The Nature Conservancy in Michigan

09/05/2026

Summer’s not over yet – there's still time to visit some of Michigan’s most beautiful beaches.

TNC works closely with land trust partners and other land conservancies to protect and restore much of Michigan’s shoreline. When we enjoy a beach day at these places, we can also be assured that they’re protecting essential dune processes and crucial habitat for native species. 🏖️

Swipe through to discover a handful of beaches made possible by conservation at work. Read the full blog here: https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/michigan/stories-in-michigan/great-lakes-beaches/?en_txn1=s_fbo.reg_mw.x.x

09/05/2026

✨ Happy National Hummingbird Day! ✨

To celebrate, we've got a bunch of wow-worthy facts 🤯 about the only breeding hummingbird species in the eastern U.S.—the ruby-throated hummingbird. Have you seen hummingbirds around your area this summer?

09/04/2026

Protecting the Roadless Rule means protecting wildlife. 💪 🐻

Roads can be dangerous for animals. Not only are speeding vehicles a major killer, but roads also fragment habitats and cut off migratory routes. Thankfully, the Roadless Rule has protected nearly 60 million acres of continuous wildlife habitat in national forests across the country.

But this rule is at risk of being rescinded and we need your voice!

✍️ Click the link below to leave a public comment on the proposed rule and tell the USDA to keep the Roadless Rule and stop threatening one of our country’s most promising and popular approaches to wildlife and habitat protection.

https://nature.ly/4cYK7oN

🐺Meet a few of the animals that depend on the Roadless Rule. 🐦

09/03/2026

The Poweshiek skipperling is a small butterfly once found in native prairies across North America that nearly faced extinction just a few years ago. Now, southeast Michigan is one of the few regions where they exist, and several institutions are working hard to turn the tide of their endangerment by restoring their habitat and expanding their populations.

Habitat loss, wetland destruction, and pesticide drift from agricultural fields are all factors that may have contributed to their extirpation from several of their known locations. But this summer, over 400 butterflies were released at one of our TNC Michigan preserves thanks to a collaboration between TNC, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Minnesota Zoo, Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, John Ball Zoo, and Michigan State University Kellogg Biological Station. Through this partnership, Poweshiek skipperling populations continue to grow.

At our preserve, they will find the unique habitat they require to thrive: the prairie fen. This plant community has become increasingly rare in southeast Michigan, but a robust example of this habitat type can be found at some of TNC’s preserves. Within prairie fens, numerous native grasses and wildflowers can be found that the Poweshiek skipperling depends on to survive.

Protecting unique habitats, such as prairie fens, is crucial to the preservation of at-risk species like the Poweshiek skipperling. And recovering at-risk species opens doors for work that can help others. If you happen to see one of these cute, unassuming little butterflies at a preserve in southeast Michigan, just know you’re witnessing multi-organizational collaboration and habitat restoration at work!

📷 : A Poweshiek skipperling rests on a flower, inside a butterfly enclosure, and one of their tiny eggs is visible on a blade of grass, courtesy of Kim Steinberger/TNC.

09/02/2026

One sunny day, sometime in the 1970s, two prairie enthusiasts made a roadside stop after hearing the whistling call of an upland sandpiper coming from expansive pastures. This moment of curiosity led to the founding of Nachusa Grasslands, a preserve now heralded as a gem of tallgrass prairie restoration, that hundreds of native plant, bee and bird species call home—along with a herd of nearly 100 American buffalo. 💎🎑

In 1986, TNC secured just under 400 acres in an area where remnant prairie, oak savannas, and wetlands had survived amid farm fields on isolated rocky hills. Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, Nachusa has grown to over 4,000 acres of restored tallgrass prairie thanks to a special community of scientists, volunteers and staff working to continuously improve habitat restoration over several decades.

Dig deeper into Nachusa’s roots as one of the Midwest’s most collaborative, decades-long conservation wins. https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/illinois/stories-in-illinois/nachusa-40th-anniversary/?en_txn1=s_p.reg_mw.eg.x.S2S.Organic.Social.FY27

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.