GTRLC 25th Anniversary

PHOTO BY DREW SMITH

THE GR A ND TR AVER SE R EGIONAL L A ND CONSERVA NCY ’S FIR ST 25 Y EAR S

Protecting significant natural, scenic and farm lands, and advancing stewardship – now and for all future generations.

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy | 25TH ANNIVERSARY

GRAND TRAVERSE REGIONAL LAND CONSERVANCY

Protecting significant natural, scenic and farm lands, and advancing stewardship - now and for all future generations.

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy | 25th Anniversary

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Love the land. Pass it on.

Letter from Glen Chown, Executive Director I remember the day like it was yesterday. It hardly seems possible that twenty-five years ago, the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy became operational with a staff of one led by a board of committed community volunteers who all shared a passion for land conservation.

The marching orders from the leadership of our founder, Rotary Charities, were to “hit the ground running.” With the region changing rapidly, the sense of urgency was palpable. People were very worried that we could “kill the goose that laid the golden egg” if we were not careful and vigilant.

The sense of excitement was also tremendous. We knew that we could make a positive and lasting difference if we just rolled up our sleeves and brought the community together. People were ready for action, and we knew our focused mission of protecting land forever would resonate. Truth be told, none of us, even yours truly, could have imagined just how much we would accomplish in these first two and half decades.

More to the point, none of this would have been possible without the steadfast leadership of our board, without our incredibly committed and talented staff, without landowners willing to protect their land forever, without hard-working volunteers, without voters who supported ballot initiatives to protect land, without terrific governmental and non-governmental partners, and last but not least, without the support of more than 14,000 different private donors over the years. Without all of these individuals and their combined efforts, Rotary’s bold vision could not have been realized.

Over the course of our history, this adds up to more than 75 million private dollars contributed toward land protection projects that in turn have leveraged an additional 105 million public dollars from sources such as the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund. Folks, that’s a total of $180 million to save land precious to all of us, and not just for now, but forever.

A different set of numbers likewise reveals just how noteworthy these accomplishments are. We’ve permanently protected more than 39,000 acres through close to 500 individual land protection projects for an average of nearly 20 projects per year.

As impressive as these numbers are, the stories of courage, creativity, and determination behind these land protection accomplishments are even more compelling. This special anniversary publication provides a glimpse at what we have been able to accomplish with your support these past twentyfive years. It has been good to relive these memories and revisit some of the heroic deeds by individuals and community partners as we look ahead. We will no doubt draw upon many important “lessons learned” as we move forward to face the challenges of the next five years, the next twenty-five years, and beyond. Indeed, the next five years may well be the most exciting we’ve seen yet, and I look forward to sharing our strategic vision and direction in the coming months.

In the meantime, I want to pause and give special thanks to Art Bukowski for skillfully interviewing over forty people to capture and tell these stories in such a compelling manner and to all those who shared their time and memories with us. I also want to thank Nate Richardson for creating the infographics that help tell our story and Mike Okma, Chris Sullivan, and Kathy Partin for carefully combing through years-old data. For the gorgeous photography, thanks go to Drew Smith, Nate Richardson, Kathy Partin, Angie Lucas, the late Ted Cline and many more. Last but not least, I want to thank Jennifer Jay for her leadership in steering a communications program that has become one of the very best of any land trust in the United States.

Together, we are leaving perhaps the greatest gift we can give to future generations. We all need the tonic of unspoiled places and the respite of the great outdoors. John Muir eloquently described this as “Places to play in and places to pray in.” Or, as we at the Conservancy like to say in celebrating our twenty-fifth anniversary this year, “Love the land.

Pass it on.”

My lasting thanks to each and every one of you for making it all possible!

Glen Chown Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy | 25th Anniversary

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PHOTO BY DREW SMITH

Table of Contents

CHAPTER ONE The Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy is Born

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A Coming Storm

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The Watersheds of Acme and Whitewater 73

GTRLC Is Born

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Maple Bay 78

CHAPTER THREE Bigger and Bolder

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Chown Arrives 10

The Coastal Campaign

Success Out of the Gates

Rec Authority 104

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Conservation Easements 108 CHAPTER TWO The First Decade

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Glacial Hills 113 Elberta Dunes 117

Pyatt Lake 18

Arcadia Marsh 121

A ‘High Tea’ at Crystal Lake

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Acme Shoreline 126

Reffitt Nature Preserve

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Pelizzari Natural Area

St. Clair–Six Mile and the Chain of Lakes

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Old Mission PDR

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132

Misty Acres 139 Timbers and Long Lake Island

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Seven Bridges 46

CHAPTER FOUR Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

153

Railroad Point 53

Positioned for Success

157

Antrim Creek 41

A “Pearl” in Benzie County

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Fruithaven 65

Looking Ahead 160 CHAPTER FIVE By the Numbers

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy | 25th Anniversary

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V Table of Contents

PHOTO BY TED CLINE

CHAPTER 01

The Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy is Born

CHAPTER 01

PHOTO BY TED CLINE

Clarissa Marckwald donated an easement on her property near the Old Mission Peninsula’s gorgeous Neahtawanta Point.

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Love the land. Pass it on.

Wayne Kladder has always found peace in the woods.

In early 1971, Kladder packed up his life in Kalamazoo and moved to Traverse City in a conscious effort to immerse himself in the region’s natural beauty.

Like so many others before and since, he simply felt too constricted among the sprawl that slowly and irreversibly consumed the lower half of the state. Woods and fields gave way to strip malls and apartment complexes, each year faster than the year before.

Once Kladder settled into his new life up north, he couldn’t have been happier. Here was his paradise.

Here was the place where a beautiful bay shined through mixed northern forests. Here was room to stretch out and take regular walks through vast expanses of woods or fields that sat just a stone’s throw from town. Here were unencumbered open spaces that gave residents clear views of their spectacular surroundings.

But it wasn’t all that long before Kladder started to notice changes – troubling changes. Paths once open to walking were closed in preparation for development. Pristine shoreline took on a different look as large homes began to pop up along the bay and inland lakes. Strip malls, subdivisions and other harbingers of unchecked downstate growth became more and more common.

Paradise, it seemed, was for sale.

“I saw the land and the shoreline being gobbled up with houses, and all of this restricted land where you couldn’t walk anymore,” said Kladder, a longtime teacher. “It was just such an uncomfortable thing.”

PARADISE, IT SEEMED, WAS FOR SALE.

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy | 25th Anniversary

Kladder, now 70, is one of the founders of the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy, which celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2016.

The organization that has since protected more than 39,000 acres across five counties began when enough people were troubled by those same changes Kladder noticed. Fortunately, they decided to do something about it.

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CHAPTER 01

“SO THE QUESTION BECAME: WHAT SHOULD WE DO TO COLLECTIVELY PROTECT OUR IDENTITY AND THE UNIQUE VALUE OF THE GRAND TRAVERSE BAY AND REGION?”

A Coming Storm By the time Rob Collier got to town in 1989, the region’s future growth was the hottest of hot topics. Collier was hired as executive director of Rotary Charities, a non-profit public foundation with ties to the larger Rotary Club of Traverse City.

There was much to do. Rotary had recently purchased the struggling Park Place Hotel and was involved in efforts to revitalize downtown, which was on the ropes as businesses and shops closed or moved elsewhere. But Rotarians knew that to ensure a strong and vibrant future for the region, efforts to boost prosperity downtown needed to be paired with similar efforts to protect and safeguard the beautiful landscape that surrounds it.

“You have all these little townships and these elected officials, who very often were well-meaning citizens, oftentimes farmers,” she said. “All of a sudden a farmer decides to sell his land that has a gorgeous ridge, and what’s put in front of them? A huge, thick complex proposal with legalese all through it. People didn’t feel like they were equipped to say no.”

Local surgeon and World War II pilot Ted Cline, a Rotarian, ran an aerial photography business known for capturing stunning images of the region’s beauty. After becoming upset at what seemed to be unchecked growth in the region, he gathered as many images as he could – and showed them to anyone willing to look. pressures

The landscape was in jeopardy – that much was clear. But what was especially troubling was how fast, and to some degree how inevitable, the changes seemed. The Grand Traverse region had been relatively sleepy for generations, but a rush of activity “There were a lot of new in the seventies and eighties saw happening at the time, and there was farms transformed into commercial “He was incensed that this area, corridors and housing developments where everything was built upon just so much pressure to develop.” pop up at a substantially faster rate our beauty, was being overrun,” than ever before.

Collier said. “He was watching all of this sprawl, and he gave a slideshow The Grand Traverse Mall, which opened its first phase in 1991, was a presentation to Rotary and other organizations centerpiece of the latest push of commercial development along major all around town. That really was an alarm bell.” corridors – a push that rattled people.

To make matters worse, some areas that were “There were a lot of new pressures happening at the time, and there was the most unique – particularly Old Mission just so much pressure to develop,” said Deb Fellows, owner and publisher Peninsula – seemed the most at risk as of Traverse Magazine. “The big mall went in, and that really sparked a development continued to boom. conversation about how everyone needs to participate in the dialogue of how growth should happen.”

“Many people were simply accepting that the peninsula was going to be a bedroom Fellows, who published the first issue of her magazine in 1981, always community, that development was just going had a keen interest in land use and growth issues. She recalls that many to domino all the way out,” said Rob Manigold, people felt “powerless” to stop these changes, both on a comprehensive a longtime peninsula farmer and former and project-by-project basis. The collective push of development was Peninsula Township supervisor. “Farmers overwhelming, and the green lights that allowed it were granted weren’t even replanting. They were just by dozens of governmental boards who could be easily swayed by a waiting for the thing to engulf them.” sophisticated development team that pressed for zoning changes.

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Love the land. Pass it on.

So bit by bit, corridor by corridor, field by field, longtime residents and visitors saw the Grand Traverse region they knew becoming something different altogether. As development continued, the region’s unique character was increasingly imperiled.

“People were really concerned,” Collier said. “They all were worried we were going to become just like any other community in Michigan. So the question became: What should we do to collectively protect our identity and the unique value of the Grand Traverse Bay and region?”

This photo, taken by Ted Cline, shows early development in Acme Township.

PHOTO BY TED CLINE

CHAPTER 01

Ted Cline was known for his dazzling aerial shots, such as this of Old Mission Peninsula.

PHOTO BY TED CLINE

CHAPTER 01

Ted Cline was instrumental in documenting growth throughout the Traverse City region.

GTRLC is Born With all of these concerns in mind, Rotary Club leaders tasked Collier with examining the feasibility of a land conservancy in the Grand Traverse region. The idea wasn’t entirely groundbreaking, as the Leelanau Conservancy and Little Traverse Conservancy had been in operation since 1988 and 1972, respectively.

The Grand Traverse conservancy would need to cover a large area – Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska and Antrim counties were the first targeted; Manistee was brought into the fold several years later – and Collier worked tirelessly in 1990 to assemble an exploratory committee with several representatives from each county.

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“We recognized right away that this needed to be a multi-county effort, and there was a deliberate effort to reach out and get folks from the outlying counties,” he said. “We talked to a lot of people, and we looked for people who understood the value this conservancy would bring.”

Kladder, who was one of the people tapped by Collier to be on the steering committee, was eager to get involved. He had already begun researching the viability of a conservancy when Collier came calling.

“Even as early as the seventies, people were saying this town was growing too fast, that we need to slow it down. This was a common conversation people were having – we need to preserve and protect,” he said. “I remember someone saying to me at the time

Love the land. Pass it on.

GTRLC FOUNDING BOARD MEMBERS

George A. Ball

Leaders of the neighboring conservancies – Brian Price at Leelanau, Tom Bailey and Tom Lagerstrom at Little Traverse – advised Collier’s committee as it worked. They also consulted heavily with Glen Chown, the young associate director of land protection at Little Traverse.

Gilbert A. Bogley R.T. Curran Frances Eaton

“We all realized we were not starting from scratch; we could benefit from their expertise and their experiences as they were getting started,” Collier said. “They were incredibly helpful because they essentially gave us their system – they really showed us how to do it right.”

Wally Edwards Deborah Fellows Conrad Friedemann

But there were substantial challenges faced by the new regional conservancy that weren’t shared by these other organizations, at least not to the same degree. There’s always been a measure of tension between Traverse City and surrounding communities, and Collier recalls that plenty of people in the outlying counties were wary of what was perceived as a land grab by power brokers in Traverse City.

Alice E. Hincamp Jack Hood Wayne Kladder David Mahan Foster McCool

These tensions reflected the significant cultural and socio-economic differences between the far-flung communities GTRLC would try to unite.

The mindset and priorities of someone on the shores of Crystal Lake can be quite different than those of someone in rural Kalkaska County, and getting people to pull in the same direction wasn’t a sure thing.

Mollie Rogers Dick Smith Virginia M. Sorenson

“I remember there was a huge amount of discussion about why someone on Old Mission would donate for something happening in Benzie County,” Fellows said. “The messaging was going to be very, very challenging.”

Mark Stone Lou Ann Taylor Robert L. Weisbrodt Bill Wiess

James G. Young

PHOTO BY TED CLINE

Joseph Whelan

Rotary leaders, while on board with the need for a conservancy, also were very insistent about it operating completely independent of Rotary as soon as possible. This sentiment was reflected in the initial startup grant – despite Collier’s request for $300,000, the foundation’s board approved only a total of $100,000 spread across three years in decreasing amounts of $50,000, $30,000 and $20,000.

“I REMEMBER SOMEONE SAYING TO ME AT that we should have started a conservancy 20 years ago. Of course my response was, ‘Well, let’s start it now, and in 20 years hopefully we’ll have accomplished a lot.’”

Fellows, whose magazine had already extensively covered the work of the Little Traverse and Leelanau conservancies, also served on Collier’s committee. As another person who relocated here from downstate, she jumped at the opportunity to get involved.

“People have been coming to Northern Michigan to celebrate and to grieve and to heal and to relax and reconnect for hundreds of years, but it’s our generation that decided that lots of us ought to be living here (full time),” she said. “And that’s fine, I have no issue with that – unless you complain and don’t participate in being a good steward.”

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy | 25th Anniversary

THE TIME THAT WE SHOULD HAVE STARTED A CONSERVANCY 20 YEARS AGO. OF COURSE MY RESPONSE WAS, ‘WELL, LET’S START IT NOW, AND IN 20 YEARS HOPEFULLY WE’LL HAVE ACCOMPLISHED A LOT.’”

“All of us knew the conservancy would succeed only if individuals in our area realized the value and embraced it. It was not going to succeed merely as a project of Rotary Charities,” Collier said. “And we really hoped that this was something that both the seasonal visitors to the Grand Traverse Region would positively respond to, as well as permanent residents who wanted to make sure the beauty of the area was preserved.”

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CHAPTER 01

PHOTO BY MIKE OKMA

Chown Arrives An organization in its early years is only as good as the leadership that steers it, Collier knew. Many of those who served on his exploratory committee would go on to serve as the founding board members, but a full-time executive director was needed – and the choice could make or break the fledgling organization.

Glen Chown arrived at the Little Traverse Conservancy in 1988 to serve as the associate director of land protection. He came from the Virginia chapter of the Nature Conservancy, and Little Traverse hired him specifically to start the first conservation easement program in the state.

Collier was convinced early on that Chown, who provided ample direction to both Collier and his steering committee, was the man to lead GTRLC. Here was someone with experience, passion and drive. The committee interviewed several candidates, but Chown was the only one who had sufficient experience in both land conservation and fundraising.

“He really had all of the right boxes checked for what we knew we needed for the director of a new conservancy,” Collier said. “And he came across as a really passionate believer and one who can get folks excited about the issues.”

Fellows, who had covered the Little Traverse Conservancy for her magazine, knew that Chown had learned from the best when he worked under LTC Executive Director Tom Bailey.

“Glen had been working with Tom for so long, and we knew Tom got it,” she said. “We knew Tom understood Northern Michigan, we knew he knew the dynamics, and we knew Glen had been so intimately involved in that, and there just wouldn’t need to be any time getting up to speed.”

But Chown needed to be wooed. A native of Bay City, he had grown to enjoy the unspoiled character of the Little Traverse region. To him, Traverse City might as well have been Brooklyn, and he wasn’t eager to make a move.

“I was very negative about the idea,” Chown said. “There’s an attitude up there – at least there was at the time – that Traverse City was just this sprawling urban jungle and that it was getting overdeveloped really quickly.”

Collier tried hard to convince Chown of the Grand Traverse area’s beauty, but ultimately it was a remark from a friend

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“HE REALLY HAD ALL OF THE RIGHT BOXES CHECKED FOR WHAT WE KNEW WE NEEDED FOR THE DIRECTOR OF A NEW CONSERVANCY,” COLLIER SAID. “AND HE CAME ACROSS AS A REALLY PASSIONATE BELIEVER AND ONE WHO CAN GET FOLKS EXCITED ABOUT THE ISSUES.”

Love the land. Pass it on.

A view from the beautiful easement donated by Steven and Oscar Kraft.

Steven (left) and Oscar Kraft

that was a tipping point in his decision. The friend, Wil Cwikiel, impressed upon Chown that the untested Grand Traverse organization needed strong leadership if it were to succeed – and that it might not ever be resurrected should it fail.

“He basically said, ‘Let me put it to you in very simple terms, Glen. Little Traverse Conservancy will be fine whether you leave or not.

They’re an institution and they have staying power. If you want to make a mark, go down there – this is a one shot deal,’” Chown recalled.

Collier and company were thrilled when Chown finally agreed to helm the new conservancy.

“Glen didn’t make it easy. He really put us through a dating process,” Collier said, chuckling as he recalled the courtship.

“But we were thrilled when he said yes.”

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy | 25th Anniversary

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CHAPTER 01

Success Out of the Gates Marckwald’s gorgeous 43-acre property near the peninsula’s Neahtawanta Point. He also helped Joe and Gloria Whelan protect their 180-acre property along Kalkaska County’s Oxbow Lake. Both easements were finalized by December of 1990.

Meanwhile, Collier himself worked with the Kraft family to protect about 25 acres of their property at Watervale in southern Benzie County. Chown advised Collier throughout this process, which resulted in an easement being donated to Rotary with the understanding that it would be transferred to GTRLC once the new organization’s paperwork was finalized.

This work, specifically the Kraft easement, was completed with the goal of being able to announce the new organization with some work already under the belt.

“Momentum was already underway (when we started GTRLC), and I think that helped Glen and the new board in telling the story of why this was going to be so important,” Collier said. “The game plan was to come out of the chute with a new organization, a dynamic young director and our first conservation easement done.”

“IN DOING WHAT THEY DID, THOSE Joe and Gloria Whelan at their Oxbow Lake property.

PEOPLE REALLY HELPED FOUND THE CONSERVANCY.”

GTRLC was incorporated on April 9, 1991, and Chown officially started work that June. But in a few critically important ways, he started work much sooner. Even as the earliest discussions surrounding a new conservancy were ongoing, Collier and Chown worked to secure conservation easements in what would become GTRLC territory.

Not long after he started work at LTC, Chown had hosted a few seminars about conservation easements as part of LTC’s goal of starting the first easement program in Michigan.

Attending those seminars were representatives from three families – the Marckwalds, the Whelans and the Krafts – who would become among the first in the entire state to place conservation easements on their land.

While still on staff at LTC and with the help of the all-volunteer Old Mission Conservancy – a group that would later merge with GTRLC – Chown secured an easement on Clarissa

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All three easements were subsequently transferred to the GTRLC for monitoring. Chown remains impressed with Collier, who had the vision to seek out easements as part of a broader effort to convince community leaders that locals were ready to buy in to a conservancy.

“Rob really was brilliant,” Chown said. “He used those to emphasize that there was pent-up demand.”

Chown also is eternally grateful to the Marckwalds, Whelans and Krafts for being the “trailblazers” who gave his fledgling organization much needed momentum.

“In doing what they did, those people really helped found the Conservancy,” he said.

Love the land. Pass it on.

CHAPTER 02

The First Decade

CHAPTER 02

An early strategic planning session was held at the Lamson cottage in Neahtawanta.

“OUR FIRST BOARDS REALLY WERE AMBASSADORS OUT THERE ON THE FRONT LINES,” CHOWN SAID. “EVERYONE WAS OPENING DOORS FOR ME.”

As the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy dove headlong into its first year of operations, its lone employee knew the stakes were high.

Momentum is always important to an organization, but it’s arguably never more critical than in the formative years when any strategic mistake – even a small one – could mean a fatal setback. So Chown, then 30, hit the ground running. No time to slow down, no time to mess up.

“In those early times, we were constantly creating momentum – with members, with projects, with speaking engagements,

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with articles in the Record-Eagle,” Chown said.

“If we had stumbled, there could have been big problems. So that’s where it was on me to get a track record of success and build on it continuously.”

Luckily, the opportunities were seemingly everywhere. Chown worked off a long list – compiled by Collier and others – of area landowners who expressed a desire to protect their land.

Before GTRLC, these people had no local organization with which to work.

“There was a lot of pent-up demand, and there was certainly no shortage of projects,” he said. “We were in a very reactive, opportunistic period.”

By late October 1991 – less than five months after Chown started work – GTRLC had formalized protection of roughly 450 acres and was feverishly working on several other deals.

Love the land. Pass it on.

“There was a lot of pent-up demand, and there was certainly no shortage of projects,” he said. “We were in a very reactive, opportunistic period.”

By the end of 1992, the tally topped 1,000 acres. Projects came from every corner of GTRLC’s coverage area, allowing Chown to establish important relationships across the region.

“Our first boards really were ambassadors out there on the front lines,” Chown said. “Everyone was opening doors for me.”

Early board members and other stakeholders took part in a “We were fortunate that it was pretty balanced – there was tremendously important strategic session in mid-1992 in the ripe fruit in every county – so that we were starting to build fabled Old Mission Peninsula summer enclave of Neahtawanta. a narrative of being At the Victorian-era active across our entire cottage of the Lamson Staff in 1993 in front of the Third Street headquarters. From left to right, Jim Carruthers, service area,” Chown family, they sat Darla Looze, Paul Bennington, Birgit Yetter and Glen Chown. said. “That’s how you down to flesh out the build support.” mission and vision of the organization.

GTRLC’s first board of directors, assembled At that early meeting, largely from members led by Hood, it was of Collier’s exploratory determined that committee, was farmland protection immensely important to would indeed be a part operations in the early of GTRLC’s mission. days. Since Chown was “We had some board the only staff member members who felt for several months and strongly that we should one of only a handful for only protect natural the first few years, those land,” Chown recalled. early boards were heavy “But there were other on management. They people who felt that the handled bookkeeping, scenic and farmland mailing and other duties, elements of our area freeing Chown to do were worth protecting… what they really needed ultimately, enough him to do – lock up as people really made a many protection projects persuasive case about as possible. the importance of our “Back then, we had a agricultural land base.” management board by And ready for service necessity,” Chown said. was Ted Cline, the “They just wanted me retired surgeon and to go out there to raise Rotarian who ran the money, raise awareness aerial photography and do land deals. And business. Cline would I couldn’t have done it Jack Hood, speaking, is surrounded by Chown and other early board members, including serve GTRLC heavily in without them.”

Wally Edwards and Lou Ann Taylor, at an early board meeting. its first decade, taking Founding board aerial pictures of the chairman Jack Hood, a retired school administrator and region’s beauty in general, along with specific projects. These longtime advocate of land protection, became one of photos helped raise awareness and were particularly useful Chown’s closest mentors. He and other board members were in fundraising. instrumental in putting Chown in contact with key community leaders, donors and interested landowners.

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy | 25th Anniversary

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CHAPTER 02

“He was literally in my office my first week,” Chown recalls. “He didn’t want to be on the board or anything like that, but he told me he’d be my eyes in the sky. His service was really important to us in those early years.”

