The health of our waters: Protecting the Great Lakes Basin

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. Covering 21% of the world’s surface fresh water, there’s a lot at stake. If you haven’t seen them in person, it’s hard to understand how immense and awe-inspiring the Great Lakes are, from the rocky shores of Lake Superior to the world’s largest freshwater sand dune system along Lake Michigan. Young children playing along their shorelines often mistake them for the ocean. They learn early on that the Great Lakes are part of their HOMES, an elementary school prompt used to remember all five: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior. Critical to both humans and wildlife, The Great Lakes Commission summarizes their importance well:

The Great Lakes cover more than 94,000 square miles and hold an estimated six quadrillion gallons of water. The system is invaluable as the source of drinking water for more than 48 million people in the U.S. and Canada. The lakes directly generate more than 1.5 million jobs and $60 billion in wages annually. They’re also home to more than 3,500 plant and animal species, some of which are found nowhere else on Earth. Recreation on the Great Lakes — including world-renowned boating, hunting and fishing opportunities — generates more than $52 billion annually for the region. 

Land trusts working in the Great Lakes basin understand that protecting fresh water means protecting the land—through acquisition, proper stewardship, restoration, conservation easements, partnerships, land use policies and cooperative best practices. When we surveyed Alliance land trust members working in the basin, 94% identified water quality as one of their top conservation objectives. Here are some of the ways they are helping keep the Great Lakes great.

An urban wetland with big watershed impact

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 148-acre Oconto Preserve holds a unique place in the landscape for protecting fresh water and cleaning water from the surrounding area before it flows into Green Bay and on to Lake Michigan. Oconto Marsh has several hydrologic connections to the bay and extremely high ecological value. It is adjacent to 234 acres of emergent marsh managed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as the Green Bay West Shore State Wildlife Area. Oconto Preserve is both a WDNR Legacy Place, marking it an area of exceptional natural heritage and an Important Bird Area critical to waterfowl, shorebirds, migrating birds and breeding rare birds.

The accredited Northeast Wisconsin Land Trust prioritizes the preservation of important coastal wetlands to protect Lake Michigan’s water quality and abundant wildlife. Its Oconto Preserve includes wetlands rated high or exceptional for water quality, flood abatement, carbon storage and wildlife habitat. Through partnerships with Ducks Unlimited, WDNR and the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, plans are underway to raise funds to enhance the state wildlife refuge and restore 25 acres of wetland, creating northern pike spawning habitat.

The town of Oconto’s elected officials and NEWLT are enthusiastic about the opportunities provided by the preserve. “We are really excited about this preserve. It continues our effort to preserve some of the most important remaining wetlands and migratory bird habitat along Green Bay’s west shore. As important, this is also a place that the people of Oconto can use for outdoor recreation and student learning,” says Deborah Nett, NEWLT’s executive director. “This project is a win for the environment and the community.”

Learn more at www.newlt.org/oconto-preserve.

Reinventing an urban river

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. People have long built along its shores and used the river intensively. In the early 20th century, residents began to neglect the river and its surrounding floodplain as the Milwaukee metropolitan area grew. This resulted in increased sediment and runoff from streets and construction. Soil erosion from construction and the dumping of sewage degraded water quality and destroyed fish and wildlife habitat. 

By the 1990s, many had stopped using the river for recreation due to the decline in water quality. Champions who valued its worth as a natural asset and a vital connection between nature and the city rallied to bring the Milwaukee River back to health.

 River Revitalization Foundation is the lead organization in the Milwaukee River Greenway Coalition, a group dedicated to protecting the ecological and recreational value of over 800 acres of greenspace along six miles of river. RRF and partners created a Greenway Master Plan with much public input and are using the plan’s goals to make its vision a reality. The unique urban wilderness that results will have the river as its focal point, featuring restored natural communities and shared recreational opportunities.

RRF is working to preserve the existing forested and undeveloped land in the river valley, yet its efforts go far beyond this. The Beerline Trail, transforming an old rail line into a multi-use paved path, was one of RRF’s first major efforts. They have demolished abandoned buildings, installed pollinator gardens, created boat launches and parks and planted native flora for erosion control and bank stabilization. Led by a small staff, RRF is getting critical work done to improve water quality and help reconnect the people of Milwaukee to the river.

Learn more at www.riverrevitalizationfoundation.org/publicgreenspace/milwaukee-river-greenway.

Protecting a rare boreal forest

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. Boreal flatwoods, identified by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources as an imperiled ecosystem, harbor relict populations of plant species typical of more northern areas. The Ambler Flatwoods forested complex contains vernal pools and rivulets, providing a home for at least 15 state-listed plant species and 40 plants considered rare in the Chicago region. 

Ambler Flatwoods Nature Preserve lies within the headwaters of the Lake Michigan tributary White Ditch Creek. Pollution washing into the creek has caused water quality impairment and beach closings in Indiana and Michigan. Protection of the tributary’s headwaters will have a meaningful positive impact downstream by reducing pollutant loading in this Lake Michigan tributary. 

The accredited Shirley Heinze Land Trust began acquiring Ambler Flatwoods in 1999 with a purchase funded by a North American Wetlands Conservation Act grant. This led to a series of acquisition and restoration projects to preserve buffer habitat, reduce invasive species and create a haven for wildlife by planting native vegetation. In 2014, SHLT was recognized with an Excellence in Ecological Restoration silver award from Chicago Wilderness for its work on the preserve. Today, Ambler Flatwoods protects more than 600 acres of boreal forest with 350 acres accessible as an Indiana state nature preserve.

