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