Starting in the first few years and continuing for more than a decade, GTRLC used a membership system as the primary means of fundraising for general operations. Among other methods, members were initially solicited through letterwriting campaigns.

“It’s true, we had mailbags in the bathtub,” chuckled Birgit Yetter, who hired on with GTRLC in mid-1992 and remains -on staff, serving as director of finance and administration.

Yetter, who grew up in Germany and was still getting a grip on English when she joined the Conservancy, was initially hired as a bookkeeper. She fondly recalls the vital support of early board member as GTRLC gained its footing.

“They were just a super, super group of people,” she said. “They were really encouraging and confident and excited to help us.”

During these campaigns, “It’s true, we had mailbags in the bathtub,” established and influential local residents – Frank Stulen chuckled Birgit Yetter, who hired on with and Jack Hood in Grand GTRLC in mid-1992 and remains on Chown’s energy played a big Traverse County, Mollie role in GTRLC’s early track staff, serving as director of finance Rogers in Benzie County record of success, Yetter and many more – wrote to and administration. said. He knew how to talk their friends, neighbors to pretty much everyone and fellow community he met, and he seemed members asking them to always find a way to get people of all backgrounds to support the fledgling conservancy. Letters from excited about the conservancy’s mission. such people created “instant credibility,” Chown said, and he’s forever grateful for their involvement.

“He would just be so engaging and so passionate – you could just see the passion,” she said. “His heart was in it – he worked “We had these respected community leaders actually using and worked and worked. He did the fundraising, he did the land their personal stationary to say that they were supporting protection, he did field trips – he did it all.” this new organization, and because people didn’t have any idea who I was, this was absolutely critical,” Chown said.

“This created confidence that even though we were young, with limited funding and a very short track record, we were a solid, dependable organization.”

And there was the board – and even their families – helping with these letter campaigns.

“In those early years, we all contributed – I remember Jack’s wife sitting there and stuffing envelope after envelope for hours and hours. You’d walk in there and there she was,” said Wayne Kladder, who served as board secretary.

Chown, in turn, said he couldn’t have done anything without the support of the early board and staff, as they eventually hired on. GTRLC never had more than six employees at a time during its first five years.

“It was like family,” Chown said.

The foundation was in place for a great run of land protection in the 1990s, and much of it started on one of the most unique places in the entire region – the Old Mission Peninsula.

Headquarters was, and would remain until the move in 1999 to GTRLC’s current offices, a small house on Third Street in Traverse City. The house was shared with Inland Seas Education Association, and space was tight. So tight in fact, that improvisation was necessary.

Local Artist Glenn Wolff created this print for the Pyatt Lake protection project.

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Love the land. Pass it on.

CHAPTER 02

PYATT LAKE

“He was certainly very skeptical at first,” Chown said. “But I worked him and worked him and worked him.”

Halfway up Old Mission Peninsula, less than a half mile inland from the quiet shores of Bowers Harbor, sits a place legendary for both its natural splendor and its role in GTRLC’s early history.

By the spring of 1992, Chown talked Meyer into giving GTRLC about six months to raise money to buy the most critical 61 acres around the lake. A purchase price of $75,000 was named, with $5,000 in option money due up front. That was substantially less than fair market value, and Chown to this day is thankful that Meyer recognized the importance of saving such a special place.

“I convinced him that this community really values preservation, and that this was such an incredible area – very unique,” Chown said. “To his credit, he really, really cares about this region.”

Founding GTRLC board member Frances Eaton, who had deep roots in the fabled Old Mission Peninsula summer community of Neahtawanta, covered the option expense. Eaton, a staunch believer in conservation, had been summering on Old Mission her entire life and clearly understood the importance of saving Pyatt.

PHOTO BY DREW SMITH

From an ecological perspective, Pyatt Lake is nothing short of a rare jewel. More than 250 plant species have been identified there, making it one of the most botanically diverse properties in Grand Traverse County.

As one of the last intact “wooded dune and swale” complexes in the region, the habitat it provides is both exceedingly rare and tremendously important for scores of birds, insects, mammals and more.

In what would become a familiar pattern over the years, this place would have been gone forever if not for GTRLC’s intervention and assistance.

In 1991, right around the time the Conservancy was formed, local developer Rick Meyer purchased 80 acres surrounding the lake and planned to sell off a series of 10-acre lots for home sites.

Meyer had already surveyed the property and sold one lot off, in fact, by the time Chown got a call from then-Peninsula Township Supervisor Rob Manigold. Chown was already familiar with the property, as an earlier natural resources inventory completed at the request of Grand Traverse County officials had singled out Pyatt for its ecological importance.

“We were horrified, because this was one of the highest priority properties in the entire county,” Chown said.

Chown soon got a hold of Meyer, who at first didn’t have much faith that a brand new nonprofit could raise enough money to make a serious offer.

After all, this was expensive land on a peninsula that was becoming more and more attractive to developers with each passing year.

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“I went and visited her and she wrote a check for $5,000 on the spot,” Chown said. “That was like getting a $5 million gift today, that’s how big it was – it gave us breathing room and credibility.”

But nearly $100,000 was still needed – initial infrastructure costs were added to the campaign – all within a roughly six-month time frame. A project steering committee was formed, with members of the Old Mission Conservancy – a group that would later merge with GTRLC – playing a vital role.

Former Michigan Governor Bill Milliken and former First Lady Helen Milliken served as honorary co-chairs. Local artist Glenn Wolff designed a promotional print and logo used on T-shirts sold to raise money, and various other community members stepped up to host benefit concerts and help in other ways.

Board member Wayne Kladder remembers a gathering at Ray and Marsha Minervini’s home on Old Mission. Minervini, a developer who reinvented Traverse City’s old state hospital as the wildly successful Village at Grand Traverse Commons, was one of many supporters of the Pyatt Lake project.

“I remember standing over sort of near the stairway and looking at all these folks gathered, and I thought, my goodness, look at all these Love the land. Pass it on.

“WE WERE HORRIFIED, BECAUSE THIS WAS ONE OF THE HIGHEST PRIORITY PROPERTIES IN THE ENTIRE COUNTY.”

PHOTO BY DREW SMITH

CHAPTER 02

PHOTO BY NATE RICHARDSON

people. They’re all here to preserve Pyatt Lake – it was just so exciting to see that energy,” Kladder said.

Lew Coulter, then head of the Grand Traverse Conservation District, sent a pair of letters to every home on the peninsula during the course of the campaign. Chown believes the second letter, sent in the campaign’s home stretch, struck the perfect chord.

“The first letter was very technical, wooded dune and swale, lots of science. But our second letter was much more effective,” Chown said. “Lew was inspired and wrote it from the heart with lots of emotion.”

Old Mission Elementary students, who wrote letters to the Record-Eagle in earnest in support of the project, also sold T-shirts and pop cans, an effort that netted $1,300 dollars toward the campaign. But the children’s involvement was exponentially more important than that figure, Chown said, as it attracted the attention of a man named Bill Carls.

At the time Chown got a call from Carls, the campaign was approaching its fall deadline. With only two-thirds of the money raised, Chown wasn’t resting easy. This was GTRLC’s first major project, and the stakes were high.

“We had about $30,000 to go with only 45 days left until the deadline, and I was not sleeping – literally. I was waking up at 3 a.m. pretty much every night in a cold sweat, and I’m not exaggerating,” he said. “Because if you fail on your first project, you’re toast – good luck getting anything else going.”

The German-born Carls, who was at the time nearly 90 years old, had amassed a fortune after he pioneered a specific type of pneumatic valve used in automobile manufacturing. He sold his downstate company and retired to Old Mission Peninsula not long before GTRLC’s founding. After reading about the children’s fundraising in the Record-Eagle, Carls called up Chown and invited him to his home.

Chown fondly recalls that first meeting. Carls, with his lingering German accent and fatherly demeanor, warmly welcomed Chown in and got straight to the point.

“He basically said – how much money do you need?” Chown said.

Carls agreed to provide a challenge grant of $15,000. The grant, provided through his charitable group, The Carls Foundation, would be used to provide a one-to-one match for each dollar donated to the campaign.

“That just lit the campaign on fire,” Chown said. “Once we got the word out, I think it only took about 10 more days to get us to the finish line.”

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“THIS IS WHEN THE COMMUNITY REALLY BEGAN TO LIFT THE CONSERVANCY ON ITS SHOULDERS.”

GTRLC closed on the initial 61 acres of what is now known as Pyatt Lake: The Bill Carls Nature Preserve, in December of 1992. The preserve has been expanded a whopping eight times, with The Carls Foundation providing another major gift in 2011. The preserve now measures nearly 160 acres with 1.5 miles of trail. After its initial involvement with this project, The Carls Foundation – which had previously focused almost exclusively on health care – officially added land conservation across the state as a grant-making priority.

Although the deal closed so long ago, it still continues to have a positive impact on GTRLC. More than 650 separate individuals and businesses made contributions to the campaign, and many of them are still donors to this day.

“You ask some of these donors who have never missed a year what lit the fire, and it was this project,” Chown said.

Love the land. Pass it on.

PHOTO BY NATE RICHARDSON

The Pyatt Lake fundraising template was used over and over again for future land acquisition projects. It remains a special project for Chown, who himself lives not far from the preserve.

“It’s definitely one of my favorite memories of my entire career in land conservation. I just felt like, as organization, we had arrived and we could engage the community and do big things,” he said.

“This is when the community really began to lift the conservancy on its shoulders.”

From left to right, Helen & Bill Milliken and Ray & Marsha Minervini at a gathering to raise money and awareness for Pyatt Lake.

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy | 25th Anniversary

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The main lodge at Chimney Corners, where the High Tea took place.

A ‘HIGH TEA’ AT CRYSTAL LAKE Looking back on it now, Chown is hard pressed to find a gathering more important in GTRLC’s early history – and perhaps its entire history – than the one that unfolded in the late summer of 1991 on the western shores of Crystal Lake.

Rotary Charities’ Rob Collier knew from the beginning that the new conservancy needed strong ties throughout its coverage area for it to succeed as a truly regional organization. He pushed Chown to establish connections with influential people in an effort to jumpstart fundraising and momentum.

“The direction from Rob to me was to start building relationships with opinion leaders throughout the region, and also people who were philanthropically minded – people who could make contributions and get this organization going,” Chown said.

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“There’s nothing more significant than when a friend or someone you trust speaks from the heart about why they believe in something,” Chown said.

Love the land. Pass it on.

One of those people was Mollie Rogers, a delightful chef and owner of Chimney Corners, an old-fashioned resort established in 1935 on Crystal Lake. The resort, with its rustic main lodge and collection of cozy cabins, has been a favorite gathering spot for generations of Benzie County residents and summer visitors.

Then-GTRLC board member and Benzie County summer resident Ted Curran put Chown in touch with Rogers. Chown explained that he was hoping to get the word out about GTRLC’s efforts, and Rogers suggested she host a gathering at the main lodge at Chimney Corners. Rogers was good friends with a great many people in the area, including some of the most influential, deep-pocketed and well-connected women in the county, so an event hosted by her was sure to bring the people Chown needed to speak with.

Rogers was well-respected, so if she invited you, you came.

And it surely didn’t hurt that she was all but guaranteed to dazzle your tastebuds in the process.

“Everybody absolutely loved her food,” Chown said. “She was an amazing cook, so you knew it was going to be both classy and delicious.”

So Rogers put the word out – she jokingly referred to the event as a high tea – and filled the lodge with movers and shakers, almost all of them women. Chown gave the best speech he could muster, imploring them to support GTRLC. “It was all heart – I spoke about the urgency of those development threats, and that we needed to move quickly to save the very reasons that these families had been gathering around these places for generations,” he said.

Mollie Rogers

Naomi Borwell, who would later become a major donor of money and land. She provided a $100,000 gift toward the Railroad Point Natural Area on Crystal Lake in 1995, and her family estate, Misty Acres, was given to GTRLC to be managed as a preserve and working farm.

Also in attendance was Nancy Brickman, another eventual major donor and board member who helped encourage others to support GTRLC’s work.

“Nancy is probably one of the most important volunteer fundraisers in the history of the organization, in terms of bringing people into the conservancy fold and inspiring major donations,” Chown said. “She’s all heart and soul, just a really incredible woman.”

Longtime Benzie summer residents Betty Mitchell and Julie Grainger, who had family ties to the Chicago-based Seabury and Grainger foundations, respectively, also were inspired to pledge support. Those foundations would combine to give more than $600,000 to GTRLC throughout its history.

The relationships established that day left a tremendous mark on GTRLC and helped ensure its success in Benzie County and well beyond.

Rogers, who would later “The high tea was probably more significant than any that year be invited meeting I’ve attended in the entire 25 year history of to serve on GTRLC’s this organization,” Chown said. board, also provided some words of support for the organization.

The value of her “The high tea was words of support cannot be overstated, Chown said. probably more significant than any meeting I’ve attended in “There’s nothing more significant than when a friend or someone you trust speaks from the heart about why they believe in something,” Chown said.

the entire 25-year history of this organization,” Chown said.

“If you don’t have that event, and you don’t meet all of these women, forget about Railroad Point, forget about the Coastal Campaign, forget about Misty Acres – just go down the list.”

At this high tea, Chown met several women who would become tremendously important to the Conservancy. Among them was

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy | 25th Anniversary

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REFFITT NATURE PRESERVE In those early days – and to an extent, still today – GTRLC had to convince the local community that land conservation was not at odds with business growth. An expansive nature preserve is in many ways just as important as a building that houses jobs, especially when it comes to quality of life, the region’s tourism appeal and much more.

PHOTO BY ANGIE LUCAS

But it was a hard sell, especially in a hard-charging economic climate in which perceived success was so closely tied to the pace and scope of development.

“The feeling back then with a lot of people was that development and growth were good for the economy and good for the tax base, and that preservation would just slow that down,” Chown said. “So we had to start making a case that land preservation – not everything, but certainly the last of the least and the best of the rest – would make for an even stronger economy.”

Enter a successful local businessman who always knew there was room for both, and whose gift to GTRLC created an ecologically important preserve right in the heart of town.

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“I JUST REALLY FELT IT WAS TIME TO SHARE,” HE SAID. “I WANTED THAT TO BE AVAILABLE TO ANYONE AND EVERYONE WHO WOULD RESPECT WHAT’S IN THERE.”

Paul Bennington (left) and Ron Reffitt review documents at the preserve.

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Love the land. Pass it on.

When Ron Reffitt purchased a few hundred acres of land near Three Mile Road and began to develop Peninsula Business Park in the late 1980s, he knew there was something special about a large section that included sensitive wetlands and a winding stretch of Mitchell Creek, a major East Grand Traverse Bay tributary.

“With some imagination you could go in there and develop some things, but I just didn’t really feel it was proper,” he recalled this year. “I’ve always tried to do nice things with developments, and I didn’t want to go through there and destroy all of this natural beauty.”

GTRLC’s protection of the Reffitt property dovetailed with a larger plan, spearheaded by then Grand Traverse County Drain Commissioner Maureen Kennedy Templeton, of protecting and improving the entire 15-square mile Mitchell Creek watershed.

Templeton, who now serves on GTRLC’s board, secured substantial grants from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality for both an analysis of the watershed and a plan to protect it. From those grant dollars, Templeton provided an $80,000, three-year capacity grant to GTRLC so it could hire its first full-time land protection specialist, Paul Bennington.

Besides that, Reffitt said, he wanted something that would provide enjoyment for local residents and visitors.

“I just really felt it was time to share,” he said. “I wanted that to be available to anyone and everyone who would respect what’s in there.”

From left to right, Paul Bennington, Ron Reffitt and Glen Chown at the dedication.

In 1992, Reffitt reached out to Chown with plans to donate the land to GTRLC. Chown was thrilled with the idea, and not only because of the land’s ecological importance. Reffitt was a very well-respected and successful businessman, and Chown hoped that his support of GTRLC – and of land protection – would send a clear message to the business community.

“He really understood that we need to balance; that we can’t just develop everything. We need to set aside areas too,” Chown said. “And he understood it from a businessman’s perspective – we didn’t want to kill the goose that laid the golden egg.”

Reffitt finalized his first 30-acre land gift in December of 1992, followed by another 22 acres in early 1993.

He has since provided several more additions, and the preserve, named in honor of his parents, George and Ada Reffitt, is now more than 100 acres in size.

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy | 25th Anniversary

Although Bennington’s focus was within the Mitchell Creek watershed, he also helped Chown with projects throughout the GTRLC service area. This was a massive development, as Chown had handled all such projects himself for more than a year.

“It was a real turning point in our organization, as it was the beginning of having an actual land protection team,” he said. “Overnight, it doubled the number of land protection projects we could take on.”

“He really understood that we need to balance; that we can’t just develop everything. We need to set aside areas too,” Chown said. “And he understood it from a businessman’s perspective – we didn’t want to kill the goose that laid the golden egg.”

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ST. CLAIR-SIX MILE AND THE CHAIN OF LAKES For any number of reasons, the Chain of Lakes watershed is one of the most important in the entire region. The Chain, which begins in central Antrim County and empties into Grand Traverse Bay in Elk Rapids, includes 14 interconnected lakes and rivers that drain approximately 500 square miles.

The Chain includes Elk and Torch lakes, two of the largest and deepest inland lakes in the state. Its discharge, at 180 billion gallons per year, makes up 60 percent of the surface water that flows into Grand Traverse Bay. Protection efforts there began long before GTRLC was formed. Grassroots efforts in the 1970s resulted in the state-owned Skegemog Lake Wildlife Area and the Grass River Natural Area, owned mostly by Antrim County. The Michigan chapter of The Nature Conservancy helped with the Skegemog effort and later transferred management responsibilities to GTRLC. Grass River is managed by a nonprofit organization of the same name.

“Ecologically and aesthetically, there’s no other place like it in the entire Chain of Lakes.”

Through a combination of well-placed conservation easements and preserves, GTRLC went on to protect nearly 7,000 acres throughout the Chain’s watershed. It all began in 1993 when GTRLC teamed up with the Little Traverse Conservancy to protect a special place now known as the St. Clair Lake-Six Mile Lake Natural Area.

Chown only half-jokingly refers to this preserve as the “Amazon of the North” due to its rich biodiversity and undeveloped riverine habitat. It includes land on both sides of the river that connects St. Clair and Six Mile lakes in northern Antrim County. It began with a 17-acre parcel and was expanded to its current size of 255 acres as contiguous landowners agreed to sell land.

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Love the land. Pass it on.

PHOTO BY DREW SMITH

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy | 25th Anniversary

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Love the land. Pass it on.

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy | 25th Anniversary

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“I think because Glen never gave up on us, we never gave up on ourselves,” she said. “Glen never got discouraged, and no matter what he always encouraged us – just keep trying, just keep getting out there, it will come.”

From left to right, JoAnne Beemon, Walter & Mary Lawmaster and Cherie Hogan during the fundraising campaign.

A local woman named JoAnne Beemon proved to be the “spark plug” for that effort, Chown said. Since that area of the chain straddles the Antrim-Charlevoix county lines, Beemon approached both GTRLC and the Little Traverse Conservancy, which serves Charlevoix, in an attempt to protect land in the area.

“She just thought the area was really cool from an ecological perspective, and it certainly is,” Chown said.” Ecologically and aesthetically, there’s no other place like it in the entire Chain of Lakes.”

Beemon drove home the point that more of the chain needed to be protected. Despite the successful efforts in the lower reaches, the headwaters were vulnerable.

“You’ve got Skegemog in the lower chain, Grass River in the middle of the chain, but there was nothing in the upper chain,” Chown said. “Joanne had a vision for the whole area.”

Beemon and a citizens committee worked with both conservancies to raise funds. Although Walter and Mary Lawmaster of Indiana provided a large donation in honor of their late son, the bulk of the $17,000 raised for the initial parcel was collected through textbook community-driven fundraising, with bake sales, T-shirt sales and neighbor-to-neighbor conversations all playing a role.

Cherie Hogan, president of the Six Mile Lake Association, worked closely with Beemon and others to protect the first piece, along with many additions thereafter. She vividly recalls the feeling of knowing the goal was reached and the first piece of the natural area would be protected.

“We were all pretty emotional about it. I don’t have any children, and I felt that this absolutely would be one of the most important things I ever did in my life,” she said. “As silly as that sounds, it was that important to me, and it certainly was very important to the rest of the group. We had our hearts and souls in this.”

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Hogan remains grateful for Chown’s support, especially when fundraising got particularly tough.

“I will never forget Glen’s constant support and encouragement for a bunch of crazy visionaries trying to make a difference in a tiny riverway connecting two small lakes in the Upper Chain of Lakes. I think because Glen never gave up on us, we never gave up on ourselves,” she said. “Glen never got discouraged, and no matter what he always encouraged us – Just keep trying, just keep getting out there, it will come.”

After purchasing the initial 17 acres from a man named Alan Forbes, GTRLC and LTC added nine additions throughout the 1990s and three additions since. These extra pieces involved more citizen-driven fundraising and many kitchen table conversations in the homes of a very diverse group of landowners, Chown said.

“Each landowner had a different take on that area and why it was important, but I think each of them appreciated being part of a larger vision,” he said. “They really were all characters with wildly different political and cultural views, but I think it’s clear they all understood that this was a fragile and unique place.”

Each addition was heartwarming for its own reasons, Hogan said. Everyone came together for a common goal.

“Every bit of this is an amazing story,” she said.

“The whole thing.”

St. Clair-Six Mile is one of several preserves and protection projects completed by GTRLC along the Chain. Others include the Golden Days Loon Preserve and nearby loon nursery on the north arm of Lake Bellaire, the W.L. Criger Wetland Nature Sanctuary on Torch Lake, the Palastra-Holm Nature Preserve on Elk Lake, the Arnold and Shirley Bauer & Pamela L. Polaczyk Nature Preserve near the Chain’s headwaters and several critical conservation easements.

Love the land. Pass it on.

“EVERY BIT OF THIS IS AN AMAZING STORY,” SHE SAID. “THE WHOLE THING.”

CHAPTER 02

PHOTO BY ELLIE JOHNSON

OLD MISSION PDR In the Grand Traverse Region, few things are as iconic as the Old Mission Peninsula. Its rolling fruit farms have been a core part of the region’s identity for more than a century, and generations of residents and visitors have savored the quiet solitude and scenic views there.

But by the early 1990s, the peninsula faced the very real risk of becoming completely overrun with development. Pressure to build was high – so high, in fact, that many farmers assumed their trade would be extinct within a few decades. Longtime Peninsula Township Supervisor Rob Manigold recalls the feeling of inevitability as development stormed north, threatening to “engulf” everything in its path and turn the peninsula into a suburb of Traverse City.

“Farmers felt like they were going to be the last generation of farmers,” said Manigold, himself a longtime fruit grower. “They were just going to farm until the developers bought their land.”

A monumental and groundbreaking public vote in August of 1994 saved farming on Old Mission. In the election, voters approved a 34

Gordon Hayward (left) and Rob Manigold during the PDR campaign.

millage that raised funds so the township could purchase development rights from farmers. This PDR millage was the first of its kind at a township level, and among the first publicly funded programs of its kind in the entire nation.

Among other things, GTRLC was crucial in educational efforts leading up to the election and assistance with program implementation after the vote. The Conservancy also optioned farmland prior to the vote in a public show of support for the proposal.

Love the land. Pass it on.

Chown and Manigold do not mince words when they speak of the importance of the election in terms of the future of farming on Old Mission.

“Had it not passed, I honestly believe farming would have totally collapsed. We would have lost the peninsula,” Chown said. “It was like the Alamo – everything was on the line.”

It all began when Manigold was elected in 1988 on a platform of land preservation. By that time, much of the waterfront property had already been developed, and farmland was squarely in developers’ sights.

“Most people, if they couldn’t live on the water, they really wanted those lots with a view – and those were all in prime agricultural areas,” Manigold said.

