The Boardman River Nature Center is a nature center in

Traverse City, Michigan Traverse City ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was ...

. It is operated by the Grand Traverse Conservation District, a regional parkland authority. The nature center is dedicated to educating residents of Grand Traverse County about the animals and plants of the area, especially those native to the

Boardman River The Boardman River ( '), also known as the Ottaway River ( ') or the Boardman–Ottaway River, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed November 21, 2011 river in the northw ...

valley.

Description

The Nature Center serves as the interpretive center and management headquarters for the Grand Traverse Natural Education Reserve, a 505-acre local park and natural area. The Conservation District reports that the Reserve contains Northern Michigan woodlands and wetlands. Local fauna center on small game of varieties once harvested in the local

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...

, including

whitetail deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...

mink Mink are dark-colored, semiaquatic, carnivorous mammals of the genera ''Neogale'' and '' Mustela'' and part of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, otters, and ferrets. There are two extant species referred to as "mink": the A ...

, and

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...

. A segment of flowing water is often dammed by a family of

beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...

to create an active beaver pond. The park reserve features ponds and wetlands of the Boardman River above

Boardman Lake Boardman Lake is an alpine lake in Camas County, Idaho, United States, located in the Soldier Mountains in the Sawtooth National Forest. While no trails lead to the lake, it can be most easily accessed from trail 091. The lake is north of Bo ...

. 7 miles of trails give visitors access to the resources of the Reserve.

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Grand Traverse County, Michigan Protected areas of Grand Traverse County, Michigan Traverse City, Michigan Nature centers in Michigan Education in Grand Traverse County, Michigan