HeadWaters Completes Preserve Protection

Aug. 22, 2026

HeadWaters Land Conservancy, headquartered in Gaylord, has spent the last five years trying to turn 12 protected acres of coastal forests, wetlands, and shoreline along Lake Huron into 213 acres. The Hess Nature Preserve involved years of property acquisitions, partnerships, and fundraising and progressed along in three separate phases. Per HeadWaters, “The first phase added 40 acres of wetland, forest and wildlife habitat. The second and largest phase protected another 158 acres, including an extensive dune and swale complex that connected the earlier acquisition to the original Hess Nature Preserve and created a significant corridor of protected habitat. The final phase added a critical Lake Huron shoreline parcel, extending the preserve’s protected shoreline by approximately 450 feet.” The preserve is open to the public, and in the coming years, HeadWaters will be planning trails and other ways for visitors to appreciate the space. Stay tuned at headwatersconservancy.org.