Conversations, surveys and studies showed that the peninsula’s non-farmers weren’t necessarily concerned about the potential death of farming on the peninsula, Hayward said, but they did place a very high value on the preservation of scenic views.

Luckily, it wasn’t hard to explain that preserving farmland would be a key element of protecting those scenic views.

But despite all the potential benefits, the proposed program was controversial, especially among those who equated development with progress.

“HAD IT NOT PASSED, I HONESTLY BELIEVE FARMING WOULD HAVE TOTALLY COLLAPSED. WE WOULD HAVE LOST THE PENINSULA,” CHOWN SAID. “IT WAS LIKE THE ALAMO – EVERYTHING WAS ON THE LINE.”

When he was running for supervisor, Manigold became aware of a PDR program at a county in Pennsylvania, one of a very few in the entire nation.

Not long after election, he began what became a multiyear effort to study the feasibility of, and potentially establish, such a program in Peninsula Township.

The township hired Gordon Hayward as zoning and planning administrator, and he and Manigold thoroughly researched PDR. They brought in two administrators from other programs around the country, and held a series of meetings to determine if there would be enough interest to support the program.

Farmers were very skeptical at first, Manigold said, but began to come around. A farmer who sold his development rights would receive a substantial payment to reinvest in farming operations, making continuation of farming economically viable. Their land, absent development rights, would also then be taxed at a lower tax rate. Last but certainly not least, farmers would have the peace of mind of knowing their land - often farmed for generations - would remain protected.

Farmers own more than half the acreage of Old Mission, but collectively have only a tiny fraction of the voting power in Peninsula Township. As such, non-farmers would need to support PDR for it to pass.

“We were going down two roads at once. The farmers had to know that it would make sense and work for them, but the residential community also needed to understand that they would benefit as well,” Manigold said.

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy | 25th Anniversary

“Sometimes I’d be really ripped. People would say you’re slowing us down, you’re making it harder to develop,” Manigold said. “At one point, people were accusing Gordon and myself of being communists.”

Manigold and Hayward even faced an uphill battle with the township board, which took three years of pressing to finally agree to place a PDR election on the ballot in August of 1994.

Voters would be asked to approve 1.25 mills for 10 years.

A citizens’ group quickly formed to campaign for millage approval. GTRLC and the township could not directly campaign for the millage, as the law bars governments and nonprofits from doing so. What GTRLC could and did do, however, was work heavily to educate the public about the multiple benefits of protecting farmland.

The citizens group campaigned door-to-door and created road signs and print materials, often with educational elements provided by GTRLC. “The citizens group and the Conservancy, we simply couldn’t have done it without them,” Manigold said.

GTRLC also stuck its neck out in support of PDR by securing a development rights purchase option on a prominent farm in hopes that the election would pass and the township would complete the purchase. The farm, owned by Ward and Walter Johnson, was a large and prominent farm off Center Road near Bowers Harbor.

“It made it more real – if you’re a voter, you can be skeptical and wonder if it’s going to work. But with this, we’re able to say – here’s a farm you drive by every day, with hundreds of acres, that will be forever protected if this passes.”

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Love the land. Pass it on.

PHOTO BY DREW SMITH

CHAPTER 02

As Manigold and Chown look back on it, another twist of fate – something completely out of their control that happened at the perfect time – swayed peninsula residents in favor of farmland preservation. In the late spring of 1994, work crews were in the earliest stages of clearing land for what is now a large housing development on the west side of Center Road north of McKinley.

“They quite literally were bulldozing the trees in full bloom, on this very visible and beloved farm, and then they were torching them in these massive piles, with all of these white blossoms – you can just imagine the image,” Chown said. “The psychological effect it had on people on the peninsula was tremendous.

People were calling the office in tears.”

GTRLC has provided substantial technical assistance to the township as it administers the PDR program and also purchased development right options for several farms as owners awaited the township’s PDR money. In 1997, GTRLC also helped secure development rights on 50 acres of critical land across Center Road from the Underwood development.

Here was a very real and ugly example of the destruction of farmland, and it gave Chown, Manigold and others a great chance to again hammer home the importance of farmland preservation.

The vote was a close one, but what became the first township PDR in the country passed on August 2 of that year. Farmers began to enroll right away, and 15 farms totaling nearly 1,000 acres were protected by late 1997, with nearly 1,000 more acres in application.

In short, farming was saved.

“When people realized there was going to be farmland, they started planting again,” Manigold said. “And that’s when then the grape industry really started to flourish.”

Around the same time the township’s program passed, Chateau Grand Traverse owner Ed O’Keefe was one of the first two farmers in Michigan to sell development rights to the state through what was then a largely underutilized state program designed to protect farmland. Several additional vineyards were subsequently protected, this time using the newly established township PDR program.

In 2002, voters overwhelmingly approved an extension and expansion of the township program, validating the efforts of those who believed in the importance of farmland protection.

“When people realized there was going to be farmland, they started planting again,” Manigold said. “And that’s when then the grape industry really started to flourish.”

Ward (left) and Walter Johnson. GTRLC secured an option on the farm in anticipation of a successful PDR millage.

Known as the “Gateway Project,” this acquisition prevented a series of large condos from being built within the first major panoramic view of East Grand Traverse Bay, seen as one crests the hill near McKinley Road. A hefty price of roughly $500,000 meant protecting that land would have exhausted the township’s PDR funds, but GTRLC was instrumental in securing foundation grants, individual donations and other funding. Not only did this allow the PDR program to focus on saving hundreds of additional acres in other areas of the peninsula, it also saved one of the most iconic views in Northern Michigan.

“Imagine your experience of driving out on the Old Mission Peninsula. Instead of arriving at that fantastic view with agriculture and the beautiful bay, you’d be looking at more than a dozen massive condos,” Chown said.

“The truth was in the second PDR millage request,” Manigold said.

“We just squeaked the vote by in 1994, but the second one really showed us the community understood it and they liked what we were doing.”

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Love the land. Pass it on.

This Ted Cline photo shows piles of cherry trees being burned in preparation for a housing development.

PHOTO BY ELLIE JOHNSON

CHAPTER 02

PHOTO BY DREW SMITH

ANTRIM CREEK Throughout its history, GTRLC has helped local municipalities secure a total of more than $60 million in Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grants. The trust fund, in place since 1976, takes money earned from the sale and lease of state-owned mineral and gas rights and grants it to municipalities to acquire and develop lands for public recreation.

Although what became the Antrim Creek Natural Area in Antrim County wasn’t the Conservancy’s first MNRTF project, it was among the most significant of the 1990s because of its size, price tag and tremendous importance to the surrounding community.

The 153 acres that became Antrim Creek made up one of the largest remaining privately held parcels on East Grand Traverse Bay. In addition to a full mile of Lake Michigan shoreline, it features an incredible array of landscapes, including hardwood forests, forested wetlands, conifer swamps, shrub thickets, coastal dunes and a portion of its beautiful namesake creek where it empties into the lake. The property had been privately owned for decades, but the owners quietly allowed the public to enjoy the land.

By 1994, Steve and David Jones, whose parents purchased the property around 1940, were talking with a developer who wanted to buy their land and turn it into dozens of exclusive lakefront home sites. They very much loved the land, which had served as their family’s vacation property for decades, but continued ownership was getting too costly.

“The taxes were becoming an increasing burden with not much return,” Steve Jones, now 75, recalled in 2016. “It was just time to sell.”

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PHOTO BY TED CLINE

An early aerial photo, taken by Ted Cline, of what would become the natural area.

Chown and Mark Stone, then an Antrim County Commissioner, publisher of The Lake Country Gazette and GTRLC board member, cooked up the idea of applying for a trust fund grant that would allow Antrim County to purchase the property. They talked the Jones brothers into giving them time to pursue one, but they still needed several crucial things – a lot of money for an option, plus the support of both Antrim County and Banks Township, which stood to lose considerable tax dollars if the land was acquired by the county for a park.

Stone won the support of his fellow Antrim County Commissioners and of Banks Township officials. He convinced these public officials that a public recreation area with a mile of protected shoreline would boost property values in the surrounding area, and that commercial activity would increase because of visitors to the property. But above all else, he helped them realize preserving this property for future generations was “the right thing to do,” he later said.

But then there was the matter of a purchase option, which would The whole thing seemed like somewhat of a long shot. provide some peace of mind for the Jones family. Although Few were convinced that GTRLC it would be applicable to the and Antrim County would be final purchase price, a $350,000 “This was a big deal for Antrim County, but able to secure the hefty $4.7 payment for the first portion it was also a big deal for the Conservancy million needed to cover 75 of a $500,000 option – the percent of the $6.3 million remainder was due after trust because it was by far the biggest thing we acquisition cost. If awarded, fund approval – was far and had done, and it required a lot of creativity it would be the largest amount away the largest GTRLC had to get it done,” Chown said. the trust fund to that point had ever needed to secure for an granted to a local municipality. option. The act of procuring that money began one of “We were quite nervous, because that was a lot of money,” the most important relationships in GTRLC’s history.

Chown said. “It really was unprecedented.”

Rob Collier suggested Chown reach out to the C.S. Mott The state requires local municipalities to cover 25 percent Foundation, a major charitable organization based in Flint. of acquisition costs, which could have been another massive Mott eventually agreed to front the money, but only after hurdle. Fortunately, the Jones family generously agreed to another one of those fortunate twists that seemed to pop donate a portion of the property, which the state accepts as a up often in GTRLC’s early days. form of local match.

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Love the land. Pass it on.

“THIS WAS THE START OF A VERY, VERY IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIP,” CHOWN SAID.

Mott provided a $500,000 grant for the option, and the trust fund board approved the project in December of 1995. An extremely important piece of land was on track to be protected forever, and Mott would go on to become the single biggest Foundation donor in GTRLC’s history.

“This was the start of a very, very important relationship,” Chown said.

Mott – which to that point had never provided a grant for any sort of land acquisition – would not agree to provide a grant without, among other things, a program manager named Lois DeBacker setting foot on the property to examine it. But with time running out for Mott’s board to approve that year’s grants, Lois’ only window was to come up during what developed into a blinding lake effect snowstorm as winter raged in early 1995.

She called Collier near Mount Pleasant to tell him she planned to turn around, Chown said, but he implored her to take caution and drive on – if she turned around and the grant didn’t come, the whole project would fall through. The storm continued to bear down all the way to Antrim County, but then things changed.

“We had this truly horrible weather leading up to it, but when she arrived, a funny thing happened – all of a sudden the clouds parted, the sun came out, and here it was shining on this beautiful crystal snow,” Chown said. “We walked her down to the creek mouth and she just absolutely fell in love with it – and the rest is history.”

The Jones family still owns property just south of the natural area, and Steve Jones is glad to know the land will be protected forever.

“We just wanted to get something out of the property and relieve ourselves of those property taxes, and frankly, we were just delighted with the way this all this took shape and ultimately came to fruition,” he said in 2016 “It’s a wonderful thing.”

Chown, Stone and everyone else involved with protecting the property were beyond thrilled to know it would be saved and open to the public in perpetuity. $100,000 of Mott’s grant was used to establish a permanent endowment, held by the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation, for care of the property.

“This was a big deal for Antrim County, but it was also a big deal for the Conservancy because it was by far the biggest thing we had done, and it required a lot of creativity to get it done,” Chown said.

The very same December the trust fund board approved Antrim Creek, it approved another project famous in the annals of GTRLC history – Seven Bridges.

PHOTO BY NATE RICHARSDON

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy | 25th Anniversary

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CHAPTER 02

About the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund The MNRTF, established in 1976, uses money collected from the sale and lease of state-owned mineral rights to help communities acquire and develop lands for public recreation. It has awarded a total of more than $1 billion dollars to more than 2,000 projects across the state.

The Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy has worked closely with local units of government on 48 MNRTF projects. Highlights of our work with the trust fund include:

++ 11,082 acres protected ++ Protected land includes 40.8 miles of shoreline on rivers, lakes and streams ++ $62,014,902 in MNRTF funds secured ++ $18,048,830 in local matches leveraged

PHOTO BY DREW SMITH

CHAPTER 02

SEVEN BRIDGES In the hallway outside the GTRLC’s boardroom, a large photo of three women on a bridge hangs in a modest frame. Among the dozens of stories that float around about the Conservancy’s successes, theirs is the stuff of legend – the story of a picnic lunch and an uphill battle to preserve an irreplaceable community treasure.

Seven Bridges is a 314-acre nature preserve a few miles from Rapid City in Kalkaska County. It is, without question, one of the most idyllic and enchanting preserves protected in the history of GTRLC. The Rapid River separates into multiple arms as it spills through a mixed forest of tamaracks, cedars and hemlock, creating a peaceful and ecologically diverse place.

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PHOTO BY DREW SMITH

Long ago, the land was owned by four eccentric brothers – Jacob, Julius, William and Carl Ricker – who built a sawmill there in 1882. The brothers came from Germany and headed to northern Michigan after receiving a land deed from President Ulysses S. Grant.

Their mill produced thousands of feet of lumber a day, and the brothers, all bachelors, lived together on the property for decades.

Love the land. Pass it on.

CHAPTER 02

The land eventually passed to Gordon Peschke, a great-nephew of the brothers. Gordon and his siblings owned the property together, but it was Gordon and his wife Cecelia who were the primary caretakers from the 1940s through the 1980s. The Peschkes believed deeply that everyone should get to enjoy the property, so they encouraged the public to use it and even maintained a guestbook for visitors to sign. Generations of locals and people from across the state and beyond developed a deep connection to the area that came to be known as Seven Bridges.

The four Rickers brothers in an undated photo.

By the mid-1980s, Gordon Peschke faced mounting pressure from his siblings to sell the land as property tax bills continued to rise. He worked hard to find a buyer who would preserve the property, but his efforts were in vain. The state wasn’t interested at that time, and a Kalkaska-based conservation group could only raise about half of the land’s appraised value. Finally, with few options left, a heartbroken Peschke agreed in 1989 to sell the land for $180,000 to a development partnership.

No development occurred immediately, and many locals weren’t aware that the property had even changed hands.

Then, in the summer of 1994, three women – LouAnn Taylor, Virginia Sorenson and Helen Milliken – went there for a picnic.

Sorenson, a longtime Kalkaska County resident, served on GTRLC’s board with Taylor, a community activist with a strong belief in conservation. Milliken, a friend of both women, was the wife of former Michigan Governor William G. Milliken.

“I’LL NEVER FORGET IT – THEY MARCHED INTO MY OFFICE AND THEY WERE VERY UPSET,” CHOWN SAID. “THEY SAID WE HAD TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS AND WE HAD TO DO IT NOW.”

On that fateful day, these three women – lunch and a bottle of fine wine in hand – were horrified to discover small stakes with little orange flags in the ground. It was clear the property had been surveyed and staked for development. They scribbled down a phone number they found on a small sign, and Sorenson and Taylor drove directly to see Chown on Third Street.

“I’ll never forget it – they marched into my office and they were very upset,” Chown said. “They said we had to do something about this and we had to do it now.”

Current GTRLC board member Terrie Taylor, LouAnn’s daughter, recalls that these women hardened their resolve and refused to see such a special place destroyed by development.

“They were determined to not let it happen,” she said. “They saw those stakes and their reaction was fairly matter of fact, as all three were experienced activists at that point: What do we need to do to forestall this development?”

Chown got ahold of Bernard Schueren, who along with development partner Ron Reblin had purchased the land from the Peschkes and planned a series of luxurious homes on 10-acre riverfront parcels. The project would be called Rapid River Estates, and initial conversations about derailing those plans in favor of permanent protection weren’t promising.

“He basically said you’re too late, it was the first thing out of his mouth,” Chown said of his discussion with Reblin. “But we really didn’t take no for an answer. We knew we needed to be tenacious and relentless.”

The partners eventually named a selling price of $450,000 and agreed to give GTRLC time to seek a MNRTF grant for the property. The plan was to sponsor the state for acquisition, meaning the trust fund board would grant money to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources for the purchase.

Sorenson and a project committee of Michael Beratta, John Freeman, Monica Lack and Dave Mahan were instrumental in helping GTRLC raise money for a purchase option and the beginning of a stewardship endowment fund.

The project seemed like a perfect fit for a trust fund grant.

Surveys showed the land was ecologically diverse and offered

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Love the land. Pass it on.

plenty of public recreation potential – a must for potential to be made. A small group prepared to travel to Lansing trust fund properties – in the form of hiking, fishing, bird and speak to the trust fund board on December 13, 1995 watching and much more. But DNR staff who advised the trust as it met to finalize that year’s grants. The envoy included fund board recommended rejecting the Seven Bridges project, Sorenson, Chown and Ty Ratliff, who grew up fishing at Seven in part because acquiring it Bridges and later would would expand the boundaries hire on as a land protection “It was all hinging on the trust fund decision,” of the adjacent Pere specialist with GTRLC. Chown said. “There was no other recourse.

Marquette State Forest.

Along as well were Richard Waterman, a postman and This was the only way to go.”

At that point in time, then-chairman of the zoning Chown said, there had board of appeals in Clearwater been much statewide Township, and Terri Crandall, then executive director discussion about the merits of removing more land from of the Kalkaska Area Chamber of Commerce. the tax rolls and locking it up in state forest. Many people were staunchly opposed to the idea, and it appeared that Everyone except Chown, who drove down the night before, line of thinking had crept its way into the heads of key piled into Sorenson’s recently purchased four-wheel-drive decision makers who advised the trust fund board.

Jeep and traveled to Lansing in a brutal snowstorm the day of the meeting. Each gave a presentation that focused on a “There was a lot of political concern about the state different reason to save Seven Bridges. Chown also promised owning too much land,” he said. “It was not exactly a the board that GTRLC would be responsible for management favorable climate for this project at this time.” of the property.

Chown, Sorenson and company were left with one option – to drive down and appeal to the trust fund board directly. If they didn’t, the board would certainly accept the DNR staff’s recommendations and not award a grant to Seven Bridges, leaving the project dead in the water.

“It was all hinging on the trust fund decision,” Chown said.

“There was no other recourse. This was Gordon Peschke with his grandson. the only way to go.”

Chown recalls being particularly passionate with his support for the project, especially after learning what it meant to locals.

“I wasn’t ready to take no for an answer,” he said.

“And this wasn’t about me or my ego, it was about that piece of land.

I fell in love with it like everyone else does. This had to be done.”

If the trust fund board was to be swayed, a convincing case needed

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy | 25th Anniversary

“We were showing that there’s a ton of community support, we were showing that this is one of the most unique properties in Michigan…we were working every angle we could work,” Chown said.

As luck would have it, one trust fund board member, Wendy Potts, had recently read a book that put her in the mood to support just such a project.

“We were all captivated,” Potts later told Traverse Magazine. “I had just finished reading The Bridges of Madison County and was really taken with the photographs of how beautiful this place was.”

Potts made the motion, and the board approved the $450,000 needed for the state to purchase the land. As a state purchase, no local match was required. The group from up north could hardly contain its excitement.

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CHAPTER 02

50

Love the land. Pass it on.

PHOTO BY DREW SMITH

CHAPTER 02

“The euphoria was indescribable – we were calling people left and right,” Chown said. “It definitely was another highlight of my entire career in land conservation.”

Taylor, who had grown ill, was boosted by the news that the trust fund approved the grant. She went on to briefly serve as GTRLC’s board chairwoman before she died in August of 1998.

Because of the Peschkes’ “She felt a real sense of unselfishness, generations victory, and the timing was “This was an example of community conservation of Kalkaska County excellent, given her illness,” residents and visitors had Terrie Taylor said. “It was long before that became the buzzword it is now.” used Seven Bridges for triumph mixed with relief, wedding photos, family pleasure and excitement.” picnics, swimming, fishing, relaxing and much more. As such, Gordon Peschke, who for decades let locals enjoy his land, died the trust fund victory meant much more than protecting a place in August of 1996 with the knowledge that his beloved Seven with wildlife habitat or pretty views – it meant saving a place Bridges would be forever protected for the public to enjoy. that meant the world to so many.

A dispute between the developers dragged out the closing process, and the Seven Bridges natural area was finalized and official

by June of 1998. GTRLC continues to care for the land today.

“This was an example of community conservation long before that became the buzzword it is now,” Chown said. “The thought of losing public access to that site was just terrible.”

From left to right, Lou Ann Taylor, Helen Milliken and Virginia Sorenson.

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Love the land. Pass it on.

PHOTO BY KATHY PARTIN

RAILROAD POINT Crystal Lake, the state’s ninth largest inland body of water, has attracted vacationers in earnest since the closing years of the 19th century. As generation after generation continued to enjoy this iconic lake’s sandy beaches and surrounding wooded hills, they built at first dozens, and then hundreds, of homes and cottages along its shores.

By the late 20th century, undeveloped chunks of land along the lakeshore were few and far between. When the call came to protect the last sizable piece of that undeveloped land, everyone involved felt a heightened sense of importance.

Protection of Railroad Point – a piece of land so named because of an abandoned railroad bed that winds along the shore there – began in 1996 when Chown received a call from Rusty Lewis, a conservation-minded woman who served on the board of the Crystal Lake & Watershed Association. Chown met Lewis at a party thrown by Nancy Brickman, whom he’d previously met at the High Tea hosted by Mollie Rogers.

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy | 25th Anniversary

Lewis was very upset at the potential sale of Railroad Point, then a 66-acre parcel owned by Ingrid Devine and her daughter, Bettina Appelhof. The property appraised at nearly $3 million, and there was talk of a sale to a developer who would build more than 40 homes on the site’s prominent bluff.

“When Rusty heard that the property was going to be developed, she called me right away and said ‘Glen, you’ve got to do something about this. You need to call Ingrid. I’ve already called her, she knows you’ll be calling,’” Chown said. “This was the last big undeveloped chunk, so it was a really big deal for people.”

“This was the last big undeveloped chunk, so it was a really big deal for people.”

Chown spoke to Ingrid at length about protecting the property.

Luckily, it wasn’t that hard of a sell because of Devine’s feelings about her land and the surrounding area. Her 66-acre parcel had beautiful woods and more than 2,000 feet of waterfront.

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CHAPTER 02

A Ted Cline photograph of Railroad Point.

CHAPTER 02

“My first conversation with her, she talked about how deeply her family loved Crystal Lake,” he said.

it along as a supplement to the trust fund application. The board did in fact boost Railroad Point’s wildlife habitat score before approving the project. Whether the buck rub tipped the scales is unclear, but Chown likes to think so.

But, as with any other protection project, the deal needed to make sense from a financial standpoint as well as an emotional one. By the end of the year, Chown talked Devine and Appelhof into letting the GTRLC work to protect the land. Hot off Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund “I’ve always called that our $2.1 million buck rub,” successes at Antrim Creek and he said, laughing.

Seven Bridges, Chown and GTRLC “It was helpful that we could talk about Everyone was thrilled about the staff hoped to score another grant trust fund grant, but a pair of the success at Antrim Creek in particular,” that would allow Benzie County to $150,000 option payments still purchase the property and run it as Chown said. “That was really important.” loomed to keep the property a public park. secure for the year and a half it GTRLC board member Jim MacInnes – then as in now president and CEO would take for the county to receive the grant and of Crystal Mountain – and then-board chairman Wally Edwards worked formally close on the property. with Benzie County Commission Chairman Dave Mead to gain county Three families, two of which Chown first had contact approval for the project. with during the fateful High Tea, were instrumental “It was helpful that we could talk about the success at Antrim Creek in in seeing the project to the finish line. The Seabury particular,” Chown said. “That was really important.” and Borwell foundations – represented by High Tea attendees Betty Mitchell and Naomi Borwell, Devine and Appelhof agreed to sell the property for $2.1 million, just 75 respectively – each contributed $100,000. The John percent of its full market value of $2.8 million. This was a huge boost for Burrows family kicked in another $50,000. The the project, as the discounted sale price – commonly known as a bargain remaining funds were raised from local residents. sale – would count for the 25 percent local match the trust fund requires for every grant.

