Hopkins landowners donate property to Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy

John Davis, Jr. and Marybeth Pritschet-Davis love their land and want it to remain the natural wonder it is today. 

 

That's why they donated at 38-acre preserve with forests and meadows near Hopkins to the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy in 2004. Now nine years later, they have donated a conservation easement on their 40-acre homestead parcel, a few miles west of the preserve.

 

The recently donated 40 acres features a rolling mix of forested hills and wetlands. Streams meander the property. The land blends with the neighboring Allegan State Game Area. 

 

Pritschet-Davis says she enjoys the birds and other creatures that thrive on her property. She has collected an impressive bird list totaling almost 100 species, including the Whip-poor-will and the state-threatened Red-shouldered hawk. 

 

Blanding’s and Eastern box turtles, both protected by Michigan law as special concern species, also find shelter on their land. 

 

The couple is committed to land conservation.

 

"We are horrified by the indifferent destruction of wildlife habitat planet-wide and the necessarily resulting loss of species that we have witnessed in our lifetime," says Pritschet-Davis. "Protected land over which we have control is the very least John and I can do."

 

The Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy (SWMLC) works with landowners who want their property to remain in its natural state. For more information about protecting your land, contact Emily Wilke, director of land conservancy, at SWMLC by calling (260) 324-1600 or visit its web site.   

SWMLC serves the nine counties of Southwest Michigan, and has protected almost 12,000 acres since its inception as an all-volunteer organization in 1991. The Conservancy currently has seven full-time staff and 150 active volunteers and is supported by 1,100 household memberships.