At the April 2011 CAGC monthly meeting, Karen Motawi, MGC Loda Lake State Chairman, told the story of the Loda Lake Wildflower Sanctuary.  The Sanctuary is located in Newaygo County and includes a small spring-fed lake, a bog-like wetland area, a creek and riparian marshy areas, oak forest, pine plantations, and an early successional old farm site.  Loda Lake was originally known as Bass Lake.  In 1948 the name was changed to "Loda Lake" to honor the Indian Princess, wife of a Potawami Chief.

The modern-day story of the Loda Lake area begins with a vast virgin pine forest "where trees 54 inches in diameter at the base towered to a eight of sixty feet."  This timber was harvested just before the turn of the century by the Pere Marquette Railroad.  Shortly thereafter, the land came into the hands of the Hanson family, railroad stockholders.  The Hanson's felt the land, now stripped of timber and strewn with decaying pine logs, was worthless.  However, a family friend, Thomas E. Hunt, felt otherwise and made an offer to farm the land.

Mr. Hunt was a pioneer in scientific farming.  From 1909 to 1916, he farmed the land using methods to continually replace soil nutrients lost during farming.  The farm thrived under his care.  Unfortunately, health concerns forced his family to relocate and the farm fell into "disrepair and neglect" under new tenants.  Finally, the land was declared "sub-marginal" by the Department of Agruculture who purchased the land for $3 per acre and made part of the Manistee National Forest.

In 1937, the Federated Garden Clubs of Michigan and the local Newaygo County Capater suggested the need for a wildflower refuge.  It was finally designated by the Secretary of Agriculture as a Wildflower Sanctuary on December 15, 1949.  A cooperative agreement was signed between the Forest Service and the Garden Clubs to maintain the Sanctuary.  Efforts sponsored by the Garden Clubs include the initial development of trails and trail guides; hiring botanist Clayton Bazuin who identified 238 plant species; placement of picnic tables, grills, and bences; replanting dwindling species; and maintenance of a visitors' log. Modern use of the area includes expansion of native plant restoration.

Thus goes the story of the establishment of the only wildflower sanctuary in a National Forest, a project supported both financially and botanically by the Michigan Garden Clubs, Inc. for over sixty years.

To visit the Sanctuary: Loda Lake Wildflower Sanctuary is located on the west side of Michigan, north of Grand Rapids.  Follow Hwy. M37 approximately 6.8 miles north of White Cloud.  Turn west onto 5 Mile Road and travel west to the intersection with Felch Ave.  Turn north on Felch (gravel) to the parking lot entrance road.

This information is taken from the Loda Lake Wildflower Sanctuary brochure.