“Here was the High Tea paying Securing the trust dividends,” Chown fund grant involved said. “This project a now legendary wouldn’t have been tale of a fateful hike possible without at the property not the relationships long before the trust cultivated there.” fund was to vote on that year’s grants.

Chown said Keith Charters, one Edwards, a World of the trust fund’s War II Navy veteran board members, whose family contacted Chown had deep roots in with bad news – the Benzie County, was property scored zero a critical part of the points for wildlife success of Railroad habitat, one of the Point and other criteria the board uses for deciding if a project is worthy of a grant. important projects in Benzie County.

Chown insisted that Charters, who lived in the area, come have a look at the property so he could realize just how special it was. As they walked along a trail, Charters noticed a small tree with shredded bark along its side.

Though Chown wasn’t sure what it was, Charters knew right away.

It was a buck rub, a distinct pattern made by bucks to signal their control over a territory. He told Chown to take a picture and send

56

“In some communities, there’s an incredible tension between the haves and have nots, the summer people and the year-round people. Wally genuinely bridged those worlds,” Chown said. “He treated everyone with friendliness and respect, and he was a great listener – he simply inspired confidence in all the right places.”

Love the land. Pass it on.

PHOTO BY NATE RICHARDSON

CHAPTER 02

“HERE WAS THE HIGH TEA PAYING DIVIDENDS,” CHOWN SAID. “THIS PROJECT WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE RELATIONSHIPS CULTIVATED THERE.”

Benzie County officially dedicated the Railroad Point Natural Area in August of 1998. What began with a 66-acre parcel is now more than 200 acres, thanks to multiple additions from late 1999 through 2013. Talks with neighboring landowners began before the ink was even dry on the deal to protect the first piece, and other contiguous pieces were added over the years as they became available. The largest single addition came in 2003, when 102 acres were added through the use of another trust fund grant.

Former GTRLC board member Charlie Kehr, who died in April 2016, served on the county’s parks and recreation board during much of the Railroad Point project. His support was critical, Chown said, especially when it came

to expanding the natural area and determining a sound management plan for the beloved property.

“He was a great representative for us in the county and in county government,” Chown said. He was a very respected person, and he was truly a great advocate for our work.”

In 2011, GTRLC dedicated the Mary Margaret Johnson trail at Railroad Point. This trail was made possible by the gift of longtime area resident Walter Johnson, who asked that the trail be named for his wife, who passed away in 2006.

It provided stunning new views from the bluff overlooking the lake.

A scene from the Railroad Point dedication.

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Love the land. Pass it on.

A “PEARL” IN BENZIE COUNTY Heartwarming community efforts to save a piece of land are not uncommon in GTRLC’s history. Indeed, every project completed by the conservancy needed some degree of community support to make it happen. From raising funds to raising awareness, local citizens have always been integral to GTRLC’s protection efforts.

But what happened in Benzie County’s Almira Township beginning in 1998 is one of the finest examples of a local community truly coming together for a common goal, despite somewhat of a bumpy start.

Pearl Lake is a relatively shallow body of water situated about five miles northwest of Lake Ann, the largest community in Almira Township. On a map, it’s just one of dozens of lakes that dot vast expanses of woods and farmland in Benzie County. But locals and visitors familiar with its wonders know it’s more than your average lake.

For starters, it’s one of the only places in the entire state of Michigan where osprey, bald eagles and loons have been confirmed to nest in the same vicinity.

The wetlands surrounding the shallow, spring-fed lake also teem with a variety of other birds, reptiles and amphibians. The lake, of course, also inspired generations of locals who fished and swam in its waters or enjoyed a peaceful evening on its shores.

“For a lot of people, this had been their own little paradise for a lot of years,” said George Daisy, who found himself at the forefront of a grassroots effort to protect the lake.

PHOTO BY NATE RICHARDSON

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy | 25th Anniversary

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THE GRAND TRAVERSE REGIONAL LAND CONSERVANCY 25 YEAR TIMELINE

Protecting significant natural, scenic and farm lands, and advancing stewardship – now and for all future generations.

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Totals

‘91 acres protected ‘92 acres protected ‘93 acres protected ‘94 acres protected ‘95 acres protected ‘96 acres protected ‘97 acres protected ‘98 acres protected ‘99 acres protected ‘00 acres protected ‘01 acres protected ‘02 acres protected ‘03 acres protected ‘04 acres protected ‘05 acres protected ‘06 acres protected ‘07 acres protected ‘08 acres protected ‘09 acres protected ‘10 acres protected ‘11 acres protected ‘12 acres protected ‘13 acres protected ‘14 acres protected ‘15 acres protected # Projects

665.42* 334.29 1,264.61 284.25 207.04 1,159.66 751.70 2,062.47 2,030.00 1,309.11 1,685.09 2,582.59 5,514.12 1,191.82 936.32 2,119.02 4,357.97 3,343.64 690.66 1,521.58 1,598.87 817.73 1,132.42 1,045.50 699.39 481

YTD acres protected

YTD acres protected

YTD acres protected

YTD acres protected

YTD acres protected

YTD acres protected YTD acres protected YTD acres protected YTD acres protected YTD acres protected YTD acres protected YTD acres protected YTD acres protected YTD acres protected YTD acres protected YTD acres protected YTD acres protected YTD acres protected YTD acres protected YTD acres protected YTD acres protected YTD acres protected YTD acres protected YTD acres protected YTD acres protected

665.42 999.71 2,264.32 2,584.57 2,755.61 3,915.27

4,666.97

6,729.44 8,759.44

10,068.55

11,753.64

14,336.23

19,850.35

21,042.17

21,978.49

24,097.51

28,455.48

31,799.12

32,489.78

34,011.36

35,610.23

36,427.96

37,560.38

38,605.88

39,305.27

*Includes lands protected prior to ‘91

Properties protected by GTRLC, owned by local municipalities - open to the public.

All GTRLC owned nature preserves open to the public.

Easements on privately owned natural and farm lands.

State of Michigan land protected by GTRLC - open to the public.

Project location on timeline indicated with county color.

39,305.27

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CHAPTER 02

Daisy, now 81, moved up from downstate and built a home on Pearl Lake in 1995. By the time he got there, a divide was growing between those who lived on the lake – the majority of whom were, like Daisy, relative newcomers to the township – and those whose families had been in the area for generations.

Some locals perceived the outsiders as rich elitists who threatened to spoil the area.

But locals would still need to raise nearly $300,000 above and beyond the $890,000 trust fund grant for the project. Daisy, who represented one of two homeowner associations on the lake, teamed up with Barry Harper, who represented the other.

Their “Save Pearl Lake” group worked hard to connect with deep-rooted local residents, who eventually embraced the protection effort in earnest.

When a proposal to develop much “Once we got acquainted with of the south bay ’s shoreline into everyone and stated our case, “A lot of friendships were made,” Daisy 97 home sites popped up in 1997, things were different – instead said.

“It really was something special.” those who already lived on the of being ‘our’ lake, this became lake were alarmed. Much of the everybody’s lake,” Daisy said. “You lake remained undeveloped, and a needed to give the locals just a bit of housing project of that size – 250 acres with more than 2,000 leadership, and then get the heck out of their way. They get most feet of shoreline – would certainly alter the character of the of the credit here.” lake. Pearl Lake doesn’t have a major inlet or outlet, making it About $150,000 had been raised or pledged by the time the trust particularly susceptible to the potential damage of development. fund grant was approved in December of 1998, and the rest was But, Daisy said, many longtime locals didn’t exactly rally to secured in less than a year. Longtime GTRLC supporters at the cause, at least initially. the Oleson Foundation kicked in $22,500, but the bulk came in small pieces as the Almira community came together to get to the “A lot of the locals said, ‘Well, the rich people have Pearl Lake, finish line one dollar at a time. so the rich people can be the ones to “The thing about save it,’” he said. this is it was totally “There was definitely grassroots,” Chown some tension there.” said. “The impetus was coming from Chown knew the this close-knit, score. A development fantastic group of as big as the one citizens who saw a proposed would have threat and wanted a profound impact to respond. They on not only wildlife were doing auctions, habitat, but the special dinners lake’s water quality at the Elks Club, as well. The shallow benefit concerts, lake has no major you name it.” inlet or outlet, and its kettle pothole Harper and Daisy wetlands would be look back fondly at From left to right, George Daisy, Helen White, Heather Shumaker and Barry Harper. particularly sensitive the effort to save to contamination Pearl Lake, which and pollutants. remains as beautiful as ever. It is owned by the state, which merged it in with the adjacent Pere Marquette State Forest.

“This would have been a real disaster,” he said. “That lake, in particular, could not have handled it.”

“A lot of friendships were made,” Daisy said. “It really was something special.”

This seemed to be another good fit for a Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grant. After months of fruitless “It really was a true community effort,” Harper said. “It made negotiations with the development partnership that owned me feel great. I worked probably 50 hours a week in 40 years of the property, GTRLC was able to secure a purchase price of business, and that was nothing compared to this, but it worked $1.19 million, down a bit from the initial $1.35 million and it was really worth it.” requested by the partnership.

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Surrounded by friends and family, Beatrice Goin cuts the ribbon at the Ransom Lake dedication.

GTRLC was instrumental in the process, Daisy said.

“I can tell you we couldn’t have done it without Glen and Heather and the conservancy,” he said, referring to then-land protection specialist Heather Shumaker. “The conservancy really was a guiding force that gave us direction.”

Shumaker, who now works as a writer, has fond memories of the Pearl Lake protection effort.

“It created this whole new set of land conservationists in Almira Township,” she said. “And not only did they come together and knock the socks off Pearl Lake, but then they went on to protect Ransom Lake as well.”

The Ransom process began a few years later. Again with the assistance of GTRLC, the township secured a $860,000 MNRTF grant to purchase a 220-acre parcel from the Goin family, which had owned the property since the 1940s. The ecologically significant property completely surrounds peaceful Ransom Lake.

Daisy and many of the same players from Pearl Lake – this time calling themselves Almira Citizens for Preservation – were instrumental in raising matching funds.

“It was a complete community experience,” Shumaker said of the two projects. “Pearl Lake started it, but Ransom Lake solidified it. It brought so many people together. It was joyous, it was emotional, and I think it did wonders for that area.”

Much later, in 2008, GTRLC again helped the township acquire a third trust fund grant to create a small public beach on Lake Ann. “It was a very special part of our history getting those three projects accomplished,” Chown said.

“PEARL LAKE STARTED IT, BUT RANSOM LAKE SOLIDIFIED IT. IT BROUGHT SO MANY PEOPLE TOGETHER. IT WAS JOYOUS, IT WAS EMOTIONAL, AND I THINK IT DID WONDERS FOR THAT AREA.”

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CHAPTER 02

PHOTO BY NATE RICHARDSON

CHAPTER 02

FRUITHAVEN It could have been a golf course. It could have been a glamorous resort with sweeping views of Lake Michigan. Instead, what was at one point the largest remaining contiguous block of farmland in Benzie County was permanently protected for farming and wildlife habitat.

Efforts to protect what is now the 176-acre Fruithaven Nature Preserve and about 360 acres of adjoining farmland began in 1999 when GTRLC worked with longtime residents Sara and Mike McKinley. The McKinleys, owners of Fruithaven Orchards, had farmed apples and other fruit on their property at the north end of Upper Herring Lake since 1955.

Developers from downstate had made a very attractive offer to buy the land for two 18-hole golf courses and a posh hotel – including a planned airstrip – but fortunately the McKinleys had a keen interest in preserving the land’s farming and natural heritage.

“They really had a strong feeling about their land and their agricultural heritage,” Chown said. “No farmer likes to see their land developed, but these farmers in particular felt even stronger than most.”

In a groundbreaking deal, GTRLC purchased the property and the Fruithaven Orchards family corporation for about $1.4 million through a loan from what is now Fifth Third Bank. This was the kick start to a process that involved multiple private and public partners.

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PHOTO BY ANGIE LUCAS

“They really had a strong feeling about their land and their agricultural heritage,” Chown said. “No farmer likes to see their land developed, but these farmers in particular felt even stronger than most.”

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“BUT THE HALLMARKS OF THE CONSERVANCY ARE THAT WE’RE CREATIVE, WE SOLVE PROBLEMS AND WE DIG IN – AND WE REALLY DUG IN ON THIS ONE.”

Sarah and Mike McKinley.

After purchasing the property, GTRLC sold the property’s development rights to the state of Michigan for about $775,000. These rights were then extinguished by the state, ensuring the land would remain undeveloped in perpetuity.

After retaining a 176-acre wooded parcel for use as a nature preserve, GTRLC then sold off the remaining 360 acres in five separate parcels to farmers who were very interested in the land’s unique growing capabilities. Because the development rights were extinguished, these parcels will forever remain working farmland, regardless of owner.

The deal was groundbreaking for GTRLC, Chown said.

“This required a higher level of sophistication than our organization had ever engaged in before that time. We had to work with multiple parties and satisfy multiple interests – the state, the sellers, the conservation buyers, the neighbors,” Chown said. “But the hallmarks of the Conservancy are that we’re creative, we solve problems and we dig in – and we really dug in on this one.”

Chown is especially grateful to the McKinleys.

“They had to take a leap of faith and give us time to do what we needed to do,” he said. “Thankfully we formed a trusting relationship and were able to complete a complex transaction.”

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CHAPTER 03

Bigger and Bolder

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Staff in 1999, just before the move to new headquarters on North Long Lake Road.

10 years, 10,000 acres.

The phrase is emblazoned on a worn out old coffee mug in GTRLC’s kitchen, its ink faded from hundreds of washes. That tally seems small – and so long ago – when compared to nearly 40,000 acres and 25 years.

But success breeds success, and the victories that filled those first 10 years set the Conservancy up for some big things as it entered its second decade.

“A decade in, we were accelerating on every front. Land protection, long-term fundraising, stewardship, building a fundraising team,” Chown said. “And all of that was driven by a really great list of successful land protection projects up to that point.”

Not long before that 10th anniversary, GTRLC’s staff moved into spacious new offices on North Long Lake Road near Cedar Run Road.

The building and an adjacent Oleson’s grocery store are owned by the Oleson family, staunch supporters of GTRLC for years.

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“Piecemeal conservation is not going to get the job done, so we really had to start thinking in terms of landscapes,” Chown said. “Not a project here and a project there, but landscapes and watersheds where you’re dealing with multiple properties and a larger scale.”

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“WE WERE BUSTING AT THE SEAMS – I MEAN, IT WAS JUST A HOUSE,” SAID BIRGIT YETTER, DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION. “OUR COMPUTER GUY ON A REGULAR BASIS WAS WARNING ME OF THE FIRE DANGER WITH ALL THE WIRING FOR THE COMPUTERS AND PRINTERS.”

It was around this time that GTRLC began packaging items up in regional campaigns.

This streamlined fundraising, and also allowed the conservancy to attract the attention of foundations and other major funding sources that wouldn’t find a small project as appealing.

“Our biggest problem was we were doing so many projects, too many projects, really. That’s why we developed campaigns and used them to tie a bunch of projects together,” Chown said. “That made things easier, and we got really good at it.”

Campaigns were also a way to comprehensively protect larger swaths of land.

This was a very much needed move from the Third Street house that had housed GTRLC since the beginning. The conservancy initially shared that house with the Inland Seas Education Association, but had eventually taken over the entire building.

With nine employees and counting, it was time for a change.

“We were busting at the seams – I mean, it was just a house,” said Birgit Yetter, director of finance and administration.

“Our computer guy on a regular basis was warning me of the fire danger with all the wiring for the computers and printers.”

Chown said the move was discussed for a few years before staff and board finally pulled the trigger. Yes, mail was still in the bathtub, but the bigger problem was a growing staff. Not everyone had adequate working spaces, and if bigger projects were to be tackled, even more staff would likely be required.

“Piecemeal conservation is not going to get the job done, so we really had to start thinking in terms of landscapes,” Chown said. “Not a project here and a project there, but landscapes and watersheds where you’re dealing with multiple properties and a larger scale.”

This marked a sea-change in thinking that enabled GTRLC to think bigger, bolder, better. The stories that would come in the next decade were possible because of critical changes in approach.

Within a few years, all eyes would be on arguably the most majestic of the landscapes within GTRLC’s service area – the Lake Michigan coast. But as the second full decade dawned, many projects were beginning to unfold in the northeast corner of Grand Traverse County, where GTRLC would work closely on a number of important initiatives.

“We had stewardship people, interns, staff…we were in an expansion mode, and that house just wasn’t cutting it anymore,” he said.

The new Oleson’s building and adjacent office spaces were wrapping up construction, and the company offered GTRLC a great deal on rent – something that continues to this day.

“There were a few critics, of course, since it’s in a shopping center instead of a nature preserve.” Chown said. “But this cost savings helps us be frugal, and being frugal has always been very important to us so our donors’ money can be maximized and used to help us advance our mission.”

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Deepwater Point.

PHOTO BY KATHY PARTIN

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THE WATERSHEDS OF ACME AND WHITEWATER Acme and Whitewater townships have long been special places for those with an eye for conservation.

This highly-traveled corridor at the nexus of US-31 and M-72 has vast amounts of frontage on Grand Traverse Bay and contains three critically important watersheds – those of Yuba, Acme and Tobeco creeks.

These watersheds, while not as massive as the Chain of Lakes just to the north, are in many ways just as important. The now-protected lands surrounding Tobeco Creek – somewhat confusingly named using a similar spelling of Petobego – include some of the finest unspoiled ecosystems in the region. In many ways, however, these watersheds’ proximity to the region’s population center also makes them much more vulnerable than the Chain. Early on, GTRLC looked for ways to protect as much of the area as possible.

“Traverse City draws about two billion gallons of drinking water, annually, from East Bay, so protecting the water quality on East Bay has to be one of our top priorities as a region,” Chown said.

“And the only way you’re going to protect that is to protect the tributaries – that source protection work is absolutely, positively critical.”

By 2000, GTRLC’s most notable project in the area was the protection of Deepwater Point, a marvelous 17-acre parcel with 1,000 feet of undeveloped frontage on the bay just north of the Acme Creek mouth. The conservancy helped Acme Township secure a Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund Grant, and property owner Helen Sanabria graciously donated a portion of the land to serve as a local match.

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Scene from Yuba Creek.

PHOTO BY KATHY PARTIN

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But a flurry of activity in this vital area began in the new millennium and would continue into recent years, protecting hundreds of acres of farmland and critical natural areas. It began with the East Acme Creek addition to the Pere Marquette State Forest, and was followed in short order by the Yuba Creek Natural Area in Acme Township and the Petobego and Battle Creek natural areas in Whitewater Township.

The 465-acre property in the East Acme Creek project was the largest single privately held parcel along the state-owned Vasa Pathway. It contains more than 2,500 feet of unspoiled frontage on the creek, including its headwaters.

Owners Jack and Maxine Frost had been bombarded with proposals to divide the property and sell off parcels for residential development – something that would have had a substantial and irreversible impact on the creek’s headwaters.

Instead, they agreed to a bargain sale of the property to the state. GTRLC helped secure a $1.56 million Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grant for the acquisition, which was finalized in July of 2000. In addition to protecting water quality and critical wildlife habitat, this project preserved a wild experience for those bikers, hikers and cross-country skiers who regularly use the Vasa.

“It’s really scenic; there’s a picturesque meadow that overlooks this hardwood forest. You’re busting through the woods and you come out at this really cool view,” said Matt McDonough, GTRLC’s former Land Protection Director. “If that had been developed, you would have spent all this time on that trail and then come to a view of estate homes.”

Acme Township’s 413-acre Yuba Creek Natural Area is a magnificent piece of land with beautiful views, forests, wetlands and a full mile of unspoiled frontage on Yuba Creek. This natural land filters pollutants and cleanses the creek water before it enters the bay. It provides invaluable habitat for many species, including numerous bald eagles, and offers tremendous recreational opportunities.

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Its protection began when GTRLC worked with the then-property owners, a family corporation called Spindrift, Inc., to secure a purchase option in March of 2000. The conservancy then helped Acme Township apply for and secure a $1.57 million MNRTF grant to acquire the property and raise funds for a local match.

The township officially closed on the property in December of 2002.

“It’s really a hidden jewel of our area up here,” said Wayne Kladder, GTRLC board member who later served as Acme Township supervisor. “It’s an amazing piece of property…a great place to just meditate and be with nature.”

The Petobego Creek Natural Area came to be when the Michigan chapter of The Nature Conservancy loaned GTRLC $1.15 million in July of 2000 to purchase the entire 343-acre Morrison farm property, which straddled the Acme-Whitewater line just south of and partially within the Petobego State Game Area.

The owners were looking to sell, and it certainly would have been an attractive place for a development.

“We had to move; it was one of those now or never situations,” Chown said.

GTRLC also purchased an adjacent 31-acre parcel owned by the Weyhing family, and then helped Whitewater Township secure a $680,000 MNRTF grant to purchase both the Weyhing and Whitewater Township portions of the Morrison farm to create Petobego Creek. The conservancy placed conservation easements on the Acme Township portion of the Morrison property, which was mostly farmland, and later re-sold it to farmers.

Love the land. Pass it on.

Scenes from Yuba Creek.

PHOTOS BY KATHY PARTIN

“WE HAD TO MOVE; IT WAS ONE OF THOSE NOW OR NEVER SITUATIONS.”

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MAPLE BAY Having good timing is always nice. When it came to protecting a now popular Grand Traverse County park, it was essential.

The Maple Bay farm straddling US-31 a few miles south of Elk Rapids provides one of the region’s most recognized and appreciated views, with thousands of people passing it each day as they travel for work or play. It’s now known for its massive field of bright yellow sunflowers across the road from a quaint white farmhouse, but for many years it was known for its bucolic herd of dairy cattle and the paint foals bred on the property that frolicked in the pasture near a historic red barn.

“This really is an iconic property, and it has been for many years,” Chown said. “People’s experience with that place starts with seeing it from the highway and appreciating it from a scenic standpoint. And the more you discover the property, the more you realize it’s a quintessential example of everything we love about northern Michigan.”

For decades, the property was owned by Helen Riordan and her husband Ed, a former executive at General Motors who died in 1969. A resident farmer named Ken Cook did an outstanding job of running the farm for the Rollert family, facilitating those peaceful farm views that endeared so many to the property. The 400-acre parcel included not only this farm but also extensive woods and a half mile of pristine, undeveloped frontage on East Grand Traverse Bay.

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PHOTO BY MICHAEL JORDAN

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By the late 1990s, Riordan, now an octogenarian, was looking to sell. At the time, real estate was booming and the farm had become very valuable. The potential for a large-scale development in that particular area was troubling for Chown and GTRLC staff.

“Just think what a large-scale development would have done to Acme, to Elk Rapids, to that whole corridor,” Chown said. “It would have been permanently altered. Maple Bay was the pivot point.”

“As a long-time Rotarian who valued the economic benefits of balancing growth with land preservation, Ross really believed in the conservancy,” Chown said. “He was a great friend to this organization on more than one occasion, and this was one of those instances.”

In December of 2001, the Trust Fund board approved a nearly $7 million grant for the property. GTRLC helped raised the 25 percent match required, cobbling it together from private fundraising and various grants. It was the largest trust fund grant the GTRLC had helped secure up to that point.

Chown got in touch with Rollert’s attorney in an effort to pitch land protection over development.

PHOTO BY DANA VANNOY

“I called at a really good time,” Chown recalled. “The Rollerts had been pursuing other options, and they were in the late stages of talking with a substantial developer.”

