The dwarf lake iris is the focus on a partnership between the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and American Transmission Company. The project involves transplanting individual dwarf lake iris and as well as Houghton’s goldenrod plants from ATC property to suitable inland wetland habitats on national forest system lands. (Photo courtesy of the Hiawatha National Forest)

GLADSTONE — The U.S. Forest Service is partnering with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and American Transmission Company to transplant individual dwarf lake iris and Houghton’s goldenrod plants from ATC property to suitable inland wetland habitats on national forest system lands.

In general, both species are threatened by rising water levels and habitat loss on the coastal shoreline of Lakes Huron and Michigan, the Hiawatha National Forest said in a news release. The individual plants in this project would have been displaced by an upcoming ATC fiber optic cable installation project, but instead will have a new home on the HNF.

“We’re excited to assist in the transplant project by establishing experimental populations on Hiawatha National Forest,” said Paul Thompson, terrestrial ecologist on the national forest, in a news release. “Providing a home for displaced plants will also enhance the species’ viability on the national forest by increasing genetic diversity among existing populations.”

The proposal originated from a proposed ATC fiber optic cable project designed to improve communication technology in the Upper Peninsula. USFWS biologist Carrie Tansy and ATC officials recognized that the project would disturb about eight acres, including sites occupied by the dwarf lake iris and Houghton’s goldenrod. So, the parties approached the U.S. Forest Service with a proposal to move about 50 plants from ATC lands along Lake Michigan onto national forest lands.

Hiawatha National Forest staff including Thompson, district ranger Robert West, National Environmental Policy Act planner Lyn Hyslop and botanist Robert Liebermann supported the assisted migration from the construction site. They identified suitable sites in a research natural area with intercoastal wetlands where the relocated plants will be tended and monitored for health.

“The assisted migration provides a unique opportunity to establish experimental populations of two federally threatened species on public lands, at a time when our existing populations are also imperiled by rising water levels on the Great Lakes,” Thompson said.

He noted that the RNA area has suitable habitat conditions, is near the original location of these plants and provides a measure of protection away from other management activities.

For more information about dwarf lake iris, visit https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/598; to learn more about Houghton’s goldenrod, visit https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/5219. To learn more about how Hiawatha National Forest “cares for the land and serves people,” visit https://www.usda.gov/hiawatha) or follow it on Twitter and Facebook by searching @HiawathaNF.