Land Trust Alliance

Land Conservancy Awarded NAWCA Grant

prichardson — 2009-09-15T20:00:00Z

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 15, 2009

For information, contact:
Peter Ter Louw,
Executive Director
(269) 324-1600
E-mail: ConserveLand@SWMLC.org

Land Conservancy Awarded NAWCA Grant Funding for work in Barry, Cass, Kalamazoo and St. Joseph

Portage, MI — The Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy (SWMLC) has been awarded $500,000 for wetland conservation and restoration in southwest Michigan. As a partner in a project led by Ducks Unlimited, SWMLC was chosen to be a recipient of funding to conserve wetland habitat in the southeast Lake Michigan watershed by a grant through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act. SWMLC and project partners will acquire, restore or enhance approximately 2,000 acres of forested, scrub-shrub and emergent (wet meadows and marshes) wetlands as well as uplands adjacent to wetlands throughout southwest Michigan.

"NAWCA grants are a crucial funding source for conservation partnerships such as this one," said Michael Sertle, regional biologist for Ducks Unlimited. "As a result of this funding opportunity, we will be able to cooperatively conserve critical wetland habitat for the benefit of waterfowl and other migratory birds."

The partners’ efforts in the project area will protect and restore wetland habitat in a region where thousands of acres of wetlands historically existed. Many of these historical wetlands were drained by drainage ditches, field tiles, or modifications to surface drainage for agricultural purposes. The objective of this NAWCA grant is to conserve approximately 1,350 acres of wetlands and 650 acres of adjacent upland nesting habitat.

"With this funding, SWMLC will be able to purchase and protect high-quality wetland habitat that we have had our eye on for several years," said Emily Wilke, SWMLC director of land protection. "We will focus our work in Barry, Cass, Kalamazoo and St. Joseph counties, which will include two purchase projects and the restoration of a property that we currently own in Kalamazoo County."

Ducks Unlimited partnered with the following organizations to receive matching and non-matching funds to leverage the NAWCA funds: SWMLC, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, R.T. Groos LLC, The Nature Conservancy, Michigan Nature Association, Fort Custer Training Center, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Boy Scouts of America and Potawatomi Resource Conservation & Development.

Approximately $2 million in matching and non-matching partner funds and $989,000 in NAWCA grant funds will protect, restore and enhance emergent and forested wetland habitat critical to waterfowl in southwest Michigan. Approximately $1 million — or half of the matching dollars — is being provided by conservation-minded landowners who have donated their land or development rights to SWMLC. With their donations, SWMLC was able to leverage $500,000 to purchase and restore wetlands. Conservation projects are expected to take place over a period of four years beginning in the summer of 2010.

"I am very pleased to see this grant awarded to a project that is very important to preserving and restoring these wetlands in southwest Michigan, and look forward to the work Ducks Unlimited will do in implementing it," said U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow. "This is one of the nation’s most effective conservation programs, and I am pleased this project will also focus on conserving associated upland habitat along Lake Michigan’s coast."

To learn more about the NAWCA grant or about SWMLC, call the office at (269) 324-1600 if you have questions, or visit their web site at www.SWMLC.org. For more information on Ducks Unlimited, visit www.ducks.org.

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Background Information:

The Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy serves the nine counties of southwest Michigan, and has protected over 7,500 acres since its inception as an all-volunteer organization in 1991. The Conservancy currently has five full-time and two part-time staff and 170 active volunteers and is supported by 1,100 household memberships.

SWMLC is partnering with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources on the Barry State Game Area conservation project and with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality on watershed management planning projects for the Rocky River, Paw Paw River, Black River, Dowagiac Creek, Dowagiac River, Prairieville Creek, and Augusta Creek. SWMLC is working on waterfowl conservation, endangered species acquisition and stewardship projects in collaboration with other land conservancies and nonprofit conservation partners through funding from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. SWMLC is also working on watershed planning and management with the Two Rivers Coalition (Van Buren Conservation District) and Friends of the St. Joseph River. In addition, SWMLC works with county and municipal governments to protect natural areas and open space along Lake Michigan as well as land that provides significant public benefit.

To learn more about the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy, call (269) 324-1600 or visit their web site at www.SWMLC.org.

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Keeping a Forest Good: One Family's Commitment to Trees & Tradition

fdalleo@lta.org — 2009-03-26T17:55:00Z

MI - Bourke Lodewyk admits that he thoroughly enjoys caring for the forest of his family’s large Maple River Township property. “I’m a firm believer that a forest should be properly managed...and should be used,” Bourke said.