“This was our first campaign in the $10 million range,” Chown said. “It really helped give us courage to think even bigger when the Coastal Campaign opportunity came knocking on our door soon thereafter.”

As with all projects completed by GTRLC, Chown remains Chown stressed that preserving the land was a much better thankful to the original landowners for their role in the process. choice than developing it. Not only did developers have plenty of municipal red tape to sort through in order to see a project “We’re grateful that Helen and her son Dave saw the vision and to the finish, but he and worked with us to protect that the attorney agreed that wonderful piece of property,” he a large-scale development said. “As she neared her 100th “We’re grateful that Helen and her son Dave would almost assuredly birthday, Helen and I drove out saw the vision and worked with us to protect attract a lawsuit from a to the farm together so she could concerned citizens group savor the beauty of her farm that wonderful piece of property.” in Acme Township. and the conservation legacy she helped create. She was so “It would have been messy, appreciative of the volunteers and it would have taken lots of time,” Chown said. who lovingly maintain the buildings and grounds around the historic farmhouse.”

With Helen and her family favorable to the idea of permanently protecting the land, the GTRLC had to pull together the money.

Today, Maple Bay is one of Grand Traverse County’s most Chown phoned longtime Grand Traverse County Administrator popular parks, in no small part because of its beautiful stretch of K. Ross Childs to discuss the idea of the county using a Michigan beach. GTRLC still owns the old farmhouse, which could not be Natural Resources Trust Fund grant to acquire the property. purchased with Trust Fund money, and the conservancy uses the Childs would have to convince the county board, but the farm as a setting for results-oriented partnerships that promote prospect seemed promising. In turn, GTRLC would help the both GTRLC and farming in the region. The property has also county apply for the grant and raise matching funds. become integral to the development of the conservancy’s After some discussion, Riordan and Rollert agreed to option the property to GTRLC in anticipation of a Trust Fund grant, while Childs urged support through the county board.

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growing volunteer stewardship program.

Love the land. Pass it on.

PHOTO BY MICHAEL JORDAN

Scenes from Maple Bay.

PHOTO BY DANA VANNOY

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THE COASTAL CAMPAIGN It’s easy to miss, tucked as it is among hundreds of other stones of similar size and shape.

But there it is, halfway up an inconspicuous section of stone wall surrounding the grand old Victorian inn at Watervale. A smooth stone of medium size, with an inscription in all caps: DORI NOBLE TURNER–SHOOT FOR THE MOON. When asked about it, Turner stops her informal tour of the inn, glances out at the stone and smiles.

“It comes from a phrase of my mother’s,” Turner said.

“It’s better to shoot for the moon and hit a star than to aim for the fence post and miss.”

GTRLC’s moon shot, its David vs. Goliath fight, its singularly transformative experience came in the form of the Coastal Campaign. Launched in 2003, this multi-year effort ultimately protected more than 6,000 acres of premium dune, farm and forest land along the Lake Michigan coast in Benzie and Manistee counties. At the campaign’s emotional core was Old Baldy, a beautiful and rare dune treasured by generations of locals and visitors.

A storm approaches Old Baldy.

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PHOTO BY DREW SMITH

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Never before – or since – has the conservancy tackled a project on such a scale. More than $30 million was raised to purchase what are now known as Arcadia Dunes: The C.S. Mott Nature Preserve, Green Point Dunes, and the Betsie Dunes Preserve.

GTRLC’s staff doubled during the Coastal Campaign, but the changes didn’t end there. It forced the organization to get serious about long-term fundraising, endowments, stewardship, communications and much more.

“I knew that we as an organization would never be the same,” Chown said. “This changed us for the better.”

“IT COMES FROM A PHRASE OF MY MOTHER’S,” TURNER SAID. “IT’S BETTER TO SHOOT FOR THE MOON AND HIT A STAR THAN TO AIM FOR THE FENCE POST AND MISS.”

Ready for battle Anyone who took even the most cursory glance at a Benzie or Manistee plat book in GTRLC’s early days was aware of a giant chunk of land owned by CMS Energy, parent company of the longtime Michigan utility company now known as Consumers Energy.

Consumers had purchased thousands of acres of land on the Benzie-Manistee county line in the late 1960s and early 1970s in preparation to build a pumped storage power facility like the one it operates in Ludington. At these facilities, water is pumped up from the lake during periods of low energy demand, then sent downhill to run generators during peak demand. Consumers bought all this land from scores of fruit farmers whose families had farmed the land for generations.

After troubles at the Ludington plant and other issues at a planned nuclear facility in Midland, Consumers dropped plans for a power plant in Arcadia. But Consumers – and later CMS – continued to hold the land, waiting for the right opportunity to come along.

An aerial shot of Old Baldy.

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PHOTO BY JIM GIBSON

Love the land. Pass it on.

PHOTO BY NATE RICHARDSON

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Arcadia Dunes Forest Wild Blue Phlox.

In the 1990s, GTRLC hummed away, tackling project after project. “Consumers,” as it would come to be called in the office, would just have to wait.

“It was on the radar early, but we just weren’t ready for it,” Chown said. “In ‘95, ‘96, ‘98, I don’t think we would have had the mindset that a project of that size would even be feasible.”

Two things happened that positioned GTRLC for a shot at the CMS land. The first came in 1998, when Chown hired Heather Rigney (now Shumaker) as a land protection specialist for Benzie County. She would go on to play a critical role in the multi-year Coastal Campaign, often tending to critically important details on all aspects of the project.

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“IT WAS ON THE RADAR EARLY, BUT WE JUST WEREN’T READY FOR IT,” CHOWN SAID. “IN ‘95, ‘96, ‘98, I DON’T THINK WE WOULD HAVE HAD THE MINDSET THAT A PROJECT OF THAT SIZE WOULD EVEN BE FEASIBLE.”

Love the land. Pass it on.

“Heather was a tiger – she was detailed, smart and tenacious,” Chown said. “Her level of follow-through and attention to detail, among other things, were exactly what we needed for a project like this.”

“Basically, we were trying to figure out how in the heck we could do this. A state park, a limited development, a preserve, something – anything,” Chown said. “But CMS wasn’t ready to sell to us. They thought we were too small to deliver, and at that point, we really didn’t have the power of community, right plan in place anyway.”

The second was a “But they underestimated the capacity grant from the power of absolute passion and determination, the Flint-based C.S. Mott Foundation In a world of bottom lines, CMS the power of the conservancy and the connections that enabled officials also knew they would that Glen and the rest of the folks had made GTRLC to hire a probably make the most money full-time director if they sold the property to a throughout the conservancy’s history.” of development. developer. Money issues aside, Up until McCormick also appeared to that point, Chown did nearly all of the fundraising genuinely believe the property would be better preserved if himself. If any serious campaign was to be launched, developed for private use instead of opened to the public at large. serious fundraising would be needed.

“McCormick kept making the point that development, tastefully “We had the pieces in place,” Chown said. “We were ready.” done, would preserve this land better than if it were used for public land,” Chown recalls.

Chasing a deal with CMS In the quiet holiday period of 1999, Shumaker sat down to make a detailed map of the CMS property. In the days before quality aerial mapping was only a mouse click away, such a project took a good deal of effort and focus. She presented the finished map to Chown, who quickly became “fired up” and resolved to pursue the project.

Offering full support was then board chairman Reg Bird, who encouraged Chown and GTRLC to dive in.

“You really need to make up your mind that we’re going to do this, and I’ll support you,” Chown recalls Bird telling him.

“We’re going to do this together.”

It took some persistence, but through various connections Chown was able to connect with top CMS officials – including then-CEO Bill McCormick – to discuss the land.

These initial talks between GTRLC lasted for more than a year, but ultimately went nowhere at that time. Meanwhile, CMS continued to speak with developers about the property.

They previously had extensive talks with David Johnson, who developed the Bay Harbor project in Petoskey, and talks and site visits from other developers as well.

But what CMS officials didn’t understand then, they would understand soon enough: GTRLC meant business and didn’t plan to stop until the property was saved from development.

“We were a little bunch of pipsqueaks – we had just started out (as an organization) not really that long before. And this was a lot of money,” Shumaker recalled this year. “But they underestimated the power of community, the power of absolute passion and determination, the power of the conservancy and the connections that Glen and the rest of the folks had made throughout the conservancy’s history.”

PHOTO BY ANGIE LUCAS

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Saviors from Flint Bird and Chown knew a potential deal with CMS would require millions. It would likely double the $10 million required for Maple Bay, the previous record-holder for GTRLC’s largest deal. This was uncharted territory, to be sure, and an amount that large would likely need to come from several sources. So while talks with CMS were ongoing, potential funding was sought.

Rob Collier, who had previously left Rotary Charities, was now head of the Council of Michigan Foundations in Grand Rapids. It was Collier who a few years earlier helped solicit support from the Mott Foundation for GTRLC’s Antrim Creek project, the first land protection deal Mott had ever funded. Collier suggested that Mott, one of the biggest foundations in the state, be tapped again for a potential deal with CMS. Bird got on the case. He and longtime Mott president and board chairman Bill White both had places on Torch Lake, and Bird made it his mission to do whatever it would take to get White on the CMS property. If White saw its splendor, Bird figured, he would be moved to try to save it.

So Bird hit the Torch Lake party circuit, hoping to run into White and chew his ear.

“Reg would go to all of these little neighborhood parties on Torch Lake, and he’d always sidle up to Bill White,” Chown said. “And Reg was all the right things – aggressive, but also charismatic and charming.”

Eventually, after a few ear-chewing sessions, Bird coaxed White and his wife Claire (granddaughter of Charles Stewart Mott himself) to a walk on the beach underneath Old Baldy in the summer of 2001. White, who remains chairman of the Mott board, recalled the visit this year.

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“IT WAS HUGE. BILL’S A VERY PASSIONATE GUY,” HE SAID. “WHEN HE GETS PASSIONATE ABOUT SOMETHING, HE’S ALL IN, ALL HEART. AND THIS GOT HIM PASSIONATE ABOUT IT.”

“I remember walking a good portion of that beach, walking quite a length of it, too,” he said. “Here was this gorgeous beach, untouched, with not a lot of footprints on it and no one there. It really was – and it still is – one of the most beautiful beaches in the word….It made quite an impression, particularly with the dunes behind it.”

This visit laid the groundwork for support from the influential and renowned C.S. Mott Foundation.

“It was just a spectacular piece of property,” White said. “I remember Claire and I talking about it, as we seemed to be a little overcommitted at the time in terms of spending, but she said ‘Well, you can always fund this or that, but rarely do you have the opportunity to save something like this for all time.’”

Chown remains thankful for Bird’s persistence in getting White to the property for an in-person look.

“It was huge. Bill’s a very passionate guy,” he said. “When he gets passionate about something, he’s all in, all heart. And this got him passionate about it.”

But GTRLC had yet to secure a deal with CMS. After a long period of stops and starts, 2002 would be a pivotal year.

Changing of the Guard The guard changed in more ways than one in 2002 – and both of these changes proved critical to GTRLC’s efforts to protect Arcadia Dunes.

On May 24, 2002, CMS Energy announced the resignation of Bill McCormick as chairman and CEO. It was the fallout of a well-publicized scandal in which, according to news reports of the time, the company artificially inflated its revenue to the tune of $4.4 billion. Replacing him was Ken Whipple, a former Ford Motor Company executive.

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On Nov. 5, 2002, Jennifer Granholm was elected governor of Michigan, in part on a platform of environmental protection.

She would be sworn in January of 2003, replacing longtime Governor John Engler.

GTRLC made sure Whipple, who happened to have a residence in Leelanau County, was getting as much pressure as possible to work with the Conservancy.

Chown enlisted the full political clout of Helen Taylor, head of the Michigan chapter of the Nature Conservancy. Taylor had been closely involved with talks to that point and continued to play a big role.

In the aftermath of the scandal, CMS had made internal decisions to unload all non-performing assets, Chown said. Now would be the time to strike, as CMS was sure to unload its Arcadia holdings soon.

“Our negotiating strategy and our motto became: A fast nickel beats a slow dime,” Chown said.

“We’re not developers; we’re not going to need a ton of approvals or have all of those other contingencies attached with development.”

But still, CMS’ faith in GTRLC remained low.

“They were cozy with the developers, but not cozy with us. They understood developers,” Shumaker said of the multi-year courting process. “They didn’t understand that we could be serious, or that we had some friends in high places. That’s one of the reasons it took so long – they just didn’t think we couldn’t do it.”

It was around this time that Shumaker got a call from a local realtor representing a big-time developer from Texas by the name of Fritz Duda.

Duda, the real estate agent said, was looking for large chunks of coastal land. Shumaker and Chown eventually discovered that CMS had already partnered with Duda to complete a development study for the Arcadia land.

They called the Traverse City engineering firm that handled the plans and managed to get in for a look. There it was, in all of its gut-wrenching glory. Hundreds of homes sites interspersed among an 18-hole golf course, in the vivid colors and bold strokes of a conceptual development plan. Chown still recalls his reaction.

Love the land. Pass it on.

“The horror, of course, is that this would completely destroy the property. The excitement was that it’s a lot easier to raise money for protection when there’s a real, credible threat.”

“It was mostly horror, but there was also a great deal of excitement,” Chown said. “The horror, of course, is that this would completely destroy the property. The excitement was that it’s a lot easier to raise money for protection when there’s a real, credible threat.”

Meanwhile, Shumaker took the lead on speaking with farmers who once owned much of the CMS holdings. While she couldn’t divulge a lot of details, she wanted them to be generally aware that GTRLC might find a way to acquire the CMS land. Shumaker and Chown knew early on that if GTRLC acquired the CMS land, it would likely place conservation easements on the farmland portion of the property and re-sell it to interested farmers.

“I figured that directness and honesty would be the best, instead of them hearing rumors or being blindsided,” she said. “It was about openness and partnerships, and this was essential, because it was a landscape project. They had a lot of knowledge. We needed their knowledge, and they needed us. I think we started on the right foot of mutual respect and openness.”

By the end of the year, after several appraisals and much price haggling, GTRLC had submitted a formal offer of $18 million for the CMS land. Mott had already approved $750,000 for an option, and GTRLC was comfortable that Mott would provide substantial additional funding to see the deal through.

That offer sat there until early 2003, when one of the project’s biggest champions took office.

A developer’s plans for the CMS Arcadia property. Dozens of homes and a golf course were included.

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without its own massive condition – raise $5 million in private local funding by the time the Mott board met in September. If GTRLC could pull it off by that deadline, Mott would provide $13 million ($6 million in an interestfree loan, $7 million as a cash gift) for the purchase.

"They basically needed to see that there was some local skin in the game,” Chown said.

GTRLC’s fundraising team decided to package the CMS land with two other key parcels and dub the entire effort the “Coastal Campaign.” These other parcels included the magnificent Ranke property just up the coast from the CMS holdings – named Green Point Dunes after protection – and property owned by the Kilian family near the Nature Conservancy’s existing preserve on Point Betsie. GTRLC had already been in conversations with both families for quite some time.

Earlier calculations brought the tally for acquiring and caring for all three properties to $30.6 million - the official Coastal Campaign goal. The Mott Foundation, via Lois DeBacker – the very same program officer Collier and Chown coaxed up north years earlier for the Antrim Creek project – and Mike Dow of the Dow Foundation forced GTRLC to carefully calculate the true, long-term costs of the campaign before considering any support.

Visitors hike at the Arcadia Dunes property.

A Deal – and a Deadline Gov. Jennifer Granholm saw the opportunity right away. Here was a rare, beautiful and ecologically important piece of land along the coast that she could play a role in saving. GTRLC had contacted her office through various channels not long after she took office, explaining the plan and hoping she would support it.

As it turns out, she was willing to do much more than merely support it. In early 2003, during a meeting with Whipple and other top CMS officials, she encouraged them to take GTRLC’s offer.

“What was important was that she was willing to talk directly to CMS about this,” Chown said. “She was the golden girl."

“They basically needed some local skin in the

“They really didn’t want the Coastal Campaign to bankrupt the rest of the organization. This thing could bury us, and they knew that,” Chown said. “They really made us think comprehensively about costs across the board. Lois whipped us into shape, and we really needed that.”

Mott’s White said it’s something his foundation has always taken seriously.

“We have, over the years, tried to build the fundamental muscle strength and capacity of local organizations we work with,” he said this year. “We strongly believe that people on the ground in local areas need to set priorities about what’s important and take action, and one way to help them do that is to build the capacity of the organizations those people identify with to see that there was so that they can do all the game,” Chown said. technical work that’s required to pull off complex projects.”

In May of 2003, CMS was ready to accept the offer, under one massive condition – fork over 75 percent of the $18 million by September of that year, or the deal was off. The utility wasn’t in a position to sit around and wait while this little nonprofit took years to scrape together the cash.

So the overall Coastal Campaign vision was in place, but it all began with the centerpiece CMS property. And the situation with that parcel was crystal clear: A deal with CMS wouldn’t be possible without Mott money, and Mott money wouldn’t come if GTRLC couldn’t raise $5 million in local funding in roughly 90 days.

A substantial grant from Mott would be the only way to meet that deadline. But Mott wasn’t ready to give such a large gift

The race was on.

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Love the land. Pass it on.

90 Days for a Dream Serving as bookends to what was then CMS-owned land are two special places treasured by nearly a century’s worth of summer visitors. These two places – along with the Crystal Downs County Club further up the coast – served as the setting for GTRLC’s impassioned pleas for support in the whirlwind summer of 2003.

Watervale was eventually purchased by Kraft’s niece, Vera Kraft Noble, around 1960. By the time of the Coastal Campaign, it was largely run by Noble’s daughter, Dori Noble Turner. Turner served on GTRLC’s board, and her cousin Oscar Kraft (nephew of the Chicago doctor) donated a conservation easement on some of the land in 1990. Noble herself donated an easement on another portion in 1995.

Folks in both Camp Arcadia Watervale and is an almost Camp Arcadia impossibly idyllic treasured Old community Baldy, though hugging the Lake the Arcadia Michigan coast visitors had just south of always referred the land owned to it as “North

by CMS. This Bluff.” A trail historic Lutheran that leads Camp, founded directly to Baldy in 1922, buzzes exists from all summer long Watervale, and with returning visitors from campers and those both resort who own cottages communities had in the associated longstanding Oscar Kraft, with Dori Turner and Glen Chown by his side, speaks to campaign supporters. “cottage colony.” and deeply It’s home to meaningful an incredibly traditions of close-knit group of folks, many of whom met hiking to the top of the magnificent dune for various reasons. their spouses and best friends there.

“It’s always been such an integral part of Watervale, even if we North of the CMS land, tucked along the shores of Lower didn’t own it,” Turner recalled this year. “Growing up here, you Herring Lake, sits the historic community of Watervale. Not feel like you do. The path is here, and everybody goes up there.” to be outdone by Camp Arcadia, this place is steeped in its own Rumors had swirled for years in both places about CMS selling rich history and beautiful traditions. Founded in the 1890s as a the land for development. Turner recalls tales of Japanese lumbering town – complete with an inn, post office, and several investors and circling helicopters. When GTRLC delivered homes – it was eventually abandoned. A Chicago doctor named news of an actual, tangible threat, the news sent shock waves.

Oscar Kraft purchased the remains of the old lumber town in The potential for another Bay Harbor in their own backyards 1917, and he eventually turned it into a resort. This resort would was too much to bear. welcome generations of regular visitors over the years, and much like Camp Arcadia, it was filled with families tied together by generations of visits.

“IT’S ALWAYS BEEN SUCH AN INTEGRAL PART OF WATERVALE, EVEN IF WE DIDN’T OWN IT,” TURNER RECALLED THIS YEAR. “GROWING

Norm Ulbrich met his wife Sue at Camp Arcadia, and their kids would go on to meet their spouses there as well. For Ulbrich, hearing of Fritz Duda’s plans was like a bad dream, in every sense of the term.

“Before I’d even heard of that, I had dreams sometimes of being on the beach and there being factories and development there, and I’d wake up in shivers,” he said. “When this came up, it was just like a nightmare.”

UP HERE, YOU FEEL LIKE YOU DO.”

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“I HAD DREAMS SOMETIMES OF BEING ON THE BEACH AND THERE BEING FACTORIES AND DEVELOPMENT THERE, AND I’D WAKE UP IN SHIVERS.”

A view from the top of Old Baldy looking north to Green Point Dunes.

PHOTO BY DREW SMITH

Kathleen and Bill Parsons met at Camp Arcadia in 1959 as teenagers. While Bill was away on business, a friend called Kathleen to tell her of the news. She still trembles at the thought of losing the land.

“This is one of those moments where I remember exactly where I was when I got the phone call that this was going to happen.

I felt like I had just heard a friend had been diagnosed with a terminal illness,” Kathleen said. “A great grief came over me.

That following evening when Bill got home from California, we stayed up all night and talked about it. Is it really going to happen? How can we stop it? Is it stoppable?”

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“She was the rock. She was the heart and soul of the campaign,” he said. “So many people made those heroic gifts out of respect for Dori.”

GTRLC fundraisers traveled to Camp Arcadia and Watervale several times a week to speak with visitors. Chip May, director of Camp Arcadia, allowed GTRLC fundraisers to address dinnertime gatherings of campers and visitors.

Turner hummed around Watervale, preparing snacks and drinks for those who gathered to hear fundraising pitches.

Love the land. Pass it on.

Turner’s support of the campaign was critical, Chown said. Her tangible and emotional support moved others to get involved.

“She was the rock. She was the heart and soul of the campaign,” he said. “So many people made those heroic gifts out of respect for Dori.”

GTRLC’s team had the unenviable task of stating that they were only interested in scheduling meetings with people who could provide a gift of at least $25,000. The harsh reality was they needed a ton of big gifts, and fast. Turner recalls people “fainting dead away” at the figure.

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy | 25th Anniversary

From left to right, Chuck Brickman, Glen Chown, Louise Reese, Becky Chown, Nancy Brickman and David Reese.

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An aerial shot of Old Baldy looking north to Lower Herring Lake.

PHOTO BY JIM GIBSON

“I had to walk around my condo in downtown Traverse City and repeatedly say the phrase, ‘Will you give a gift of $25,000,’ out loud, because every time I said it I honestly felt like I was shouting the number,” newly hired fundraiser Kate Pearson recalls.

“That’s a lot of money.”

people, every day there was a new heartwarming story about what that property meant to people. It was so rewarding to be a part of something that felt so much bigger than any one person.”

Several people were absolutely critical to “This was such a David and Goliath thing going in,” GTRLC’s fundraising Chown, Pearson and efforts. These leaders not Phil Meek said. “The odds were really, really long, other GTRLC fundraising only provided their own and for the Conservancy to be able to accomplish staffers put in 50-70 hour six-figure gifts, but also that, it was really something.” weeks that summer. worked hard to energize and encourage others to “It was very stressful and support the campaign. very exhausting, but for me at least, it was also a very happy Chuck and Nancy Brickman, David Reese and Naomi Borwell are time,” Pearson said. “The work had this distinctly David and among those folks who gave their all to see the project through.

Goliath feel to it. And because we were dealing with so many

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Love the land. Pass it on.

“Their peer-to-peer fundraising was absolutely, positively critical to the success of this campaign,” Chown said.

They did all they could to convince their associates to give as much as they could afford.

Reese and Brickman, in particular, were instrumental in connecting GTRLC with donors at Crystal Downs who were capable of providing significant gifts.

“If they didn’t dig deep, if they didn’t make a total commitment, they would have to face that reality every time they drove up over that bluff,” Kathleen said. “They would have to ask themselves – could I have made a difference if I had reached deeper?”

“They allowed us to not only shake hands with people we'd never met, but to have the trust of people we’d never met,” Pearson said. “These were incredibly valuable endorsements.”

Reese, who had a home on Platte Lake, speaks matter-of-factly about his role in the campaign.

