About Us

The Land Conservancy of West Michigan, formerly the Natural Areas Conservancy of West Michigan, was founded in 1976 by a dedicated group of volunteers who sought to protect West Michigan's natural landscape. Today, with a professional staff and office in Grand Rapids, the Land Conservancy is an independent, non-profit land trust and the only land trust solely dedicated to the permanent protection of important natural lands and open space in West Michigan. A broad coalition of local foundations, friends, neighbors and business people invest their time, talents and money to support our efforts to keep nature nearby. Volunteers continue to be a critical part of our organization. Please visit the Support Us page to learn how you can help by becoming a volunteer or a member.

Mission Statement

To keep nature nearby, the Land Conservancy of West Michigan permanently protects natural and scenic lands. To date, the Land Conservancy has permanently protected more than 4,700 acres of West Michigan's forests, fields, wetlands and dunes in a service area that includes all or parts of Allegan, Kent, Ottawa, Newaygo, Muskegon, Oceana, Mason and Lake Counties.

Board of Directors

Rick Chapla, Chair

Mary Hollinrake, Vice Chair

Daniel Grady, Treasurer

William Byl, Secretary

Bonnie Blackledge

Bob Gamble

Michael Hayes

Mark Iverson

Jon Jellema

Margaret Ladd

Timothy Lundgren

Dawn McDonald

Elise Roe

Scott Rush

Doug Schrank

Deb Steketee

Dave Warners

Meet Our Staff

April Scholtz, Land Protection Director

April has been working for the Land Conservancy since 1993 – back when it was known as “NACOWMI” (Natural Areas Conservancy of West Michigan).

Her work in land protection began even earlier, though, when in 1985 she began working with the State of Michigan’s Wilderness and Natural Areas Program for the Michigan Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. One of her first projects was to coordinate the natural areas designation of the Saugatuck Dunes Natural Area. April soon added experience and skills in private land protection throughout Michigan – from snake habitats in southern Hillsdale County to rocky outcroppings on the Keweenaw Peninsula.

She has a master’s degree from the University of Michigan, with graduate studies in both biology and natural resource management and policy, advanced training in land protection techniques and their tax implications, and a (never activated) realtor’s license. Twenty years after she began her career in land protection, April is still working, happily, on the preservation of dunes around Saugatuck and other important natural areas throughout West Michigan.

Pete DeBoer, Land Protection Specialist

Pete was born and grew up in Spring Lake with the lakeshore in his backyard. He realized at an early age that he would seek a career that combined his love of the outdoors with his interest in environmental issues. He received a B.S. in 2002 from Western Michigan University, completing a double major in Biology and Environmental Studies. During his schooling at WMU, he began volunteering for the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy to “learn the business”. He then worked with the stewardship crew in the summers trying to eradicate invasive species from the landscapes of southwest Michigan. In the fall of 2004 he was hired as a land protection specialist for Southwest to assist landowners in protecting their own landscapes. In the summer of 2007 he was hired to help landowners in West Michigan protect the lands he grew up with.

Danielle Fogel, Outreach & Communications Coordinator

Danielle joined the Land Conservancy of West Michigan staff in 2001 as the Program Assistant. Since she began, she also wore the hat of Membership Coordinator, but has now settled into her current position as the Outreach & Communications Coordinator.

A West Michigan native, Danielle’s appreciation of the outdoors stemmed from her time spent exploring P.J. Hoffmaster State Park and what is now North Ottawa Dunes. The protection of North Ottawa Dunes (LINK) in partnership with Ottawa County Parks and Recreation in 2005 is one of Danielle's favorite Land Conservancy accomplishments since this land played such an important role in her career decision. Danielle has a BS in Natural Resources and the Environment from the University of Michigan.

Melanie Good, Stewardship Coordinator

Melanie began working at the Land Conservancy of West Michigan in September of 2006. Prior to that she worked as Volunteer Coordinator, then Naturalist and Community Program Coordinator at Blandford Nature Center in Grand Rapids. Before coming to Grand Rapids, Melanie worked at Chippewa Nature Center in Midland in a variety of positions including environmental education and exotic species removal.

She earned her Masters of Science in Conservation Biology from Central Michigan University, where she also earned her Bachelors of Science in Biology and Environmental Science. Her masters work involved GIS mapping autumn olive infestations at Chippewa Nature Center.

Melanie is passionate over protecting the natural areas of West Michigan and strives to help others foster an appreciation.

Peter Homeyer, Interim Executive Director & Development Coordinator

Peter began working for the Land Conservancy of West Michigan in 2005 and has been a member since 2000. He earned bachelor degrees in both history and mathematics from Aquinas College and currently is a graduate student at Grand Valley State University in their Masters of Public Administration program.

A 30 year resident of Grand Rapids, Peter has fond memories of summers spent canoeing, camping, and hiking the region’s rivers, fields, and forests. He and his wife, Lynne, spend as much time as they can in the woods near Lake Michigan.

Diane Sampson, Program Assistant

Diane has been working for the Land Conservancy since January, 2007. However, she has been volunteering for the LCWM since 2003 both in the office and in the field. She also participated in the seasonal work crew in 2004 and 2005 battling buckthorn in the Lamberton Lake fen.

She has a master’s degree in hydrogeology from Washington State University. Work in the environmental consulting field brought her back to Michigan in 1993. She worked on and managed environmental cleanup projects at various gas stations and car repair facilities around the midwest. After staying home with two children for a few years and volunteering, she realized her interests had turned from cleaning up after development to preserving land from being developed!