Thunder Mountain Dunes - Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy

Landscapes
www.SWMLC.org
Summer 2009
Vol. 18, No. 11
Thunder Mountain Dunes Protected Forever
key element of SWMLC’s coastal Lake
Michigan conservation objectives is the
preservation and stewardship of freshwater
dunes along a seven-mile stretch of Blue Star
Highway in Covert Township, Van Buren County,
a region we refer to as Dunes Parkway.
“The shorelines of the Great Lakes contain
some of the most unique habitat in the world,”
states John Paskus, Michigan Natural Features
Inventory. “The highly dynamic open and forested
dunal systems along the eastern edge of Lake
Michigan are the largest collection of freshwater
dunes across the globe and stand out as one of
Michigan’s most prized natural resources.”
SWMLC recognizes this ecological significance
and has worked with several generous landowners
over the last decade to create the Dunes Parkway
preserve, acquiring almost 100 acres of open space in
the forested back dunes. This past year, the Thunder
Mountain Heights Land Corporation and SWMLC
achieved a shared objective by finalizing a landmark
conservation easement, our first project between Blue This scenic drive winds through the forested dunes of Thunder Mountain.
Star Highway and Lake Michigan in the Dunes
Photo by Peter D. Ter Louw.
Parkway region.
executive committee, served as legal counsel for the Corporation and
The process started when SWMLC was invited to partner
really was the linchpin that helped pull this multi-year project togethwith the Thunder Mountain Heights Land Corporation, who
er. “In the 1950s, the owners of the lake lots formed the Thunder
made it their mission to protect the remaining “open space” in
Mountain Heights Land Corporation as a Michigan nonprofit
the Thunder Mountain residential plat. This 37-acre back dune
is mostly unfragmented and is covered with beech-maple forest
(continued on page 5)
that provides vital habitat for migratory songbirds
and other wildlife. A restrictive conservation easement was the glue that bound collective interests.
Rodger Bittner, a Thunder Mountain homeowner and member of the Land Corporation’s
taken root. Here, and across the 1,800
s if in celebration, a lemony shaft of
acres that Henry farms, the corn and
November sun bursts through a
Inside this issue...
Page
soybeans have been combined and
bank of grey clouds to brighten a farm
Preserving a Family Treasure:
hauled away. His tractors, fertilizer
field on the edge of tiny Parkville in St.
4-5
Robinson CE
trucks, and praying mantis-like spray rigs
Joseph County.
Stewardship:
are tucked into barns for the winter.
It’s Henry Miller’s field, and he has
6-7
What Are We Protecting?
What hasn’t stopped working is the
good reason to feel festive: the growing
Conservation Planning:
season’s finally over. After endless weeks mathematician-turned-farmer mind of
10-11
Black River Watershed
Henry Miller. Spend five minutes with
of 16-hour days, his crops are harvested
18
Board-Staff Retreat: Accreditation
and a new cover crop of red wheat has
(continued on next page)
19
2008 Year-End Report
A
Forever a Farm: Miller Easement
Preserves Land, Rural Heritage
A
Forever a Farm (continued)
“The rotation helps break up the life
cycle of weeds and insects, which means we
can use less chemicals. We also plant cover
crops in between harvests, so the ground’s
never bare. All this organic residue cycles
into the ground, where it decomposes to
help next year’s crop. So, although it’s a
farm, it acts a lot like the natural soil in the
woods across the street.”
As good farmers have always known,
take care of the soil and the soil will take
care of you. As proof, this particular field
is among the county’s top producers of
Pioneer brand seed corn. And that’s saying
a lot, since St. Joseph County annually produces 25 percent of the entire world’s seed
corn crop.
Despite its value as first-rate cropland,
southern Michigan properties like this one
are under constant threat of development.
That’s because the sandy loam soils are
equally well-suited for a more permanent
crop: suburban houses and “mini-farm”
estates. It’s this vulnerability that interested SWMLC in the Miller property, says
Geoff Cripe, land
protection specialist.
“Henry Miller’s farm represents two
extremes for us,” Geoff said. “It’s the
biggest piece of ag property we’ve ever protected and the most intensely farmed. But
it also includes the biggest stretch of undeveloped river frontage — more than a mile
of wooded corridor along the Portage
River. It’s a clear, clean river and a first-rate
smallmouth bass fishery.”
And for Henry, it’s simply unacceptable
that
this land becomes anything but a
“This is our legacy.
place
that
grows food for the world.
We want this to be
“This
is our legacy,” he says with
open space
conviction.
“We want this to be open
200 years from now.”
space
200
years
from now. It really disturbs
— Henry Miller
me to see people buy 20-40 acres
of prime ag land in places like Park
A case in point is the 187-acre parcel
Township and then build a house in the
that he’s standing on. It’s one of three adjamiddle of it.
cent properties — totaling 347 acres —
“We can’t keep doing that. It takes
that Henry recently protected with a
good land out of production, fragments
SWMLC conservation easement.
fields, and makes the practicality of farming
“When I bought this field in 1991, it
very difficult. A few years down the road,
had been continuously planted to corn,”
who’s going to farm it?”
said Henry, as his gaze scanned the horiThen again, look at Henry’s life and
zon. “I’ve been rotating crops on a yearly
there’s reason to believe a new
basis ever since — with green beans, navy
crop of farmers may spring up
beans, soy beans, corn, and now wheat.
where we least expect them.
Although he grew up on a traditional family farm near Three
Rivers, it was an occupation
Henry was eager to leave
behind.
Henry and Martha Miller
“We even raised 16,000
turkeys one year — but only one
year,” he recalls. “You know what they say,
‘The only thing dumber than a turkey is
the guy who’s raising them.’”
After high school, Henry enrolled at
Eastern Mennonite College in
Harrisonburg, Virginia, where he earned a
bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a
minor in physics. While there, he made
what proved a momentous decision: he
learned Spanish and signed on with the
Mennonite Voluntary Service. This Peace
Corps-type experience took him to San
Jose, Costa Rica, where he taught math and
science at a small urban school.
One day, as he hung out with friends, a
slight young woman with raven-black hair
and a twinkle in her eye walked past. Her
name was Martha. She was a local girl, and
The buffer strips written into the conservation easement protect the Portage River (at left
a Spanish teacher, and had that day
behind the trees) from farm runoff on the Miller property.
celebrated her 25th birthday.
Photo by Tim Peterson.
Henry and you see it’s not just crop yields
and profits that excite him. What keeps
this denim-clad, 61-year-old dynamo energized is the cerebral challenge of agriculture: the daily chess game, of sorts, to find
the right balance of moisture, fertility, and
pest controls that allow edible green things
to grow and flourish.
2
“I winked at her, she winked at me, and
that was it,” Henry said.
They married in 1972, and for two
more years continued to teach in San Jose.
Then Henry decided that a master’s degree
in education from Western Michigan
University might further his teaching career.
They “temporarily” returned to Michigan,
where Martha soon learned a previously
undisclosed family secret.
“I didn’t know he was a farmer — I
thought I was marrying a teacher!” Martha
said. “He never even said that he lived on a
real farm.” (Henry claims he did . . .
although for 37 years, that’s been a running
argument.)
There weren’t many teaching jobs available in Michigan during the late 70s. While
in school, Henry worked construction and
again helped his father with the family farm.
Martha — a self-proclaimed city girl —
learned from Henry’s mother the country
arts of canning, vegetable gardening, and
chicken butchering. Soon after, the Millers
bought a nearby 273-acre farm and
launched a new career in full-time
agriculture.
The Millers have had four children
along the way, all boys. While they were
growing up, only Spanish was spoken in the
home. “We wanted them to learn as much
of their mother’s culture as possible,” Henry
said. Even the Villa-Mil Farms sign in their
front yard reflects that commitment. Villa
is short for Villalobos (literally village wolf )
which is Martha’s maiden name.
As befits a farm family, the Millers have
sunk deep roots into their community.
“We just can’t let this
become anything but a farm.
Who would want to have
that on their conscience?”
— Martha Miller
Both are active in the Florence Church of
the Brethren, a rural congregation of
Mennonite heritage. Martha has worked for
the court system, hospitals, and local businesses as an interpreter. For 10 years, she
taught nutrition and breast cancer awareness
for Michigan State University Extension.
And Henry? He’s known and
respected countywide as a successful,
detail-oriented innovator who adapts new
The Miller Conservation Easement protects over one mile of Portage River floodplain which
is designated as Natural Area, the highest protection designation within an easement.
Photo by Tim Peterson.
techniques before other farmers even know
they exist.
“Henry’s on an intellectual quest to do
modern farming — big farming — as sustainably as it can be done.” says Tim
Peterson, program director for the St.
Joseph County Conservation District. “We
look to him to see where everyone else will
be five years from now.
“And his analytical skills are incredible.
He’ll delve into the inner workings of the
soil and ask little questions about things like
pollination or irrigation rates that most
farmers don’t take time to think about.”
On a tour of Henry’s Pinhook Road
parcel east of Parkville, that extra care is evident. The field borders the Portage River,
and many farmers would run their plows
almost to the river’s edge. Not so here. He’s
planted a 50-foot wide buffer strip of hardy
perennial grass that gradually gives way to
raspberries, woodland sunflowers, and oak
trees as it nears the river. It’s a farming practice, Henry says, that prevents fertilizer overspray and soil runoff from entering the
water. It also leaves more elbow room for
wildlife.
“Over there, did you see them?” says
Martha, from the cab of Henry’s jostling
pick-up truck, “the flock of turkeys?”
“Nope, I missed ‘em,” says Henry. “But
I saw something interesting by the river last
week: it was a mink chasing a rabbit — and
neither one was worried about me.”
Under the Miller conservation easement, all this will remain. What’s grown
here may change: the tilled land could
revert to prairie, or if oil prices place a
premium on locally grown food, it could
become an orchard or vegetable farm. But
what it won’t become is a subdivision,
despite the lucrative deals that Henry could
make with would-be developers.
