Thumb Land Conservancy

10/12/2026

We had a great time at Silver Trails yesterday. Thanks again to the new owners for giving us this opportunity. We will post photos and more details later. We forgot to have a sign-in sheet yesterday. If you attended yesterday, let me know names and units of anybody you know was there. Ideally, include e-mail addresses so we can contact them for the next event. Best to contact me at: [email protected] . Bill (Yoda) Collins

10/10/2026

Reminder that we are gathering at Silver Trails Scout Camp tomorrow, Sunday, October 11, 1 to 6pm. All are invited - Scouters, Scouts, Trail Life, American Heritage Girls, other organizations, and families.

The Jeddo Road bridge over Black River is closed. Come in on Jeddo Road west of the camp, from Cribbins Road.

Enter the camp through the main gate. Meet near the Dining Hall (Rotary Lodge).

Food available. Hotdogs generously donated by Jimmy Rankin Quality Meats of Port Huron Township.

Wander the camp from 1 to 5pm.

Campfire program at the Council Ring from 5 to 6pm. Anyone unable to walk can drive down through Gate 2.

Units are invited to perform skits and songs. Any OA dancers are welcome to give us a show.

Let us know if you would like to help with firewood, as a guide, cook, with program, or with clean-up.

Stairs to the west (down to Chippewa campsites) are good but old. Use utmost caution. Only one person on each step at a time. Not sure about north stairs.

We kindly ask for donations to help us pay for this and future events. A donation container will be available at the food table. This Silver Trails gathering is sponsored by the Blue Water Camp Council, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization created by local scouters dedicated to supporting youth camps in our region. We have a hefty annual accident and liability insurance premium, so we need all the help we can get. If you would like to send a check, make payable to “Blue Water Camp Council” and mail to: 4023 Gratiot Avenue, Fort Gratiot, MI 48059.

Any questions, contact Carla (Hardie) Petrossi at 810-488-0130 or Bill (Yoda) Collins at 810-346-2584.

We want to thank Tim Hammar and Terry Morris of Hammar Contracting in Wadhams, the new owners of Silver Trails, for giving us this opportunity to once again gather at the camp as we did in the old days.

09/20/2026

09/19/2026

Here's the follow-up article to aquatic macroinvertebrates posted on September 2. This article describes how collecting and identifying aquatic macroinvertebrates can be used to assess the water quality of streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, and some wetlands..

https://thumbland.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/2010-10-October.pdf

09/06/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19PrmeDDvz/

SIBLEY PRAIRIE UPDATE: A CLARION CALL - Please Share

September 1, 2026

Dear Supporter,

We now have three months to raise the remaining funds needed to Save Sibley Prairie!

Just one year ago, saving Sibley Prairie seemed like a daunting challenge. Today, we believe that we have a clear path to success. But with only three months remaining, we must now focus on two critical priorities to ensure that we can purchase this remarkable 440 acres of Sibley Prairie by December.

THIS IS OUR CLARION CALL.

1. HELP US REACH $1 MILLION IN INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS.

Our goal is to raise a total of $1 million from individual donors. We have already raised $730,000, which means we have $270,000 to go.

That is a significant amount—but it is absolutely within reach.

Please consider making a donation if you are able--or an additional one. (Donate at SaveSibleyPrairie.org or mail a check to Michigan Land Conservancy, 10325 Cherry Hill Rd, Superior Township MI 49198.) And, just as importantly, please spread the word. Encourage your friends, family members, neighbors, and colleagues to contribute.

If we can reach $1 million in individual donations, we believe we will have the flexibility needed to cover any remaining shortfall from our other fundraising efforts.

2. HELP US SECURE AN ADDITIONAL $1.5 MILLION IN LOANS.

If the full $6 million purchase price is not raised by December, we plan to finance any remaining shortfall with one-year bridge loans.

These loans would be repaid when the anticipated $5 million grant from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund is received by Brownstown Township, which we expect will occur later in 2027.

We are exploring other financing options as well, but personal loans from supporters may provide the most certain path to ensuring that we can complete the purchase on time.

If you might be in a position to provide a larger loan, please contact me directly. Even if you are simply interested in learning more about how this would work, I would be happy to talk with you.

The Fundraising Committee of the Save Sibley Prairie Coalition will continue our intensive outreach to foundations, corporations, and major donors. And if you are in a position to make a six- or seven-figure donation, please know that your gift could be the one that puts us over the top—and could create a lasting legacy by helping preserve Sibley Prairie forever.

Thank you, so much, for your extraordinary support. We still have much work to do but, for the first time, we can clearly see the finish line.

Please help us reach our goal. With your help, we can protect Sibley Prairie—forever.

As we’ve said all along:

TOGETHER, we can Save Sibley Prairie!

With deepest gratitude,

Jack Smiley
President, Michigan Land Conservancy
[email protected]

for the Save Sibley Prairie Coalition
SaveSibleyPrairie.org

09/02/2026

As we move into early autumn, we hope, aquatic macroinvertebrates, or small freshwater creatures, including insects, worms, snails, and molluscs, will all be feeding on the abundance of leaves that fall into our streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes. Some eat the leaves directly. Others consume the break-down products. Others eat other water creatures. Regardless, the annual leaf-fall is critical to the abundance, diversity, quality, and sustainability of waterways and everything that lives in them, including the fish that people catch and consume. They are one of many reasons it is important to keep forest along streams and rivers. Aquatic macroinvertebrates are the tiny, largely unrecognized inhabitants that have maintained life in our waters for millennia. You can read about them at this link:

https://thumbland.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/2010-09-September.pdf

08/30/2026

The TLC has renovated our web site over the past year, long overdue after about 15 years. It is still a work-in-progress, but much improved with new educational content.

In 2003-04 and 2009-10, TLC Executive Director Bill Collins wrote several articles for "The Lakeshore Guardian" paper under the "Thumb Habitats" column. Here is one published in September of 2004 about the Minden Bog, a very special and unique natural area here in the Thumb.

https://thumbland.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/2004-09-September.pdf

08/08/2026

The latest issue of The Thumb Naturalist. Check out our new web site at ThumbLand.org

https://givebutter.com/messages/view/a45bd895-0abd-46f5-a843-84270585506c

This summer has been another season of meaningful progress for the Thumb Land Conservancy, with new land protected, stewardship efforts expanding, and exciting improvements taking shape across our preserves. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, grant partners, volunteers, and members, we continue...