Established in 2008, this 79-acre preserve, located in Mecosta Township, Mecosta County, was received from the estate of Alyce J. Peterson, a long-time Mecosta County resident, who wanted her property to be protected as a wildlife sanctuary.
A farm house and several outbuildings that once constituted the Peterson Family farmstead have been removed. The one remaining pole building on the property has been renovated as a picnic pavilion. A small grassed parking area is located on the NE corner of the preserve, off 180th Avenue. Numerous old apple trees from an abandoned orchard dot the property especially near the site of the farmstead.
Peterson Natural Area offers mostly open habitat. A small stream from from the northeast boundary of the preserve to the west boundary before joining with the Muskegon River approximately 2/3 mile to the west. On the west half of the property, the stream is bordered by mature hardwood trees including maple, beech, and birch. A wet meadow near the center of the property offers some of the best pollinator habitat of any CWC preserve with more than 30 species of summer wildflowers and 20 species of butterflies having been identified. The preserve is also habitat for deer, wild turkey, reptiles and amphibians, and a number of grassland and woodland bird species. A pine plantation along the north boundary has frequently hosted a nesting pair of red-tailed hawks.
Peterson Natural Area provides easy access to the Fred Meijer White Pine Trail State Park which passes just east of the preserve.
