Mission of Asylum Lake Preservation Association

To serve, protect, and restore Asylum Lake Preserve as a high-quality ecosystem through active stewardship, public engagement, and environmental advocacy. Through this work, we ensure the integrity of the nature preserve for passive recreation, education and research, and – above all – for nature itself.

board members

Wendy Denning | Tom Howes (Secretary) | Judy Huxmann (Treasurer) | Josh Kieser (Chair) | Sharon Koole | Jimmy Lane | Dok Stevens

Previous board members: Paul Scott, David Nesius, Lauri Holmes, Susan Andress, John Kreuzer, Sherry Sims, Will Hazen, Mark Hoffmann, and Donna Tellam.

How ALPA Began

The Asylum Lake Preservation Association (ALPA) formed in December 1990 when citizens across Kalamazoo united to oppose Western Michigan University's proposal to build a business, research, and light industrial park on land south of Parkview Avenue –including parcels that legislative conveyance restrictions reserved for public park, recreation, or open space use. Through petition drives gathering thousands of signatures, packed City Commission and Board of Trustees meetings, a cable-access television program, and a city-wide telephone survey, ALPA rallied neighborhood associations, environmental groups, students, and elected officials. The coalition even researched and wrote its own counter-proposal for a more appropriate "research-only" park – all to oppose a plan that permitted manufacturing, truck traffic, and development on the protected Asylum Lake property WMU had promised to leave untouched. Our grass-roots effort continues today alongside City and State leaders, and there's much more to the story. Check out the links below to go more in depth.