“We basically said that we just had to get this job done. We convinced the neighbors that it should be done to preserve the natural beauty of the area. Considering the beauty of that piece of property – the stretch of beach and that huge sand dune – it’s just so breathtaking,” he said. “We all got together and started marketing it to our friends, so to speak. But once you took people down there, it kind of sold itself.”

By the time August rolled around – with only one month to go – GTRLC wasn’t even halfway to the $5 million goal. Chown was hardly sleeping at that point, and he recalls some tense conversations with other staffers regarding the campaign goal.

“We acknowledged that we could fail,” he said. “But we came to the conclusion that we would do everything – make every ask that we possibly could – and if it did fail, we would at least know that we gave it our best shot.”

But the groundwork had been laid. Like a giant snowball rolling downhill, the momentum was surging and unstoppable.

Pledge after pledge after pledge poured in as the deadline loomed.

Two of the people Reese brought into the fold were Phil and Nancy Meek, who had a cottage on Crystal Lake. They gave a substantial gift after becoming incensed at the idea of a massive development along the Benzie coast.

“I don’t tend to move very fast unless I get mad, and the idea of this area having anything like that was just a huge red flag,” Phil Meek said.

Sweet Success

From left to right, Bill White, Ken Whipple and Jennifer Granholm at a Coastal Campaign press conference in October of 2003.

Back at Arcadia, Kathleen and John Parsons dove into the campaign, imploring their friends to provide support.

“We were just struck down by the fear. This had to be stopped.

The train was coming, and if we had to throw our bodies in front of the tracks, then that’s what we needed to do,” Kathleen said. “It was that significant to us. The love of that land – it was inconceivable that they could put another Bay Harbor up there.”

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy | 25th Anniversary

“When we started that 90-day campaign, it was the staff driving it, the staff pushing it. By August, it was shifting, it was the people themselves who took over,” Chown said. “They put us on their backs.”

By Labor Day weekend, the goal was not only met, but slightly exceeded. Staff delighted in calling hundreds of donors to tell them the news.

“I couldn’t even get the words out because I was crying.

These were calls of gratitude, and these all had been gifts from the heart, so our success meant so much to the donors, too,” Pearson said. “We all defied the odds together. It was simply incredible. I’d be crying, they’d be crying. And on the other end there’d be these shouts to other people in the room: ‘It’s Kate at the conservancy, she said we did it!’”

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The stunning view from Green Point Dunes looking south to Old Baldy.

PHOTO BY DREW SMITH

Those who supported the campaign still look back with joy and wonder that the 90-day deadline was met.

“It was monumental, when you think about it, how it all came together. It was a dream come true,” Reese said. “It was a very satisfying thing to know that people cared enough to keep that northern Michigan area pristine.”

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Kathleen Parsons likes to imagine that everyone who supported the effort remembers their role every time they drive up M-22 toward Old Baldy.

“After it was all over, every time I go over that hill, and I think every time each of them goes over the hill, they remember that they helped, that they were a part of it,” she said. “They see those signs and they know they helped. And that joy goes on, the joy continues – they knew they did all they could do.”

Love the land. Pass it on.

The victory was especially delightful considering how daunting the goal seemed at the outset of the project.

“This was such a David and Goliath thing going in,” Phil Meek said. “The odds were really, really long, and for the Conservancy to be able to accomplish that, it was really something.”

With $5 million of local pledges in hand, Mott’s board voted that September to extend the $13 million loan-gift combo

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy | 25th Anniversary

with about a week to spare before the CMS deadline. The CMS property – soon to be renamed Arcadia Dunes: The C.S. Mott Nature Preserve – would be protected forever.

“This was a ‘wow’ project. These types of projects don’t come along every day of the week, and when they come along you support them,” Bill White recalls.

“When something is very unique and compelling, you have to bend over backwards to get it done.”

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foundation community, and governmental entities to protect a rare undeveloped stretch of coastline and preserve a way of life that is unique to our state.”

But despite much celebration, there was much work to be done. Although the tightest deadline was met and much of the pressure surrounding it was off, more than $15 million still needed to be raised over the next two years.

PHOTO BY DREW SMITH

GTRLC raised it, of course, with the help of thousands of additional smaller donors and additional foundational support from The Dow Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, The J.A. Woollam Foundation and even the Walmart Foundation.

“We had to apply for everything we could possibly think of,” Chown said.

Finishing Strong All fundraising up until that point had been conducted in a “quiet phase,” as is traditional with major campaigns.

Conventional wisdom tells fundraisers to secure a very large portion of the campaign goal before going public in order to establish momentum down the stretch. It also allows fundraisers to specifically ask for a certain amount from donors, instead of having those donors send in what would likely be much smaller gifts after reading about the campaign in the newspaper.

Needless to say, that had been a difficult concept to explain to some people during the 90-day blitz.

"There was a lot of educating people about why it needed to be silent, because that seemed really counterintuitive,” Chown said. “People wanted to shout it from the mountaintops.”

After the deal with CMS was reached in September of 2003, the time had come for mountaintop shouting. Granholm, Whipple and White joined Chown, Shumaker and other GTRLC staff for a press conference in Lansing in October.

“It’s quite an inspiration to be able to have long stretches of shoreline like that without housing that will surely be appreciated for generations to come,” he said. “It’s nice to know (the dunes) were saved for public enjoyment.”

The Conservancy also secured roughly $11 million from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund through groundbreaking grants in which the state purchased the development rights for Arcadia Dunes and Green Point. These rights have a cash value and can be purchased, as with the Purchase of Development Rights programs in Peninsula and Acme townships.

“THIS PROJECT REPRESENTS SOME OF THE BEST QUALITIES

“This project represents some of the best qualities of Michigan – pristine shoreline, majestic sand dunes and thousands of acres of irreplaceable farmland and forests,” Granholm said at the time. “I commend this partnership between the Regional Conservancy, the private sector, the

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John Woollam, a Michigan-born doctor who now lives and works in Nebraska, focuses much of the energy of his foundation on conservation projects. He’s proud to have helped save a beautiful stretch of the Lake Michigan coast.

OF MICHIGAN — PRISTINE SHORELINE, MAJESTIC SAND DUNES AND THOUSANDS OF ACRES OF IRREPLACEABLE FARMLAND AND FORESTS,” GRANHOLM SAID.

Shumaker took the lead on re-selling much of the farmland portion of the former CMS property to local farmers in the years after GTRLC closed on the land. Many farmers with

Love the land. Pass it on.

Members of the Ranke family gather at Green Point Dunes for an official dedication in July of 2005.

connections to the land prior to the CMS purchases bought available parcels.

“There’s just no place like it,” said Rudy and Nancy’s son, John Ranke.

Aside from the sentimental benefits of reconnecting these farmers with the land, they had another huge benefit – it encouraged fruit farming after decades of decline under CMS ownership. Because CMS offered short-term leases on the land, many farmers had switched to corn or other crops that produce yields much faster than fruit.

Rudy, a World War II veteran, died in 1985. Though the family had explored development options, Nancy knew that preservation was the best option. She set the wheels in motion before her death in 2002.

“It was clearly her desire to have the land preserved for future generations to enjoy, and I think she certainly believed this would be to be able to have her legacy,” John said.

GTRLC closed on the magnificent Green Point “It’s quite an inspiration Dunes property in early long stretches of shoreline like that without 2004, capping years of John was delighted to discussions with the property housing that will surely be appreciated for work with GTRLC to owners. This 242-acre gem generations to come.” safeguard the land for was purchased in the 1950s those future generations.

by Rudy and Nancy Ranke, who treasured the land and “It took a lot of work to made regular visits there with their family. The property offers get it done, but it was well worth it,” he said. “Everybody unparalleled views of Old Baldy from its own towering bluff, in my family was delighted to see it protected.” along with a secluded beach backed up against gorgeous dunes.

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Visitors enjoy the Lake Michigan beach at Watervale.

PHOTO BY DREW SMITH

Momentum for the Future In short, the Coastal Campaign was a game changer.

The trial-by-fire stretch of 2003-2005 created a conservancy that was much better equipped for big thinking going forward.

“It truly transformed the organization – we were now positioned for the long haul,” Chown said. “We were now focusing on setting aside long-term funds, and it forced us to take our stewardship program to a whole new level. It also forced us to think about a volunteer program, and it forced us to think about branding and signage, marking trails so people wouldn’t get lost.”

The Mott Foundation’s insistence on long-term planning was critical, Chown said.

“Basically, this campaign forced us to grow up – and a lot of that credit goes to Mott,” he said.

Bill White looks back fondly on the Mott Foundation’s involvement. Not only did the Coastal Campaign preserve natural beauty, he said, but the farmland preservation component goes a long way toward preserving the heritage of the area.

“If you just look at the beach, you’re only looking at the veneer of the project. If you look closer, you see how it’s affecting local people, local farmers and local communities,” White said. “The more you’re around it, the more you realize how deep it is and how rich it is in various aspects of the environment and economics.”

Many people who donated to the Coastal Campaign continue to donate to the organization, providing much-needed momentum for future land protection projects.

“It was so meaningful to us that you were able to make this happen,” Kathleen Parsons said. “It was with all of our help, yes, but the Conservancy took the initiative and did it. Even though the Coastal Campaign is complete, our continued connection is partly out of appreciation for what happened there.”

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Love the land. Pass it on.

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Hickory Meadows.

PHOTO BY HEATHER HIGHAM, SNAP HAPPY GAL PHOTOGRAPHY

REC AUTHORITY GTRLC’s land protection team takes a lot of pride in problem solving. Snags pop up all the time in land protection deals, and it often requires a bit of creative thinking to satisfy all parties and get the deal to the finish line.

“If there’s a will there’s a way, and we always find a way,” Chown said. “It’s been the culture of our organization.”

“If there’s a will there’s a way, and we always find a way,” Chown said. “It’s been the culture of our organization.”

In November of 2004, as the nation’s voters went to the ballot box to select a new president, voters in Traverse City and Garfield Township ushered in the culmination of a bold and groundbreaking plan to protect three separate but tremendously important parcels. GTRLC provided the spark for this initiative and continues to play an important role to this day.

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The City of Traverse City and Garfield Township Joint Recreational Authority was formed as a way to purchase and manage three properties – the historic barns at the Grand Traverse Commons, Hickory Meadows and the land once occupied by the Smith-Barney building along Grand Traverse Bay near the Open Space.

Love the land. Pass it on.

The story begins in 2002, when the Oleson family began talking to the city about rezoning what is now Hickory Meadows for higher density. The Olesons had used the 116-acre property as a hay farm for decades, but it also saw considerable use by hikers, birdwatchers and other people who wandered onto it from the neighboring Hickory Hills, a city-owned park, and the nearby Slabtown neighborhood.

Former Land Protection Director Matt McDonough began receiving calls almost immediately from people who were concerned about losing that open space to development.

“People were pretty upset,” he said.

“Everyone in that neighborhood had been using it as their park.”

The trust fund was almost certainly a no-go for the barns and Smith-Barney, as its board has always steered clear of providing money for acquiring buildings. So, the question became: How could GTRLC find a way to protect all three properties? There was clear public desire to see all three protected, and McDonough and others at GTRLC were eager to tackle some projects in the Traverse City area after more than a decade of protecting mostly rural land.

The former Smith Barney building, near what is now the volleyball court parking lots, being demolished.

For a variety of reasons, a trust fund grant for the property didn’t seem likely, McDonough said. There was too much competition from properties with substantially more recreation and conservation appeal. The trust fund board at that time also had an appetite for substantially larger projects, particularly those with a wilderness focus.

“You had to have big, sexy projects to be competitive,” he said. “There was a ton of high-quality competition at that time.”

As McDonough was already looking into the Oleson property, he was approached about the former Smith-Barney building on Grand Traverse Bay along Grandview Parkway. Here was the last remaining privately owned building from the Holiday Inn all the way to the Leelanau County line, a vestige of the time when the entire shoreline was built up and largely industrialized. The building was for sale, and numerous civic leaders expressed a desire to see it removed.

And then there was a third piece – the historic barns at the Grand Traverse Commons. These graceful old structures were used by staff and patients at the former Traverse City State Hospital before it closed for good in 1989. A redevelopment board tasked with determining what would become of all of the former hospital’s buildings and grounds had not yet figured out what would become of these relics, though everyone knew they had tremendous potential.

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy | 25th Anniversary

“This was an opportunity to have a big impact in Traverse City, which we really hadn’t done up to that point, but we really had no strategy, no end game,” McDonough said.

“There were a lot of ideas, but nothing was really gelling.”

At some point during the process, Mike Groleau, a member of the Commons redevelopment board, insisted McDonough take a copy of a newly formed law: The Recreational Authorities Act. Approved in 2000, it allows two or more municipalities to establish a joint authority for the acquisition, operation and maintenance of parks and a host of other recreational assets.

McDonough admits he didn’t pay much attention to the document at first. He tossed it on his desk, where it quickly became buried among the paperwork of other pressing land projects. Then, during one fateful day of head scratching as he examined all three properties, he happened to thumb through it.

“So here was a copy of the Rec Authorities Act, literally just sitting on the corner of my desk for weeks,” he said. “I picked it up one day and I read through it, and I said ‘Holy cow, this could work for all three.’”

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“THEY KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK, THEY REALLY DID,” MCDONOUGH SAID. “NAME ANOTHER MILLAGE THAT PASSED BY 70 OR 80 PERCENT. AND THIS WASN’T EVEN A RENEWAL, THIS WAS SOMETHING COMPLETELY NEW.”

With Chown’s blessing, McDonough set up a meeting with Traverse City’s then manager Richard Lewis, Garfield Township Supervisor Lee Wilson – as most of the barns and Oleson field lie within township boundaries – Chown and himself. The group decided to pursue the rec authority path, which would first require creation of the board, then a millage to fund acquisition of all three properties.

McDonough credits Lewis for insisting that there also be a second millage for ongoing operations once the properties were acquired and turned into parklands.

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“We can do this, but if we do, we really need to have a way to maintain it,” Lewis, now a city commissioner, recalled this year.

“So we needed to ask the voters.”

Both township and city officials quickly agreed to form the authority, and both millage questions were placed on the ballot for the November 2004 election. Had either millage failed, the authority would have automatically dissolved, Lewis said.

Meanwhile, GTRLC secured purchase options on Smith-Barney and Oleson field in anticipation of the vote, and the Rec Authority secured one for the barns.

Love the land. Pass it on.

“The friends group had armies of people going door to door, they had full page newspaper ads with all of these people who endorsed it – which was a real who’s who of Traverse City – they had four supersized postcards, they had businesses with a great poster in their windows,” McDonough said. “The community really got behind it.”

Lewis, who up to that point had never placed a sign in his home’s lawn in support of any measure, did so for this initiative.

“I felt strongly enough that these three projects were in the best interest of our community, and I knew what the rec authority could accomplish later on,” he said. “It was my way to show my support – people knew I supported it, of course – but I was convinced that this was the way to go, and I wanted the public to know I supported it.”

“Without them, all of this would have been for naught,” he said. “That’s for certain.”

The results spoke for themselves. Both millages passed by overwhelming margins in both the city and township.

“They knocked it out of the park, they really did,” McDonough said. “Name another millage that passed by 70 or 80 percent.

And this wasn’t even a renewal, this was something completely new.”

Lewis remains grateful to the residents of the township and city who got behind the proposal and made sure it passed.

“Without them, all of this would have been for naught,” he said. “That’s for certain.”

PHOTO BY KATHY PARTIN

A friends group led by current GTRLC board member Jennifer Jaffe pounded the pavement in support of the millages. Law bars both nonprofits and governments from officially advocating for or against a ballot question, so the citizens group was tremendously important. McDonough and others spent their own personal time assisting the group, which put on a full court press in an effort to sway voters.

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The millages funded demolition of Smith-Barney and repairs and cleanup at the barns. Removing Smith-Barney was a sweet spot, Lewis said, as it continued the community’s efforts to open up as much public space along the bay as possible. That effort received another massive boost a few years later when the neighboring Traverse City Light & Power bayside power plant came tumbling down.

“Over the years, folks had been encouraging the city to buy up all the private property it could,” Lewis said. “I think voters were very eager…to finalize the dream that people had. They knew the importance of open spaces.”

The Rec Authority continues to oversee all three properties.

The barns are an active and vibrant wedding and event space, and Hickory Meadows is just as popular as ever.

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CONSERVATION EASEMENTS Long before GTRLC was officially founded, Rob Collier and others knew conservation easements would play a major role in the conservancy’s land protection efforts. As of 2016, GTRLC and government partners with purchase of development rights (PDR) programs have combined to protect more than 23,000 acres of quality land throughout the region.

accomplishes permanent protection of a vital piece of land without having to perpetually own or care for it, and the landowner may receive tax benefits along with the satisfaction of knowing their land will be forever protected.

From day one, people who placed conservation easements on their land did so because of their deep affection for the land.

“There are three reasons why people donate conservation easements. Number one is love of the land, number two is love of the land and number three is love of the land,” Chown said. “There are tax benefits, sure, but that’s just the icing on the cake. It always, always starts with that love.”

“There are three reasons why people donate conservation easements. Number one is love of the land, number two is love of the land and number three is love of the land,” Chown said. “There are tax benefits, sure, but that’s just the icing on the cake. It always, always starts with that love.”

At the time GTRLC was formed, most people equated land protection with the creation of parks or natural areas.

But because setting aside land for parks or natural areas removes it from the tax rolls, protecting land in this way could be – and sometimes still is – a controversial issue.

“Clearly one of the most important elements was really educating our Rotarians and our conservancy task force about the value of a conservation easement, and the fact that we weren’t just going to be creating more parkland,” Collier said. “If this was going to work, the conservation easement was going to be a primary tool.”

Many people who have placed easements on their land are the latest in a long line of family members to own their property.

For them, permanent protection is a way to both respect their ancestors and give a gift to the generations that will follow.

“When it’s multi-generational, there’s nothing more satisfying. Because that means there’s a land ethic in the family – a true ethic that’s being passed and nurtured through the generations,” Chown said. “And of course that’s very good thing for the future of those easements.”

It’s also always helped that conservation easement negotiations are flexible, Chown said. As long as conservation values are kept, GTRLC can work with landowners to craft agreements that fit their needs.

The DeYoung family at Three Pines Ranch.

Chown, who had been hired at the Little Traverse Conservancy specifically to run the state’s first conservation easement program, believed strongly in the potential of conservation easements.

After all, the benefits to both the conservancy and landowner are many. The conservancy

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Love the land. Pass it on.

“Our job is to understand what’s important to these landowners, then take the agreement and craft it to fit their desires and their passion for the property,”Chown said. “And we need to give them the confidence that it will be done right and it will fulfill their wishes in perpetuity.”

In addition to securing more than 250 easements of its own, GTRLC also has administered a PDR program in Acme Township since its voter-approved inception in 2004 and provided substantial assistance – and at times fully administered – Peninsula Township’s PDR program since its inception in 1994. Although the terminology is different, PDR programs consist of the townships purchasing conservation easements on agricultural land.

Marylin and Harry Fisher on their property.

The following are only a few of the conservation easements secured by GTRLC in its history.

DIXIE HIGHWAY: In December of 1991, Ben Donaldson and Sadie Brooks donated easements on nearly 150 acres of valuable land near Eastport in Antrim County. In addition to extensive swamps and hardwood stands, the property boasts roughly 3,000 feet of frontage on Grand Traverse Bay. Donaldson had earlier purchased a portion of the land from Brooks, whose family had owned and cherished the land for nearly a century.

CAMP LANGLOIS: Bruce and Joanne Langlois purchased 472-acres of land at the headwaters of the south branch of the Boardman River from the estate of Harry Running. In 1993, they donated a conservation easement on the land, which borders the Pere Marquette State Forest. This gem of a property includes a fen and associated hardwood and conifer swamps, all of which serve to protect water quality in the Boardman River.

mature beech-maple forest and sandy beach, with more than 5,000 feet of frontage on Lake Michigan and nearly 7,000 feet on Lower Herring Lake. This joined a pair of easements on roughly 25 contiguous acres donated in 1990 by Noble’s cousins, Oscar and Steven Kraft.

HIDDEN SPRINGS: This 417-acre parcel in Kalkaska County was owned by Jack Herschler, whose family had owned the property for decades. He listed it for sale in 1998, but hoped to find a way to protect it from subdividing and logging. At the suggestion of real estate agent Mark Nadolski, Herschler contacted GTRLC about placing a conservation easement on the property. He did, and conservation buyers were then found in Tom and Janice Cook, who bought the property to manage for wildlife. The easement terms permitted the Cooks to build a residence there.

THREE PINES RANCH: In late 1996, the Harold and Edna DeYoung family donated an easement on this magnificent 359-acre parcel near Kingsley. The DeYoungs, who lived near Grand Rapids, purchased the bulk of the property in the 1960s to be used as a northern retreat. The property contains a variety of habitats, including wetlands, open meadows, ponds and upland forest.

BOARDMAN NORTH BRANCH: William and Celeste MicKinley donated an easement on 103 acres of land in western Kalkaska County in 1998. It is predominately mixed pine forest with about three quarters of a mile of undeveloped frontage on the Boardman River. The property is in an undeveloped food plain that promotes water quality by providing shade to the stream channel, stabilizing the river banks and filtering overland flow into the river.

THE INN AT WATERVALE: Vera Kraft Noble, mother of former GTRLC board member Dori Noble Turner and owner of the storied inn on Lower Herring Lake, donated an 80-acre easement on a portion of her land in 1995. It consists of

HITCHCOCK SWAMP: The Hitchcock Swamp in central Antrim County is considered to be the true headwaters of the Chain of Lakes. The Intermediate River originates in the Swamp and flows north to Beals Lake (the first in the

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chain). Much of the swamp is protected under state or county ownership, but the four “Hitchcock Swamp” easements extend protection of the Intermediate River downstream and encumber 295 acres and a mile frontage on the Intermediate River or its tributaries. A Clean Michigan Initiative grant provided funds for purchase of three of the easements.

NORTH ARM LAKE BELLAIRE: Marilyn Fisher donated a conservation easement on her family property on the North Arm of Lake Bellaire in 1993. Not only is her 89-acre property exquisite on its own, but its protection spurred the donation or sale of four contiguous easements totaling 487 acres and preserving over one mile of Lake Bellaire frontage. A Clean Michigan Initiative grant funded the purchase of the keystone Lessard Farm easement in this assembly of easements. Dr. Rud Boucher donated easements on two of the parcels, along with two additional easements elsewhere in the Chain of Lakes watershed.

BENNETT CREEK: Three conservation easements covering 520 acres were acquired on Bennett Creek, which is a tributary of the Jordan River. The Jordan River is widely recognized as a premier wild river in the lower peninsula of Michigan and was the first to be designated under the State Natural Rivers Act in 1972 as a Wild and Scenic River. The easements are acquired with the help of a Clean Michigan Initiative grant.

Easements were acquired on three separately owned parcels.

Approximately 1.6 miles of Bennett Creek were protected.

REILEY FARM: The Reiley parcel contains 1,080 contiguous acres and functions as headwaters of four streams that feed the Chain of Lakes watershed. It is one of the largest contiguous privately owned tree farms in Antrim County.

A conservation easement was purchased with the help of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Forest management on the property earned the Reiley Family second place in the Midwest Regional of National Tree Farmer of the Year competition (out of a field of 1,700 tree farms in 11 states).

Christmas trees from this farm have landed on presidential ranches (of Lyndon B. Johnson and George H.W. Bush) and one at the White House during the Johnson administration.

ROTARY CAMPS – CAMP GREILICK AND CAMP SAKAKAWEA: In 2002, Rotary Camps and Services donated a conservation easement on Camp Greilick, a 565-acre Boy Scout camp. The Boy Scout council was the lessor of the property under a 99-year lease agreement. This was the first time a conservation easement was placed on a camp property. In 2003, Rotary followed up with the donation of a conservation easement on their 505-acre property on Bass Lake in GT County that is leased to the Girl Scouts.

