Calhoun Conservation District

10/16/2026

Property Spotlight:
Hart’s Lake Conservation Area – City of Battle Creek, Michigan
Hart’s Lake is owned and maintained by the Calhoun Conservation District. Located in the City of Battle Creek, this property features Hart’s Lake, a 55-acre lake nestled within several stands of mature forest and wetland areas. Dominated by northern red oak and white oak, the forested areas also contain black cherry, black oak, sassafras, red maple, sugar maple, pig-nut hickory, and white ash trees.

There are over 3 miles of trails that have been established as a result of the tornado that touched down on the property in May 2025, bringing the total pedestrian trail length to 3.5 miles. The trail systems now connect to the existing trails and make a large portion of the property newly accessible for the community to enjoy. These trails allow visitors to hike through the various habitats which support a diverse range of flora and fauna. Look up! You may very well catch a glimpse of the resident bald eagles! Look closely into the woods along the historic Territorial Road…you might see the remnants of historic pioneer homesteads from when Fort Custer was a bustling network of 19th-century pioneer farms.

In 2026, the Kalamazoo River Watershed Council hosted a number of youth programs at Hart’s Lake. These programs provide environmental and water resources education to Battle Creek’s youth, including water recreation safety and skills training. The University of Maryland also conducted an eagle-banding event.
Hart’s Lake is a NO MOTOR lake: Small, non-motorized boats such as kayaks, canoes, and row boats are welcome. The lake’s fishing regulations include catch and release only, due to limited shallow areas for fish spawning habitat.
Hunting is prohibited on the property due to city restrictions and wildlife protections.
There are no restroom facilities and visitors are expected to remove any waste and treat the property with respect.

In 2026, the CCD completed several property projects and had more projects planned in 2027.

Future Projects include:
Parking Lot Development
Trail Maintenance & Development
Trail signs and Interpretive Signage
Invasive Species Removal
Habitat Restoration
Continued Kalamazoo River Watershed Youth Programming, including a new vernal pools addition

The Hart’s Lake property serves as a valuable public resource offering opportunities for wildlife observation, hiking, paddling, fishing, environmental education and community engagement. The Conservation District recognizes the importance of maintaining and enhancing this property, not only for public recreation, but also as a model for environmental stewardship of wildlife habitat and preservation of historic landmarks.

08/28/2026

Property Spotlight:
Jenney Woods - 12 Mile Road, Ceresco, MI 49033

Jenney Woods is owned and maintained by the Calhoun Conservation District, it is located on 12 Mile Road in Fredonia Township. The property is 156 acres in size and is a mix of forest, grassland and wetlands. The property has been owned by the district for 13 years, and it was gifted from the Nature Conservancy in 2013. It holds a conservation easement and cannot be developed for its entirety. In 2016, the CCD partnered with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and other partners to restore 1 acre of wetland and 10 acres of prairie. In 2025, the district enrolled the property into the Hunting Access Program(HAP) for all hunting types. This fills a need for publicly available hunting ground within Calhoun County.

In 2026, the CCD has completed several property updates in partnership with Fredonia Township. The parks millage funds received have gone to natural resource and access improvements.

Projects include:
- New Information Board
- 10 Acre Prescribed Burn - Check out this video! https://youtu.be/n_tD2X_FeP4?si=cZBTDyiluHDVLTMS
- Improved parking
- Tree Plantings

Future projects include:
- Increasing Habitat Diversity
- Tree Plantings
- Road Signage
- Trail Building

These property updates align with our long-term goals of sustainability for property’s management and to educate park users to maintain respect for neighbors and their properties. Stay tuned for more updates about this property and others! If you have questions let us know by emailing [email protected] or giving us a call: (269)781-4867 ext. 5.

https://www.calhouncd.org/jenney-woods See less

07/22/2026

Property Spotlight:
Brandt Woods - 25297 H Drive North, Marshall, MI 49068

Brandt Woods was donated in 1963 to the Calhoun Conservation District by Charles Brandt, a well-known local naturalist and conservationist. During the 1950’s, after many conversations with Michigan State University colleagues and friend Burrell (B.E.) Henry, Calhoun County Agricultural Director, Mr. Brandt laid the groundwork to deed his woodland in perpetuity for conservation studies. Mr. Brandt retained a life lease on his property to manage as he wished, during his lifetime.