“We talked this over and the kids support us,” Martha said. “Besides, we just
can’t let this become anything but a farm.
Who would want to have that on their
conscience?”
— Tom Springer
Tom Springer is a former board member.
He is currently senior editor with the W.K.
Kellogg Foundation and a freelance writer.
His new book, “Looking for Hickories,” is
available for sale at the SWMLC office. Tom
resides in Three Rivers with his wife Nancy
and their two daughters.
3
Preserving a Family Treasure
Robinsons’ Donation of Development Rights an Eternal Gift to Family and Community
This panoramic view of the Robinson farm was taken by Tom Robinson.
aureen Robinson can’t imagine
familiar, iconic structures among newer
The Robinsons seemingly have conserwanting or needing to live anygreenhouses and a Dutch-gable-roofed
vation in their genes but, above all else, they
where else. She represents the
barn that stands prominently against a widehave a love for the outdoors and natural and
third generation of the Windes family to
open sky. Over the years, the land has been
productive open spaces like their own. They
steward and reside on 161 panoramic acres
reinvigorated with new growth and vegetabecame members of the Southwest
of peaceful, rolling open lands and woodlots
tion, but those original structures provide
Michigan Land Conservancy (SWMLC)
near the village of Middleville. It is an idyla timeless reminder of Maureen’s earliest
ten years ago after hearing about the organilic place, richly steeped in family tradition.
experiences here.
zation by word of mouth. Both remember
Maureen and husband John recently took
Today the property is characterized by
realtors knocking on the door often in the
some steps to ensure this family treasure
rolling open fields with lush prairie grasses,
1980s, especially after Maureen’s mother
would be preserved for their three children,
pumpkins, or cover crop; three large ponds;
passed away in 1986. It was then that the
seven grandchildren, eight great-grandchila sizeable block of mature oak-hickory forRobinsons begin searching for opportunities
dren, and future generations. These generaest; and a younger, dense woods dominated
that would enable them to protect their
tions, too, have come to love this land, and
by black locust. John has enrolled 40 acres
family land forever.
son Tom intends to keep portions of the
of open land in the federal Conservation
Last October, SWMLC staff met
property in agricultural production,
with John and Maureen, their chilmaking it eligible for centennial farm
dren,
status in 2015.
and several grandchildren and great“If you look into it very seriously,
Maureen’s grandparents, Zel and
grandchildren. Every family member
there aren’t many things we can do
Alice Windes, purchased what was
down to the youngest agreed with the
for future generations. Preserving
originally 310 acres of farmland in
terms of the easement. A major
February 1915. They eventually sold
objective that came out of that meetopen lands is one thing we can do.”
off 149 acres that remain open and
— John and Maureen Robinson ing was ensuring they retained the
intact today and passed the residual
flexibility to continue farming porland and farm on down the family
tions of the property and growing
tree. Maureen still remembers sitting on the
Reserve Program, while the rest lies fallow
fresh food for local distribution.
front porch as a four-year-old watching a
or dotted with pumpkins, harvested annual“Back in the 1920s, my grandfather and
lightning storm devastate the barn and sevly in rotation from one of the four plots on
father would load up their 1925 Dodge
eral additional outbuildings. Luckily, the
the property. An area that was early succestruck with muskmelons, pickles, and other
original farmhouse, sheep shack, and a few
sional woods 100 years ago is now a stuncash crops and drive up to Grand Rapids to
accessory sheds were spared and remain the
ning and varied 25-acre mature forest.
sell them at the Farmer’s Market,” Maureen
M
4
continued from previous page
recalls. Son Tom, owner of S&S Farm
Market near Middleville, has carried on that
tradition and still grows pumpkins on the
family farm as well as featuring the property
for the fall Pumpkinworld festivities.
With the conservation easement, Tom
Robinson can continue growing pumpkins
and other crops on about 65 acres that they
reserved for agricultural use. “At first, I was
apprehensive about how the easement might
affect my ability to continue to use the family farm to raise crops for my market operation. But, in the end, I realized it was the
A handshake seals the deal between SWMLC
board member Dave Coleman and John
Robinson, as Tom and Maureen Robinson
smile in agreement. Photo by Emily Wilke.
best way to keep it viable in terms
of keeping the tax rate low while
continuing agricultural uses.
Looking down the road, if I was to
pass away before my other siblings,
the property tax would pop up,
since they are not interested in
farming.” (Land under conservation easements is exempt from the
pop-up tax.)
The Robinsons were wonderful to work with and were determined to see this through, dedicating many hours to work with
SWMLC staff to get all the details
ironed out. John and Maureen
hope other landowners look seriously into protecting their property, too. “It was such a positive,
pleasant experience and a blessing
to connect with an organization
that we find common ground
with,” they professed. “If you look
into it very seriously, there aren’t
many things we can do for future
generations. Preserving open lands
is one thing we can do.”
— Geoffrey D. Cripe
Read the full version with stories and quotes from the Robinsons
and their grandchildren, including a
segment about the Robinsons’ annual
“PumpkinWorld,” at www.swmlc.org.
This tranquil, tree-lined lane is one of many found on
the Robinson Conservation Easement property.
Photo by Tom Robinson.
Thunder Mountain
(continued from front page)
corporation,” Bittner recalls. “This group
purchased the balance of the lots owned at
the time by the developer with the hope of
limiting future development, preserving the
native fauna and flora of the area, and to
provide a buffer between their summer
homes and Blue Star Highway.”
To work with the Conservancy and put
a conservation easement on the property,
the Land Corporation by-laws required near
unanimous approval by its members. “This
ordinarily would be a challenging task,”
Bittner notes, “but the people who live
here feel strongly about this. Knowing the
members were committed to conservation,
we were able to secure unified support to
proceed with SWMLC and make this
official.”
According to Paskus, the Dunes
Parkway region is among the most significant coastline areas in southern Michigan
because it contains such a long stretch of
intact forested backdune that is only minimally disrupted by the occasional access
road. Sadly, the incredible wildlife values
these freshwater dunes provide are constantly jeopardized by habitat fragmentation
due, in part, to increasing development.
Approximately 28 new single-family homes
have been built within the critical freshwater dunes of Covert Township since 2002.
Thankfully, SWMLC has been blessed
with opportunities to work with some progressive landowners on the lakeshore to help
protect part of what remains before it, too,
falls victim to adverse interests. Roger
Taylor, an avid birder and host of Birdwatch
on WKZO 590 AM, suggests that the Lake
Michigan dunes are at their best in late
April and early May when thousands of warblers are funneled along the lake. “I’ve seen
30 or so species there over the years, including cerulean, yellow-throated, hooded,
black-throated blue, prothonotary, mourning, and Connecticut warblers. That makes
conservation easements and preserves along
the lake priceless.”
— Geoffrey D. Cripe
5
What Are We Protecting —
and What Are We Protecting It From?
pril showers bring May flowers . . .
changes are happening as garlic mustard
only is garlic mustard changing the forest
but some of them are not so desirspreads.
floor, it is changing the long-term structure
able. Some folks may call the seaMost midwestern oak forests evolved
of the forest canopy.
son between winter and summer “spring,”
with fairly frequent fires. While they were
Is garlic mustard alone in its farbut for the stewards of natural areas, it is
typically not very intense, the fires were
reaching impacts to the health of natural
often called “garlic mustard season.” It is a
critical for maintaining open conditions
areas? No. Similar impacts are found
season of sore backs and grubby fingernails
that promoted oak regeneration. Native
with buckthorn shrubs, purple loosestrife,
as thousands of do-gooders across the state
sedges and grasses are important compocommon reed (phragmites), and many
root out troublesome plants. People often
nents in helping fire move through a forest.
other invasive species. Not all exotic
ask the question, why bother? Are you
A dense stand of garlic mustard will not
species are damaging to natural areas, but
really making a difference?
burn, disrupting an essential natural
the ones that change the basic functions
Why bother?
process the forest depends on for longof an ecosystem threaten our region’s
There are lots of reasons why we
term health.
biodiversity.
bother. For some it is because we find
Garlic mustard has been shown to
Are we making a difference?
native wildflowers prettier than garlic musproduce compounds that suppress the
It can be incredibly frustrating and
tard. Others value the greater amount of
growth of grasses and other flowers. As
demoralizing to see the pervasiveness of
wildlife areas without
invasive species in your
garlic mustard can supregion. The situation
port. Some object to
often seems hopeless.
the idea of exotic
The good news is that
species outcompeting
you are not alone in your
native species. But the
frustration, and there are
underlying reason why
great success stories to be
we bother is because we
told. Neighbors are
care about having
working together to
healthy natural areas.
manage community natInvasive species
ural areas, conservation
like garlic mustard
organizations are teamundermine the health
ing up to share expertise
of natural areas in
and energy, and all
many ways. They
regions of the country
change the structure
are organizing efforts to
of habitat, modify
make a significant impact
chemical and nutrient
on controlling and
balances, shift the
researching invasive
direction and rate of
species.
successional change,
SWMLC is excited
and alter the frequency
to be working with peoJacob’s ladder (Polemonium caeruleum) and prairie trillium (Trillium recurvatum)
and intensity of natural
ple and organizations at
provide beautiful color in this photo by Nate Fuller.
processes such as fire
all levels in the effort to
and flooding.
the variety of plants diminishes, so does
conserve biodiversity locally, regionally,
That may seem like an awful lot to tie
the variety of food sources and nutrients
and nationally. (Visit www.SWMLC.org
on to a knee-high mustard plant, but there
available to wildlife. The food chain is
for links to our partners.) Local success
are implications to invasive species
being trimmed at its base, and the negative
stories include the reduction of garlic musresearchers are constantly discovering. As
impacts have been documented on resident
tard at preserves in Berrien County that
garlic mustard proliferates across a forest
salamanders, butterflies, and other species.
provides immediate benefits for three
floor, the blanketing effect is obvious.
