Land Conservancy gets funds to expand preserve near South Haven

A forest and wetland along the banks of the Black River, just east of South Haven will be restored and turned into a nature preserve by the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy.

The land conservancy has received a $250,000 matching grant to purchase 120 acres in Geneva Township that includes one mile of winding riverbanks and small streams that go through deep tributary ravines. The property will be dedicated to the protection of water quality and wildlife habitat.

The land conservancy has been working with the property owner, Daniel Garvey, to come up with a way to preserve the land. He wanted the natural beauty of the land to be protected and the property to be shared with the community.

The matching grant makes it possible. He has offered the property for sale to the land conservancy and donating the property's value in order to come up with the matching portion of the grant.

The land conservancy's purchase was one of six projects funded through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy's conservation and stewardship director Nate Fuller says the project was a good fit for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant program that focuses on birds. So far, the land conservancy has identified breeding and foraging habitat for at least 70 different birds whose habitats the grant program is trying to protect.

The land conservancy expects to formally acquire the property in the fall and restoration should begin soon afterward. It also will be seeking further funding to expand restoration efforts and provide money to manage the property into the future.

Writer: Kathy Jennings
Source: Nate Fuller, Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy