LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ISSUES
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”
—Mahatma Gandhi
Learn More About These Issues:
Perhaps the best way to learn more is to acquaint yourself firsthand with the Saugatuck Dunes. You can access the Saugatuck Harbor Natural Area from the City of Saugatuck’s Oval Beach. Just hike north from the park and then up over the foredune.
If you want to see the NorthShore property yourself, park at Oval Beach and hike north 3/4 of a mile along the beach to the pier. When you reach the pier, hike east along the river. Everything to the north is the NorthShore property. The other land access point is to hike to the beach at the Saugatuck Dunes State Park and hike south along the beach to the pier. It is within your rights to walk on the beach; however, please stay off any private property.
In the late spring, summer, and early fall, you can take a tour on the Star of Saugatuck or the Saugatuck Dune Rides. While neither of these will put you on the NorthShore property, both offer remarkable views and informative commentary about the natural and human history of the area.
Find out more about these issues from Keith Schneider’s report Fever of Development, Frontier of Recovery, the Tri-Community Comprehensive Plan, and the biological surveys of rare and endangered plants, animals, and habitats found in the Saugatuck Harbor Natural Area and the North Shore property.
Rare Species of the NorthShore Property. A survey of rare, threatened, and endangered birds, plants, fish, reptiles, and amphibians found on the NorthShore property.
Natural Communities of the NorthShore Property. A survey from the Land Conservancy of West Michigan of unique habitats including coastal sand dunes; inter-dunal wetlands; Great Lakes shore, beach, and marsh; and riparian shoreline and adjacent marshes.
Fever of Development, Frontier of Recovery: Securing the Saugatuck Dunes Coastal Region was written by Keith Schneider, a New York Times reporter and founder of the Michigan Land Use Institute. An investigative reporter, Schneider digs into development issues in the Saugatuck Dunes coastal region. View PDF Report
Tri-Community Plan 2005. This visionary document ten years in the making by the people of Saugatuck, Douglas, and Saugatuck Township is the foundation for our goals and mission. View PDF Report
The Economic Benefits of Land Conservation. The Trust for Public Land study explores the economic benefits of how open space improves home values, reduces taxes, and is a draw for new businesses. View PDF Report
The Health Benefits of Parks View PDF Report