The Nature Conservancy in Michigan

08/31/2026

The State Director of TNC in Michigan Helen Taylor announced her retirement this summer, effective at the end of 2026 after 30 amazing years of service. During that time, Helen helped conserve 373,000+ acres of land, 42 miles of Great Lakes shoreline, many wetlands, lakes, ponds, and prairies across the state, and built the deep partnerships and communities necessary to sustain it all.

Read more about the history of her incredible career in Crain's Detroit Business:

Helen Taylor helped conserve 373,000 acres of land, 42 miles of Great Lakes shoreline and struck what became the largest conservation deal in state history. At year's end, she's stepping down.

08/25/2026

This , we’re celebrating the “inland oceans” that shape the Midwest: the iconic Great Lakes. These five freshwater giants—Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior—add up to 21% of the planet’s surface fresh water, making them the largest surface freshwater system on Earth. Yes, you read that right! 🌊🌎

The Great Lakes are more than just massive bodies of water—they’re the lifeblood of our region. From supporting around 10% of the population of the U.S. to thousands of wildlife and plant species, the Great Lakes impact countless lives in Michigan and beyond.

Take a dip into what makes them so special—and why it’s so critical to protect them for future generations.

💧 They provide drinking water for around 40 million people in North America.

💧 They’re home to over 3,500 animal and plant species.

💧 Great Lakes industries and business employ 25.8 million people.

These majestic waters are worth exploring, celebrating and protecting so that future generations can enjoy everything that makes the Great Lakes extraordinary. Dive deeper into their impact and importance. https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/priority-landscapes/great-lakes/great-lakes-facts/?en_txn1=s_fbo.reg_mw.x.x

08/19/2026

All it takes is one small, but mighty seed for magic to happen. 🌱✨ Over the last 75 years, TNC has worked to protect the Midwest's iconic ecosystems like the vital Great Lakes, the 60-million-acre Northwoods, and the vast Mississippi River Basin.

While the sheer scale of these majestic places is deeply impressive, many of the most impactful conservation efforts in this region began small—with the actions of a single community, or even a single individual, who were willing to plant a seed.

Learn about some of our most transformative conservation efforts that began as small sparks across the Midwest. https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/priority-landscapes/midwest/stories-in-the-midwest/midwest-seed-to-scale?en_txn1=s_p.reg_mw.eg.x.S2S.Organic.Social.FY27

08/18/2026

📚 This back-to-school season, we're celebrating what happens when communities come together.

By supporting partnerships that regreen urban schoolyards 🌿 , TNC is helping create spaces where kids can connect with nature, learn and play in safe, green outdoor spaces, and build a healthier future for their neighborhoods.

See how collaboration is making a difference in Milwaukee: https://nature.ly/4fYU8o4

08/17/2026

In July, TNC had the pleasure of hosting the release of two Piping Plover chicks at one of our preserves. These Great Lakes shorebirds are fuzzy, fast, charming, and easy to love. But their numbers reached a mere dozen pairs in the 1980s due to predation and habitat loss, and they’ve been on the endangered species list ever since.

Through the Great Lakes Piping Plover Recovery Effort, work is underway to bring this beloved species back from the brink of extirpation. The team brings together organizations across federal and state agencies, Great Lakes tribes, universities, non-governmental organizations, and dedicated individuals who monitor nests and collect at-risk wild eggs, raise them safely, re-release them into suitable environments, and continue monitoring their populations.

Some of the conditions the eggs are rescued from can even be quite dramatic – one released chick was saved from Lake Michigan after the nest her egg was in washed out to high water, caught only because of dedicated trail cams watching the nest’s status.

Years of monitoring and restoration on the chosen TNC preserve have made it a likely place for the Piping Plover chicks' survival. There, they’ll have plenty to eat, suitable places to hide and live, and protection from the influences and forces that have reduced their population so drastically.

This particular release was coordinated through TNC, the Great Lakes Piping Plover Recovery Effort, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS), Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, and the Detroit Zoo.

Because of places like this where nature is protected, and because of those dedicated to the species, these little birds have a chance to thrive.

