Conservation Value

The hilly 135-acre property is home to several kinds of rare animals and plants, and was once covered by healthy oak savanna – a fire-adapted, open habitat of grasses, wildflowers, and scattered oak and hickory trees that used to be southwest Michigan’s signature landscape. Nearly all oak savannas are now gone, having been turned into cemeteries, farms, villages, and housing developments. In the ones that remained, decades of modern fire control have created an unhealthy landscape of shade-loving trees and shrubs. But conservationists were excited to catch glimpses of Good Fire Woods’ oak savanna heritage, despite its being overgrown. “We were ecstatic to find rare savanna plants growing here, scattered throughout the remaining open areas of the property,” explains SWMLC Conservation & Stewardship Director Mitch Lettow, adding that, in the future, SWMLC will thin these overgrown areas, and carefully use prescribed fire (aka “good fire”) to bring the oak savanna back to life.

Good Fire Woods is located within the Paw Paw River Watershed, which is known to be one of the most intact and diverse watersheds remaining in southern Michigan. It includes 175 miles of rivers and streams, 5,800 acres of lakes and ponds, and flows more than 60 miles from its headwaters in Kalamazoo County to its end in the St. Joseph River near Benton Harbor. This huge, important area drains, filters, and recharges groundwater from 445 square miles. Good Fire Woods includes more than 1.5 miles of stream frontage on the Paw Paw River’s East Branch and another coldwater stream that begins upstream in a privately-owned prairie fen wetland that’s protected by SWMLC with a conservation easement. The many bends made by the East Branch as it flows quickly through the property create a variety of habitat features like riffles, runs, and pools that support a thriving river ecosystem. The mature forest along its banks provides important, cooling shade for coldwater fish and the aquatic insects they consume while helping to prevent erosion that otherwise would pollute these waters with soil runoff.

Personal Connections

Not only does Good Fire Woods contain high-quality natural features, it also has strong human connections for SWMLC. The property’s former owner, Gary Stock, was one of our founders, part of a local group that was so concerned about losing our region’s wild places that they created a non-profit land trust, Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy. A passionate conservationist, he purchased several smaller pieces of land in the early ‘90s that now make up the total Good Fire Woods in an effort to safeguard the many creatures living there.

To ensure the reunited landscape remained intact, he worked with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) (a separate organization with similar conservation goals) to protect the property with a conservation easement in 2007. But stewarding 135 acres is no small feat, so Gary felt it was important that another trusted organization, SWMLC, would be there to carry his legacy of actively managing habitat and caring for his beloved land.

Gary had been working with SWMLC for several years before his passing, and we’re grateful to be able to carry out his wishes through the resources he thoughtfully put in place, and with the generous donations made by SWMLC’s members and supporters.

We’re also excited to continue our partnership with TNC to achieve the highest level of protection for this property, where we assume the ownership and land stewardship, and TNC provides continued oversight with a conservation easement. “We’re pleased that Gary’s vision for the property as a preserve has been realized and happy to remain in close partnership with SWMLC,” said Emily Clegg, TNC’s Director of Land and Water Management, Michigan.