This forest serves as a valuable public resource offering opportunities for wildlife observation, hiking, environmental education and community engagement. The Conservation District recognizes the importance of maintaining and enhancing this property, not only for recreation, but also as a model of sustainable forest management. The property has been environmentally verified through the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program for Forests, Wetlands and Habitat. In 2009, the Calhoun Conservation District conducted a project to reconnect Rice Creek’s floodplains. This included removing berms along the North Branch of Rice Creek and reconnecting 17 acres of floodplains on the property. This project is key to reduce downstream flooding and sedimentation within Rice Creek by slowing down water during high flows and to reduce long term dredging. Then, in 2025, the CCD replaced the roof to the pavilion at the property, and we are planning for future programming for the public at Brandt Woods.

This property is enrolled in the Hunting Access Program for Spring Turkey Season Only (mid-April through May). From August to January, the property is closed to the public to all uses. All other times of year the property is open for hiking, wildlife viewing and foraging. There are an array of trails, a pavilion and 100 acres of dense hardwood forest to explore.

https://www.calhouncd.org/brandt-woods

06/18/2026

The Calhoun Conservation Districts Owns/Manages 690 acres of natural resources in Calhoun County! This summer we will discuss each property, it's location, and what's available at the property! Stay tuned to learn about our properties and what we are up to this year and going forward!

06/10/2026

A little over two months ago the Calhoun Conservation District and Fredonia Township burned the native prairie at Jenney Woods. Today, we went out and saw a variety of native wildflowers and wildlife! 🌾🐝

Check out this video to learn more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_tD2X_FeP4

06/05/2026

The BCK CISMA has begun trying a new biological control to target Mile-a-Minute W**d in Calhoun County! This is a big step to help controlling this invasive species in our communities!

New biological control will target invasive mile-a-minute w**d in Michigan Michigan Department of Natural Resources sent this bulletin at 06/04/2026 08:25 AM EDT Share or view as webpage | Update preferences News Release June 4, 2026 Contact: Sara Rahn (BCK CISMA), 269-908-4136 or Katie Grzesiak (DN...

05/27/2026

05/26/2026

This spring the Calhoun Conservation District partnered with Fredonia Township to do a prescribed burn on our Jenney Woods Property just south of Ceresco! Check out the video below to see our progress!🌾🔥

The Calhoun Conservation District partnered with the Fredonia Township Fire Department to burn 10 acres of prairie at the Jenney Woods Nature Area. This proj...

05/19/2026

It was a busy week in the field last week with working with the Battle Creek Chamber of Commerce to participate in the Community Impact day! We improved access to Hart's Lake at the Hart's Lake Conservation Area in Fort Custer Industrial Park. We also were fortunate to be apart of banding the eaglet that lives at the lake!🦅 Then on Saturday we partnered with an array of organizations making improved to the Holt-Rice Creek Property in Marshall! This including creating benches around the property, planting tress, installing a boot brush station, fishing line recyclers and much more!

Stay posted for more opportunities coming up this summer as we make an impact across the county!

05/15/2026

Tomorrow is the big day at Holt-Rice Creek starting at 10:00am, we have several organizations coming to help complete projects at the property! There will be new benches, a new boot brush station, trees being planted and much more! 🌲🌳 Also check out this month's Outdoor in Calhoun Article to learn about other programs and projects in the county:

Email from Calhoun County A newsletter about outdoor opportunities in our community     Outdoors in Calhoun: May 2026 Outdoors in Calhoun is a newsletter sharing information and events about the natur