Garlic mustard also releases comState-threatened plant species and longOther plant species are overwhelmed by
pounds that inhibit spore germination of
term benefits for at least seven State-listed
the density and are shaded out. But less
arbuscular micorrhizal fungi. Say what?
species of birds, including the threatened
obvious and potentially more catastrophic
In other words, garlic mustard kills the
red-shouldered hawk, Louisiana
good soil fungus that helps trees grow. Not
(continued on next page)
A
6
waterthrush, and cerulean and yellow-throated
warblers.
Purple loosestrife once threatened the wetlands
of an SWMLC preserve that includes one of the
largest populations of spotted turtles in Michigan
(recently reclassified from State-threatened to Stateendangered). Volunteers released purple loosestrife
beetles as a biocontrol at the preserve in 2000 and,
after eight years, the beetles finally took off and
have reduced the purple wetland destroyer to a
mere component of the wetland, not the monoculture it was threatening to become.
SWMLC has been looking after prairie fen
habitat on our preserves for several years in an
effort to help the federally endangered Mitchell’s
satyr butterfly along, with no fewer than 12 Statelisted species of plants and animals. Recent exciting
news for SWMLC’s management efforts is that an
$864,020 wildlife grant was awarded to the
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
(MDNR) to support the management efforts of a
consortium of partners for restoration of habitats
that support Mitchell’s satyrs and Eastern
Massasauga rattlesnakes. (See story below for more
detailed information on this grant.)
Management efforts to control invasives
species are making a difference. SWMLC’s nature
preserves currently support a wonderful diversity
of plants and animals, including over 40 species listed as endangered, threatened, or of special concern:
15 plant, 17 birds, 5 insects, 5 reptiles and
amphibians, and 1 fish.
So keep battling those pesky invasives.
A healthy environment promotes and maintains
a great diversity of wildlife and plant life in our
region. We really can make a difference!
— Nate Fuller
State-listed Species Found on
SWMLC Preserves
Plants
Purple milkweed
Cut-leaved water parsnip
Wild potato vine
Ginseng
Jacob’s ladder
Rosinweed
Bastard pennyroyal
Prairie trillium
Toadshade/Sessile trillium
Wild rice
Lead plant
White false indigo
Prairie Indian plantain
Swamp rose mallow
False boneset
Reptiles & Amphibians
Blanchard’s cricket frog
Spotted turtle
Blandings turtle
Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake
Eastern box turtle
Birds
Henslow’s sparrow*
Red-shouldered hawk
Yellow rail
Cerulean warbler*
Yellow-throated warbler*
Common moorhen
Louisiana waterthrush*
Caspian tern
Forster’s tern
Common tern
Cooper’s hawk*
Grasshopper sparrow*
Marsh wren*
Trumpeter swan
Prothonotary warbler*
Dickcissel*
Hooded warbler*
* confirmed nesting
Insects
Mitchell’s satyr butterfly
Blazingstar borer moth
Angular spittlebug
Tamarack tree cricket
Pinetree cricket
Fish
Spotted gar
Michigan State University professor Jim
Harding examines a spotted turtle during a
population study at an SWMLC preserve.
SWMLC Receives $113,000 for Habitat Management
he MDNR was recently awarded $864,020 for habitat management of Mitchell’s satyr butterflies, Eastern Massasauga rattlesnakes, and 32 other imperiled species of wildlife. As a matching
partner in the effort, SWMLC will receive $113,000 over the next
two years to support fen and savanna habitat management efforts.
This is great news for the Mitchell’s satyrs and will be a huge shot in
the arm for sorely needed habitat management in our region.
The money comes from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s
State Wildlife Grant (SWG) Competitive Program. The SWG is a
highly competitive national program, and Michigan was one of the
few out of nearly 40 proposals to receive funding. SWMLC and
partners, including The Nature Conservancy and Michigan Natural
Features Inventory, contributed $600,000 in matching funds to make
this a $1.46 million project.
T
SWMLC was able to get matching funds by using the value of
previously protected land: Cook Lake Fen, a 2001 purchase project.
Cook Lake Fen donations included $3,000 from the Audubon
Society of Kalamazoo and many thousands of dollars from SWMLC
members. This grant provided $1.50 toward habitat management for
every $1 donated to SWMLC for habitat acquisition. We plan to use
this funding to hire seasonal crews and professional environmental
management firms to restore fen and savanna habitats throughout
the nine counties of southwest Michigan. Special thanks go to Dan
Kennedy of MDNR’s Landowner Incentive Program who coordinated the partners involved in the project and did much of the grant
writing.
— Nate Fuller
7
Upcoming Workdays
Registration is required so that we
have enough refreshments and tools
for everyone. Please call the office
at (269) 324-1600 if you are
interested in attending any of these
workdays.
Polishing a Jewel in the Rough:
Wau-Ke-Na Workday
Saturday, June 20, 9 a.m. to Noon
A tiny remnant of lake-plain prairie
survives at Wau-Ke-Na but is under siege by
brush. This little patch of wildflowers represents a globally imperiled habitat found at
only a handful of places in Michigan. The
habitat is currently a little rough around the
edges and could use some “polishing” via
brush removal.
Bring: Work gloves, boots, and long
pants in case of poison ivy.
Carpool 7:30 a.m. from the Oakland
Drive and I-94 Park & Ride.
Saving Habitat in St. Joseph:
Hickory Creek Workday
Saturday, July 18, 9 a.m. to Noon
An “urban green trail” leads from
Silver Beach in the city of St. Joseph, south
into St. Joseph Charter Township and
through SWMLC’s Hickory Creek preserve. The preserve has a surprising diversity of flora and fauna for its location in an
urban setting. Prairie and savanna remnants
survive along the edges of the trail, and rich
oak forests lead into a lush swamp forest on
the banks of Hickory Creek. Come enjoy
the butterfly weed and wild indigo while
helping tackle the invasive species that
threaten its diversity.
Bring: Work gloves, boots, and long
pants in case of poison ivy.
Carpool 7:30 a.m. from the Oakland
Drive and I-94 Park & Ride.
Island Getaway in Kalamazoo:
Glenn Allen Island Workday
Saturday, August 8, 9 a.m. to Noon
Take advantage of the rare opportunity
to visit SWMLC’s only island preserve. We
need help cleaning up the flotsam and jetsam that annually collect on the 10-acre
island under the shade of towering
8
Bottle gentian responds well to restoration efforts at Wau-Ke-Na and Paw Paw River
Preserve. Photo by Nate Fuller.
chinquapin oaks. The water should be low
this time of year, so wading out to the
island will be an option — actually easier
than ferrying over by canoe.
Bring: Work gloves, clothes for wading, boots for swampy conditions, and long
pants in case of poison ivy.
Carpool 8:15 a.m.*
Savannas & Sedge Meadows in Paw Paw:
Paw Paw River Preserve Workday
Saturday, August 22, 9 a.m. to Noon
In addition to protecting over 200
acres of diverse floodplain forest, this preserve has a small remnant of oak savanna
complete with bottle gentian and big
bluestem grass. Volunteers have helped
maintain this remnant by opening up the
surrounding canopy and cutting back
brush. One more workday should be
enough to connect the habitat to a nearby
sedge meadow, linking the rare habitats!
Bring: Work gloves, boots, and long
pants in case of poison ivy.
Carpool 8:15 a.m. from the Oakland
Drive and I-94 Park & Ride.
Landscape Changes in Comstock:
Chipman Preserve Workday
Saturday, September 26, 9 a.m. to Noon
Enjoy new vistas while healing the
landscape. Incredible efforts have gone into
clearing acres of brush and Scotch pine at
the preserve — now we need help planting
and sowing to help restore native vegetation. If you are lucky, there might even be a
few exotic shrubs left to cut!
Bring: Work gloves, boots, and long
pants in case of poison ivy.
Carpool 8:15 a.m.*
Remember the Alamo Prairie:
Sand Creek Preserve Workday
Saturday, October 10, 9 a.m. to Noon
Alamo Township hasn’t seen a prairie
like this in generations! The tall grasses
should be ripe and ready to harvest, as well
as many wildflowers. Areas cleared of
brush and thinned with fire are ready for
some more native species, and the planted
prairie is rich with plants up to the challenge. Help us redistribute seed and plant a
natural area to remember.
Bring: Work gloves, boots, and long
pants in case of poison ivy.
Carpool 8:30 a.m. from the Oakland
Drive and I-94 Park & Ride.
* Carpool Option: Meet in the
SWMLC parking lot, 6851 S. Sprinkle Rd.
at Bishop Rd./Romence Rd. in Portage at the
time indicated. Call Julie Lewandowski at
the office at (269) 324-1600 by the Thursday
before the workday if you intend to carpool.
Hilly Hundred Bike Race Raises Land Protection Funds
o raise money to help pay closing
costs, title insurance, and a portion
of the survey costs for the Webb
property, our own Geoff Cripe participated
in the Hilly Hundred bicycle race sponsored
last fall by the Central Indiana Bicycling
Association, Inc. Geoff traversed 100 miles
of heavily rolling terrain on his old
Paramount bike. But he wasn’t alone: there
were 5,000 riders from 40 states and several
foreign countries involved in the race. They
climbed over 9,000 vertical feet, many on
sharp inclines that provided a real cardiovascular gut-check! A combination of training,
spaghetti, and adrenaline helped Geoff to
muscle up all of those hills, and he finished
the ride in high spirits.
Geoff ’s ride was supported by many
generous donors who raised $1,290, and we
take this opportunity to say, “Thank you!”
to all of them. (Thank you, too, Geoff !)
T
Louise Adams
Gulinora Alibekoglu
Tamara M. Ashley
Maria Borolov
Marilyn Cardiff
Kristi Chapman
Daisy Chisholm
Barb and Dan Cripe
Brittany L. Cripe
Dave Cripe
Erika Cripe
Lauren N. Cripe
Lola and Craig Dondanville
Sarah Echols
Steve and Julie Echols
Zola Eidson
Karen Gentile
Amy Hamlin
Lloy Haw
Ted Ira
Zadie Jackson
Kalamazoo Garden Council, Inc.
Janet Keys
Julie Lewandowski
Laurie L. Lord
Mick Lynch/Prairie Edge LLC
Joann Maier
Betty Mason
Cleora Mohney
Wilma R. Nelson
Viki Pharis
Beth L. Shirley
Tom Stolz
Peter D. Ter Louw
Emily and Brook Wilke
George and Susan Wise
Ann Wunderly
JoAnn Yochim
Mark Your
Calendars . . .
Our 2009 Annual
Meeting to our members
will be held Thursday,
October 22, at People’s
Church on N. 10th St.
in Kalamazoo. We will
begin gathering at
6 p.m., and the meeting
will begin promptly at
7 p.m. More details to
come in our next
newsletter and on our
web site (www.SWMLC.
org).
Boy Scout Troop 198 of South Haven raised over $1,000 to help with the Deerlick
Creek purchase and to support SWMLC’s monitoring fund for the North Point
Conservation Easement project. The troop — led by Senior Patrol Leader Andrew
Sicard — worked with fellow scouts and scout leaders, along with Friends of Troop
198, to raise funds for these two causes. SWMLC greatly appreciates the leadership
and generosity of these young men in promoting conservation.
Photo provided by Emmett Cosgrove. (Not all scouts from the troop are pictured here.)
9
he Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy (SWMLC) in partnership with
the Van Buren Conservation District and the Michigan Department of
Environmental Quality Nonpoint Source Program (MDEQ NSP) is coordinating efforts to protect critical water quality of the Black River Watershed and
wildlife habitat in this fast-developing region. The project consists of developing a land conservation plan and implementing a three-year targeted outreach
campaign to promote land conservation for water resources.
SWMLC assembled a Black River Watershed Land Protection Committee
with members representing a variety of backgrounds and from locations scattered throughout the watershed. Committee members are tasked with prioritizing conservation values, then applying these conservation values to specific
areas within the watershed using natural resource-based mapping analysis. This
map highlights these priority conservation areas in the Black River Watershed.
Each square shown on the map represents a high-priority, 40-acre (quarterquarter section) block.
T
Watershed Overview
• Encompasses 287 square miles (183,490 acres) across two counties and
13 townships.
• Contains 530 miles of rivers, streams, and drains, 43 larger named lakes
(largest is Hutchins Lake), and over 500 small lakes and ponds.
• Supports 70 species of fish, 130 species of birds, and 471 species of
plants (on record as of 2004).
• More than half the land is agricultural with the majority planted in
unique crops such as blueberries.
MDEQ NSP led the
charge for a cleanup and
restoration of the Mill
Pond in Bangor, which
was completed in 2005.
The area today supports
native flora and fauna
once again.
Photo by Peter D. Ter
Louw.
1. Forested River Corridor. 1,480 acres of forested river corridor and adjacent
forested wetland. Acts as buffer from lakeshore development and city sprawl.
Important breeding habitat for birds. Plays critical water quality role by preventing erosion and blocking pollutants. Provides habitat shade for fish and for
macroinvertebrates, which are food for fish.
2. Expanding Preserves. 400 acres of high-priority natural land adjacent to 45
acres conserved by SWMLC (Wintergreen Woods and Winterberry Woods
preserves). Notable for extensive wetlands, including forested, scrub-shrub, and
emergent. Northern species, including Eastern hemlock and magnolia warblers,
found here because wetlands and back ridges stay very cool. High groundwater
recharge area where water moves directly into the aquifer.
10
Black River Watershed Prio
ority Conservation Areas
3. Forested Wetlands. 400 acres, containing state-threatened swamp
cottonwood and spotted turtle. Threatened ecosystem along highly
developed coastline.
4. Upper and Lower Jeptha Lake. 720 acres of high-quality wetlands,
marl flats, lakes with sparse development, and SWMLC’s Jeptha Lake
Fen preserve. Flight route for migratory birds and haven for waterfowl.
Species of interest include State-threatened Blanchard’s cricket frog,
Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake, spotted turtle, and marsh blazing star.
5. River Corridor from Bangor to Gobles. 1,800 acres along lower
corridor. Includes intact beech-maple forest. Great blue heron rookery
south of Breedsville protected by Michigan Nature Association. Large
area of contiguous wetlands surrounding rookery and containing Statethreatened spotted turtle and Blanding’s turtle.
6. Fisheries Protection. 4,800 acres, encompassing many lakes with
sparse development. Headwaters of the middle branch of the Black
River. Sparse development along long stretches of shaded river corridor
contributes to the prime coldwater trout fishery. Comprised of large area
of wetlands and forested land, including Kal-Haven trail.
Development Pressure
The Black River Watershed is experiencing development pressure
along the I-96 corridor and along M-43 from South Haven to
Bangor. Inland lakes are being surrounded by housing developments. Development pressure along Lake Michigan is also increasing as people move in to be closer to the coastline.
7. Pullman Wetlands. 360 acres of large contiguous wetlands. Largest
area of intact privately owned wetlands in the watershed. Primarily emergent wetlands which are important duck breeding habitat. Contiguous
to Allegan State Game Area (see below). Serve as headwaters of upper
and middle branches of the Black River.
8. Allegan State Game Area. 2,920 acres, one of two largest protected
areas in southwest Michigan. Inholdings and unprotected adjacent lands
are high priority for conservation by MDNR and SWMLC. Comprised
of forest, remnant oak-pine barrens, and wetlands, including coastal plain
marsh and bog. Headwaters of upper branch of the Black River.
The Black River as it flows into South
Haven from the northeast provides stunning views. Photo by Peter D. Ter Louw.
9. Headwaters Area. 440 acres, comprising
headwaters of lower branch of the Black
River, including Munn and Mill Lakes.
Species of interest include Blanchard’s cricket
frog, black rat snake, and Eastern Massasauga,
all indicators of important wetlands, lakes,
and surrounding undeveloped upland ridges.
Matrix of lakes, emergent, scrub-shrub, and
forested wetlands.
— Emily Wilke
11
Thank You
Welcome and Thank You to Our New
Members and Supporters
December 2008 - April 2009
Dale Anderson
Erica and Ethan Aubin
John Bloom
Dennis Bradley
Larry and Barbara Case
Jayne Clement
Randy and Terri Counterman
Suzanne Dixon
Marcus Clark and Lorrie Elliott
Fabius Township Citizens’ Coalition, Inc.
James Frederick
Stephanie Groshko Grathwol
Tom Hayden
Al and Pam Jarvis
Amy Newday
John Pence
Bruce Scrafford
Tonya Schuitmaker
Matthias Schultz
Eric B. Shafer
Robert Southgate
Richard and Olga Stieve
Sylvan Shores, Inc. Home Owners Assoc.
System Components, Inc.
T. J. and Julia Wilkinson
Thanks also to all who renewed their membership, supported us through their United
Way program, or contributed to our annual
campaign and year-end appeal.
Our sincere apologies for any omissions.
Leadership Contributions
The people and organizations listed below
made significant contributions to support
SWMLC’s program, land acquisition, stewardship, monitoring, and endowment funds.
We thank them for their generosity and
support.
Anonymous
John and Patricia Chipman
Robert C. and Janet C. Claflin
Dave and Maggie Coleman
Kalman and Becky Csia
Howard E. Farris
Alfred J. Gemrich
Florence Goodyear
William and Patricia Hanavan
Ladies’ Library Association
12
Timothy and Joy Light
Mary K. Melzer
Wayne and Karen Moss
Gail Walter and Tom Nehil
Suzanne U. D. Parish
Patagonia Environmental Programs
Karen and Tim Pederson
Prairie Edge LLC/Mick and Lisa Lynch
Kathy and Tim Pullano
Joanne and Edward Rebek
Rebecca Sive and Steve Tomashefsky
Virginia M. Van Dalson
Bo Van Peenan
T. J. and Julia Wilkinson
Williams-King-Parsons Family Foundation
Phil and Judy Willson
James B. and Maggie Woodruff
Jack Wykoff
Matching Gifts
The organizations listed below made matching gifts on behalf of SWMLC members.
ExxonMobil Foundation
IBM International Foundation
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Kellogg’s Corporate Citizenship Fund
Lincoln Financial Foundation
Macy’s Foundation
Pfizer Foundation
Verizon Foundation
Carolyn and Keith Martin
Mrs. Madalene Martin
Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Rhodes
The late Dorothy Adams
Thank you for sharing the land!
by Joan Orman and Eric Bekker
Jamie and Phil Michael
by Nancy and Steve McKown
Verne and Cindy Mills
by Kent and Lori Mills
Emma B. Pitcher
by Barbara E. Plampin
Gift memberships were given to:
Eric Gelehrter
James Gelehrter
Julia Miller
from Thomas and Barbara Gelehrter
Tom Hayden
from Marcy Colclough
Jack and Adrianne Klecha
from Peter D. Ter Louw
Matthias Schultz
from Susan and Fred Schultz
Business Supporters
Honorariums
Erbelli’s supplied pizza for our annual stewardship/land protection volunteer recognition event. Thank you to Greg Erb, Erb
Ventures, Inc.
Gazelle Sports contributed Patagonia
Catalog donations.
In appreciation for a program given by
Nate Fuller, an honorarium was donated
by the Audubon Society of Kalamazoo.
Memorial Contributions
The following gifts were made
in memory or remembrance of:
Gifts
Donations were made in honor of:
Charlie and Kathy Bibart
by Greg and Ann Feldmeier
Beth Gibson on her birthday
by Dru Carter
Maryellen Hains
Nancy Cutbirth Small
Tom Small
by Thomas H. Seiler
Dick Hodgman on his birthday
from Joann Dodson
Nancy Keen
by Marilyn Case
Barney Magerlein
by Betty and John Bennett
Bessie G. Mueller
Bessie Woolner
by Alan G. Mueller
Marge Olson (Jeptha Lake Fen)
by Mike and Barb Dittlinger
Michael Dean Prillwitz of Eau Claire
He loved the outdoors
by Kathy and Tim Pullano
James E. Ray, 1943-2009
For stewardship of Jeptha Lake Fen
Cornerstone Office Systems, Inc.
Jason Allen and Susan Ewalt
Brenda and Frank Fandel
Richard and Joyce Freestone
Barbara L. Funk
Jack and Madelyn Goodrich
Hopkins, Yeager and Smith, P.C.
Stacy Anderson Johnson
Glenn and Marilyn Keith
Tim and Beth Martin & Family
Dean and Nancy McKenzie
James E. Ray, 1943-2009
(continued)
Edward and Phyllis Oxley
Kathleen Andries Ray and
Dean K. Ray, Jr.
Kevin and Susan Ray
Robert and Marilyn Remington
James and Susan Rhoades
Rod Ryder Agency
Bill and Wilma Sands
Rudy and Sharon Sauer
Servpro of Berrien County
Servpro of East & West Kalamazoo
Jean Stein
Patricia M. Tompkins
David and Mary Vanderstelt
Raymond and Katie Yuknavage
Dr. Edward L. Schumann
by Amy L. Anderson
Ruth Caputo
Kalman and Becky Csia
Linda Garaza
Landscapers Garden Club
Michigan Botanical Club,
Southwestern Chapter
Janet St. John
Freda Switzenbaum
Diane Worden
Paul Todd
by Carole S. Birch
Phillip Villaire
by Louis A. Villaire
Opening day of deer gun season last November was also
the reason to gather and honor Bo and Mel Van Peenan
and Kalamazoo Plug Company by giving them a sign to
mark their conservation easement. Former SWMLC
board member and current investment committee member,
Bo protected 87 acres of his family farm in December
2007. After presentation of the sign, board member Al
Gemrich spoke in honor of Bo’s leadership, commitment
to conservation, and civic involvement, and thanked him
for protecting his land with SWMLC.
Left to right: SWMLC executive director Peter Ter Louw,
board member Alfred J. Gemrich, Bo Van Peenan, and land
protection specialist Emily Wilke.
Photo by Geoffrey D. Cripe.
Planned Giving Through the Oak Legacy
ake a commitment as part of your
estate, and you’ll become a member of The Oak Legacy. By planting the seeds, you will provide the resources
needed for the success of our ongoing land
conservation efforts.
Like the mighty oak that starts as a
small acorn, your gift over time will grow.
M
The Southwest Michigan Land
Conservancy invites you to give a lasting gift
and join with other visionary members of
The Oak Legacy. By acting together, we can
choose to leave a healthy forest for our children and their children to enjoy.
Make a planned gift to the Southwest
Michigan Land Conservancy. Help ensure
that we carry out our primary mission of
protecting land. Commit today to protect
the future. Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.
For information on how you can
become a member of The Oak Legacy, call
the SWMLC office at (269) 324-1600.
13
2008 Donors
The donations listed by category
below are cumulative amounts
donated throughout 2008.
Donations were received as memorials, honor gifts, gift memberships,
honorariums, new memberships
and renewals, annual campaign,
year-end appeal, birdathon, land
acquisition, stewardship, monitoring, grants, United Way, and corporate matching gifts. We apologize
for any omissions.
$10,000 and over
John and Patricia Chipman
Dave and Maggie Coleman
Defenders of Wildlife
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
(matching gifts)
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Nonpoint
Source Program
Pfizer Foundation (matching gifts)
William Erby Smith Fund of the
Kalamazoo Community
Foundation
The J. A. Woollam Foundation
$5,000 to $9,999
Anonymous
Woody and Sharon Boudeman
Kalman and Becky Csia
ExxonMobil Foundation
(matching gifts)
Larry and Noel Hayward
Kalamazoo Community Foundation
Land Trust Alliance
Preston S. Parish Foundation
Stan and Connie Rajnak
Ilse Gebhard and Russ Schipper
Lawrence J. Sehy
The Lawrence and Sylvia Wong
Foundation, Inc.
$2,500 to $4,999
Anonymous
The Burdick-Thorne Foundation
Nancy Malcomson Connable Fund
Alfred J. and Jean M. Gemrich
Kenneth and Marlena Kirton
Jack N. Wykoff
$1,000 to $2,499
Approved Fire Protection Company
The Arctica and Abbey Foundation
Audubon Society of Kalamazoo
Frank D. Ballo
Brian Bosgraaf
Mrs. Robert A. Cary
H.P. and Genevieve Connable Fund
14
Larry and Sharon Edris
Entergy Palisades
Howard E. Farris
Caryl P. Freeman
Elisabeth R. French
Dana S. Getman
Florence F. Goodyear
William and Patricia Hanavan
Henry Blake Hawk
Kensinger and Alice Jones
Ladies’ Library Association
George H. Lauff
Charles and Phyllis LaVene
Lincoln Financial Foundation
(matching gifts)
Thomas and Pam Mansager
Michael and Cindy Ortega
Donald R. and Ann V. Parfet
Family Foundation
Emily and Jeff Pearson
Karen and Tim Pederson
Melanie J. Perry
Belle Polmanteer
Pfizer Foundation (matching gifts)
Joanne and Edward Rebek
Leonard W. Sachs
Carol and Robert Scallan
System Components, Inc.
Erin and Stefan Tilbury
Edward S. and Virginia M. Van
Dalson Fund
Bo and Melicent Van Peenan/
Kalamazoo Plug Co.
Williams-King-Parsons
Family Foundation
Phil and Judy Willson
James and Maggie Woodruff
$500 to $999
Phyllis J. Barents
Carole S. Birch
Thomas and Jill Berglund
Carol Lyn Boudeman
Gilbert Bowman
Alex and Kathy Bozymowski
George E. Burgoyne, Jr.
Robert C. and Janet C. Claflin
Fund
Alica N. Cummings
Folio Salon, Boutique, Esthetique
Simona M. Gaudio
Gull Lake Quality Organization
Mary and Daniel Houser
Richard and Brenda Keith
Pamela and Lee Larson
Robert and Joyce Leppard
Lowell B. and Elizabeth Upjohn
Mason
John and Connie McKeague
Philip P. Micklin
Verne and Cindy Mills
Russell and Cleora Mohney
Wayne and Karen Moss
Gail Walter and Tom Nehil
Martha G. Parfet
Suzanne U. D. Parish
Lynda L. Pelkey
Kathy and Tim Pullano
Samuel J. Qualls
Richard H. and Martha J. Shaw
Ronald Spears
Tom and Nancy Springer
Lynn and Mike Steil
Phillip and Susan Stott
Jacob C. Stucki
Peter D. Ter Louw
Rebecca Sive and Steve Tomashefsky
Lee Douglas Walker
Mary Ann Wannamaker
Bradley and Cheri Weller
T. J. and Julia Wilkinson
Rich and Julie Wyrwa
George Yeager
Under $500
Anonymous
Judy Mayo and Sid Aaron
George and Nancy Acker
Elaine F. Adams
Louise Adams
Gulinora Alibekoglu
Betty Allen
Paula M. Allred
Phil Buoscio and Katherine Anabo
Judith Anastasio
Jo-Ellen Anderson
Rob and Amy Anderson
Jim and Joy Andrews
Charles J. Andrysiak
Al Arado
Jared W. Arnold
Robert and Joanne Arvidson
Tamara M. Ashley
Ned and Neva Asplundh
Scott Assink
Elizabeth King and Richard Atwell
Erica and Ethan Aubin
Rob and Erin Augustine
Ralph E. Babcock
Carol and Bernard Baker
William H. Baker
Bud and Judi Baldwin
Roger T. Barksdale
Charles S. Barr
Christine Bartley
Alan Baudler
Thomas R. Bausman
David K. Baute
Beatrice H. Beech
Rebecca A. Beech
Joan Orman and Eric Bekker
Charles and Jan Benner
Sally Muniz and Vernon Bennett III
Elizabeth M. Bennett
Tod and Susan Bennett
Andy Gould and Vicki Berglund
Dennis J. Berkebile/
Consumers Energy
Donald and Judy Bever
Don and Carol Beveridge
Dave Foerster and Sheila Birdsall
Glenn and Dolores Bjorkman
William and Linda Blackmore
Leonella M. Blanke
Jack Bley
Marie and Jack Block
Barbara and James Blondia
Melinda J. Bloom
Norman E. Bober Family
Donald and Georgia Boerma
Peter Boerma
Susan L. Bond
Maria Borolov
David M. Boshka
Sherwood and Kathryn Boudeman
Barbara Boven
Devereux Bowly
John J. Bowman
Katy Takahashi and Richard Brewer
Bob and Gail Brickman
Brigham Audubon Society
Gayle D. Britten
Rebecca Brock
Susan Brooks/The Pottery Women
Theodore F. Brophy
Donald J. and Mary C. Brown
Karen Brown
Robert M. and Susan C. Brown
Jim and Sandra Bruce
Fred J. Buckley
Michael J. Buckner
Roselee Bundy
Dennis and Janice Burke
Mary Burkett
Philip and Patricia Burton
David Butkovich
Richard and Yvonne Byce
Robin K. Byrn
Calhoun County Master Gardener
Association
Victoria E. Campbell-Arvai
Bob and Sandy Capp
Jo Ann Cappetto
Ruth E. Caputo
Marilyn Cardiff
Mary Ann Carey
Sharon Carlson
Dru Carter
Connie Casanto
