William Collins – Executive Director
Bill Collins of Brown City – Marlette is a naturalist and botanist who grew up in the Port Huron area. He was a nature instructor at Silver Trails Scout Reservation summer camps from 1978 through 1986. He has an Associate of Science degree from Saint Clair County Community College and graduated from Michigan State University in 1987 with a dual Bachelors of Science degree in Botany and Natural Resources Development while also following the engineering program. From 1984 through 1986 he was a Program Assistant with the Michigan Chapter of The Nature Conservancy in East Lansing, and later worked on various contract projects for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Division. He is a Life Member of the Michigan Nature Association and explored natural areas for MNA in 1988 through 1990. Bill has worked as a professional wetland consultant and ecologist since 1990, employed 8 years as a botanist and project manager with SSOE, Inc., a large architectural and engineering firm in Troy, Michigan, and since 1998 with his own consulting firm, Huron Ecologic, LLC. In his capacity as a private consultant, he has encouraged and helped local governments and individuals preserve high quality natural areas. Bill and his wife, Cheryl, have been very active in promoting the protection of natural areas and rare species throughout the region, including Michigan Endangered Painted Trillium, a rare woodland wildflower that is now known only from Saint Clair County in all of Michigan.
Blake Short – Program Assistant
Blake Short of Port Huron is a naturalist who began working with the TLC as a Program Assistant in May of 2022. Among other projects, Blake led our annual stewardship on the Bidwell Sanctuary, clearing much of the new coastal park trail in 2022, the Dead End Woods Sanctuary, the Deerfield Preserve in Huron County, the North Street Station, and the Tranquil Ridge Sanctuary. In 2022, he represented the TLC at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Port Huron State Game Area Day in September, and assisted in the nomination of properties for State acquisition through the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund. In February of 2023, he represented the TLC as a participant in the North American Waterfowl Management Plan Committee meeting.
Blake grew up in the Lakeport area, actually right across from our Bidwell Sanctuary where he wandered as a kid. With family roots in West Virginia, he returned there in his early 20’s, which got him very connected with the natural world. He returned to Michigan and attended Ferris State University where he earned a BS degree in Environmental Biology. While at Ferris State, he was Vice President and Project Manager of the Mycology Club, culturing various fungi, leading field trips, and collecting mushrooms in the nearby Manistee National Forest. Returning to Port Huron, he was a summer intern with the Friends of the Saint Clair River, working on science communications and stewardship. He was also employed full-time growing gourmet mushrooms for Give and Grow Mushrooms in Chesterfield Township in Macomb County, but now working for Huron Ecologic as a wetland consultant. In his spare time, Blake does a lot of mushroom collecting, especially in the Port Huron State Game Area. He grew up sailing and still takes a small boat out on Lake Huron. He is also a musician, playing guitar and mandolin, particularly Americana and Blue Grass.