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SOUTH BOARDMAN EASEMENTS: Beginning in 2002, staff began deliberate landowner outreach in a high conservation value corridor along the South Branch of the Boardman River. The area was bordered on three sides by state land, but several privately-owned parcels ranging from 40-160 acres lay along the South Branch. As a result of that outreach and some creative land protection work, six parcels totaling over 420 acres are now under conservation easement, two more parcels were ultimately purchase by the state and one is a nature preserve.

CAREY COVE, GREEN LAKE & GREEN LAKE SHORES: In 1993, Margery Goodale donated an easement on her 86-acre property on the south end of Green Lake. In 2006, following her lead, her brother Arch Carey and his wife Beth donated an easement on their 416 acres and her nephews John and David and their wives Victoria and Nancy donated an easement on their 92 acres. The land, originally purchased in the 1870s by Margery and Arch’s grandfather, had been passed down through the generations, and everyone involved inherited a strong ethic of land conservation and stewardship.

Today, nearly 600 acres and over a mile of frontage on the south end of Green Lake are protected forever.

WILLOW CREEK: In 2007, the Conservancy purchased its largest conservation easement (up to that point) on a 1,000-acre property in Kalkaska County. A group of over 20 friends and hunting enthusiasts had purchased the large parcel of land from a paper company and had been using the parcel as a hunting camp. Two tributaries to the Upper Manistee River flow through the property, the largest being Willow Creek. The Conservancy received a grant from DEQ that provided funds to purchase easements on properties that help to preserve water quality.

ARCADIA FARMLAND EASEMENTS: These 21 protected farmland parcels cover nearly 1,900 acres lying on either side of DryHill in Benzie and Manistee Counties. They were protected as part of the Coastal Campaign, in which GTRLC acquired more than 6,000 acres of land formerly owned by Consumers Energy. During the planning and acquisition phases of the project, it was determined that farmland included in Consumers’ holdings would later be resold to local farmers with development restrictions, while the remaining natural lands would be retained by GTRLC and opened to the public as Arcadia Dunes: The CS Mott Nature Preserve. Collectively, these easements provide a significant block of high quality fruit ground that is critical to local producers and processors. Because Consumers only allowed short-term leases on this farmland, many farmers had switched to corn or other crops that turned a profit

Love the land. Pass it on.

Tony Grybok, second from right, is joined by friends and Heather Shumaker, right.

On far left is former GTRLC board member Brian Allen.

much quicker than fruit. Since resale by GTRLC, fruit has returned to the area. In addition to boosting agriculture, these protected farmlands complement Arcadia Dunes by creating a scenic corridor free of residential development that stretches nearly six miles from Lake Michigan to US-31.

GUDEMOOS RIDGE AND SAFFRON FOREST: The Gudemoos Ridge and Saffron Forest conservation easements cover 260 acres in western Benzie County. These easements contain sensitive frontage on the north branch of the Platte River, wetlands, native hardwood forest, and managed pine plantations. They are owned by well-known and respected consulting forester Dick Cooper and Jan Tennant, and allow for active forest management while protecting the sensitive natural features of these properties.

Betsie to Sable Conservancy, which later merged with GTRLC when the latter added Manistee County to its service area in 2001. GTRLC completed the easements with owner Tony Grybok in the fall of 2001. These easements total over 265 acres and include two miles of creek frontage. Grybok’s conservation ethic began with tree-planting all over Manistee County as a member of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.

SAILOR’S APRON: The Sailor’s Apron conservation easement was donated by Brownson and Betty Jean Murray in 2007. This 60-acre conservation easement includes a quarter mile of Lake Michigan frontage, and is named for the huge sandy bluff along the lake that has been used as a navigational aid for hundreds of years by sailors on Lake Michigan

BEAR CREEK: The Bear Creek conservation easements were the first that GTRLC completed in Manistee County.

The negotiations were begun by the all-volunteer Points

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PHOTO BY DANA VANNOY

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GLACIAL HILLS The beautifully wooded rolling hills of central Antrim County capture the essence of what it means to be outside in Northern Michigan. Eye-popping blazes of fall color delight hikers and birdwatchers, while mountain bikers revel in the scenic terrain.

Glimpses of magnificent Torch Lake, peaceful Lake Bellaire and other clean bodies of water in the fabled Chain of Lakes are a treat to anyone stopping for a breather on their outdoor jaunt.

Smack dab in the middle of all of it is a special place called the Glacial Hills Pathway and Natural Area. This 763-acre wonder encompasses land owned by Antrim County, Forest Home Township and the Village of Bellaire.

Aside from its ever-increasing popularity for hiking and biking, this expansive natural area boasts tremendous biodiversity. It contains a dozen natural habitat types that support more than 20 species of trees and more than 100 species each of birds and wildflowers.

This place is possible because of the foresight of Mark Sevald, a Grand Rapids attorney who contacted GTRLC in May of 2003. Sevald was working to settle the estate of his father, Bill Sevald, who had purchased several large tracts of Northern Michigan land over the years.

“He just loved the land out there,” Mark Sevald said of his father. “Be it swamp or hill or river or whatever, he just loved owning it and walking on it, enjoying it.”

“As parcels keep being divided and subdivided, you just don’t find a lot of privately owned large parcels anymore. The last person I would have sold it to would have been a developer,” he said.

“Those hills in there are just gorgeous.”

When it came time to sell some of his father’s holdings, Sevald researched land conservancies in the area and gave GTRLC a call. A conservation ethic runs deep in his family, and he felt it was important to make sure the land was protected.

“As parcels keep being divided and subdivided, you just don’t find a lot of privately owned large parcels anymore.

The last person I would have sold it to would have been a developer,” he said. “Those hills in there are just gorgeous.”

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In a twist of perfect fate, GTRLC land protection specialist Todd Vigland was already working with officials in Forest Home Township as they attempted to create a public trail in the area.

Sevald told Vigland he’d give him six months to find a way to purchase the land.

“He basically said we had first dibs on this thing if we could make it happen,” Vigland said.

Vigland was thrilled to inform the folks at Forest Home Township.

Sevald’s property could tie together a few fragmented pieces of public land PHOTO BY JOHN ROBERT WILLIAMS already owned

by Antrim County and the Village of Bellaire, creating the potential for a large contiguous piece of land for public recreation.

“It was just a wonderful opportunity at the perfect time. Here’s a motivated seller who’s also willing to give us some time to get something done,” Vigland said. “Six months for a deal like this was pretty aggressive, but we didn’t have to have the deal closed, we just needed to have a solid plan in place.”

Talks began immediately with Forest Home Township. Supervisor Terry Smith was delighted to have GTRLC’s assistance.

Natural Resources Trust Fund grants in successive years for the eastern and western halves of the of the property.

Before all that, though, two longtime friends of GTRLC stepped in to be the heroes they’ve been so many times throughout GTRLC’s history.

Sevald needed to settle his father’s estate in a timely fashion and couldn’t wait the years it might take to secure trust fund money.

Enter Don and Jerry Oleson, who purchased Sevald’s property and held it until after the trust fund process.

“That made the deal,” Vigland said.

“It made the whole thing possible.”

In December of 2006, the trust fund board voted to grant Forest Home Township $213,000 to acquire the western 165 acres of the Sevald property. The following year, the trust fund granted Antrim County $162,000 for the remaining 180 acres. After the money was received, the Olesons sold the land to the township and county for the same amount they purchased it for.

Due to appreciation, they sold it for less than fair market value. This discounted – or “bargain” – sale was used to account for some of the 25 percent local match required by the trust fund. GTRLC was instrumental in helping to raise the remaining money needed for a match.

It took more than six years “When I realized that after Sevald’s call for the with their help we could “Six months for a deal like this was pretty aggressive, fully envisioned Glacial acquire the land, then Hills Pathway and Natural but we didn’t have to have the deal closed, we just the smile came on my Area to materialize. But face,” he said. “To know needed to have a solid plan in place.” for those involved, it was the land is available is worth the wait. one thing. But to have the Conservancy explain “It was a long, drawn out procedure, due to a number of the mechanisms and say they were going to help us, that was factors,” Smith said. “But it was a fulfilling experience to just fantastic. We really formed a good working relationship.” see it come together.”

It was determined that Antrim County should be invited into the discussion. Eventually, the idea of what would become Glacial Hills was born. After examining a few different scenarios, it was determined that Forest Home Township and Antrim County would apply for Michigan

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The property now boasts more than 30 miles of word-class trails and is a popular spot for hikers and mountain bikers of all skill levels. It is managed by a group of representatives from all three municipalities and GTRLC.

Love the land. Pass it on.

“TO KNOW THE LAND IS AVAILABLE IS ONE THING. BUT TO HAVE THE CONSERVANCY EXPLAIN THE MECHANISMS AND SAY THEY WERE GOING TO HELP US, THAT WAS JUST FANTASTIC.”

“With the shrinking amount of public land in the area, it’s important to get as much as you can under public control, but also have a plan to use it,” Smith said. “Having land that is public is great, but it doesn’t do much for people unless you have a plan to engage them, and the method that we see is most successful is a trail system.”

Smith, who uses the trail system himself on a regular basis, gets a smile on his face whenever he pulls into the parking lot.

PHOTO BY ART BUKOWSKI

PHOTO BY DANA VANNOY

“If I go out there right now, to any one of three different parking lots, I’m not going to be alone; there’s going to be people out there using it,” he said. “That’s when you feel that sense of satisfaction that it is meaningful – it’s been such a wonderful experience to see this grow and see it get used by people.”

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Looking south from the top of Elberta Dunes.

PHOTO BY JAY BURT

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ELBERTA DUNES The story of Elberta Dunes is a story of family and legacy, a story of a piece of land with a rich history and remarkable natural beauty.

But more than anything else, it’s the story of a man with a hard-wired, unshakable love of the land – and a promise to keep to an old friend.

The 58-acre Elberta Dunes South Natural Area offers a spectacular panoramic view of Lake Michigan and the Betsie River Valley from atop a towering dune surrounded by pristine forest. It’s home to Pitcher’s thistle and rare shorebirds, and it includes a quarter mile of sandy Lake Michigan beach. And thanks to Jim Thorpe, it’s now protected forever.

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Thorpe, born in 1918, grew up in the Grand Rapids area during the hard years of the Great Depression.

His father died when he was 12, and not long after he started hopping on freight trains to come north and look for work. He found it in the fruit fields along the northern Michigan coast, sending nearly every penny back to his family. He eventually signed on with Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps, replanting a forest ravaged by decades of logging.

“THERE WASN’T ANYTHING IN WRITING OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, BUT FOR MEN OF THAT ERA, THEIR WORD WAS AS GOOD AS GOLD,” CHOWN SAID.

These experiences instilled in him a deep love for the Northern Michigan landscape.

“It was a very important time in his life,” said his daughter, Linda Jaris. “He always really loved the area after that and wanted to retire up here.”

Thorpe went on to a very successful career as a general manager of an automobile parts manufacturing business in the Grand Rapids area, taking his family up to the Frankfort area for regular vacations. Then, in 1991, he bought the dunes property from an elderly woman named Marie Sivertson Kreger. Thorpe had regularly visited Marie for years prior, and the two bonded over their shared Norwegian heritage.

Marie’s parents, Norwegian immigrants Ole and Susie Sivertson, bought the land in 1903 and farmed a variety of fruits and vegetables there. Through the 1930s, cabbages and other produce were grown on the fields just east of the dune. Many of the cabbages grown on the property were stacked floor to ceiling in a warehouse that now houses the historic Cabbage Shed restaurant along Betsie Bay. Marie was growing ill and was in financial trouble, and Thorpe bought the land to help her out. She asked him to promise that the land wouldn’t be later sold for development. He agreed.

Jim Thorpe in his Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) days.

PHOTO BY MICHAEL COLLINS

“She just absolutely loved Jim – he was Norwegian, after all,” said Bonnie Rodgers, Marie’s daughter.

“She trusted him and believed he wouldn’t do anything to break up the land.”

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Not long after GTRLC was founded, Thorpe reached out to and had a conversation with Chown about his options for the property, if he ever chose to sell. Chown recalls Thorpe mentioning his promise to Marie.

“There wasn’t anything in writing or anything like that, but for men of that era, their word was as good as gold,” Chown said.

Love the land. Pass it on.

That conversation planted the seed, Chown and Jaris said, though nothing happened for nearly two decades. Then, as Thorpe got older, Jaris urged him to re-contact the Conservancy.

“He had always kept it in the back of his mind, and as he was really aging, getting into his late eighties, I said, ‘Dad, you’ve really got to decide what you want to do with that land.’” Jaris said.

Thorpe had already rebuffed a few development proposals, including one from a man who wanted to put a golf course and homes at the site – “My dad told him flat out that he was talking to the wrong person,” Jaris recalls – and he really wanted to know that the land would remain protected long after he was gone.

“I know he himself would never have divided the property or sold it to a developer…but you never know what’s going to happen to it down the line.

One generation removed, you can be pretty confident, but after that, who knows?”

Jaris said. “It was really important to him to have that property preserved.”

GTRLC viewed the project as a sort of “encore” to the Coastal Campaign, Chown said. There was some concern about trying to tap the donor base in that area again so soon after that campaign, but Thorpe’s property was too important to not make an effort.

“A lot of our donors were still tied up with pledges and were fatigued, but we still went ahead and did it,” he said.

It took a bit of convincing to win over officials at the cash-strapped Village of Elberta. Everyone was on board with protecting the dune portion of the property, but some officials believed the old farmland on the east side of should be left available for development that would provide the village with much-needed tax revenue. But Thorpe and Jaris wouldn’t have any part of that idea.

“Linda told us that field was just as important to their family as the dunes were,” Sullivan said. “It was an all-or-nothing situation.”

There also was considerable concern about the village’s Jim Thorpe at Elberta Dunes. ability to manage it on a long-term basis. GTRLC decided to raise money not only for “I know he himself would never have divided the property the local match to the or sold it to a developer…but you never know what’s going trust fund grant, but also for a permanent to happen to it down the line. One generation removed, stewardship you can be pretty confident, but after that, who knows?” endowment for the village.

So began conversations with Chown and GTRLC Land Protection Specialist Chris Sullivan in early 2007. The conclusion was reached that this would be an ideal Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund Project, with the Village of Elberta to own and manage the land. GTRLC secured a purchase option in June of that year, and Thorpe died in late August. Jaris is glad he went with the knowledge that the land would be permanently undeveloped.

“He had such a love of that land. He felt very assured by the conservancy that it would be protected forever, and that meant a lot,” she said.

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“I think they were nervous about having the resources to manage it, but because we built in that stewardship endowment, that didn’t need to be a concern,” Chown said.

Village officials, led by then-village President Doug Holmes, eventually agreed to go along with the trust fund plan to protect and acquire the entire property. But the 2008 trust fund cycle

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was shaping up to be very competitive, Chown said, and it was no guarantee that the trust fund board would award a grant.

Dog art gallery in Elberta, said her dad let the public use the property, something Marie allowed as well. It was particularly popular for skiing, snowshoeing, hiking and as a spot to relax.

Saving it, therefore, was important to the entire community.

Then-trust fund board chairman Bob Garner advised Chown to secure some form of testimonial as to how the project might help business in the area. So “A lot of the locals use that Chown reached out to John property and have always used “We were just so happy to hear about it and Madigan, who runs boat cruises that property…and it’s been very to see the sign,” she said. “We never wanted of the Pictured Rocks in the important that it’s been kept to see it broken up – we wanted it saved.”

Upper Peninsula. As it turns open and usable without being out, Madigan was testing out a destroyed,” she said. “How many plan to run dune-viewing cruises people in Elberta can afford their out of Elberta. Chown asked Madigan to pen a letter. Madigan own Lake Michigan frontage? It would have been awful to complied, writing a brief letter of support that was read at the lose that.” trust fund meeting in which the vote to award projects was held.

Chown looks back on Elberta Dunes with fond memories. He’s “It got read right before they made motions,” he especially thankful that Jaris made sure to guide Thorpe back to said. “Trust me – it made a difference.”

GTRLC when the time was right.

The board signed off on a $1.15 million grant.

Many heroes stepped up and helped GTRLC raise funds for the required local match and a stewardship endowment. Coastal Campaign veteran John Woollam’s J.A. Woollam Foundation provided a generous $100,000 challenge grant that offered a 1:1 match on local donations.

Betty Mitchell’s Seabury Foundation also kicked in $30,000. Nearly 300 local donors contributed to the project by the time it was complete.

“It was hugely important to him, and what a wonderful thing it was for his daughter to recognize that and help him build that legacy,” Chown said.

Rodgers, Marie’s daughter, said she and her family take a great deal of comfort in knowing the land their immigrant ancestors settled more than a century ago will forever remain unspoiled.

“We were just so happy to hear about it and to see the sign,” she said. “We never wanted to see it broken up – we wanted it saved.”

Jaris, who for years owned and ran the Trick

From left to right, standing: Greg Jaris, Chris Sullivan, Linda Jaris. Seated are Jim and Frances Thorpe.

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Controlled burn at Arcadia Marsh.

ARCADIA MARSH Many natural areas acquired by GTRLC have various issues that need to be addressed for the health of the land and the enjoyment of those who visit it. Invasive species need to be controlled. Trails must be built or improved. Conservation misdeeds of the past need to be corrected.

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PHOTO BY NATE RICHARDSON

Never in GTRLC’s history has there been a more involved and concentrated effort to restore the health of an ecosystem than what’s transpired at the Arcadia Marsh Nature Preserve. And what an ecosystem to restore! As one of the last remaining Great Lakes coastal marshes, Arcadia is as critical as it gets. At least 17 species of endangered or threatened birds use its fragile habitat, as do scores of other rare and threatened plants and animals.

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PHOTO BY ANGIE LUCAS

“Coastal marshes are tremendously productive ecosystems,” said Chris Sullivan, GTRLC land protection specialist. “They are nearly as productive as tropical rainforests in terms of biomass per acre.”

Simply put, Brad and his wife Jan wanted to see the marshland – which had been adversely impacted by invasive species and decades-old landscape modifications – protected from additional harm. They knew it was important land that needed to be taken care of, and they felt strongly enough about this goal to take out a second mortgage to fund the purchase.

It is estimated that as much as 80 percent of this type of habitat that once existed throughout the Great Lakes basin has been destroyed. About 85 “At the time, we didn’t really marshes remain on Michigan’s know how it was going to work, entire Great Lakes coastline, but we knew what we needed “At the time, we didn’t really know how it was with only 17 on the Lake to accomplish,” Brad Hopwood going to work, but we knew what we needed Michigan coast of the Lower recalls. “I always just thought Peninsula. Before GTRLC that, at a minimum, I could to accomplish,” Brad Hopwood recalls. protection, Arcadia was one break even if I needed to.” of the state’s last remaining Hopwood eventually connected privately-owned marshes. with GTRLC, which in 2007 and 2008 signed deals to purchase The story begins with Brad Hopwood, a lifelong Manistee his land and that of the Smiths, forming the first core pieces County resident who spent much of his life near Arcadia. In of the Arcadia Marsh Nature Preserve. Fundraising for the the mid-1990s, he purchased a nearly 130-acre portion of $450,000 required for purchasing the combined 160 acres the marsh when it went up for sale, and convinced friends wasn’t a walk in the park.

Scott and Lisa Smith to purchase another 30 acres.

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“It was difficult,” Sullivan said. “It was not long after the Coastal Campaign, and Elberta Dunes was going on as well.”

By this time, the marsh was not in the best shape. Aggressive invasive species like reed canary grass and phragmites – a tall, dense marsh grass with a penchant for completely dominating large swaths of wetland habitat – had wreaked havoc on the ecosystem. And a decades-old diversion had sent the naturally winding Bowens Creek into a long, straight ditch, warming its water and destroying natural riverine habitat.

“We bought it with the intention of trying to complete a large-scale restoration,” Sullivan said.

“We were already looking for restoration grant money while we were still fundraising to finish paying off the purchase.”

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“THE CONSERVANCY WAS THE ONLY ONE IN A POSITION TO ACCOMPLISH WHAT’S BEEN ACCOMPLISHED,” SAID HOPWOOD, WHO STILL LIVES NEAR THE MARSH.

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PHOTO BY CARL FREEMAN

Immediate treatments to control phragmites were the first step in what would become a years-long restoration effort that continues to this day. GTRLC has partnered with several groups in this process, including Ducks Unlimited, the Conservation Resource Alliance, the Manistee County Road Commission, the Little River Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians and more.

feet of riverine habitat, as the winding creek channel was much longer than the straightened ditch.

It also dropped the temperature in the creek, improving habitat for trout, sculpins and other cold-water species.

“Our peak temperature was 10 degrees cooler after the change,” Sullivan said.

Aside from creating problematic monocultures that provide little in the way of nesting or foraging habitats, both phragmites and canary reed grass also leave massive volumes of dead and decaying organic matter on the ground, choking out native plants and altering the critical marsh habitat by slowly raising its elevation. After treating the plants, GTRLC and partners orchestrated a controlled burn to remove this thick “So many birds nest, rest or feed there,” said layer of thatch and encourage repopulation of native species.

GTRLC Senior Preserve Steward Angie Lucas.

Key funding has come from the Great Lakes Fishery Trust, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Sustain Our Great Lakes program, the Coastal Zone Management program, the United States Fish & Wildlife Service’s North American Wetlands Conservation Act and private fundraising by GTRLC. “The Conservancy was the only one in a position to accomplish what’s been accomplished,” said Hopwood, who still lives near the marsh. “They’ve worked with Ducks Unlimited and the tribe and all of these other great partners that they’ve been able to bring together. It’s been really fantastic.”

“If they lost this habitat, they’d have fewer places to stop and rest along their migration corridors. It’s a perfect spot for them to recharge on their journey north or south.”

Among the most important restoration efforts at the marsh involved routing Bowens Creek from an old ditch back into its original, meandering channel. This added more than 3,700

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Although great strides have been made in the battle against pesky invasive species at the marsh, the war will likely always be ongoing, as is the case with many properties where invasives are present.

“Unfortunately, the challenges are ongoing. None of it’s going to stop, you just need to keep working on it,” Hopwood said.

“But the conservancy is in a unique position to understand

Love the land. Pass it on.

PHOTO BY CARL FREEMAN

these current and future issues and partner with people to figure out the best way to resolve them.”

Invasive control and habitat improvements are already paying dividends. Wild rice, a threatened plant species, is making a comeback there.

More than 150 bird species documented at the marsh now have a much better place to feed, nest and relax.

“So many birds nest, rest or feed there,” said GTRLC Senior Preserve Steward Angie Lucas. “If they lost this habitat, they’d have fewer places to stop and rest along their migration corridors. It’s a perfect spot for them to recharge on their journey north or south.”

Sullivan is grateful that Hopwood had a vision of protecting the marsh and worked with GTRLC to make it happen. Many of the partnerships and grants received for work there wouldn’t have been possible had he not purchased the land and later agreed to sell it to the conservancy.

“For us to be as successful as we are, it’s a complete necessity to have private folks who are that committed to conservation,” he said. “The marsh is probably my favorite land protection project I’ve ever worked on, and without Brad stepping in, I would have never had that opportunity. Looking down at that creek flowing where it is supposed to for the first time in decades is really a highlight of my career.”

“UNFORTUNATELY, THE CHALLENGES ARE ONGOING. NONE OF IT’S GOING TO STOP, YOU JUST NEED TO KEEP WORKING ON IT,” HOPWOOD SAID. “BUT THE CONSERVANCY IS IN A UNIQUE POSITION TO UNDERSTAND THESE CURRENT AND FUTURE ISSUES AND PARTNER WITH PEOPLE TO FIGURE OUT THE BEST WAY TO RESOLVE THEM.”

