Saul Lake Prairie: Planting A Community | Fall Newsletter 2025
Read our Fall Newsletter!
Read our Fall Newsletter!
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
LCWM volunteer Stephanie Gerling shares her experience at one of our summer moth sheeting events!
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