Citizens rely on nonprofit organizations, educational institutions and governmental agencies to discover, research and respond to changes in the natural resources of Northwest Lower Michigan. In fact, there are dozens of nonprofit groups across the region dedicated to measuring, assessing, limiting and managing the impacts of development, invasive species, climate change and climate variability. The region’s land conservancies, watershed groups, conservation districts, hunting and fishing organizations and many others are playing critical roles in preserving our natural resources and preparing for what comes next.

These short multimedia stories explore some of the many ways public organizations are working to retain the regions abundant natural resources while helping to add resilience against the adverse impacts caused by invasive pests and diseases, development and disruptive climate changes.

The stories in this section answer the question: What are our nonprofit and public organizations doing to conserve, preserve and protect the natural resources, critical ecosystems and heritage landscapes of Northwest Lower Michigan?