Learn and Explore at Gillette Sand Dune Visitor Center
P.J. Hoffmaster is part of the largest freshwater coastal dune ecosystem in the world and home to diverse dune zones and species. From the shoreline to wooded backdunes, each dune zone provides a unique habitat for many types of plants, animals, and insects. To help you connect with nature both on and off the trail, click below to learn and explore wildlife found at P.J. Hoffmaster!
Dune Zone 1:
The Beach
Photo by Stacy Pokrywka
Dune Zone 2:
Foredune
The fordune is the first dune just above the beach where grasses have grown and trapped blowing sand. Plants, one of the most distinctive features of the foredune, are adapted to survive extreme conditions, including scarcity of nutrients, low soil moisture, intense sunlight, drying winds, and constant sand movement. To survive these harsh conditions, coastal plants have special adaptations. You will notice that some plants are light in color or are covered with tiny hairs that act as a reflective blanket. This protects the plant from moisture loss and heat exposure. Dune plants also have narrow leaves with less surface area for the sun to bake. Some dune plants may appear waxy or succulent-like, both adaptations for retaining moisture. Most foredune plants also have very deep roots to capture water below the dune.
Pitcher’s thistle, Lake Huron Tansy, and Houghton’s Goldenrod are three rare plants on our coastal sand dunes. Their life cycles are dependent on the disturbance-driven nature of sand dunes. Sand movement can create new micro-climates where seeds can germinate.
Although sturdy and able to withstand harsh conditions, dune plants are sensitive to continual human disturbance. Foot traffic and all-terrain vehicles can damage dune plants and remove protective grass cover. Plant species in this zone include: hairy puccoon,
Pitcher’s Thistle, marram grass, sand reed grass, little bluestem, sand cherry, and bearberry. Other species include: sand wolf spider, Eastern hognose snake, fowler’s toad, grasshoppers, field mice, song sparrows, and Eastern bluebirds.
Photos by Lillian Dotzlaf/Little Lill’s Photography and Stacy Pkrywka
Dune Zone 3:
The Trough
The Trough, or interdunal pond, is a sheltered low area between the foredune and backdune. The water in these depressions results from fluctuating lake levels and can either be permanent features (like at Ludington State Park) or seasonal. These water fluctuations can dramatically affect the plant and animal life that inhabit these coastal wetlands.
Rushes and bulrushes are common in warm, shallow water and jack pines, characteristic of many interdunal pond zones, may also grow along pond edges. A relic of the ice age, jack pines thrive in low-nutrient, moist trough sands. When ponds fill with moving sand or organic matter, they may become dominated by jack pine stands. Rare plants, such as the threatened Houghton’s goldenrod, are found along the moist margins of some northern Michigan dune wetlands.
Commonly seen animal species include dragonflies, damselflies, Fowler’s toad, American toad, spring peeper, piping plover, spotted sandpiper, migratory songbirds, and waterfowl. Birds, such as the spotted sandpiper, take advantage of these sheltered locations for nest building, while songbirds use the ponds for food. The shallow water warms quickly, encouraging insect and tadpole growth, and provides quick food for traveling birds when other forage is scarce. Other pond residents include garter snakes, mink, muskrats, and forest mammals, such as foxes, weasels, and deer, who visit the pond for water.
P.J. Hoffmaster State Park does not have a “true” interdunal pond. The park does get temporary ponds when lake levels are high.
Photo by Tyler Leiprandt and Michigan Sky Media LLC.
Dune Zone 4:
Backdune
To find relief from the hot summer sun or refuge from winter winds, head into the wooded backdunes. There, sugar maple, black cherry, red oak, American beech, and Eastern hemlock tower over understory plants, providing shade and creating a moist, fertile topsoil. This thin but fertile layer of topsoil accumulates from leaf litter decay over hundreds of years, and nutrients are recycled to support the first. While shallow roots of plant life help to bind together this loose, sandy soil, the ground is extremely fragile and prone to erosion. It is important to take great care not to disturb the blanket of soil that supports these trees and understory plants.
The number, distribution, and natural condition of coastal state parks make them critical “stepping stones” for birds traveling through the region each spring and fall. State parks and other public lands provide critical restover and nesting habitats for migratory birds. The backdune forest of P.J. Hoffmaster State Park is home to over 300 species of birds alone! The Eastern hemlock, in particular, makes this forest attractive to traveling songbirds that need thermal cover and protection from predators.
The diversity of plant life in the backdune also contributes to the diversity of wildlife species. Providing critical food and cover, the backdune is the home of several listed species including the Eastern box turtle, Northern goshawk, red-shouldered hawk, black rat snake, cerulean and hooded warbler.
Outside the protected park setting, the backdune forests of the Lake Michigan shoreline are one of West Michigan’s endangered habitats. They are divided into smaller and smaller parcels and disappearing at an alarming rate. The native flora is often replaced by manicured landscapes when houses are built.
Photos by Stacy Pokrywka and Lillian Dotzlaf/Little Lill’s Photography
Explore & Discover at P.J. Hoffmaster State Park
Animals, insects, and plants abound at Hoffmaster! Learn more in these printable guides. All guides provided courtesy of Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources.