PORTAGE — Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy (SWMLC) completed its 20th year of operation by protecting more than 1,500 acres and, cumulatively, more than 10,000 total acres.
The conservancy serves nine counties, including Cass, started as an all-volunteer organization in 1991. It currently has seven full-time and one part-time staff, 150 active volunteers and is supported by more than 1,100 household memberships.
During 2011, SWMLC protected 1,571 acres in five counties, including three preserves and 12 conservation easements. Four easement properties were purchased with federal and state funding to protect Great Lakes water quality. The three new preserves are the KL Avenue Nature Preserve in Kalamazoo County and the Black River Preserve and Pilgrim Haven Natural Area, both in Van Buren County.
“This was SWMLC’s most successful year ever in the number of acres protected and in the conservation value and financial value of the land protected,” said Peter Ter Louw, SWMLC executive director. “This success is primarily the result of our conservation planning to protect wildlife and water resources as well as the commitment by landowners to protect their land.”
The crown jewel of SWMLC’s conservation work is the Pilgrim Haven Natural Area, a gift from the estate of Suzanne Upjohn DeLano Parish. The property has a long history of camping, originating as a Camp Fire Girl camp followed by ownership by the Michigan Conference of the United Church of Christ.
This scenic, 26-acre property, with 800 feet of beach frontage along Lake Michigan, contains a mixture of open fields, forest and a small creek that flows into Lake Michigan just south of South Haven.
SWMLC is currently working on plans — developed during public visioning sessions this past September — to identify appropriate public use for creation of this natural area.