Greenbelt Explores Support for Small Farms

prichardson — 2009-12-01T21:20:00Z

December 1, 2009 | The Ann Arbor Chronicle | MI

Grants Preserve Sandstoen Gorge along Lake Surperior

Kimberly Seese — 2012-10-23T04:00:00Z

October 23, 2012 | Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition | MI

Glen Noonan Protects 506 Acres and Beloved Family Lands

Kimberly Seese — 2012-02-28T05:00:00Z

February 28, 2012 | Leelanau Conservancy | Leland, MI

Farmers Earn Green for Going Green

Kimberly Seese — 2011-08-04T04:00:00Z

August 4, 2011 | Midland Daily News | MI

Family’s Land Being Protected

Kimberly Seese — 2010-05-31T15:55:00Z

May 31, 2010 | Daily News - Online | Iron Mountain, MI

Ecological Corridors Protect Wildlife Movement and Water Quality in Michigan

Kimberly Seese — 2012-03-01T14:10:00Z

Michigan's Coastal Management Program continues its long-standing support of Wild Link, a project to counter the impacts of habitat fragmentation in the northwestern Lower Peninsula. The forests, clear lakes, and trout streams of the five-county Grand Traverse Bay watershed are home to black bear, bobcat, otter, deer, and other wildlife. Increasingly, they are also the setting of housing developments, including second homes for retirees and vacationers seeking to be close to nature. Cleared lands and new developments block or complicate the movements of wildlife as they search for food, mates, and shelter. Through the Wild Link project, the Conservation Resource Alliance (CRA) helps private property owners establish, manage, and protect corridors of wildlife habitat that join large expanses of forests and wetlands under public ownership. Landowners participate in Wild Link because they view the presence of wildlife as a tangible benefit to owning property "up north." Corridors suitable for black bear and other widely-roaming species are hundreds of feet in width. Consequently, many participating landowners set aside and maintain and/or revegetate considerable amounts of acreage for wildlife.

Most of the private lands mapped and targeted by the CRA for landowner contact and ecological corridor establishment are riparian lands or wetlands. Protecting wide bands of natural vegetation along rivers, streams, and adjacent uplands helps protect water quality. Though wildlife protection is the main "hook" for drawing landowners to participate in Wild Link, CRA biologists consider water quality objectives when developing property-specific management plans. In 2005, the Michigan Coastal Management Program awarded the CRA a grant to complete habitat restoration plans for approximately 750 acres of priority ecological corridors.

Little Traverse Conservancy received money to create management plans for the Northeastern Coastal Nature Preserve Plans--specifically to conduct feasibility studies, conduct surveys, complete management plans and develop interpretive materials.

Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy received money to create a Master Plan for the Wau-Ke-Na Preserve--specifically for a natural features inventory, hydrologic study preserve planning, to conduct a design charette, and to develop a conservation master plan

Case study provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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Easement Deal Near for Northpoint Property

prichardson — 2009-10-29T15:15:00Z

October 29, 2009 | mlive.com | Kalamazoo, MI

Deal signed to buy Saugatuck area dunes property

prichardson — 2009-12-11T16:35:00Z

December 11, 2009 | mlive.com | Grand Rapids, MI

County Working on Farmland Preservation

Kimberly Seese — 2012-04-12T04:00:00Z

April 12, 2012 | The Ann Arbor Chronicle | MI

Cooperation Helps Protect Gull Lake Headwaters

prichardson — 2009-11-14T18:10:00Z

November 14, 2009 | mlive.com | Kalamazoo, MI

Conservancy Celebrates 20 Years and 10,000 Acres

Kimberly Seese — 2012-02-29T05:00:00Z

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Peter Ter Louw
Executive Director
269-324-1600 | terlouw@SWMLC.org

Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy
Reaches Milestones

PORTAGE, MI -- The 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. This landmark year demonstrates the commitment to conservation by the people of southwest Michigan and sets a new benchmark for SWMLC’s success.

During 2011, SWMLC protected 1,571 acres in five counties, including three preserves and 12 conservation easements. Four of the 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 located 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 generous 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. It is a place long treasured by many families who spent time there every summer.

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 the appropriate public use for the creation of this natural area.

The KL Avenue Nature Preserve in Oshtemo Township is a 70-acre property that will be open to the public once some initial work and site assessments are done. This rolling oak woodland has a diversity of topographical features that will provide interest for people who enjoy passive recreation. The property was a gift from Dr. Richard Malott, a professor at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo.

