Leelenau Conservancy

Background

Leelenau Conservancy is a land trust and nature conservancy founded in 1988 by residents of Leelenau County in the northwestern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. ³ The founders opposed the development of farmlands, forests, and other existing land in the county for use by tourists and vacationers. ³

The Conservancy claims to have removed more than 18,000 acres of land from potential development, including 64 miles of stream and lake frontage.  ¹ This is roughly eight percent of the county’s total land area. ⁴ The Conservancy’s efforts to limit future development on the Leelenau Peninsula are aided by the presence of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, which limits development on 71,199 acres of land split between Leelenau County and neighboring Benzie County. ⁵

The Leelenau Conservancy allows hunting on many of its properties, but requires hunters to apply for a free annual permit from the Conservancy to do so. ⁶

The executive director of the Leelenau Conservancy is Tom Nelson, who took the role in 2014. ⁷

Conservation Easements

The Leelenau Conservancy negotiates conservation easements with local landowners. These are private agreements through which landowners agree to contractually limit future development on their land in perpetuity through deed restrictions that bind future owners to the agreement.  ² In return, landowners usually receive income, property, and estate tax benefits. ²

In 2025, the Leelenau Conservancy reported 212 active conservation easements, covering 13,537 acres of private property in Leelenau County. ⁸

Sugar Loaf

In July 2025, an anonymous owner donated the defunct 285-acre Sugar Loaf ski resort to the Leelenau Conservancy, contingent on the Conservancy raising enough money to turn the former privately owned and operated ski resort into a public-access outdoor recreation area. ⁹

In September 2025, the Leelenau Conservancy announced that it had reached its $8 million fundraising goal for Sugar Loaf and that the project would go ahead as planned. ¹⁰

Finances

Assets

In its 2025 annual report to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Leelenau Conservancy reported owning $22,092,790 worth of land, plus another $1,267,776 worth of buildings. ⁸

The Conservancy also operates a significant endowment fund, worth $11,871,608 in its 2025 IRS filings. ⁸

Funders

The Leelenau Conservancy receives most of its funding from private donors, with 71 percent of its revenue in 2024 coming in the form of private financial donations, and another 16 percent being donations of land or development rights. ¹¹

In 2023, it received $40,000 from Rotary Charities of Traverse City to acquire forest lands. ¹²

In 2015, it received a $100,000 grant from the Edmund F. and Virginia B. Ball Foundation to purchase forest land. ¹³

The Conservancy receives funding and in-kind support from local businesses including Cherry Republic, L. Mawby Vineyards, and M22 Clothing and Merchandise. ¹⁴

Government Funding

The Leelenau Conservancy has received funding from state and federal government agencies to assist in its efforts to limit development in Leelenau County. In 2024, it reported that government grants comprised 13 percent of its revenues. ¹¹

In 2017, it received $452,877 from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to purchase conservation easements from private landowners along Grand Traverse Bay. ¹⁵

In 2010, it received $1.2 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service to purchase conservation easements on farmland in the county. ¹⁶

Revoked Grant

The Leelenau Conservancy is part of the Tribal Stream and Michigan Fruitbelt Collaborative, which is a coalition of Michigan-based organizations led by the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.  ¹⁷

In 2023, under the Biden administration, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service announced that it would award the Collaborative more than $20 million for a variety of conservation-related purposes. ¹⁷ In 2025, the Trump administration announced the termination of that award before any funds had been distributed.  ¹⁷