Larry and Barbara Case
2008 Donors
Marilyn A. Case
Kay A. Caskey
William and Andrea Casteel
Robert and Peggy Cauchy
Eleanore Chadderdon
Richard and Joanne Chamberlin
Kristi Chapman
Judith Kay Chase
Len and Pat Chase
Daisy Chisholm
William and Jean Chope
Esther A. Christensen
Charles Christianson
Martha and Hurshal Clark
Barbara and Gene Clysdale
Henry and Becky Cole
Serena L. Cole
Carolyn G. Coleman
Michael and Margie Coleman
Ruth L. Collins
Daniel and Lucianne Conklin
Frank T. Conklin
Tenho S. Connable
Nina L. Consolatti
Consumers Energy (matching gifts)
Karen Cooper
Harry and Mary Ellen Cotterill
Randy and Terri Counterman
Barb and Dan Cripe
Brittany L. Cripe
Dave Cripe
Erika Cripe
Lauren N. Cripe
Karen Halsted and Pat Cronin
Vicki and John Cross
Patricia A. Crowley
Tamara and Charles Crupi
Bruce and Judy Cutting
William A. Cutting
Susan Damon
Ellen Carnahan and Bill Daniels
Nancy Daugherty
Douglas Davies
Jay and Gwen De Bruyn
Michele Cudahy and David DeBack
Pete and Mandy DeBoer
Decatur Study Club
DeGrandchamp Farms
Brian R. Dekema
Cari DeLong
Katena Demas
Susan M. Dennis
Denso Manufacturing Michigan
(matching gifts)
Alaine Depner
Carole Deutch
Paul W. DeYoung
Al and Karen Dixon
Suzanne Dixon
Brian J. Dobbie
Gordon and Jean Dolbee
Lola and Craig Dondanville
Marilyn Doolittle
Jeff Douglas
Tacie and Martin Draznin
Raymond T. Dubray
John E. and Joan M. Dudd
Kenneth and Evelyn Dunlap
Kathrene E. Dutrow
David G. Dvorak
Ed and Karen Dzialowski
Sarah Echols
Steve and Julie Echols
Keith and Peg Edmondson
Emily Egan
Elwood and Nancy Ehrle
Victor and Ruth Eichler
Zola Eidson
Alex Eilts
Nate and Lisa Eimer
Helen Elkiss
Marcus Clark and Lorrie Elliott
David and Nikki Elrod
Jerri Elsinga
Ted and Jo Emerson
Stephen J. Engberts
Hans Engelke
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas P. Erdmann
Joan and Hub Erickson
Randal K. and Maria J. Romero Eshuis
Ann S. Evans
Monica Ann Evans
Molly Fairbanks
Brenda Smith Falkenstein
Phyllis Farrell
Ann and Greg Feldmeier
Connie and Steve Ferguson
Joseph Ferrara
Kate Ferraro
Shon and Sam Field
Robert and Judith Filbrandt
Wilbert and Joyce Fink
Stewart and Marian Finkler
Howard David Fischer
James and Alice Fish
Marsha and Cliff Fisher
Elaine G. Fishman
Robert C. Fix
Elaine Fluck
Christopher Fluke
J. Lindsley Foote
Lisa Forrest
Elizabeth A. Fox
Ann and John Fraser
Matt Frayer
Jim and Shirley Freeman
P.M. Freeman
Jill Allread and Pamela Freese
John and Rebecca Fulgoni
David and Janet Fuller
Garth and Sarah Fuller
Kent and Jeryl Fuller
Nate and Erin Fuller
James A. Funke
Tom and Susan Funke
Jean A. Gagliardo
Donald G. Galow
Almario and Rosalinda Garaza
Harold Garman
Judy B. Gaspar
Patricia D. Gaston
Judith Gay
Betty Anne Geib
Deboray Geiger
Maynard Kaufman and
Barbara Geisler
Thomas and Barbara Keith Gelehrter
Karen Gentile
Jack and Martha Gesmundo
Joseph Gesmundo/Greenspire Apts.
Mr. and Mrs. Robert P. Geudtner
Geum Services, Inc.
Beth and Billy Gibson
Paul and Jan Gilbert
Julie Girten
Jeff and Bette Glindmeyer
Melvin and Alberta Goebel
Loretta Gold
Melanie A. Good
Charles Goodrich
Jennifer Gorman
Bruce S. A. Gosling
Marilyn A. Gosling
Lloyd Goyings
Elmer R. Graber
Stephanie Groshko Grathwol
Jerry and Becky Gray
Ed and Kelly Gregory
Patricia A. Groh
Katherine Gross
Laurel A. Grotzinger
Richard and Pat Grupp
Pat Gudlaugsson
Ernest and Janit Guess
Gull Prairie Garden Club
Charles and Vurlah Gwilliams
Jack Haeger
Kevin Haight and Melinda RussellHaight
Richard and Alice Haight
Dean and Cynthia Halderson
Linda and Charles Hall
Judy Halpern
Caroline R. Ham
Amy Hamlin
Barbara Hammon
H. Nicholas Hamner
Robert and Sharon Handelsman
Ladislav J. Hanka
Ladislav R. and Jana Hanka
Bill and Kathy Hanley
Christine Hann
David Hapman
Gerald and Lelane Hardie
Thomas C. Harkness
Donald and Ronnee Harrell
Dale P. Harrison
Dorothy J. Haskell
Lloy Haw
Elizabeth B. Hawk
Daniel B. Hayes
Robert and Mara Hayes
Ruth D. Hayes
Jim Tobin and Gina Heagney
Phillip and Lynne Heasley
James and Mary Heaton
Donna Hellman
Ed Henby
Donald and Marilyn Henkel
Gary and Mary Herder
Joseph and Patty Herdus
Ed and Ginnie Hessler
William and Cindy Hetrick
Jim Hewitt
Sherry L. Higgins
James and Martha Hilboldt
Jerry and Barbara Hill
Maurice H. Decoster and
Sonia H. Hill
Bob Hilton / Silver Shears
Jerry L. Hinkley
Susan Allen and Donald Hinman
Donna Hippensteel
Jocelyn and Richard Hodgman
Mark Hoffman
Max and Mary Hoffman
Allen Holcomb
Joanne Holden
Heidi Hollenbach-Wall
Tom and Lauri Holmes
Zella G. Holycross
Mary J. Hosley
Wayne Householder
Richard and Carol Howard
Candice Gancia and John Howe
Nick and Penny Hrib
Connie and Fred Hubbell
Patricia A. Huberty
Patrick Hudson and Gina FrassonHudson
Terry Hudson
Thomas and Brigitte Huff
Kelly and Tom Huggett
Gunther Fonken and Agnes Hughes
William Hughes and Debra
Chope Hughes
Chad and Kristin Hughson
Joseph J. Hulsebus
Diana Humple
Rochelle and Allen Hunt
15
2008 Donors
Donald D. Hursh
Bruce Hutchinson
Charlotte Hyman
IBM International Foundation
(matching gifts)
Ann and Edward Ihling
Anna and Carl Ill
Eugenie and Richard Insidioso
Robert and Rosemary Insidioso
Terry Jackson
Zadie Jackson
Alan and Lyn Jacobs
Jerre and Donald James
Al and Pam Jarvis
Mark and Cheryl Jenness
Mark and Kathryn Lund Johnson
Richard A. Johnson
Robert T. Johnson
William and Deborah Johnston
Judy Jolliffe
Bill and Mary Jones
Cher M. Jones
Patrick and Celeste Chambers Jones
Virginia Jones
Marie L. Josephsen
Richard and Raelyn Joyce
Tom and Sandy Kahl
Kalamazoo Garden Council, Inc.
Valdis and Laila Kalnins
David N. Karowe
Dorothy Anne Kasunic
Thomas Kavanaugh
J. Michael Keenan
Nanette and Jack Keiser
Christina L. Keller
The Keller Foundation (matching
gift)
Robert and Donna Keller
Nancy A. Kellogg
Joan R. Kelly
John and Marty Kendall
Natalie R. Kent
Judith A. Kepler
Shirley Kerlikowske
Jean M. Ketchum
Daniel Xavier Keto
Janet Keys
Susan and Robert Kinde
Doug and Kathy Kirk
James D. Kirklin
Evelyn J. Kirkwood
Jeff and Julia Kirkwood
Jacqueline P. Kirley
Susan Kitchen
Sallie S. Kittredge
Renee Kivikko
Oscar and Marilyn Kleb
Bob and Nancy Klesert
Kevin L. Kline
Paul C. and Joyce Kline
16
Mike and Carol Klug
Margaret Kohring
Tracy Kolb
Jerry Kollig
Keith and Catherine Konvalinka
Victor Kordish
Kenneth M. Kornheiser
Conrad Kramer
William Krasean
Edgar R. Krasts
Patrick and Cheryl Krause
Lyle and Roberta Kreg
Patricia Smetana and Thomas Krol
Sandra L. Kuentzel
Lonnie and Sharon Kuntzman
Ted and Kaye Kurnat
Phyllis E. Kurzrock
Jacqueline G. Ladwein
Alta S. Lahner
Freya E. Lake
Lake Michigan Beach Property
Owners’ Association, Inc.
Frank and Joan Lamb
Cameron W. Lambe
Charles and Mary Ann Landefeld
David and Jan Landry
Andrea Lanier
Cheryl A. Larabee
Ben F. Lark
Lois E. Larson
Dr. and Mrs. A. Gregory Laurell
Linda M. Law
Sona Kalousdian and Ira Lawrence
Edward and Yvonne Lean
Judy Ledbetter
Nancy S. Lee
Carol LeFevre
Peter LeFevre
Julie DeLuca and Thomas Leibold
Bruce Heustis and Marcia LeMay
Candace Cole Leonard
Richard Leonard
Steven and Maureen Leuty
Gary and Katy Lewallen
John and Maureen Lewandowski
Julie A. Lewandowski
Paul Ballard and Colette Lewis
James A. Lisowski
Linda Locey
Amy Lockhart
David and Jeanne Long
Eric and Charlene Longman
Josephine Longnecker
Laurie L. Lord
Letitia Loveless
Joanne Lowery
Ann Luft
Sarah E. Jordan and Patricia Lutsky
Mick and Lisa Lynch/
Prairie Edge, LLC
Larry and Annette Lyons
Peter and Karen Maas
George and Linda Macleod
Robert M. Macleod
Paul and Gail MacNellis
Macy’s Foundation (matching gifts)
Christopher J. Magson
Joann M. Maier
Jacqueline V. Mallinson
Wayne and Dora Mann
Mr. and Mrs. William F. Martin, Jr.
William F. Martin, Sr.
