At the start of January, the Kalamazoo County parks department will take over management of the Asylum Lake Preserve from Western Michigan University.
This after the Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners voted to approve the stewardship transfer Wednesday.
Before the vote, board vice chair John Taylor stated the transfer would be a boon for the county and WMU.
"I think that us having that in the park's repertoire within the city of Kalamazoo in conjunction saving operational dollars for Western Michigan University because we have the expertise to run a preserve. I think it's a win-win-win situation," Taylor said
"If ever there is a positive headline that comes out of this county commissioner meeting, it's going to be this."
The agreement has a three-year term, with WMU hoping to also transfer ownership of the preserve to the county within that time.
The university plans to seek state legislation to accomplish this.
The WMU Board of Trustees approved the transfer agreement last week, stating that managing the preserve was not a part of its core mission.
