Save the Farm, Plan the Park: Meet the Washtenaw County’s Native Conservation Program Leader

Ginny Leikam, director of park planning and the Natural Area Preservation Program at Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission.Provided by Ginny Leikam

WASTHENAW COUNTY, MI – Look at a map of protected farmland and wildlife sanctuaries in Washtenaw County two decades ago and you would spot a few patches of green in Washtenaw County: state recreation areas, Ann Arbor parks, and the occasional rural reserve. But large swathes of land had none of it.

Fast forward to today and these natural areas cover the map. And for about 16 years, a woman has played a steady role in shaping those thousand hectares for generations to come.

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