The
Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society Tuesday Talks will
continue on July 23 at the History Center in the Old School
House, 130 Center Street in Douglas.
Speaker April
Scholtz will present “The Secret Like of the Blanchard
Cricket Frog and Other Duneland Nature Stories.” The talk,
which will be 1 hour long, is free of charge and open to the
public, begins at 11 am.
Scholtz, Land
Protection Director at the Land Conservancy of West Michigan,
will use the Blanchard’s Cricket Frog as a way to demonstrate
why the Duneland is significant naturally as well as
culturally, and why it is a bellwether for the shoreline
environment.
The event is
sponsored by SDHS members Bill Hess and Mike Mattern to
celebrate the City of Saugatuck’s Saugatuck Harbor Natural
Area.
“My interest in the
property reflects my organization’s interest in conserving the
natural duneland around Saugatuck & Douglas,” Scholtz said,
“since the west Michigan’s dunes and shoreline are very
important natural resources and a driving factor in our
regional economy.”
Other topics to be
discussed include natural features of the property, how they
tie in with historic human use of the property and what that
means for the future.
The Land
Conservancy of West Michigan has worked with community
residents since the 1980’s when the Saugatuck Dunes State
Park’s natural area was identified and acquired by the state.
For more information about Land Conservancy of West Michigan
visit
www.naturenearby.org
The talk is free
and the public is invited, but seating is limited so early
arrival is recommended.
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