Originally created as the Purple Coneflower Plant Preserve in 1970, the site protects a disjunct tallgrass prairie in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

[2] Geologically, the site consists of dolomitic karstland, with hard rock close to the earth's surface and little opportunity for trees to grow deep roots.

A prairie opening has taken this parcel for its own, with grasses, wildflowers such as the purple coneflower for which the Sanctuary was once named, butterflies such as the monarch, and small birds such as the ruby-throated hummingbird.

The site is now the ghost town of Kenneth, Michigan; the foundations of these buildings form part of the sanctuary.

An active State highway, M-123, runs adjacent to the Fred Dye Preserve and serves the site.