The Thumb Land Conservancy owns three preserves in St. Clair County:

  • Dead End Woods Sanctuary - 17.6 acres in Fort Gratiot Township
  • Gerrits Sanctuary - 38.5 acres in Ira Township
  • Peltier Beach Ridge Sanctuary - 11.5 Acres in Fort Gratiot Township


The Dead End Woods Sanctuary was the first preserve acquired by the TLC, in December 2008. The woods is known locally as the “dead end woods” because it is located and accessed at the end of Wilson Drive in Fort Gratiot Township. The preserve is located between Wilson Drive and Blueberry Lane to the south, State Road to the east, and Old Farm subdivision to the north.

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Dead End Woods Sanctuary


Dead End Woods Sanctuary


The Gerrits Sanctuary is 38.5 acres located along the east boundary of the City of New Baltimore, only about ¾ mile north of Anchor Bay and Lake Saint Clair. The southern half of the sanctuary is a complex of mature mesic and swamp forest. The north half is old-field and the Crapaud Creek Drain runs through the north end of the preserve. Years ago, the property was part of the Gerrits family farm.

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Gerrits Sanctuary


Dead End Woods Sanctuary


On June 28, 2010, the TLC received its third nature preserve, the 11.5-acre Peltier Beach Ridge Sanctuary in Fort Gratiot Township, Saint Clair County. The Peltier Beach Ridge Sanctuary is located a few hundred feet south of the end of West Montevista Drive, south of Metcalf Road, and along the east side of the Detroit Water Board property. The intake pipes from Lake Huron for the Detroit Water facility are very near the north property line. Also just north is the Galbraith Plant Preserve owned by the Michigan Nature Association, and four small lots north of the MNA preserve, owned by the Saint Clair County Drain Commissioner to be preserved as wetland mitigation for a future project. Although some people use the Detroit Water line property to enter the sanctuary from East Montevista Drive, the actual entrance is from North Shoreview Drive, just east of the intersection with San Juan Drive.

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Gerrits Sanctuary


Dead End Woods Sanctuary


Since 2011, the Thumb Land Conservancy has been under contract with the Saint Clair County Drain Commissioner, Saint Clair County Road Commission, and Pro-Tel Development to monitor and steward a 51-acre preserve along the east side of Michigan Road, north of Dove Road and south of the Canadian National Railway tracks in Port Huron Township. The preserve is just a small part of a large remnant of northern forest complex characteristic of the Port Huron area, an extensive lakeplain wetland crossed by upland sand ridges left by higher waters of the early Great Lakes.

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Michigan Road Preserve


Dead End Woods Sanctuary