Nature Preserved: Celebrating the Porter Legacy Dunes Grand Opening!

We are excited to welcome a major addition to Van Buren County! Last Friday, the County was among the crowd celebrating the grand opening of Porter Legacy Dunes.

The Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy (SWMLC) and the South Haven Area Recreation Authority (SHARA) unveiled the new preserve, complete with walking paths and an ADA-accessible dune boardwalk.

A Critical Sanctuary for Southwest Michigan

Porter Legacy Dunes is one piece of a two-mile corridor running from Pilgrim Haven Natural Area to Van Buren State Park along the Lake Michigan shoreline. That connection matters: it protects dunes that are home to plants and animals found almost nowhere else in the world.

A Large Undertaking

Porter Legacy Dunes came together through community support, hard work, and a love for Michigan nature.

The Porter family cared for this land for nearly 140 years. When it came time to sell, the owner offered it at a reduced price, still a healthy sum, which made all the difference for the fundraising and grant work that followed.

SWMLC and SHARA teamed up to apply for a Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grant, even after the deadline had already passed. The state was impressed enough by the project to make an exception, and the application went on to win $2.26 million. The rest came from foundations and private and community donations. Altogether, the campaign raised over $3.4 million to buy and care for the land.

The preserve now has a fully accessible half-mile loop trail, a boardwalk, and an overlook that offers a picturesque peek through the forested curtain of the dune out to Lake Michigan. Building it took real care: every living tree was inventoried ahead of construction to make sure it would be protected, and all the lumber was carried up the dune by hand rather than risk damaging the fragile habitat with machinery, work led by SWMLC. Just across 18th Avenue, Pilgrim Haven offers its own barrier-free walkway, restrooms, parking, and beach access.

Visiting the Preserve

Our Community Services Assistant, Jacob Diljak, reports on the beauty of the preserve and the success of the grand opening. He spent the afternoon talking with project partners, walking the trails, and celebrating the years of work that made this permanent sanctuary possible.

“Van Buren County is lucky to call places like this part of our community,” said Diljak. “Between our rivers, coasts, forests, and fields, we have incredible natural beauty here. Porter Legacy Dunes adds one more place where that beauty is protected and shared with everyone.”

Jacob Diljak, Community Services Assistant

He also brought back photos showing off the dunes and the wide-open views of Lake Michigan.