Jonathan Towne and
Candy Martindale
Kim and Todd Martinson
Betty Mason
Coral Mason
Chalmer Mastin
Toni and Glenn Matthews
David C. Maturen
Jeannette and B. W. Maxey
S. L. Mayer
Deanna Mayo
Judith L. Maze
David Jackson and
Margaret McAllister
Lester B. and Elaine McAllister
Jane Quinn and Jeff McCarthy
Helen McCauslin
Alice McCorry
Priscilla M. McDougal
Cecil and Susan McIntire
John B. McKay
Nancy and Steve McKown
Jan McLain
Denny and Eileen Mead
Kyle Mead
Thomas B. Mears
Susan B. Benner and John M. Meeks
Matt and Danielle Meersman
H. F. Mehaffie
Penny L. Meints
Dan Collison and Elizabeth Meister
Patricia Hoch-Melluish and
James Melluish
James and Amy Melvin
Mary K. Melzer
Mary Ann Menck/Mary Ann’s
Michigan Trees & Shrubs
Bettina Meyer
Jamie and Phil Michael
Michigan Botanical Club –
Southwestern Chapter
Evelyn Milcezny
David Millard
George Miller
Kip and Suzanne Miller
Margaret I. Miller
Sheryl and Mark Miller
David S. Mindell/PlantWise
Greg and Patti Mindock
William A. Minshall
Donald and Martha Minter
John and Roberta Mitchell
Yolanda Mitts
Cindy Mom
Jeff Monroe
Joanne L. Morozov
Kate and William Morrison
James P. Motiff
Alan G. Mueller
James and Beverly Munson
Andy and Lana Murch
Violet M. Murphy
Judi Stimson and William Myers
Christopher D. Nagy
Doris B. Nathan
Wilma R. Nelson
David P. Nesius
Paul and Karen Nickels
George M. Nielsen
Catherine Niessink
Fred and Audrey Nietering
Jordan Nightingale
Sandra E. Nordmark
Jane Norton
Robin and Nancy Nott
Laura Strehlow and Walt Oberheu
Arthur and Patricia O’Leary
Paul D. Olexia
Ruth Olmsted
Layton E. Olson
Betty Lee Ongley
Larry and Kay Oppliger
Terry O’Rourke
Robert Oudsema
Jerie Kull and Richard Oxhandler
William and Janet Paarlberg
Anne Pancella
Joyce Parker
Rebecca A. Patterson
Steven and Lisa Peet
Mr. and Mrs. William A. Peet
Janet H. Pendergrass
Barbara Perkovic
Laura A. Pernice
Ralph and Rebecca Pernice
Kenneth Perrin
Ann M. Perry
Kay D. Perry
Petal Pushers Garden Club
Michael and Phyllis Petersen
Steve and Jan Petersen
Joyce R. Petter
Stephen E. and
Kathleen M. Keelan Pew
Viki Pharis
Mike and Lisa Phillips
Richard and Sarah Phillips
Brenda Pike
2008 Donors
Employees of Pine View Golf Club
Gigi and Anne Marie Vacco Pintore
Alfred and Joan Pioch
Julie and Michael Pioch
Emma Bickham Pitcher
Barbara E. Plampin
Robert H. and Mary Jo Poel
Barb and Jeff Poliak
Tom and Sue Ponto
Elisabeth Henderson and
David Posther
Colleen D. Potter
Douglas E. Powless
Preserve the Dunes, Inc.
Franklin and Paula Presler
Charles and Mary Price
Ken and Cyndy Priest
Prima Communications, Inc.
John E. Davis Jr. and
Marybeth Pritschet
Allan S. Puplis
Janis Putelis
Christopher Randall
Phyllis Rappeport
Heather and Jim Ratliff
William and Sarah Reding
Leroy Redman
Gifford Blaylock and Anne Reed
Valerie F. Reed
William H. Reed
Joseph and Linda Reeser
Christopher L. Reinart
Melvin and Nancy Richards
Rob and Regina Richardson
Lance R. Richmond
Barbara A. Rider
Rita A. Rifenberg
Beatrice C. Ritchie
Charles and Donna Lou Ritter
George and Louise Robeck
John G. and Maureen Robinson
Margaret Roche
Dr. and Mrs. William F. Rocker
Hazel Rood
Terry Hluchyj and
RichardRoosenberg
Amber Rothrock
Judy Kraft Rowe
John C. Roy
Tom and Susan Rumsey
Pamela S. Rups
Freeman Russell
Janice Russo
Janet Ryskamp
Ed and Jan Sackley
Michael and Sherry Saenz
Louise D. Safron
Lynn Sagar
Mike and Judy Salada
Todd Sanford
Larry Sapp
Douglas and Donna Saunders
Larry Saunders
Julian and Elizabeth Scarborough
David and Janet Scarrow
Randy and Joyce Schau
Susanne L. Schipper
Robert and Georgette Schirmer
Diane and Eric Schlanser
Moselle Schoenfelder
William P. Schreiber
John M. Schreuder
Dale and Marlene Schultz
Fred and Susan Schultz
Donna Schumann
Jennifer Schwab
Kathleen V. Schwegel
Bruce Scrafford
Lucinda A. Sebald
Rachelle Secson
Thomas H. Seiler
Rebacca J. Shank
Jack and Myrna Shapiro
Win Shaughnessy
David and Barbara Sheldon
Howard and Marie Shelp
Joel Shepherd
Beth L. Shirley
Siegfried Crandall PC
Jeffrey Conner and Beth Silverman
Judith and Alan Silverman
Katherine Kahl and Jody Simoes
Christine and Joseph Simoes
Justin Sink
Michaline S. Sinkula
Charles Sittig
J. Dan Skean
Bradford S. Slaughter
Thomas and Nancy Cutbirth Small
Amy M. Smith
Ann Smith
Kyle Smith
Lawrence and Babbette Smith
Lois Smith
Marian M. Smith
Molly Smith
Norman and Mary Smith
Robert L. and Carol Payne Smith
Stephen and Jean Smith
Thomas J. Smith
Fred and Ginny Snell
Florence Finkey and Paul Snow
Paul R. Solomon
Paul R. Sotherland
South Haven Garden Club
Robert Southgate
Ann Spaeth
Gary Sparbel
Ginny Speeter-Wippel
Leeann Spiegelberg
Marjory M. Spradling
Gayle Stephenson
Jane Steward
Joan G. Stewart
Joseph and Jennie Stezowski
Richard and Olga Stieve
Thomas Stieve
Gary Stock
Ellen L. Harrington and
John D. Stodola
Diana and Houston Stokes
Marie and Michael R. Stoline
Donald and Beatrice Stoner
Ursula B. Storb
James P. Storie
David Ostrem and Andrea Stork
Ewell A. Stowell
Marcia V. Stucki
Wesley C. Pickard and
Jeanette A. Studley
Richard Sutton
Sky Suydam
Georgianna Swalm
Leo A. and DeVon F. Swiat
Michael D. Swords
Donald T. and Linda Szeszycki
Dana Buoscio and John Szewezyk
Jacquelyn V. Taylor
Jane Ter Louw
Gordon and Carol Terry
Norm and Cara Terry
Donald and Elisabeth Thall
Judith A. Thomas
Mike and Pam Thomas
Mark Thompson
Claren Schweitzer and
Thomas Thornburg
Gerald Tilmann
Andrea and Jan Tobochnik
Mr. and Mrs. Winship A. Todd
Lynwood and Joan Topp
Michelle and Chris Tracy
Roger and Jeanne Turner
Dale and Emma Turton
Roger and Carole Ulrich
Adria Van Loan
Peter and Jeanette Van Nice
Charles and Joan Van Zoeren
Kathleen and Edward VanDam
John and Lucy Vanden Heede
Amy Upjohn and
Bradley VandenBerg
Carol VandenBerg
Sandra and Rich Vanderlaan
Edwin and Samantha VanderSalm
Barbara and Joel VanDyken
Bradley A. Vauter
Radha and Karen Vemuri
William and Carol Venema
Verizon Foundation
(matching gifts)
Alfons and Joan Verwilst
Ann Videtich
Alison Village
Louis A. Villaire
Tim Wixted and
Ana Clelia Vincenti
Melvin J. Visser
Kyle Vonk
John P. Vrbancic
Douglas C. Wagner
William Wagner
Mac and Sydney Waldorf
Michael Wallace
Joseph and Holly Duffy Walls
Marjorie Walls
C. Glen and Edite Balks Walter
James and Sheila Ware
Ken and Ellen Washington
Bruce Wechsler
Clifford and Margaret Welsch
David and Joan Wendling
Matthew D. Wesener
William P. Westrate
Donald Wheat
Bonnie L. White
Sara Wick
Charles J. Wieclaw
Wightman & Associates, Inc.
Emily and Brook Wilke
Delaina and Terry Wilkin
Mike and Fiona Williams
Robert F. Williams
Roy James and Donalee Williams
Mark Winkel
Michael and Linda Lou Winkel
Betty Winther
David B. Wirt
George and Susan Wise
Gerald L. Wisner
Elizabeth Gayle Witt
Carol and Bart Woloson
Dixie L. Wong
Roger and Gwen Wood
Rachel L. Woodard
Dennis W. Woodland
James C. Woodruff
Diane D. Worden
Dale and Marcia Working
Patricia Wright-Flessner
Jonathan Wuepper
Ann Wunderly
JoAnn Yochim
Laurie M. Young
Nancy and Joseph Young
Steve Youngs
Pam and Arno Yurk
Linda Zabik
Amanda and Peter Ziemkowski
Joel and Ann Zieve
17
Board-Staff Retreat Focuses on Accreditation
hat has our dedicated and hardpractices include providing documentation
rigorous process. Seeking and obtaining
working board of directors been
of land transactions, baseline and monitoring accreditation will demonstrate that our
up to? Why, accreditation, of
documentation for conservation easements,
work meets recognized national standards
course! Along with our staff, the entire
information our board receives before makand will ensure that your land conservancy
board met in April to undergo a guided orga- ing a decision to acquire an easement or
is protecting land that will last forever.
nizational assessment and begin the process
other property, and written management
—Pamela W. Larson
of accreditation. Erin Heskett, Midwest
plans for each preserve.
