Wetlands at Lansing Plant Provide Haven for Wildlife
Lansing Delta Township is one of several GM plants celebrating World Wetlands Day.
Wetlands play an important role in ecosystems. They provide immediate benefit to waterfowl, plants, amphibians and a host of other wildlife species.
Many of the 40 GM facilities with habitats certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council have wetlands of their own onsite. Our Lansing Delta Township plant, which manufactures the Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave, has approximately 15 acres of ponds and marshes dedicated to preserving local wetland wildlife populations.
In fact, Lansing Delta Township recently received the Wings Over Wetlands award from the Wildlife Habitat Council and Ducks Unlimited in recognition of protecting wetland habitat for waterfowl and other migratory birds.
Approximately 40 percent of North America’s waterfowl spend at least part of their lives in the Mississippi Flyway, a bird migration route that extends from the Gulf of Mexico to central Canada. As part of one of the most important migratory bird flyways in the world, Lansing Delta Township’s wetlands provide essential habitat components such as shelter, food and nesting structures for promoting nesting and occupancy of wetland species, primarily waterfowl.
It offers brood-rearing habitat for wood ducks and mallards, such as shallowly flooded areas with an interspersion of flooded trees and shrubs, emergent and floating vegetation, and open water areas.
The diversity of Lansing Delta Township’s habitat is important in providing breeding areas for frogs, toads, turtles, invertebrates, plants, waterfowl and migratory birds. For example, the woodlot provides numerous standing snags for wood duck nesting and the wetlands provide duck weed as a food source.
This interconnected ecosystem of woodlands and wetlands promotes a variety of species, which in turn plays an important role in attracting and sustaining the diverse wetland wildlife populations observed in the plant’s habitat.
As we celebrate World Wetlands Day, we continue to look for ways to preserve wetlands and their wildlife populations at our facilities around the world.
