Supporting Organizations
In addition to the Coalition, many partner organizations and individual experts are stepping up to support the protection of Sibley Prairie, by spreading the word, contributing financial resources, and sharing valuable expertise.
“The Nature Conservancy has recognized the importance of the Sibley Road Prairie for more than three decades, and this collaborative effort to protect the Fritz tract represents the best opportunity in all that time.“
– The Nature Conservancy, Letter of Support
“We recognize prairies like Sibley not only as rare ecological treasures, but as living classrooms and climate-resilient landscapes that benefit the entire region.“
– Friends of Rouge Park, Letter of Support
“We uphold, above all, community self-determination and community leadership in forging climate solutions, and believe that projects like that to save the Sibley Prairie exemplify ingenious grassroots leadership.”
– Environmental Action East Michigan Council, Letter of Support
“As a Native plant producer in Michigan and an Anishinaabe tribal member, I deeply understand the ecological, cultural, and spiritual significance of native landscapes like Sibley Prairie. This prairie represents not only a rare remnant of Michigan’s original ecosystems but also a living connection to the traditions and knowledge of Indigenous communities.”
– East Michigan Native Plants, Letter of Support
“Lakeplain prairies are rare and valuable ecosystems, once covering thousands of acres in the state; however, less than one percent of this type of land now remains in restorable condition. Friends of the Detroit River fully supports Save Sibley Prairie Coalition’s efforts to protect this important landscape, which is not only a vital part of our environment, but a beautiful resource to be shared by future generations.”
– Friends of the Detroit River, Letter of Support
“Sibley Prairie is an important site for migratory birds, serving as one of the most significant inland stopover areas in Wayne County. Its size and quality make it a refuge for wildlife and a source of native species that can support conservation and restoration efforts throughout the region.”
– Downriver Linked Greenways, Letter of Support
Supporting Individuals
“The Sibley Road Complex of prairie remnants represents one of the largest concentrations of this rare ecosystem type in all of Michigan. The Sibley Road Complex is made up of a mosaic of oak savannah on the drier sand ridges and wet prairie in the lower depressions dominated by clay soils. This mosaic of lakeplain prairie and oak savannah provides critical habitat for a variety of rare plant and animal populations, some of which are listed as critically endangered within the state of Michigan.”
– Robert E. Grese, Professor-Emeritus
School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Letter of Support
“Since about 1990, Michigan’s conservation community has been trying to get
protection for Sibley Prairie, a roughly mile-square block of southeast Michigan’s largest, 25-square-mile prairie/savanna complex…Within a few hundred feet of busy Telegraph Road, one [is] surrounded by a magical garden of asters, goldenrods, lupine, ironweed, milkweeds, mountain mint, coreopsis, Indian plantain, prairie dock, lobelia, and many more, within a matrix of tall Indian grass, cord grass, and big bluestem. A gardener’s
delight.”
– Dennis Albert, ecologist, Letter to Governor Whitmer
Save Sibley Prairie Coalition 