Program Director for the Land Trust
Since the creation of SWMLC in 1991,
We quoted directly from the Land Trust
Alliance (LTA), was our facilitator. Al and
we have been guided by LTA’s standards and
Accreditation’s web site in parts of this article
Jean Gemrich graciously opened their home
practices to ensure that our conservation
in order to provide accurate information. To
and Jean provided gourmet home-cooked
work is of the highest standards. However.
learn more about accreditation, visit
food all day long. Thank you, Al and Jean.
since these principles are voluntary, our govwww.landtrustaccreditation.org. To learn
Accreditation for land trusts was inauernance and land protection procedures have more about the Land Trust Alliance, visit
gurated in 2007 when LTA created the Land not been documented through a formal and
www.landtrustalliance.org.
Trust Accreditation
Commission. In 2008, the
first 14 land trusts were
awarded accreditation.
Accreditation is a mark of
distinction and recognizes
organizations for meeting
national standards for excellence, upholding the public
trust, and ensuring that
conservation efforts are permanent. SWMLC began
the process in 2008 and will
submit an application to the
Accreditation Commission
in the summer of 2010.
What does accreditation mean? The Land Trust
Accreditation Commission
awards the accreditation
seal to community institutions that meet national
quality standards for protecting important natural
places and working lands
SWMLC’s 2009 Board of Directors gather to begin the process of accreditation. Front: Philip Micklin (secreforever. Applicants must
tary). Middle row: Ben F. Lark, Cindy Mills, Betty Lee Ongley, George E. Burgoyne, Jr. (vice president),
demonstrate compliance
Mary Houser (treasurer), Alfred J. Gemrich. Back row: Brian Bosgraaf, Bradley E. Weller, Dave Coleman,
with all of the accreditation Todd Sanford, Richard H. Shaw, Peter Ter Louw (executive director), C. Larry Edris (president).
indicator practices. These
Photo by Erin Heskett (with thanks to Ben Lark).
W
The J.A. Woollam Foundation Challenge Is On for 2009!
Thanks to the generosity of Dr. John A. Woollam, SWMLC is at full speed ahead raising another $10,000 to be matched by the
J.A. Woollam Foundation. Any new or lapsed membership donation, any increase in last year’s giving level, and any gift over $500 will
be matched. Use the envelope inside this newsletter to take part in this challenge.
18
2008 Year-End Report
s our financial year ended in the fall
of 2008, the economy began to
unravel. SWMLC undertook several action steps to reduce our expenses, and
our land protection work and stewardship
projects will be unaffected: we will build
upon another successful year. However,
there will be financial challenges for
SWMLC during the next several years as
our operating reserve is significantly
reduced. We expect to successfully weather
this storm, and we anticipate continued success, but we will need your continued support to ensure we meet the goals of our
mission.
Land Protection. SWMLC had a very
successful year, completing 11 projects that
protected 743 acres in five counties! We
had two firsts: completing our first project
in Branch County and our first conservation
easement in St. Joseph County.
Beginning in February, in northern
Calhoun County, we protected 48 acres on
Waubascon Lake with a conservation easement donated by Kim and Lula Palmer.
In late April, we purchased the 15-acre
Coldwater Fen, our second Mitchell’s satyr
butterfly site and our first preserve in
Branch County. And in October, we finalized the 7-acre addition to the Hultmark
Preserve (SWMLC’s first protected property), and created new access to the original
23 acres.
A second Calhoun County project, the
59-acre Conway conservation easement, was
completed in late November. This project
protected an historic property featuring
high-quality forest and wetland habitat
along 3,000 feet of Harper Creek south
of Battle Creek. This was followed by a
157-acre conservation easement in Barry
County on the Robinson family farm near
Middleville, which, in several years, will be
recognized as a Michigan Centennial Farm.
In November and December, we completed two conservation easements in Barry
County protecting 74 acres in the
Prairieville Creek Watershed, a critical
source of water to Gull Lake.
Our first conservation easement in St.
Joseph County is actually three separate
conservation easements donated by Henry
and Martha Miller and protects prime
A
agricultural land and a one-mile segment
Audubon Society of Kalamazoo. Similarly,
of the Portage River.
we burned 60 acres of prairie and savanna at
And, at year end, SWMLC signed a
Chipman Preserve, removed an additional
conservation easement with the Thunder
15 acres of scotch pine, and worked with
Mountain Heights Land Corporation, provolunteers who planted 30 species of native
tecting 37 acres of forested dune along Lake
plant plugs and seeded in several dozen
Michigan in Van Buren County. This is our
additional species.
first lakeside protection project in the
The Wednesday Workday Warriors and
Dunes Parkway region where we had previSWMLC volunteers conducted 22 workously protected 97 acres along Blue Star
days on our preserves to remove invasive
Highway.
species, maintain trails, post boundaries of
During the past several years, we have
new preserves, inventory flora and fauna,
focused on conservation planning projects
and monitor and address use issues.
to better prioritize our conservation work.
This year we have made several changes
Last summer SWMLC began a conservato improve SWMLC. We have reorganized
tion planning project funded by the Land
our staff responsibilities to be more effecTrust Alliance for the Barry State Game
tive, and we are moving our Annual Meeting
Area to identify critical land that would
to the fall so that it coincides with the end
expand the habitat of this 17,000-acre open
of our fiscal year. Several new board memspace area. Funding from Michigan
bers have been added: Brian Bosgraaf of
Department of Environmental Quality
Hudsonville and Todd Sanford of Portage,
Nonpoint Source Program and the
and Betty Lee Ongley has rejoined the
Kalamazoo Community Foundation has
board. And as noted in the article about our
allowed us to implement land protection
recent board retreat, we are beginning the
projects within the Prairieville Creek at the
process of submitting an application to the
north end of Gull Lake. And at year end,
Land Trust Accreditation Commission to
we completed the two-year conservation
become an accredited land trust.
plan for the Rocky River watershed, which
SWMLC’s board and staff are conwill guide us in land protection efforts in
stantly improving and strengthening our
northern Cass and St. Joseph Counties.
efforts to produce greater conservation
Stewardship. The Wau-Ke-Na habitat
results. But ultimately the scope of our sucrestoration management plan was completcess relies on the commitment of our voluned in late August and provides us with a
teers, donors, and members. Thank you for
gameplan for public access and restoration
your continued support and involvement.
activities for the next several years. Starting
— Peter D. Ter Louw
this month, we will begin several restoration
and access projFiscal Year 2008-2009 Revenue
ects and establish
a volunteer group
$ 50,575
Membership Dues
to assist in the
$
859,946
Contributions
work on this
Grants
$
72,484
preserve.
Investment
Income
$(116,523)
At Sand
Special Events and Other Income
$ 6,842
Creek Preserve,
Total
Support
and
Revenue
$
873,324
we contracted
a burn of the
prairie and
Fiscal Year 2008-2009 Expenses
removal of 10
$ 408,241
Program Service
acres of pine
$ 57,744
Grants
plantation, sup$ 108,996
Management and Fundraising
ported by funds
$574,981
Total Operating Expenses
from the preserve Additions to Designated Funds
$ 298,343
donors and the
$ 873,324
Total Expenses and Additions to Designated Funds
19
Nonprofit Organization
U.S. Postage PAID
Kalamazoo, MI
Permit No. 50
Board of Directors
C. Larry Edris, President
George E. Burgoyne, Jr.,
Vice-President
Mary L. Houser, Treasurer
Philip Micklin, Secretary
Brian Bosgraaf
Dave Coleman
Alfred J. Gemrich
Ben F. Lark
Cindy Mills
Betty Lee Ongley
Todd Sanford
Richard H. Shaw
Bradley E. Weller
Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy
6851 S. Sprinkle Road
Portage, MI 49002-9708
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
Staff
Peter D. Ter Louw
Executive Director
Geoffrey D. Cripe
Land Protection Specialist
Nate Fuller
Conservation and Stewardship Director
Pamela Weaver Larson
Communications Director
and Landscapes
Julie Lewandowski
Administrative Assistant and Website
Emily E. Wilke
Land Protection Specialist
Southwest Michigan Land
Conservancy, Inc., is a nonprofit
corporation (FEIN 38-3038708; MICS
10463). For more information:
Write: SWMLC, 6851 S. Sprinkle Rd.,
Portage, MI 49002-9708
Call: (269) 324-1600
Fax: (269) 324-9760
E-mail: ConserveLand@SWMLC.org
Website: www.SWMLC.org
PROTECTING THE LOCAL WILD AND SCENIC PLACES YOU CARE MOST ABOUT
Printed with soy inks on paper containing 50% recycled content with 25% post-consumer waste
Save the Date: Saturday, August 29
2nd Annual Art Walk
ast August, the Plein Air Artists of
West Michigan (PAAWM) gathered at our Wau-Ke-Na preserve
in Glenn for our 1st Annual Art Walk.
PAAWM artist Jerry Kollig, along with
SWMLC and four area art galleries,
spearheaded the event. The galleries displayed paintings in the lodge, and 12
plein-air artists painted along the trails.
Over 500 people enjoyed walking tours,
wagon rides, and ice cream and drinks.
This year’s Art Walk will have a different twist: we will have available for
sale our first-ever wall calendar, for the
year 2010. Each month’s image will be a
recreation of a plein-air painting done on
one of our properties during paints-outs
held from fall 2008 to July 2009. Then,
at the November Kalamazoo Art Hop,
the paintings and calendars will be available for purchase at Gallery 344.
For more information on this
special event, visit our web site at
www.SWMLC.org.
L
Artist and PAAWM organizer extraordinaire
Richard Jordan creates a stunning landscape
scene during last year’s Art Walk at Wau-Ke-Na.
The preserve offers many beautiful and diverse
vistas for artists, including forest-meadow edge,
woodland, water, and prairie.
Photo by Keith Lewandowski.