Jens Jensen Nature Preserve

Natural Features:

The Preserve contains a high-quality beech-maple forest featuring towering oak, maple, beech, tulip poplar, and seasonal wetlands. An adjacent natural area owned by the Michigan Nature Association is called Pepperidge Dunes Sanctuary. Together, these natural areas preserve 45 acres and are critical in maintaining a corridor of forest canopy for migratory birds that stretches from Warren Dunes State Park to Cherry Beach Road. This corridor provides a habitat for the birds to rest and feed during their journeys up and down the lakeshore in the spring and fall. Jens Jensen Preserve features an extensive, maintained trail network suitable for hiking, bird watching, or cross-country skiing.

History:

The Preserve is named for Jens Jensen, a landscape architect working in the Midwest at the turn of the century. Jensen revered and celebrated the area’s indigenous scenery by creating the Prairie style of landscape architecture and leading a movement to conserve natural areas.

Acquired in 2015, the purchase of the property was funded by more than 160 neighbors and community members, who came together to raise approximately 50% of the purchase cost in less than four months. The remaining funds were provided by Chikaming Open Lands using funds previously raised for land acquisitions from a combination of individual donors and The Pokagon Fund.