Who We Are

The Chippewa Watershed Conservancy (CWC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit conservation group working to protect open space and natural habitat in the counties of the Chippewa River Watershed in Central Michigan. We are currently protecting 3,658 acres in 27 easements and 17 preserves.

As our service area continues to grow, we believe that there is a need to set aside critical lands to protect sensitive wildlife habitat and to preserve open space and scenic views for future generations. In many cases we help landowners with placement of voluntary conservation easements on their private lands to meet those goals. In other cases, we acquire fee simple ownership of critical parcels to preserve the land and to provide for public access where doing so meets the dual purposes of protecting the habitat while permitting the non-intrusive enjoyment of our natural resources.

We were incorporated in 1985 as the Isabella County Nature Conservancy and later changed our name to Chippewa Watershed Conservancy to reflect our expanded mission area. The CWC was an all-volunteer organization until we established a professional staff position in January 2004. We continue to operate with a volunteer Board of Directors and other volunteers who contribute many hours to the successes of the organization.

We are about 400 members strong and are always happy to welcome new members who believe that working to preserve a natural legacy for the future is an important and worthwhile activity. We invite you to help by becoming a member of the CWC today.