Saugatuck Township Riverside Park: A collaboration for nature
This year, the Land Conservancy of West Michigan continues a long legacy of community conservation in Saugatuck. From our first-ever project, which permanently protected 300 acres of critical dune habitat in Saugatuck Dunes State Park, to our work to secure the protection of 173 acres of globally imperiled freshwater dune habitat adjacent to Oval Beach at Saugatuck Harbor Natural Area, the Land Conservancy has collaborated with partners and the community to save the iconic places to which the area owes much of its history and fame. You can read more about these projects here.
Now, we are back in the community to help create a place where human and natural communities can thrive together: Saugatuck Township Riverside Park.
The Land Conservancy of West Michigan has partnered with Saugatuck Township to support the protection of 119 acres along the shores of the Kalamazoo River as it flows to Lake Michigan. With 2,200 feet of river shoreline, it is the last significant undeveloped and unprotected stretch of riverfront land in the Township.
The land includes a mosaic of ecosystems: a meandering creek, sensitive marsh wetland habitat, freshwater forested/shrub and emergent wetlands, open fields, woodlands, and a wooded ravine that drains directly into the Kalamazoo River.
Saugatuck Township envisions transforming the land into a destination park and nature preserve that reflects the community’s commitment to conservation, inclusive recreation, and public access to nature.
The Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund has recommended a grant to support the Township’s acquisition of the property, contingent on community support. Eighty percent of the needed community support has been committed—we need your help to raise the remaining 20 percent!
The family of a local resident committed to our natural lands has generously pledged to donate $0.50 for every dollar donated to Riverside Park. Make a donation today at naturenearby.org/saugatuck-township-riverside-park to help make Riverside Park a reality!
MaryLou Graham is a long-time friend of the Land Conservancy of West Michigan and dedicated supporter of conservation, particularly in her hometown of Saugatuck.
Her support of Riverside Park is inspired by Joan Eddy Brigham, a lifelong environmentalist who passed away at age 100 in January 2025. Brigham’s legacy includes helping document the lethal effects of DDT for birds and wildlife and teaching students, parents, and friends about the wonders of the natural world in her roles at the Woldumar and Fenner Nature Centers in Lansing. Brigham was a friend as well as an inspiration to MaryLou.
“She never bragged about herself, but the things she did were astounding,” MaryLou said.
Joan’s son Rick inspired MaryLou to use her boat, a 1972 Boston Wheeler Outrage, for birding. She has taken it up the Kalamazoo River, and the wide marsh area along the shoreline of the proposed Riverside Park is a great place for birding, she said.
“The birds that are there depend on how deep the water is,” MaryLou said. She has seen greater and lesser yellowlegs, sandpipers, American white pelicans, green herons, and sandhill cranes, among others.
MaryLou believes Joan would have loved Riverside Park and made a donation to support the fundraising campaign in her honor and memory.
“There’s just so much to protect,” MaryLou said. “Thanks to the Land Conservancy of West Michigan, Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy, David Swan and the [Saugatuck Dunes Coastal Alliance], we’re making progress at keeping significant areas natural,” MaryLou said.
Riverside Park Needs You!
Help make this new park for Saugatuck’s human and natural communities a reality! Make a donation today at naturenearby.org/saugatuck-township-riverside-park.