Conserve is a Verb

The first of my Nature Notes from the Shiawassee, first published in the Argus Press on April 7, 2026

I write a weekly column in my local newspaper, the Argus Press, and I post it here several days after it has been published. These post will contain links and sometimes additional material that doesn’t appear in the Argus Press. I will also occasionally add longer posts.

I am writing for three reasons:

1. To increase awareness of the importance of nature in my community and share success stories about conservation that are applicable in the Shiawassee River watershed.

2. To support my local newspaper and journalism. We need strong and independent sources of news, especially at the the local level. Please subscribe to the Argus Press, or another local newspaper or another civic-minded news source. I like Bridge Michigan as one inspiring non-profit news source.

3. To improve my writing and clarify my thoughts. To try and express important ideas about nature and conservation in less than 600 words is a very good exercise.

Thank you for being part of this effort. I appreciate your feedback, suggestions for topics, and for sharing this with others. — tom cook

Conserve is a Verb

I love this place. Several decades ago I graduated from Owosso High School and moved out-of-state for several years. Thirty years ago, I returned to raise a family. This is my home. I care about what makes this place special and I want to protect it. That makes me a conservationist.

I came of age paddling on the Shiawassee River and exploring much of the County on foot, on bike, and in my mother’s Ford Fairlane. When I got older, I was fortunate enough to canoe other rivers and lakes on extended trips in northern Ontario. During college, I hiked long stretches of the Appalachian Trail and then as a young man explored much of the California Sierra.

When I returned home, I was full of memories of beautiful and wild places. It took me a bit to appreciate the flat landscape and gentle Shiawassee River, but every place has its charms, and those here in the heart of Michigan quickly entranced me again.

The Shiawassee River, flowing north through a magnificent wildlife refuge and into Saginaw Bay, connects us to the Great Lakes, one of the most substantial freshwater ecosystems in the world. I was nine years old when Apollo astronauts took the first pictures of the planet in space, and I grew up after Earth Day. You can call me an environmentalist and I won’t be offended.

There may be no significant difference between the terms, but I prefer conservationist to environmentalist. Both names refer to someone who cares about protecting the natural world, but to conserve something is to look after it. Conserve is a verb, a word of action. Environment is a noun, and describes what we must take care of.

Conservation is the wise use of natural resources: water, air, land, and the communities of plants and animals that are part of, and rely on, nature (which, importantly, includes humans). For several years I served as Trustee of The Nature Conservancy in Michigan; their mission is to “conserve the land and waters on which all life depends.”

As a younger man, I sought out wilderness, the untrammelled areas of our continent where nature thrives and shows off its glory. I believed, for a while, that the human and natural world were at odds.

I have seen too often where the bad behavior and actions of people have despoiled nature, but coming home to the Shiawassee I saw too how nature recovers, persists, and continues to share its grandeur.

If you love a place you start by paying more attention to it. What’s going on in the world around us? Nature has so many stories to tell, beauty to show, and action to inspire. That’s why I am starting this column. We can make a difference. I have seen so many conservation success stories, and been a part of a few, that I want to report them to you.

Links

The Friends of the Shiawassee River: in 1996 I joined up with several local people to create a volunteer-run organization with the goal of Care, Share, and Enjoy for the local water resource in our backyard. Thirty years later they are still going strong organizing an annual river clean-up, removing dams, helping to restore the natural environment, educating youth and others, and promoting responsible use of the River. Please support them.

The Nature Conservancy in Michigan: I am a Life Trustee of the Michigan Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, the largest environmental organization in the US, and an effective conservation advocate and actor worldwide.