October 14, 2025
Saul Lake Prairie: Planting A Community | Fall Newsletter 2025
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October 14, 2025
Letter from the Executive Director: Fall 2025
Dear Friends and Fellow Conservationists, Fall is here again, and with it comes one of my favorite traditions: returning to the prairie to collect seeds and prepare them for planting. This year, the ritual carries special meaning. We will be celebrating 25 years of prairie
October 14, 2025
Step 1: Prepare the Soil
After the Land Conservancy of West Michigan (LCWM), then the Natural Areas Conservancy of West Michigan (NACOWMI), completed its first project supporting the protection of Saugatuck Dunes Natural Area in 1988, the group faced the question: ”What’s next?” In the coming years, the organization would reach
October 14, 2025
Step 2: Collect Seeds
In 1999, Dwight Baker, a volunteer with a burgeoning and well-researched interest in native tallgrass prairies, looked at the preserve’s expansive old field planted with one species of non-native grass and had an idea. “He looked at the site and said, you know, this can
October 14, 2025
Step 3: Plant a Community
In the first couple of years after planting a prairie, the aesthetics leave a bit to be desired. In year one, the entire plot will be brimming with horseweed, a native weed that thrives in disturbed soil. The next year, it’ll be covered in Queen
October 14, 2025
The Pere Marquette River inspires conservation
Terry Stranz’s family has vacationed in northern Newaygo County for generations. He and his wife Kris restored a log cabin on a lake where their five children and five grandchildren enjoyed swimming and fishing. One evening before dinner, Terry and Kris decided to stop by a
October 14, 2025
Step 4: Watch it Grow
At the Black Friday Prairie Planting this fall, we will plant the remaining available acres of Saul Lake Prairie, bringing a 25-year restoration project to completion. “Here we are at the end. It’s amazing,” Chris Baer said. “Where’s the rest of it?” she joked. Work in the
August 5, 2025
in Features
Meet our new board members
July marked the beginning of a new fiscal year for the Land Conservancy of West Michigan, which means we said farewell to some board members and welcomed new ones to the team. Jon Prins and Amy Kenny finished their board terms this year. We are incredibly
July 8, 2025
in Features
Moths on Tour: A Night of Discovery Under UV Light
LCWM volunteer Stephanie Gerling shares her experience at one of our summer moth sheeting events!
Creating a Forest for Birds: More than Just a Walk in the Woods
By Stephanie Gerling, LCWM Volunteer A buzzing bee. Spring is here! Cheeseburger! A mimic. An occasional meow. A loose trill. A sharp trill. Here I am, where are you? Like a robin with opera lessons. Sweet, sweet I’m so sweet. Conkeree. Like when you dip your