Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


There’s a newly-installed birding and walking trail at a nature preserve in Conway Township.

The Livingston Land Conservancy protects over 735 acres - and growing - of local land in the county in the form of nature preserves and conservation easements designed to preserve the rural character and natural heritage of the area.

Some of the lands protected by the conservancy are open to public access, including the Red Cedar Run Nature Preserve in Conway Township - which features the newly-installed birding and walking trail.

Other public access areas include the Charles & Albert Parker Families Nature Preserve located behind the Brighton District Library and the Kellogg Family Nature Preserve in Oceola Township.

For the new birding trail, LLC President Sara Thomas credited Boy Scout Troop 362 out of Howell for being instrumental in not only building and installing the trail but putting mulch down.

The trail is open to the public and located at Nicholson and Chase Lake Roads, on the southeast side of the intersection. People can park on Nicholson and they’ll see the trailhead.

Thomas told WHMI it’s kind of a small trail but “the birding is phenomenal” because there are a lot of native shrub thickets and an agricultural drain as a water source. She said it’s a short easy hike and a lot of fun; adding Conway is one of the last very rural townships and they encourage people to visit.

Meanwhile, the Conservancy is hosting its biggest fundraiser of the year this Friday night – “Land on the Horizon” at Chemung Hills Golf and Banquet Center in Howell. The event begins at 7pm and will feature live and silent auctions, raffles, “Nature Bingo”, dinner, and cash bar.

The LLC is an all-volunteer organization and is funded entirely through memberships and donations. Thomas said land protection efforts are a lot of work but something everyone is passionate about, as they are an all-volunteer operation and everyone either lives or works here. She said it’s one thing to own a nature preserve but you don’t want to just leave it because “nature has its own plan sometimes” and invasives can go rampant and then you have to get them out.

Thomas said when it comes to nature preserves, you have to take care of the properties once you acquire them. She said conservation easements are a little different because they are still primarily held by the owner and they only have the right to come onto the property with the owner’s permission to do things like annual monitoring and make sure everything is in compliance. Thomas said it’s just restricted in terms of keeping it protected for the long term for conservation value.

More information about the new trail and fundraiser are in the attached newsletter, and provided link.

Thomas was also a recent guest on WHMI’s Viewpoint program. A link to that full interview is also provided.