If you’ve driven around Leelanau, you’ve likely passed the Shimek farm. A quintessentially Leelanau picture, the farm stand, red barn, and silos at the bend of M-72 have inspired painters […]
Category Archives: Landowner Stories
Bahle’s Protect 109-Acre Family Farm
One doesn’t get far in the county before hearing the Bahle name. Whether seeing it on the family retail boutique or recently sold golf course, the Bahles have a long […]
A View From the Top
The Manitou Islands gaze at Leelanau like a pair of green eyes. Depending on where you are in the county, it’s possible to stare back at them. High up in […]
A Tale of Two Brothers
Ed Kiessel looks across a large, snowy swath of land and squints his eyes. The sun’s reflection off the ice-glazed snow is near blinding, but the view is worth fighting […]
Restoring The Past
Ecological restoration is a labor of love that works to reverse time and damage that has stripped a land of its native biodiversity. Restoring an ecosystem to its natural state […]
A Legacy of Farming
When the Leelanau Conservancy protects family farms, we often talk about the land as a globally rare resource that is perfect for growing stonefruit. We identify streams and towering hardwood […]
2020 Land Protection Project Roundup
(From our 2020 Annual Report). As the year came to a close, it was pretty incredible to look back over 2020 and realize that with your help and the dedication […]
Porritt Farm Adds to Corridor of Conserved Lands
All photos thanks to Mark Smith Rex Dobson was the very first farmer in Leelanau to permanently protect his land from development. In 1999, he worked with the newly formed […]
It’s Official! Majestic Palmer Woods Grows by 350 Acres
Good things take time. Some of the Leelanau Conservancy’s biggest and best projects were decades in the making. Saving the Crystal River. Preserving the iconic DeYoung Farm and shoreline. And […]
Great News: Mawby, Porritt Farms Protect 288 More Acres
Your Leelanau Conservancy is still saving farmland under a high threat of conversion to development despite the ongoing pandemic. Two more iconic farms rooted in Leelanau County’s agricultural heritage have […]
