What is a Preserve?

Preserves

One of the key methods that we use to protect land is to hold the land indefinitely as a Six Rivers preserve. In this way we can not only protect the land from development forever, but also manage the land ourselves to ensure that the conservation values of these high-quality natural areas are maintained. Our preserves are scattered throughout our service area and represent a wide diversity of Southeastern Michigan ecosystems.  

How you can help

Maintaining the ecological health of our preserves in a highly developed and highly populated region requires a lot of work. Invasive species management is essential; autumn olive creeps into the prairies at Golden, Phragmites threatens the wetlands at East Pond Creek, and Japanese barberry and Asian bittersweet will completely take over Anchor Bay Woods Preserve given the opportunity. Prescribed burns, when performed appropriately and safely, can revitalize the ecosystem by controlling undesirable species and invigorating native plants. And all of our properties need to be monitored consistently to ensure that we are catching minor issues before they balloon into huge problems. If you want to help us keep these amazing lands healthy, consider donating to our stewardship program here.