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  • Explore
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Newsletter: Spring/Summer 2016

April 25, 2016
in Newsletter Archive
by Colin Hoogerwerf, Communications Director
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Newsletter: Spring/Summer 2016

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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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Open post by naturenearby with ID 17961631776045606
Saugatuck has been a nexus of community conservation in the Land Conservancy of West Michigan’s history. The Land Conservancy's first-ever project was a collaboration with community partners to create Saugatuck Dunes Natural Area, part of Saugatuck Dunes State Park, in the 1980s. The preserve within the park was later renamed Patty Birkholz Natural Area, in honor of the late state senator and environmental champion who played a critical role in its protection.

In 2009, we returned to the area to collaborate with the City of Saugatuck and The Nature Conservancy to secure Saugatuck Harbor Natural Area—173 acres of globally imperiled freshwater dune habitat adjacent to Oval Beach.

Both residents and visitors have come to know Saugatuck by the contours of these parks and preserves. Countless memories have been made exploring their sandy dune trails and stunning Lake Michigan beaches. These places protect the landscapes that define Saugatuck, and they demonstrate what we can achieve when we work together to keep nature nearby.

As we celebrate our 50th Anniversary, the Land Conservancy of West Michigan is collaborating in Saugatuck once again to help protect a place where human and natural communities can thrive together. You can learn more about (and support!) our collaboration with Saugatuck Township to protect Riverside Park on our website--link in our profile! 🌊 🌱
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Open post by naturenearby with ID 17931151803193853
This Saturday, join us at Lamberton Lake Fen Nature Preserve in Grand Rapids to remove invasive buckthorn and continue a long legacy of care for the rare prairie fen habitat protected by the preserve.

We'll meet at the preserve this Saturday, February 14, at 9 a.m. Learn more and register to attend on our website: https://naturenearby.org/events/ssw-at-lamberton-021426/
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Open post by naturenearby with ID 18057026354366631
NEW PROJECT! The Land Conservancy of West Michigan is collaborating with Saugatuck Township to protect 119 acres of forest, wetlands, and the shores of the Kalamazoo River as it flows into Lake Michigan. Saugatuck Township hopes to transform the riverfront property into a public park with preserved natural habitats and public recreation opportunities. Protection of the land would conserve an important ecological corridor.

Riverside Park needs YOU! The Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF) board recommended the Riverside Park project for a $2.46 million grant to support the Township’s acquisition of the land—contingent on support from the local community. Eighty percent of the needed support is committed, but we need your help to raise the last 20 percent!

Learn more about this exciting project and how you can support on our website. Link in our profile!
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Open post by naturenearby with ID 18092503223285409
Calling all night owls! 🦉 If you're looking for an opportunity to explore nature under the cover of nightfall, look no further. Join the Land Conservancy of West Michigan and local ecologist Joel Betts on a night hike highlighting the wonders of owls at Wege Foundation Natural Area on February 24, 2026.

We will gather in the Wittenbach Wege Center at for an overview of owl species that can be found in West Michigan, their migration patterns, and their habitats. Then, Joel will lead us on a hike to look and listen for owls. We will even get to practice our own owl calls!

Learn more and register to attend on our website. Link in our profile!
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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
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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!
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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.
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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!
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