 A grant from the Land Trust Alliance, funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, allowed SHLT to invest in GIS technology for strategic conservation planning. This enabled SHLT to find remaining parcels of high-quality boreal flatwood, educate the public on its importance and launch a landowner outreach program resulting in the protection of an additional 200 acres.

With funds from Sustain Our Great Lakes, SHLT expanded the Calumet Is My Backyard program in the Calumet region of northeast Indiana and northwest Illinois to bring high school students to Ambler Flatwoods to use as an outdoor classroom. Backing from the Great Lakes Innovative Stewardship Through Education Network allowed SHLT to offer college internships for land management and research experiences valuable to students’ careers. These SHLT programs and four miles of hiking trails make Ambler Flatwoods a rare landscape that is protected and appreciated by many. Learn more at www.heinzetrust.org/ambler-flatwoods-nature-preserve.

Saving Lake Superior ecosystems

The Amnicon River, named after an Ojibwe word meaning “spawning ground,” is integral to the Lake Superior Coastal Plain. The river’s outlet is a mosaic of natural communities that serve as a stopover corridor for migrating birds and a spawning ground for coastal fish. As development pressures increase, stormwater runoff within this Lake Superior tributary affects habitat quality. This has resulted in a surge of research and interagency planning to lessen impacts of peak storm events, including the transport of phosphorous and sediment to the lake.

The accredited Landmark Conservancy began work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seven years ago to protect land and waterways along the Amnicon River, which is a valued Lake Superior brook trout stream. To date, this partnership has protected nearly 5,000 acres of fish and wildlife habitat, including a 500-acre camp.

Camp Amnicon offers a great diversity of habitats. Over 118 bird species are found there every year. Traveling south, migratory birds fly counter-clockwise along the western tip of Lake Superior and find at the mouth of the Amnicon River what they need on their journey — a place for rest and food. Run by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America since 1966, Camp Amnicon provides a wealth of experiences and memories for hundreds of young people who camp there, many from troubled backgrounds.

“We have generations of people who come back and say there is just something about this camp, about this land, and now we know that’s going to keep going for generations to come,’’ says Alana Butler, former Camp Amnicon executive director.

Landmark Conservancy worked with the Camp Amnicon Foundation, an ELCA-affiliated ministry, to create a conservation easement to forever protect the camp, including its fragile clay bluffs, two-plus miles of Amnicon River frontage, and Lake Superior shoreline. The easement supports the stewardship mission of the ELCA ministry and offers unfettered access for bird researchers.

“We don’t know a lot about the needs of the migrant birds that fly through twice each year and use this area for a stopover. This property offers not just a variety of intact habitat for [birds] to use but an opportunity for us to see what their needs are, what their choices are for habitat,” says Kim Grveles, avian ecologist for the Natural Heritage Conservation Bureau of the Wisconsin DNR.

Learn more at www.landmarkwi.org.

Renewal in a land of 13 springs

In Van Buren County, Michigan, there is a little-known land of springs, hidden seeps and gushers that are eternally transparent and cold. The springs lured owner Jerry Portman to this 188-acre Lime Lake property in the 1980s as a quiet place to hunt and fish. While studying the site’s flora in 2008 with an award from Defenders of Wildlife, the accredited Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy chose this biodiversity-rich area as a conservation priority. The organization leveraged an impressive network of federal, state and local partners to create Portman Nature Preserve. Publicly accessible since 2017, the preserve boasts a large parking lot to accommodate buses from a local school district that uses Portman as a K-5 outdoor classroom. The preserve may feature a barrier-free loop trail in the future.

Portman Nature Preserve protects 13 springs in southwest Michigan, including one that locals call the “Blue Hole.” It features frontage on three undeveloped lakes, eight natural habitat types and 447 plant species. As part of the Paw Paw River headwaters, Portman is essential to providing clean, abundant water to the local watershed region and Lake Michigan.

“Botanists say this site has the best opportunity for restoration of any they’ve seen in southwest Michigan,” says SWMLC Stewardship Director Mitch Lettow. “Usually, it’s about what species we have to bring in to make a place whole. With the Portman property, they’re all here. We just need to revive them.”

“Portman truly is the community’s preserve. We never could have taken on a project as large and complex as this one without the time, money, soul and expertise of so many caring people,” he says.

The community is fully engaged in protecting its special place. Mattawan Later Elementary School students raised money to build a science observation deck. Local winery Cody Kresta is dedicating profits to fund stewardship. Over 350 community donors, catalyzed by a $75,000 matching grant from The Carls Foundation, raised $500,000 of the $2.3 million needed to create and maintain this preserve. This amplified larger contributions from energy company Enbridge’s mitigation funding through The Conservation Fund, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered Species Program and the USDA Forest Service Community Forest Program.

Learn more at www.swmlc.org/project/portmannature-preserve.

Laura Eklov is the Midwest Program Coordinator for the Land Trust Alliance.

Photo credit:

Photo one: Mud Lake at Michigan's Portman Nature Preserve at dawn. / Photo credit Mitch Lettow