City officials and a local school district have commissioned environmental studies to ensure that an 80-acre prairie is not endangered by a proposed golf course.
The prairie, formed about 12,000 years ago when glaciers receded, is believed to be the Detroit area’s only such ecological system.
“Preserving the lake plain prairie means preserving the fluctuating water table,” said Carl Freeman, a Wayne State University biology professor hired by the Troy School District.
The district owns the land next to the proposed golf course.
Fewer than 1,000 acres of lake plain prairie remain in Michigan, down from the 158,000 acres in the mid-1980s.
Scientists are concerned that the golf course might divert the areas natural water supply, hurting the delicate ecosystem.
Rare animals, including the spotted turtle, and hard-to-find plants thrive on these kinds of prairies. Some of the more than 100 plant species in the prairie are on threatened and endangered lists.
Freeman also worries about the effect of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides from the golf course.
