• Home
  • Explore
  • Land Protection
    • Conservation Easements
    • Community Conservation
  • Land Stewardship
  • Projects
    • Wildflower Guide
    • Photo Monitoring
    • Project Case Studies
  • Give
    • Donate
    • Additional Ways to Give
    • Planned Giving
    • Business Partnership
      • Our Business Partners
  • Get Involved
    • Events
    • Volunteer
  • News & Blog
  • About
    • Our Story
    • Our Team
    • Our Strategy
      • Strategic Action Plan
      • Strategic Conservation Plan
    • Contact
    • Careers
616-451-9476
Donate
  • View landconservancy’s profile on Facebook
  • View landconservancy’s profile on Twitter
  • View naturenearby’s profile on Instagram
  • View landconservancy’s profile on YouTube
  • Home
  • Explore
  • Land Protection
    • Conservation Easements
    • Community Conservation
  • Land Stewardship
  • Projects
    • Wildflower Guide
    • Photo Monitoring
    • Project Case Studies
  • Give
    • Donate
    • Additional Ways to Give
    • Planned Giving
    • Business Partnership
      • Our Business Partners
  • Get Involved
    • Events
    • Volunteer
  • News & Blog
  • About
    • Our Story
    • Our Team
    • Our Strategy
      • Strategic Action Plan
      • Strategic Conservation Plan
    • Contact
    • Careers
LogoLogoLogoLogoLogo

Land Conservancy of West Michigan Explore

Preserve Guidelines

Anderson Woods Nature Preserve

Barrier Dunes Sanctuary

Bradford Dickinson White Nature Preserve

Brower Lake Nature Preserve

Cascade Peace Park

Castle Park Nature Reserve

DePersia South Highlands Nature Preserve

Dumaw Woodland Nature Preserve

Dune Harbor Park Muskegon County

Dune Pines Nature Preserve

Flower Creek Dunes Nature Preserve

Huyser Farm Park

Kuker-Van Til Nature Preserve

Lake Breeze Nature Preserve

Lamberton Lake Fen Nature Preserve

Lost Lake: Muskegon State Park

Maas Family Nature Preserve

McDuffee Creek Nature Preserve

Meinert County Park

Minnie Skwarek Nature Preserve

Muskegon River: Henning Park Access

Muskegon River: Thornapple Access

North Ottawa Dunes County Park

Ottawa Sands

Palomita Nature Reserve

Pere Marquette Conservation Park

Pere Marquette River: Bowman’s Bridge

Pere Marquette River: Forks Landing

Pere Marquette River: Mapleleaf

Pere Marquette River: Rainbow Rapids

Pere Marquette River: Walhalla

Richmond Woods Nature Preserve

Roselle Park

Saugatuck Dunes State Park

Saugatuck Harbor Natural Area

Saul Lake Bog Nature Preserve

Tallmadge Woods

The Highlands

Upper Macatawa Natural Area

Upriver Nature Preserve

Wege Foundation Natural Area

Whitey’s Woods: Lake Harbor Park

© 2022 Land Conservancy of West Michigan • All Rights Reserved

About Us

The Land Conservancy of West Michigan is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that works to keep nature nearby and conserve ecologically critical land in West Michigan. We protect land by creating public nature preserves, providing support to communities and local governments creating natural areas, and helping private landowners protect their own land.

Contact

237 Steele St, Suite A
Grand Rapids, MI 49534
616-451-9476
  • View landconservancy’s profile on Facebook
  • View landconservancy’s profile on Twitter
  • View naturenearby’s profile on Instagram
  • View landconservancy’s profile on YouTube

Instagram

Open post by naturenearby with ID 18071309078143388
Fifty years ago, four volunteers met to lay out a plan to identify, protect, and care for West Michigan’s natural areas. Lewis Drain, Grace Eldering, John Will, and Herbert Ranta founded the organization called the Natural Areas Conservancy of West Michigan (NACOWMI), incorporated on October 19, 1976.

Our founders were lawyers, scientists, and professionals who believed in the importance of the preservation and enjoyment of natural land. They made a promise to West Michigan's wildest places, and we've been keeping it ever since.

While so much has changed around us, we've worked to protect the natural spaces that make West Michigan feel like home. What started as hope has become legacy, transforming thousands of acres into enduring sanctuaries where today's children will bring their own children to explore.

