Natural Areas
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Volunteers Make the Difference: Winning the War on Invasive Species
I can remember that just a few years ago at DeYoung Natural Area, in a field near the entrance, invasive wild parsnip grew five feet tall. It was about to go to seed around the time we took a staff hike there and learned about this nasty invader, which grows on the edge of prairies […]
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The Evolution of Stewardship
Miriam-Webster’s Definition of Stewardship: “The conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially : the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.” From our Fall 2018 Newsletter–This spring, Natural Areas and Preserves Manager Becky Hill pondered how best to replace a boardwalk and wildlife viewing platform at Kehl Lake Natural Area. Fluctuating water levels have taken […]
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Palmer Woods Mountain Bike Trail Opens to the Public
Maple City, Mich.- The Leelanau Conservancy’s new three-mile mountain bike trail at Palmer Woods Forest Reserve has officially opened. Close to 150 people attended an opening ride & party on Sunday, November 4th in cold, wet conditions to ride the first public, flow-style mountain bike trail in Leelanau County. “This is an historic occasion for […]
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Stewardship Evolved: Bringing Mountain Biking to Leelanau’s Palmer Woods Forest Reserve [Boardman Review Video]
We were thrilled to collaborate with The Boardman Review to showcase our new mountain bike trail at Palmer Woods. The Traverse City-based print & digital journal focuses on the creative culture and outdoor lifestyle of northern Michigan. Watch this short film to learn more about the first public flow-style trail in Leelanau County. To read our […]
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Contractor Hired to Build Mountain Bike Trails at Palmer Woods
We’re excited to announce that we’ve hired Flowtrack Mountain Bike Trails, LLC, a professional trail-building company from the Upper Peninsula, to lead the design and construction of the new mountain bike trails coming to Palmer Woods Forest Reserve. The company was the lead contractor for the Valley Spur Trail System in Munising, among many other […]
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Palmer Woods Trail System Expansion Project Set to Begin in Late Summer of 2018
The Leelanau Conservancy is pleased to announce that work to expand Palmer Woods Forest Reserve’s trail system is slated to begin at the end of this summer. A professional trail-building company will be hired to lead the design and construction of the first new loop added to the existing network of hiking and skiing trails. […]
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The Plant Life of Leelanau Conservancy’s Natural Areas
A Natural Observer As a little girl, Liana May spent hours hiking at Sleeping Bear Dunes with her mother, a Glen Arbor artist. “She was my first botany teacher,” says Liana. Kristen Hurlin’s painstaking drawings of Leelanau’s natural wonders are well known throughout the region. Her mother’s sketches from the wild were the beginning of […]
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Fall Panorama: Three Leelanau Conservancy Natural Areas to Take in A Lakeside View
Picture yourself on a beautiful trail, trees ablaze on either side. As you hike through filtered sunlight, bright orange, yellow and garnet colored leaves drift down, dotting your path. The Leelanau Conservancy’s natural areas, with their 15 miles of trails, offer ample opportunities to immerse yourself in the annual color show. How to choose where […]
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Invaders! Combating the Spread of Garlic Mustard
Thank you to our friends at NatureChange.org for putting together this video on invasive garlic mustard at our Natural Areas and around the County. Visit the original article here. This is a story about people facing down an overwhelming invader. Who will win the war is not certain, but the battle against Garlic Mustard has […]
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Moving Forward on Palmer Woods Forest Reserve
If you are a cross-country skier you are going to love the proposed new 707-acre Palmer Woods Forest Reserve near Glen Arbor. “Ideally, soon after we own the land, we would like to have a basic system of looped trails marked so that people can safely enjoy this beautiful woodland right away,” says Tom […]
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