The Reserve includes 2.5 miles of lake front -- the longest stretch of undeveloped shoreline on the southern shore of Lake Erie. The David M. Roderick Reserve is a 3,600-acre natural area on the Lake Erie shoreline, adjacent to Erie Bluffs State Park. Prior to becoming a nature reserve, the property was owned by Andrew Carnegie and, later, U.S. Steel Corp. Forty-nine percent of the site is wetlands. Aspen, American Beech, White Oak, Sugar Maple, and Silky Dogwood make up a majority of the forested area. Red and Silver maple grow vigorously in wooded swamps. Increasingly surrounded by development, the site will likely become more important in the future as an "island" of habitat. It is considered by the Audobon Society as an important and significant bird area. read more