08/15/2026

When we come together for conservation, even the rarest of flowers can blossom. 🌸

Painted Trillium, or Trillium undulatum, is a unique wildflower native to the eastern United States. For our Midwestern neighbors in Ohio, it is considered state-endangered and can only be found in one county across the entire state. But at TNC's Morgan Swamp preserve, a pocket of about 800 of these rare flowers are thriving today thanks to one simple project executed in 2017: constructing an eight-foot-high fence to prevent deer from eating the plants.

Since then, TNC staff have surveyed the plants annually, ensuring that the population continues to flourish and expand. This year, the survey took place in mid-May—right when these plants were in peak bloom. Derrick Cooper, Northeast Ohio preserves manager at TNC in Ohio, shares more about this conservation effort in this video.

Growing and protecting populations of native plants is a vital tool to combat biodiversity loss across the Midwest, and this kind of simple, yet effective conservation solution serves as a model for similar restoration work that could be recreated in Michigan. 💡

Learn more about this inspiring comeback story. https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/ohio/stories-in-ohio/painted-trillium-thrive-at-morgan-swamp/?en_txn1=s_fbo.reg_mw.x.x

08/12/2026

The Nan Weston at Sharon Hollow trail is closed for the foreseeable future due to storm damage. Our teams are working to assess and resolve the storm's impact, which will take time.

In the meantime, you can find other preserves to visit here: https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/?en_txn1=s_fbo.reg_mw.x.x

08/11/2026

We’re at Agro Expo booth E1006A today and tomorrow! Visit us to chat about regenerative agriculture in Michigan, including soil health strategies. We have some TNC swag and tickets for an extra free scoop at the ice cream social if you stop by. See you soon! 🌱

08/06/2026

Millions of acres of U.S. farmland could support agroforestry right now. 🌲

This new project is helping farmers take advantage of that opportunity—providing funding, technical support, and market connections to put these practices into action. Good for farms. Good for nature.

Learn more: https://www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-priorities/provide-food-and-water-sustainably/expanding-agroforestry-production/?en_txn1=s_fbo.reg_mw.x.x

The Nature Conservancy, along with many project partners, have launched the Expanding Agroforestry Project, an effort funded by a Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities award.

07/31/2026

Meet your friendly neighborhood spiders 👋🕷️ Despite often getting painted as villains, these critters are actually heroes in Michigan's ecosystems – and in our own homes and gardens, devouring millions of common pests every year.

Celebrate the release of the new Spider-Man movie by getting to know a few of the common types of spiders that you might spot in your yard or basement:

🌼 Jumping spiders: Adorable Ambushers 🌼 Despite their cute appearance and tiny size, these spiders are ambush predators that can leap 10-40 times their own body length! They can see almost 360° with their eight eyes, giving them a real spidey-sense. When they roam from flower to flower in search of their next meal, they also inadvertently pick up and transfer pollen, aiding in the pollination of many plants.

🕸️ Orb-weavers: The Amazing Spider-Architects 🕸 These large, colorful spiders are the virtuosos behind the iconic, intricately designed wheel-shaped webs that can stretch up to three feet wide. Their webs are made of strong, yet flexible silk and can even be engineered to trap specific types of prey. To keep the web extra sticky and primed to capture their victims, many species actually take down their webs nightly and spin a fresh new one by morning!

🦀 Crab spiders: Master Mimics 🦀 Spiders from this family specialize in camouflaging themselves to sneak up on their prey. First, they pick busy spots where they can lurk undetected – tucked between flower petals, leaf litter, or bark that resemble the colors of their bodies. Then, they wait for the perfect moment to strike with their two long, thick front legs. Some species can even change their body color to match their hiding spot, making them even more lethal predators.

🐺Wolf Spiders: Nightcrawlers 🐺 Move over Jacob! Like real wolves, these spiders are hairy, fast-moving hunters that stalk their prey after nightfall. Most wolf spiders don’t spin webs – they like the thrill of the hunt before feasting. These spiders are also some of the largest species found across the Midwest, averaging around three inches in length.

Spiders aren’t the only superpowered animals in Michigan. Learn about more amazing animals. https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/priority-landscapes/midwest/superpowered-animals/?en_txn1=s_fbo.reg_mw.x.x