The Leelanau Conservancy announced over the weekend that it had added a new piece of land to its Cedar River Preserve, thanks to a donation from a local resident.

The new parcel of 10-acre undeveloped wetland was donated to the Leelanau Conservancy by local attorney and landowner Doug Fierberg. The land sits near the Cedar River Preserve in Solon Township “and is home to high-quality rich conifer swamp and mesic northern forest,” according to a Conservancy email announcement. “It serves as a vital corridor for wetlands and wildlife habitat in the Victoria Creek Basin, which flows into Lake Leelanau.”

Dubbed “the Everglades of northern Michigan” on the Leelanau Conservancy website, the Cedar River Preserve is located in Solon Swamp, near the southwest corner of South Lake Leelanau. Measuring nearly 600 acres in size, the undisturbed wetland “is an environmental superhero that protects the health of Lake Leelanau,” per the Conservancy, with a variety of ecosystems that “provide a haven for wildlife such as sandhill cranes and rare wetland plants like the carnivorous yellow pitcher plant.”

“An index based on Michigan Natural Features Inventory data ranks the conservation importance of a designated area,” the Conservancy website states. “A FQI (floristic quality index) greater than 35 represents areas of conservation importance that are significant statewide. Areas with FQIs greater than 50 are extremely rare and indicate significant native biodiversity. So the fact that the native FQI for the Cedar River Preserve is 91.1 (262 native plant species) is extremely rare.”

“Now more than ever, these wild places must be protected to safeguard the health of our land, water, and wildlife,” the Conservancy said in its email announcement of the new 10-acre donation. “Working with landowners to protect these special places and fill in the missing pieces of these corridors is an important part of that work. Thank you, Doug, for your generosity! We're grateful to be able to protect this place forever.”