Harbert Road Preserves
The Harbert Road Preserves consist of three separate preserves located along Harbert Road: The Woods Preserve, Harbert Woods Preserve, and Critter Haven Preserve. Together, these properties protect about 16 acres of beech-maple forest and hardwood swamps. Tucked away in Harbert's quiet neighborhoods, the Preserves serve this community by providing scenic views, filtering lake-bound water, sequestering carbon, and protecting habitat for native wildlife. As part of the Lake Michigan coastal flyway for migratory songbirds, the Harbert Road Preserves provide habitat at which the birds can rest and feed during their spring and fall journeys up and down the lakeshore.
The properties include a mix of upland and wetland forests. The drier areas are a mixed hardwood forest dominanted by beech, maple, and oak. The wetter areas are dominated by maple, tulip popular, yellow birch, and oak. Water levels in the wetlands flucuate seasonally and eventually drain to Lake Michigan through an unnamed tributary.
The Woods Preserve is made up of two parcels. The original 6.5-acre parcel was donated to Chikaming Open Lands in 2011 by the Foster, Douglass, and Gazzolo families. In 2014, the Easy Lane and Timber Lane neighborhood groups donated the funds necessary to purchase an additional 3+ acres to expand this property, with additional funding from The Pokagon Fund. The 5-acre Harbert Woods Preserve was originally acquired and protected by Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy in 1996, and then transferred to Chikaming Open Lands in 2018. The 1.35-acre Critter Haven Preserve includes one parcel donated in 2012 by Carl and Shirley Anderson, while another parcel was purchased in 2013 with assistance from the neighborhood and The Pokagon Fund.
The Harbert Road Preserves are situated along Harbert Road and in the associated neighborhoods west of Red Arrow Highway. There is no designated parking and no trails at these Preserves. Due to the sensitive nature of the properties, we ask that you contact us if you wish to visit and tour the Preserves.
The Woods Preserve and Critter Haven Preserve were acquired in part with funding from The Pokagon Fund.
No trail map available
No trail guide available
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