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  • Home
  • Explore
  • Land Protection
    • Conservation Easements
    • Community Conservation
  • Land Stewardship
  • Projects
    • Saugatuck Township Riverside Park
    • 50th Anniversary
      • Preserved!
    • Photo Monitoring
    • Project Case Studies
    • Wildflower Guide
  • 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

Bradford Dickinson White Nature Preserve

Brower Lake Nature Preserve

Cascade Peace Park

Lamberton Lake Fen Nature Preserve

Maas Family Nature Preserve

Roselle Park

Saul Lake Bog Nature Preserve

The Highlands

Wege Foundation Natural Area

© 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
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Instagram

Open post by naturenearby with ID 18018611765685254
Pre-registration for tomorrow's Preserve Pedal ends today!* Get your tickets and join us on the ride. Three routes, five preserves and parks, miles of fun. 🚲🌳 Learn more and sign up to attend on our website. Link in our bio!

Thank you to Tim & Jane Stoepker, @grchair, and @loosespokesbikeshop for sponsoring this event and supporting 50 years of keeping nature nearby!

*On-site registration will be available tomorrow. Meet us at the Wittenbach Wege Center  between 7:30-10 a.m. to sign up the day of the event.
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Open post by naturenearby with ID 18117975274825769
The routes are ready. đźš´ Last week our team hit the road to ride the 7-mile Explorathon: Preserve Pedal route to make sure everything is dialed in for this Saturday. If you are registered, we will see you on June 6th at the Wittenbach Wege Center! If you are not, there is still time. Link in bio!

#explorathon #westmichigan #keepingnaturenearby #lowellmi #lcwm50
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Open post by naturenearby with ID 18112457119861407
Update regarding access to Meinert Park and Flower Creek Dunes Nature Preserve! A culvert has been installed and crews are currently working to fill the road in with gravel. Walking access to the beach and preserve will be restored for the weekend. The road will be paved at a later date.

Learn more about these parks on our website at naturenearby.org/explore or the link in our bio!

Image by @sjessmo
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Open post by naturenearby with ID 18159005005457481
Controlled burns are one of the most misunderstood tools in conservation.

A few weeks ago, our Burn Crew carried out a controlled burn at Wege Foundation Natural Area. It was planned, permitted, and carefully managed from start to finish, the way every controlled burn is.

Unlike wildfires, controlled burns are intentional. Land managers use them to clear out invasive species that crowd out native plants, return nutrients to the soil, and mimic the natural fire cycles that Michigan’s prairies and savannas evolved with over thousands of years.

Without periodic fire, these ecosystems don’t just change, they disappear.

We asked our crew how long they’d been doing this work and what they love most about it. If you want to get involved, LCWM offers a Burn Crew training open to new volunteers every spring; no experience required! Comment “good fire” if you want to learn more.

#BurnCrew #PrescribedFire #LandStewardship #WestMichigan #KeepingNatureNearby
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Open post by naturenearby with ID 17862856848587521
The Preserve Pedal is coming up on June 6! 🚲 🌳 Explore and support protected natural land as you bike through the Eastern Glacial Corridor. We hope you can join us!

🗺️ Choose between three routes—50 miles, 25 miles, and 7 miles.
🚴🚴‍♀️🚴‍♂️ Join a group ride and bike alongside others at your preferred pace.
🌱 Learn about the lands we’ve protected together over the last 50 years at aid stations with education opportunities, refreshments, and activities.
🎉 Join us for an afterparty to celebrate our enduring commitment to conservation in West Michigan!

This event is generously sponsored by Tim & Jane Stoepker, Grand Rapids Chair, and Loose Spokes Bicycle Shop.

Tickets are required to attend! Learn more about the event and purchase your tickets on our website. Link in our bio!
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Open post by naturenearby with ID 17886095637555447
Today is the International Day of Biodiversity. At Brower Lake Nature Preserve, purple lupine is in bloom where less than ten years ago stood a monoculture of one non-native tree species: Scotch pine. At this preserve, the Land Conservancy of West Michigan has been working to restore native oak barrens and oak-hickory forest habitat through selective forest thinning and prescribed fire. Year after year, as we watch habitat become more established, we see more biodiversity in the understory of this woodland. Each new blade and blossom is a heartening confirmation that we are heading in the right direction.

The path we are on is a long one, and we will need to keep showing up to keep our promise of protecting these places in perpetuity. As we celebrate our 50th Anniversary this year, we are taking a moment to appreciate how far we've come. Do yourself a favor: Take a walk at Brower Lake Nature Preserve this weekend and take it all in.

Learn more about Brower Lake Nature Preserve and plan your visit on our website at naturenearby.org/explore. Link in our profile.
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Open post by naturenearby with ID 18104823406871014
Please give a warm welcome to this year's Stewardship Interns! 🌱 Megan Kamper and Emma Wolak have joined the LCWM team to help manage our preserves and conservation easements this season.

Megan is a recent graduate of Hope College and majored in Environmental Science, Environmental Studies, and Spanish. During her time at Hope, she participated in internships in conservation and organic agriculture and spent a semester abroad studying ecology and conservation in Ecuador. Megan is from Holland, Michigan and loves the West Michigan area. She is excited to learn more about the ecosystems of this area and how to care for them!

Emma graduated from Grand Valley State University this year with a major in Wildlife Biology and minor in Natural Resource Management! She is from Jenison, Michigan. She has been interested in nature and animals since she was a little girl, and has always wanted to make the world a better place. "Once I took an Ecological Restoration class in college, I knew I wanted to do something involving restoration, and the LCWM was the perfect opportunity to have hands on experience with that," Emma said. "My favorite part is seeing the transformation and recovery of habitats over time. So excited to be apart of LCWM this year!"
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Open post by naturenearby with ID 18129691711608410
This Memorial Day weekend, West Michigan’s protected lands are open and waiting.

No registration, no cost—just miles of trails, creek access, picnic spots, and some of the most beautiful natural landscapes in the state. Whether you are looking for a shaded forest walk, a boardwalk through a rare bog, or a meadow with trails where the kids can run, we have a preserve for you.

Find your spot at naturenearby.org. Link in bio.

Happy Memorial Day. Stay safe and enjoy the long weekend.

#WestMichigan #MemorialDayWeekend #NatureNearby #LandConservancy #FamilyHike
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© 2025 Land Conservancy of West Michigan • All Rights Reserved

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