In Van Buren County, Michigan, there is a little-known land of springs, hidden seeps and gushers that are eternally transparent and cold.

The Amnicon River, named after an Ojibwe word meaning “spawning ground,” is integral to the Lake Superior Coastal Plain.

Five miles east of downtown Michigan City, Indiana, lies a pocket of one of the rarest natural communities in the world: the boreal forest of Ambler Flatwoods Nature Preserve.

The Milwaukee River has always been important to the health and well-being of local people as a focal point for both commerce and recreation, including swimming, boating and ice-skating.

The Green Bay watershed is one of the largest freshwater estuaries in the world.

Land trusts across the country are working diligently and creatively to protect water quality, quantity and equitable water access every day. Land trusts working in the Great Lakes basin are no exception, helping to protect one of the largest sources of fresh water on Earth.

Saugatuck Harbor Natural Area in western Michigan is more than a pretty place. This 173-acre tract of stunning duneland along Lake Michigan features globally imperiled landscapes, rare plant and animal species and areas of historical significance.

In Van Buren County, Michigan, there's a little-known land of springs, hidden seeps and gushers: eternally transparent and forever cold.

The Milwaukee River has long been important to the health and wellbeing of locals, whether for commerce or recreation.

"We have generations of people who come back and say there is just something about this camp, about this land."

Five miles east of downtown Michigan City lies a pocket of one of the rarest natural communities in Indiana: the boreal forest of Ambler Flatwoods Nature Preserve.

The Green Bay watershed is one of the largest freshwater estuaries in the world. Spanning 10.6 million acres, it is the source of one-third of the surface water flowing into Lake Michigan. What happens in the watershed has a high impact on the lake's water quality.

The Great Black Swamp once stretched across 1,500 square miles from Fort Wayne, Indiana, to Sandusky, Ohio. Impressed by the land's richness, settlers in the late 19th century drained the wetland and converted it to highly productive agriculture.

Over 30 land trust staff members recently broke free from their routines to learn from each other at the 2015 Midwest Land Protection & Stewardship Peer Gathering in Racine, Wisconsin.