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‘Misguided environmentalists' vandalize equipment at nature preserve, nonprofit says

KALAMAZOO TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — A trail project at a Kalamazoo Township nature preserve will be delayed after construction equipment was vandalized by what the land conservancy called 'misguided 'environmentalists.'' It happened Friday night, according to the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy. Bulldozers, mini-excavators, rollers, two dump carts and a track loader at Bow in the Clouds Preserve had smashed windows and graffiti that read things like 'Save Trees,' 'Love Mother Earth' and 'Nature is Always Open.' 'We understand the sense of outrage that comes from seeing earth-moving machinery descend on a beloved natural area and fearing for its destruction. And we know, despite the signage, many people do not understand that a non-profit conservation organization owns this preserve,' wrote SWMLC in a . While SWMLC owns the preserve, the equipment belonged to the city, whose large maintenance machinery had to get to the sewer line that runs underneath the land for cleaning. The nonprofit used that as an opportunity to add a trail so more people can access the wetland in the middle of the preserve. 'We deliberately routed the trail around the beautiful old oaks and only removed fast-growing or invasive non-native trees. The rickety bridges will be replaced with stronger ones and portions of the boardwalk will be upgraded,' SWMLC explained. Because of the damage, the contractor has to stop the work, file an insurance claim and clean and repair the equipment, some of which was rented, SWMLC said. When the work picks back up, the nonprofit will hire private security to protect the job site for the rest of the project. 'We do wish the vandals had tried a little harder to understand what's going on by either reading the signs, going to our website, or contacting us directly. Meanwhile, less real conservation can get done while we mess around with this,' SWMLC wrote. You can read more about the project at . Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.