Chippewa Watershed Conservancy set to open first nature preserve in Clare County

The Chippewa Watershed Conservancy has its first nature preserve in Clare County.

It was donated by the family of Howard and Hazel Weting.

They purchased the 80-acre property in Freeman Township in 1929. The family lives on the West Coast and believes the couple would want this for the property.

It is home to deer, wild turkey, ruffed grouse, porcupine, and potentially some endangered species of hawks.

“It’s mostly wooded, largely second-growth oak and maple. There are quite a few pines here. The family started planting pine trees in 1930, shortly after they acquired it, and it continued through the 1950s and then again added more in the 1970s. So they’ve had a conservation attitude, you know, the entire time that they owned the property, which really contributed to their decision to give it to us,” said Mike LeValley, Executive Director for the Chippewa Watershed Conservancy.

The preserve will be known as the Howard and Hazel Weting Preserve on West Monroe Road in Freeman Township.

A public tour will be on Sunday, Oct. 1 at 1 p.m.