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 […]
Category Archives: Land Protection
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 […]
Pat’s Preserve at Lime Lake: A Dream Come True
May, 2020–The dream to create a new Lime Lake Preserve has become a reality! In May we closed on the final two parcels that protect 26 acres, over 1,000 feet […]
Bernie Rink’s Boskydel Vineyard Lands Protected
Story by Carolyn Faught, Senior Writer for the Conservancy. (Feature photo by Mark Smith.) Before moving to Leelanau full time in 1987, my husband and I owned a tiny cottage […]
“Highest and Best Use” Philosophy Leads to Protection of 80-Acre Fleese Farm
For years, Cedar businessman Walter Jedena had long admired the Fleese Farm on the corner of French and Hohnke Roads. He had driven by it many times, always intrigued by […]
“Leelanau Woods” Protected
There is a book that Dick Emens reads every year during the holidays, titled “Self Renewal,” by John Gardner. It’s his way to welcome the new year, reading fireside in […]
Suttons Bay Couple Donates 50 Acres for a New Natural Area
Self-Avowed Tree Huggers Donate 50 Acres in Suttons Bay A Suttons Bay couple has generously donated 50 acres just outside of the village that will become a new Leelanau Conservancy […]
Living in Harmony with Beavers–Nature’s Ecosystem Engineers
Snow falls softly on the trees surrounding Carol Waters’ tiny cabin near Maple City as we wait for her to answer our knock. I have never met this 82-year-old woman, […]
Gallagher Family Protects Beloved Farmland
John Gallagher Jr. says that he and his family “have been blessed” to own more than 400 acres of breathtakingly gorgeous farmland in Leelanau’s Elmwood Township. Panoramic views from the […]
In the Works: New Lime Lake Preserve
Mark Fisher has made his living selling real estate in Leelanau. Years ago, he purchased seven acres along the shores of Lime Lake and thought he might build a home […]