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 […]

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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
(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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]