[caption id="attachment_5047" align="alignright" width="300"] Paul the Beetle[/caption] “Your pet has escaped and it’s somewhere in our house.” This was our younger daughter, calling my office on the day before Christmas. I was avoiding the holiday crowds by hiding at work. She sounded agitated even before we heard...
[caption id="attachment_3560" align="alignright" width="300"] Flower Creek Dunes Nature preserve along the Lake Michigan shoreline in Muskegon County.[/caption] One of Emily Dickinson’s poems begins: “I dreaded that first robin so…” That first robin cannot come soon enough for me. I love the four seasons, including winter, and love...
[caption id="attachment_4608" align="alignright" width="300"] Coming 2015 to Anderson Woods Nature Preserve: The Sandy Hansen Birding Trail.[/caption] We recently announced that we reached our fundraising goal for the new Anderson Woods Nature Preserve in Muskegon County’s Fruitland Township. Community response to this project has been gratifying, helping...
[caption id="attachment_5024" align="alignright" width="300"] Jim Mogen / U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service[/caption] Have you ever heard of the Arctic Grayling? Before the abundance of brown trout and steelhead in Michigan’s rivers, this fish with the large dorsal fin is the one that anglers dreamt about. And it’s...
It was Valentine's Day and Grand Rapids was getting pummeled with blizzard conditions. But that didn't stop a group of rock star volunteers from spending the morning at Lamberton Lake Fen Nature Preserve, working to remove the invasive glossy buckthorn. Just look at these committed volunteers working...
[caption id="attachment_4970" align="alignright" width="300"] Volunteers work to remove invasive glossy buckthorn at Lamberton Lake Fen.[/caption] Studies show that along with outright habitat destruction, the spread of invasive species is a leading cause of global species extinction. Like many others, we at the Land Conservancy spend a lot...
200 Acres along the Pere Marquette River Todd and Budde Reed love to hunt. They also love the scenic beauty and forested river frontage of their family’s private hunting land, and so do their sons. For these reasons the Reeds created a conservation easement with the...
Cecialia Vanderbout Protects Her Family Farm One of the last and largest fragments of family farming in Plainfield Township, Kent County was preserved by the Land Conservancy in December 2006. Cecilia Vanderbout created a conservation easement that permanently protects her 33 acres of the once expansive...