Fun fact: One of our founding board members, Grace Eldering, is better known for being one of two women to help create the vaccine for pertussis, or whooping cough, in the 1930s.

#lcwm50 #keepingnaturenearby
13 0
Open post by naturenearby with ID 18005564396834728
It may not feel like it, but prescribed burn season is around the corner. 🔥 While we wait, the Grand Rapids Art Museum and Land Conservancy of West Michigan are teaming up for a unique workshop highlighting ecological and artistic uses of fire on Thursday, February 19.

Join @grartmuseum and the Land Conservancy of West Michigan as we explore how landscapes change over time, and how fire contributes to that transformation. Discover the ecological role of controlled burns and their impact on local habitats, then create your own landscape from willow charcoal inspired by the artwork on view in The Matter of Awe: Landscapes in Art.

Learn more on our website at naturenearby.org/events. Link in our profile!
21 0
Open post by naturenearby with ID 18077871245200491
We're Hiring! 🌱 The Land Conservancy of West Michigan seeks a Stewardship Intern to assist in caring for our network of nature preserves located throughout an eight-county service area. Join our team this field season! Learn more and apply on our website.
50 3
Open post by naturenearby with ID 18390300391196316
At our 50th year, we're celebrating the foundation we've built together and the possibilities ahead. And what kind of celebration would it be if we didn't have some special swag?

Wear your love for West Michigan's natural areas on your sleeve! Choose from our brand new selection of limited edition 50th Anniversary Land Conservancy of West Michigan merch. Proceeds from your purchases support the permanent protection of nature nearby. 

Shop via the link in our profile!
23 1
Open post by naturenearby with ID 18076217408197135
We returned to Lamberton Lake Fen Nature Preserve this weekend to continue our removal of invasive buckthorn. Thank you to all the volunteers who joined us to participate in this effort. The removal of these shrubs will allow for the growth of native plants, making way for a healthier habitat. 

Your efforts are part of a decades-long commitment to restoring a prairie fen oasis in the middle of the city. The health of this rare habitat is possible because volunteers have shown up year after year to tend to it. Be sure to visit again in the spring and summer and witness the difference you've made!

Join us again in the fen in February! Learn more on our website: https://naturenearby.org/events/ssw-at-lamberton-021426/
31 0
Open post by naturenearby with ID 18092493172784845
Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2025 Holiday Hike Challenge! The winners of our prizes have been contacted. Thanks again to all the wonderful businesses who donated prizes for this year's challenge.

We hope you enjoyed the invitation to get outside during this beautiful, cold, and sometimes dreary season. Our protected lands are available to explore year round, always offering you a chance to slow down and connect. Find where you'll visit next on our website at naturenearby.org/explore.
12 0
Open post by naturenearby with ID 18087956513100042
This Saturday, we'll be working once again at Lamberton Lake Fen Nature Preserve to clear invasive glossy buckthorn from the rare and imperiled prairie fen the preserve protects. These winter workdays spent sawing, lopping, and daubing shrubs in a snowy wetland have become an annual tradition. With each shrub removed, we've gradually unveiled not only a beautiful view, but a thriving, biodiverse native ecosystem.

This year, after decades of volunteer effort, we will wrap up the initial glossy buckthorn removal from the fen, and our work will transition from habitat restoration to habitat upkeep. We hope you'll join us this Saturday, or at our February Second Saturday Workday, to celebrate reaching this milestone. Learn more and register to attend on our website. Link in our profile!
6 0
Open post by naturenearby with ID 18071808521384157
As we ring in 2026, we are kicking off a year of reflection, connection, and action for conservation. The Land Conservancy of West Michigan celebrates our 50th Anniversary this year! 🎉

Fifty years ago, a group of people made a promise to West Michigan’s wildest places—and we’ve been keeping it ever since. What started as a commitment to conserve West Michigan’s most critical landscapes has grown into something profound: a living network where healthy habitats and inspired people flourish together.

We’ll be sharing stories, events, and opportunities to get involved throughout the year. Keep an eye on our website and social media, and stop by our website for a preview of what’s in store! Link in our profile!

#lcwm50
34 1
Follow @naturenearby

© 2025 Land Conservancy of West Michigan • All Rights Reserved

 

Loading Comments...