The Black River Preserve, located just southeast of South Haven, is a 121-acre natural area that will eventually offer canoe/kayak access as part of the Black River Water Trail. Three tributaries of the Black River are also protected along with lowland forests and marshes of the river’s floodplain. Former owner Dan Garvey and partners accepted a bargain sale, and SWMLC purchased the property with funds from the EPA Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
The 12 conservation easements completed by SWMLC during 2011 protect a total of 1,355 acres which include wetlands and forested floodplains on the Paw Paw and Portage Rivers, conservation land adjacent to the Barry State Game Area, and four sites within the Gull Lake watershed. Conservation of the 342-acre Eureka property in Waverly Township, Van Buren County, protects what is described as the best southern floodplain forest in the state of Michigan.

SWMLC could not have accomplished this magnitude of success without the support of donors, landowners, volunteers, foundations, businesses and government agencies.

"We are incredibly grateful for the support of the communities we work in and would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support in assisting us with the work we do in southwest Michigan," said Ter Louw. "And we are excited to embark on the next 20 years of SWMLC’s conservation work."

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About Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy

The Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy serves the nine counties of southwest Michigan, and has protected over 10,400 acres since its inception as an all-volunteer organization in 1991. The Conservancy currently has seven full-time and one part-time staff and 150 active volunteers and is supported by over 1,100 household memberships.

SWMLC is partnering with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources on the Barry State Game Area conservation project and with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality on watershed management planning projects for the Rocky River, Paw Paw River, Black River, Gull Lake watershed and Augusta Creek. SWMLC is working on waterfowl conservation, endangered species habitat acquisition and stewardship projects in collaboration with other land conservancies and nonprofit conservation partners through funding from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. SWMLC is also working on watershed planning and management with the Two Rivers Coalition, Van Buren Conservation District, and Friends of the St. Joseph River. In addition, SWMLC works with county and municipal governments to protect natural areas and open space along Lake Michigan as well as land that provides significant public benefit.

To learn more about the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy, call (269) 324-1600, visit their web site at www.SWMLC.org, or like them on Facebook.

An Attitude of Respect

fdalleo@lta.org — 2008-10-29T15:20:00Z

MI - Lois Ann and Larry Reed honor a lifetime of love of the land by donating a conservation easement that will ensure 110 acres along Pigeon River remains undivided and natural.

Alliance's Saving Land Magazine Wins Two Awards

prichardson — 2009-04-29T14:48:41Z

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 28, 2009

Contact: Chris Soto
csoto@lta.org

Association Recognized for Innovation in Media and Publishing

Presented with two 2009 EXCEL Awards

Washington, DC—The Land Trust Alliance is being honored by the Society of National Association Publications (SNAP) at its 29th Annual EXCEL Awards, which recognize the best and the brightest in association media and publishing.

As one of 181 winners selected from nearly 1,000 entries, the Alliance is being presented a Gold Award in the Magazines: Most Improved category and a Gold Award in the Magazines: Redesign category (submitted by Bates Creative Group) for taking bold chances and delivering excellence in the association industry.

“Congratulations to the Land Trust Alliance, one of the recipients of our EXCEL Awards,” said Amy Lestition, CAE, SNAP’s executive director, “These publications demonstrate the importance of conveying content in a variety of formats to our constituents. Bravo to the publication and media association professionals for their mastery of the field.”

“We went through a rigorous redesign process and this is a wonderful affirmation of our success,” said Chris Soto, editor of Saving Land, the winning magazine of the Alliance.

The Land Trust Alliance will be honored and celebrated at the 29th EXCEL Awards Gala on June 4, 2009. Award-winning entries are displayed at the EXCEL Awards Gala and are featured in the July/ August issue of Association Publishing. The Alliance may also be a winner of the distinguished EXTRA! Awards—presented to associations pushing the edge of the envelope further to innovate in an ever-changing publishing environment—which will be announced at the EXCEL Awards Gala in June. For more information on the Association Media and Publishing Conference and the EXCEL Awards Gala, visit www.snaponline.org.

For more information about the Land Trust Alliance, please visit www.landtrustalliance.org.

About the Land Trust Alliance: The Land Trust Alliance is a national conservation group that works on behalf of America’s 1,700 land trusts to save the places people love by strengthening conservation throughout America. The Alliance works to increase the pace and quality of conservation by advocating favorable tax policies, training land trusts in best practices and working to ensure the permanence of conservation in the face of continuing threats.

About SNAP: SNAP is the one non-profit, professional society serving the needs of association publishers and communications professionals. Areas of expertise include: fostering effective relationships among publishers, communications professionals, and industry providers; developing and maintaining high editorial and advertising standards through our Excel Awards and Publications Review Program; providing members with the latest industry movements through bi-annual meetings, Lunch & Learn Seminars, the SNAP listserve, and Association Publishing, our bimonthly magazine; and, connecting professionals with career opportunities in association publishing through our Career Center.