Written with the nature enthusiast in mind, Along the Huron serves as a guide to thirteen natural areas along the Huron River Corridor in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The casual hiker will find useful trail information and descriptions of the natural communities along the way. A more studious amateur naturalist will be able to use the plant, bird, and butterfly lists to help in their studies. Families will be able to have a reference for their explorations in the natural world.
This guide focuses on the natural communities you may encounter as you visit the various parks and other sites along the Huron River in Ann Arbor. It will help you locate the site, park your car or bicycle nearby, find the trailheads, and catch any seasonal natural highlights in the park.
The guide is organized with general overview information on the Huron River corridor first, followed by more detailed descriptions of the various natural communities in the corridor and the plants and animals which inhabit them. Individual park maps and descriptions follow near the end of the guide. A fold-out overview map of the entire Huron River corridor covered in the guide can be consulted to see the general location of each natural area covered in relation to the rest of the corridor.
Along the Huron would not have been possible without the work of more than fifty volunteers who assisted with the inventories of plants, amphibians, butterflies, and breeding birds along the Huron River, numerous volunteers who helped restore the native community, and the cooperation of staff from the University of Michigan and the Washtenaw County Department of Parks and Recreation.
Natural Areas covered in the guide include: Argo, Bandemer, Barton, Bird Hills, Cedar Bend, Foster (aka Barton), Furstenberg, Kuebler Langford, Parker Mill, Ruthven, and South Pond. Gallup Park and the Nichols Arboretum are also covered.
Stop by the NAP office at 3875 E Huron River Dr in Ann Arbor to purchase Along the Huron for $15.00. Or, order Along the Huron and have it shipped to you by sending in the order form (pdf).
Praise for Along the Huron:
"Along the Huron was written with the nature lover in mind. The casual hiker will find useful trail information and descriptions of the natural communities along the way. A more studious amateur naturalist will be able to use plant, bird and butterfly lists to help in their studies. Families will have a reference for their explorations of the natural world. The following selection describes plants that may be spotted along the corridor from season to season."
--- Michigan Sports & Fitness, July 2000
". . . a nifty new guide to 630 acres of undeveloped green space along the river in Ann Arbor. If you are drawn to these acres, or if you'd like to be, check out this book. . . . This book is both readable and useful."
--- Anne Valentine Martino, Ann Arbor News, September 20, 1999
