The Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy has acquired a new preserve in Van Buren County.

Conservancy spokesperson Amelia Hansen tells us the 135 acre Good Fire Woods is within the Paw Paw River Watershed just north of Lawton. The property has been donated to the conservancy by the estate of Gary Stock, one of the organization’s founders. The property is unique in that it’s a remnant oak savanna habitat. So, what’s oak savanna?

“It’s characterized by like open, sunny grassland with a lot of grassland wildflowers and scattered oak and hickory trees,” Hansen said. “These were some of the very first habitats to be developed when European settlers came to this area because they didn’t need to be cleared very much. They were so open.”

Hansen says such habitats are best maintained through controlled burns, giving Good Fire Woods its name. The Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy will preserve the site and seek to help restore some of the oak savanna.

“It’s going to be one of our refuge preserves, so it will be open to the public only by appointment or for special research or things like that. It’s not going to be a regular public preserve, but we’ll work to improve the habitat and try and bring some of those savanna plants and some of that savanna habitat back.”

Hansen says there won’t be any trails constructed there. With this new preserve, the land conservancy now owns 39 refuge preserves and 18 public preserves around the region.

Hansen notes with this site being in the Paw Paw River Watershed, its preservation helps to maintain water quality.