In the fall of 2017, Blackburn Farms put up land bordering Kope Kon Road and old Highway 27, in Michigan for sale at a public auction. The Board members of the Conservancy reviewed the various parcels being sold and concluded that the Conservancy would be interested in bidding on several that contained environmentally sensitive watershed areas into Lake George. At the same time, several Board members and local Kope Kon residents joined forces to raise funds for the Conservancy to purchase one of the apple orchard’s parcels to prevent it from being developed or converted to farmland. Through the funds that were raised and Conservancy funds dedicated to land acquisition a 26-acre orchard plot was successfully purchased.

In deciding what to do with an old, nonproductive apple orchard, the Board approached the Blue Heron Ministry for environmental guidance. It was decided to create an “Oak Savanna,” an environment that has been identified as a priority ecosystem for habitat restoration and management. A program that provided residents the opportunity to purchase memorial tree clusters, for which the funds generated purchased the Oak trees. A milkweed and wildflower sanctuary were planted on 6 acres to aid the Monarch butterfly recovery efforts. In 2021 a walking path was built to enhance Lake George resident’s experience on this nature preserve.