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ACME SHORELINE Like that of its counterpart to the west, East Grand Traverse Bay’s deep and sparkling waters are a unique treasure. The massive bay offers fishing, boating, swimming and more, all in cool, clear water of high relative quality.

But for citizens in Acme Township, a troubling thing had happened over the decades. Their slice of frontage along the bay had, like so many other places, been slowly consumed by development. A motel here. A restaurant there. Before too long, and before their eyes, a barrier composed of dozens of buildings materialized. The bay was still there, but it might as well have been miles away.

“We have nearly 10 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, but for the locals, unless you lived on the water, you didn’t have much access,” said longtime township resident Pat Salathiel. “It was very frustrating.”

In 2006, Salathiel and other citizens approached the township board with desires to do something about the shoreline. The how would be sorted out later, but the why was clear – citizens deserved more open access to the bay.

What’s more, enough properties were on the market to merit a comprehensive examination of the area.

PHOTO BY ANGIE LUCAS

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“Here was this small group of thoughtful and concerned citizens who recognized that there were a lot of properties going up for sale along that corridor,” former Land Protection Director Matt McDonough said. “They thought: Wouldn’t it be nice to do what Traverse City started doing 50 years ago and open up that shoreline?”

“Early on, I was thinking that this thing was pretty pie-in-the-sky,” he said. “I just didn’t see how we could pull it off. This is a multi-million dollar project with all of these buildings, some with operating businesses.”

That sentiment went hand-inhand with another bold thought: Wouldn’t it be nice to offer up Acme as a destination, not just a place one passes through on the way to Elk Rapids or Traverse City?

Salathiel and others knew that if they didn’t act then, with so many properties for sale, they’d be squandering a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Even Wayne Kladder, a former GTRLC board member who served as Acme Township supervisor for much of the process, remembers thinking the outlook didn’t seem rosy.

From left to right, Pat Salathiel, Wayne Kladder, Paul Brink and former Associate Director Megan Olds at the “greenbreaking” event.

“It was almost like a perfect storm of circumstances. We had the depressed economy, we had a slowdown in commercial development and we had all of these properties for sale,” she said. “We thought – oh my gosh, if we don’t do something now, it will all be redeveloped and we’ll lose this opportunity for generations to come.”

The township board designated the citizens group as an official committee, and the group not long after reached out to GTRLC.

“We have nearly 10 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, but for the locals, unless you lived on the water, you didn’t have much access,” said longtime township resident Pat Salathiel. “It was very frustrating.”

“The whole thing looked pretty much insurmountable,” he said. “It was like having an impossible mountain to climb, to even imagine

such a thing as opening the bay.”

But after several meetings and conversations with several property owners, it became clear to McDonough, Kladder and others there was something to this crazy plan. The goal was to open up a long, continuous shoreline park over a period of several years. A phased approach would be necessary, as it would take time to line up both funding and willing property owners. The Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund was a natural choice for the project, and its reaction to the first phase would determine the viability of the entire project.

That first phase involved acquisition of land just south of a small bayside park that already existed at the north end of the stretch. This three-parcel chunk

“It was a ludicrous idea to even think about, that we as a small township could attempt to purchase an entire shoreline,” Salathiel said. “And we realized there wasn’t a chance in heck we could get it done without some help, and that’s where the conservancy came into play.”

McDonough recalls that the idea didn’t seem particularly feasible –at least at first.

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included the Knollwood Motel, Shoreside Inn and Willow Beach properties. A roughly $3 million grant request, approved in December of 2008, barely made the cut. The trust fund scoring guidelines at that time favored large, wild tracts of land, so the Acme project wasn’t particularly attractive.

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PHOTO BY JOHN RUSSEL

The former Mountain Jack’s restaurant is demolished.

“It was the lowest scoring application that got funded,” McDonough said. “Right above the cutoff line.”

Because trust fund money can only be used for land acquisition or enhancements to existing parkland, the township was on the hook for not only the local match required for the trust fund grant, but also for the building deconstruction costs. GTRLC was instrumental in fundraising for both needs.

Phase 2 involved acquisition of the former Mountain Jack’s restaurant, Sun N’ Sand motel and a nearby vacant lot. This time, the $2.3 million trust fund grant was among the highest scored. In between application for Phases 1 and 2, the trust fund gave much heavier weight to potential public use and of a property and the recreational access it might provide.

The former Sun N Sands Motel before demolition.

Phase 3 involved actual demolition of the properties acquired in Phase 2, along with acquisition and demolition of the Beach Club Motel, which was acquired with a third trust fund grant.

“THE WHOLE THING LOOKED PRETTY MUCH

By 2013, the three phases of the project had opened up about six

INSURMOUNTABLE,” HE SAID. “IT WAS LIKE

acres of land and 1,500 feet of shoreline for public use. Nearly $3

HAVING AN IMPOSSIBLE MOUNTAIN TO

million in private donations were raised to cover demolition and leverage about $5.7 million in trust fund money.

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CLIMB, TO EVEN IMAGINE SUCH A THING AS OPENING THE BAY.”

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An aerial image of the U.S. 31 corridor in Acme before any demolition.

In addition to the primary goal of opening up more parkland for public use, the project had other notable highlights for GTRLC and the community. Nearly 90 percent of materials from the GTRLC-managed structure demolitions were recycled or reused.

walking their dog; you want to see kids playing Frisbee and tag,” McDonough said. “For a long time, they just looked like vacant lots. It looked like a vision hadn’t been realized, but now they’re really starting to do that.”

The township, which managed demolition of Phase 1 structures just south of its previously existing park, also placed a heavy focus on repurposing building materials from demolished structures.

“What’s nice now is this investment that they’re making in an effort to get people on that land.

You want to see people walking their dog; you want to see kids playing Frisbee and tag,”

The project also showcased the value and promise of multiple organizations and individuals successfully working together to achieve a common goal. Acme Township’s board, a citizen committee, the GTRLC, state government via the Natural Resources Trust Fund and Michigan Department of Transportation, contractors and local citizens all banded together, each playing a vital role in the project’s success.

Acme is now working hard to plan infrastructure improvements at the open land, something that didn’t happen for a few years.

The goal is to enhance public use of these parcels, now and into the future.

“What’s nice now is this investment that they’re making in an effort to get people on that land. You want to see people

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The original and still ultimate goal is to create a continuous park from the existing Michigan Department of Transportation roadside park just south of Bunker Hill road up to the original Bayside Park near the intersection of M-72. While a large amount of land was opened up, a few parcels with buildings remain.

Though owners of those properties don’t appear interested in selling at this time, GTRLC and the township are definitely interested in acquiring them when the time is right.

“When these become available, we stand at the ready to have some conversations and see if we can put some deals together,” Chown said.

But what’s happened so far is nothing to scoff about, either.

“It took Traverse City nearly 50 years to open up the waterfront,” McDonough said. “And the fact that we got 11 of those 24 parcels acquired in just few years, that’s a pretty good start.”

Love the land. Pass it on.

“WHEN THESE BECOME AVAILABLE, WE STAND AT THE READY TO HAVE SOME CONVERSATIONS AND SEE IF WE CAN PUT SOME DEALS TOGETHER,” CHOWN SAID.

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“DAVE MURPHY IS THE SPARK PLUG THAT GOT EVERYTHING GOING AND KEPT IT MOVING,” MANIGOLD SAID. “HE’S THE GUY.”

PELIZZARI NATURAL AREA By any measure, the Pelizzari Natural Area isn’t the largest land protection project GTRLC has been involved with. It’s not even in the top 25. And while it’s a diverse and scenic piece of land, it lacks many of the glamorous conservation elements of other GTRLC projects.

But of all the land protected by GTRLC, you’d be hard pressed to find a place more thoroughly treasured by the scores of people who use it. For so many people, this relatively small strip near the base of the Old Mission Peninsula provides that peaceful spot to unwind at the end of a long work day, or to stretch the legs for a few hours of the day in any season.

Murphy quickly became enchanted by the property. He was struck by its beauty, and couldn’t believe how quiet and peaceful it was for being so close to town.

“Despite the fact that portions were old orchards, there were some really cool spots that had never been touched,” he said. “Walking around those old hemlocks is just amazing.

There are some…that are bigger than those out at the dunes, and that’s just phenomenal.”

Its location off Center Road puts it right along the path home for many Peninsula residents, but it’s also only a stone’s throw from the Traverse City line. Combine this with the fact that it offers something for everyone, and the parking lot is almost never empty.

“It’s been such a tremendous asset to the parks system in Peninsula Township,” former township supervisor Rob Manigold said. “It’s constantly being used, and people are very happy that we proceeded with it.”

What is now enjoyed by many was the brainchild of one man who fought for years to have the park established, and with the help of GTRLC finally saw the vision become reality.

PHOTOS BY MARY VAN VALIN

“Dave Murphy is the spark plug that got everything going and kept it moving,” Manigold said. “He’s the guy.”

The story begins in 1995, when Murphy asked for permission to hike on land under the care of his neighbors, Gene and Maxine Pelizzari.

The Pelizarris had already sold off the old fruit farm established by Gene’s father Armando in the 1920s, but still looked after a small chunk they sold to their son. Murphy soon made contact with the owners of the remainder of the old farm and gained their permission to hike as well.

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And the place was loaded with wildlife.

“There was a day I was walking around up there on a windy day, so I sort of had my head down, and all of a sudden this huge shadow appears. I look up, and five feet away from me is this beautiful bald eagle lifting off a hillside,” he said. “Every time I ran into Gene there was a new story about one animal or another.”

“There were so many reasons why the answer was no,” Murphy said.

Fortunately, during this period, the property also avoided sale to a developer. A weary Murphy was re-energized in 2007 by the involvement of Mary Van Valin, Jeff Graft, Grant Parsons, Mary Beth Milliken and other concerned citizens who took up the cause.

“We could make the point that there were thousands of potential users within a five-minute walk, bike ride or drive,” he said. “This was nearby nature.”

The bulk of the property had been sold in 1991 to a family that had purchased it and several other parcels on speculation, Murphy said, so he became very concerned about the potential for a housing development on the site. So began Murphy’s years-long process to try to turn the land into a park.

To make a long story short, due to a variety of other distractions and a lack of receptive township officials, the idea went nowhere. Despite dozens of meetings, surveys and other bureaucratic goings-on, the township appeared to lack the money – or the will – to buy the land.

Murphy had on-and-off conversations with GTRLC throughout the process, but the property didn’t appear ideal for either a Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grant or direct acquisition by the conservancy. But Chown and Manigold eventually cooked up the idea of putting the issue up for a vote and letting township residents decide if the land was worth saving.

In mid-2008, the township board agreed put a millage on that year’s November election. Voters could then decide if township residents would fund the roughly $2 million purchase price.

Meanwhile, GTRLC negotiated with the landowners to secure a purchase option to hold the land and wait for the election.

Glen Chown, Mary Van Valin and Dave Murphy stand near a sign after the millage election. The park was later renamed the Pelizzari Natural Area.

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“That was my victory,” Murphy said of the township board’s decision.

Murphy and others took to the streets in an effort to lobby for millage approval. GTRLC and the township – as a unit of government and a nonprofit, respectively – were both legally barred from advocating for the millage, so Murphy’s citizens’ group bore the brunt of the efforts.

But Chown and Murphy also partnered for a series of very well-attended educational hikes on the land in the lead-up to the election, something that likely energized the voter base.

PHOTO BY MARY VAN VALIN

“We got hundreds of people out on the property,” Chown said. “And we were lucky that we had a stretch of gorgeous weather.”

Murphy worked hard to impress upon people the potential traffic issues if yet another subdivision was built in the congested southern half of the township. He also stressed the value of a beautiful natural area so close to so many people.

“It’s been such a tremendous

at the beauty of the Pelizzari Natural Area. After his years of involvement in making the park a reality, those types of chats are music to Murphy’s ears.

“I’ve had that conversation 100 times, and that’s validation,” he said. “It’s getting use – it’s getting a ton of use.”

Murphy said he can’t say enough about GTRLC’s involvement and support of the project.

“This park would absolutely not exist without the conservancy’s help,” he said.

“I’ve been the conservancy’s biggest champion every chance I get.”

In turn, Chown is grateful that Murphy never gave up on his dream of seeing a park on the old Pelizzari land.

“He poured his heart and soul – and then some – into this project. He was the community leader, there’s no doubt about it,” Chown said. “He went way above and beyond the call of duty.”

Gene and Maxine Pelizzari both died asset to the parks system in in recent years. Their son John, who still Peninsula Township,” former township supervisor Rob “We could make owns land adjacent the point that there Manigold said. “It’s constantly being used, and people are to the park, said they were thousands were overjoyed to very happy that we proceeded with it.” of potential users know their land, such within a five-minute a part of their family walk, bike ride or drive,” he said. “This was nearby nature.” for so many years, would be enjoyed for generations to come.

The millage passed by a comfortable margin, and the land was eventually transferred to the township in 2009. What was initially called the Center Road Natural Area was eventually renamed the Pelizzari Natural Area in honor of the original owners.

“They were incredibly pleased to know that the property was always going to be open and that people would be able to enjoy it,” John Pelizzari said. “They were pretty quiet people, but I know they were awfully proud of the fact that property stayed open and wasn’t developed.”

Murphy has since been thrilled to interact with residents from the Peninsula, Traverse City and beyond who marvel

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PHOTOS BY MARY VAN VALIN

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“THIS PARK WOULD ABSOLUTELY NOT EXIST WITHOUT THE CONSERVANCY’S HELP,” HE SAID. “I’VE BEEN THE CONSERVANCY’S BIGGEST CHAMPION EVERY CHANCE I GET.”

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MISTY ACRES There’s a place along the Benzie-Manistee County line that offers so much to those who love conservation, farming and the natural world in general.

But Misty Acres is much more than a place with remarkably high biodiversity and a beautiful northern hardwood forest that surrounds a pristine stretch of the Betsie River. It’s more than its working farm, which offers invaluable educational opportunities for children and adults who spend time there.

Above all, Misty Acres represents the capstone gift of a woman who left an indelible mark on GTRLC, offering encouragement, time and money so the conservancy could do the best job possible when protecting land throughout Benzie County and the surrounding area. When Naomi Borwell left the magnificent 600-acre property to GTRLC upon her death in 2010, it was the latest in a long list of ways in which she left a positive impact on the organization.

“Naomi was all heart and soul,” Chown said. “She believed in our mission, and her support was so tremendously important over the years. We would be a much smaller organization today without her.”

Chown met Naomi in 1991 at the famous High Tea at Mollie Rogers’ Chimney Corners Resort. The relationship that began that day lasted the rest of her life. She was a lead donor in both the Railroad Point project and the Coastal Campaign.

She also hosted countless gatherings designed to rally support for GTRLC, and bequeathed a 30-acre addition to the Betsie Dunes Nature Preserve near Crystal Lake.

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy | 25th Anniversary

PHOTO BY DREW SMITH

The Misty Acres estate was purchased by Borwell and her husband, Robert C. Borwell, in several pieces beginning in the 1960s. Bob, who died in 1989, was a successful Chicago-based financial executive who spent his childhood summers on the shores of Crystal Lake. The Borwells never lived at the property – instead residing at their Crystal Lake home when up north – but spent considerable time there.

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PHOTO BY DREW SMITH

“BECAUSE IT HAS INCREDIBLE DIVERSITY – 600 ACRES WITH RIVERS, CREEKS, MATURE FORESTS, RARE PLANTS, WATER FEATURES AND ALL OF THESE OTHER THINGS – IT REALLY LENDS ITSELF TO BEING AN EXCELLENT CLASSROOM FOR PEOPLE, WHETHER IT BE FOR HOURS, DAYS OR WEEKS.”

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Aside from a 360-acre piece of highly diverse hardwood forest and 6,200 feet of Betsie River frontage, the property includes a working farm with a herd of Belted Galloway beef cattle, a residence and a handful of farm buildings. In the past, the Borwells had kept horses and other animals at the farm.

Barry Reed hired on as a caretaker in 1974. He remains there to this day, as GTRLC hired him to help with farm management after assuming ownership of the property. Naomi took great joy in diving into care of the property and the animals, Reed said.

She was always looking to help and looking to learn.

PHOTOS BY GARY L. HOWE

“She’d even come out and help me when I was working cattle, vaccinating or getting stuff ready at the pasture,” he said. “She was hands-on. She’d get her boots on and come right out there.”

Naomi hoped that spirit would live on long after she was gone. When she left the property to GTRLC, she specifically instructed that it be used “to create and maintain a model farm for education and research and as a nature preserve.”

“Naomi was very visionary in doing this for us,” said Vic Lane, who oversees the property for GTRLC. “She saw the potential for having a model farm, and she really trusted us to care for this land.”

PHOTO BY ANGIE LUCAS

GTRLC has worked hard to make Naomi’s vision a reality. Partnerships with several groups – including the Benzie and Manistee conservation districts – have led to educational visits on both the farm and natural area. And Misty Acres is also being used by Michigan State University for research into the production of grass-fed beef in the Grand Traverse region.

GTRLC will continue to seek partnerships that give people the opportunity to learn about farming and nature.

“Because it has incredible diversity – 600 acres with rivers, creeks, mature forests, rare plants, water features and all of these other things – it really lends itself to being an excellent classroom for people, whether it be for hours, days or weeks,” Lane said.

The natural area is among the most stunning land protected by GTRLC. Deep ravines, mature forests and very high biodiversity make it a fantastic place for visitors looking to learn about nature or simply enjoy a peaceful walk. Parking is available, as is a trail that takes visitors along some truly beautiful scenery.

The farm portion of the preserve is open only by appointment, but GTRLC is in the process of ironing out a public access plan for the property, Lane said.

“There are some improvements needed for regular public access – we still need signs, better parking, some help with public access flow and safety,” he said. “But I know that within the next year or two, we’ll be getting into this more and more, and we’ll be learning as we start to open it up more.”

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy | 25th Anniversary

Glen Chown and Naomi Borwell.

Misty Acres is also another place where GTRLC is making great strides to develop and strengthen its volunteer stewardship programs. Volunteers have played a key role there and will continue to do so into the future. Volunteers have been a key part of efforts at the natural area and farmland portions.

“Naomi was very visionary in doing this for us,” said Vic Lane, who oversees the property for GTRLC. “She saw the potential for having a model farm, and she really trusted us to care for this land.”

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PHOTO BY DANA VANNOY

TIMBERS AND LONG LAKE ISLANDS As Matt McDonough settled into his position as land protection specialist at GTRLC, his marching orders in Long Lake Township were crystal clear.

When McDonough interacted with residents who lived on or near the shores of the township’s namesake lake, two requests came up time and again. The first was to protect as much property on the lake’s unspoiled islands as possible. The second involved a place treasured by generations of young girls – the Timbers Girl Scout camp.

“If you do nothing else when you’re in this job, protect those islands and protect that camp,” McDonough recalls.

One of those islands – South Island – was donated to the conservancy back in 1996 by a citizen-led group that had raised money to purchase it in 1973. The island mission was completed from 2005 to 2010 with the protection of Fox, Long and Round (sometimes called Picnic) islands. The Oleson family covered four-fifths of the purchase cost on the former and donated conservation easements on the latter, which they already owned.

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The second mission, that of securing the Timbers camp, involved persistence, good timing and another round of involvement from steadfast GTRLC supporters Don and Jerry Oleson.

This 250-acre property on the north side of the lake has a rich history. It was once a vast estate owned by the Chicago magnate J. Odgen Armour, who inherited the Armour meatpacking company founded by his father. The property changed hands a few times from 1946 through 1961, when it was sold to the Girl Scouts. A rolling topography with a mature beech-maple forest and a combined 9,000 feet of frontage on three lakes – including 2,000 on Long Lake itself – made for a wonderful setting for generations of girls and their counselors, who developed lifelong bonds with nature and their fellow campers.

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Over the years, McDonough had sent a few letters to the Girl Scouts regarding Timbers in an effort to make sure they would contact GTRLC if it ever came time to sell the camp. In 2005, during a favorable economic climate, the scouts contacted McDonough to discuss the property.

At a meeting in Flint, Scout officials expressed interest in selling a conservation easement on the property. But after an appraisal determined that the easement value alone was around $3 million, the idea fizzled. Raising that kind of money for a piece of land that would remain private didn’t seem feasible, McDonough recalls.

“We basically had to go back to them and say, sorry, an easement just isn’t going to work,” he said.

at least one year as McDonough and GTRLC staff put together a long-term plan. Rotary Camps and Services of Traverse City, which owns land used for Boy and Girl Scout camps near Spider and Bass lakes, agreed to own the land and share in the purchase price if another group ran a camp there. But, after much searching, no willing partner could be found.

“I gave probably a dozen different entities tours of that property to see if they’d have an interest in running a camp, but we had zero takers,” McDonough in this job, said.

“If you do nothing else when you’re protect those islands and protect that camp.”

Fast forward to 2009. Girl Scout councils had consolidated, and new leadership reached out to GTRLC to again discuss the camp, which by that time was reducing operations as Girl Scout leaders prepared to unload the property. The economy had taken a nose dive, and an appraisal showed the entire camp was worth around $3 million – less than half of what it would have sold for a few short years prior.

The Olesons gave GTRLC money to secure a purchase option on the property, ensuring it would be kept from potential development for

After months of fruitless searching and without a willing partner, GTRLC abandoned that option.

Eventually, GTRLC met with Long Lake Township officials. Township ownership initially wasn’t considered because the township had only recently acquired several other parcels, including the beautiful Cedar Run Creek Natural Area with the assistance of GTRLC and two trust fund grants over two years.

Don and Jerry Oleson.

PHOTO BY GARY L HOWE

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Township officials agreed to let GTRLC help them purchase the land with assistance from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund, provided GTRLC handle fundraising for the local match. But there was a problem. Trust fund money would take 18 months or more to arrive, and the Girl Scouts needed to sell much sooner than that. Enter the Olesons – who else? – to save the day once again.

“THIS DEAL SIMPLY WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT THEM,” MCDONOUGH SAID. “WE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN IN A POSITION TO TAKE THE RISK AND PRE-ACQUIRE AT THAT STAGE IN THE GAME. WE’RE FORTUNATE THE OLESONS HAD A LOT OF FAITH IN US.”

The Girl Scouts were unwilling to extend the option, and they had already made it clear that any and all option payments wouldn’t be applicable to the final purchase price. The project likely would have been dead in the water if not for a directive from Don Oleson, who had been regularly checking in with McDonough for project updates.

“He basically said ‘Matt, negotiate the best deal you can, and we’ll buy it and hold it for you,’” McDonough said.

The Olesons have their own special history with the property. It was their father, Gerald Oleson, who bought the property from the Armours in 1946. Don and Jerry have fond memories of spending time at the property as children.

“I had a horse there, but I wasn’t very good with it,” Don Oleson said with a laugh. “I remember one time it threw me three times.”

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PHOTO BY NATE RICHARDSON

The Olesons used $2.7 million of their own money – not the Oleson Foundation’s – to buy the property, giving GTRLC time to seek and secure a trust fund grant for the township and to raise local match dollars. The importance of their role as interim buyers cannot be overstated, McDonough said, as this interest-free “loan” made the entire project possible.

“It was wonderful. It brought us back to our childhood and the great memories there that we had as kids,” Don Oleson said. “And it’s such a beautiful piece of property.”

The trust fund approved a nearly $2.1 million grant in December of A group of Girl Scouts at Timbers in 1999.

2012. GTRLC raised the roughly $900,000 required as a local match to the trust fund grant. Through hundreds of generous donors, the goal was met in the summer “This deal simply would not have happened without them,” of 2014 and the township acquired the property.

McDonough said. “We would not have been in a position to Township Supervisor Karen Rosa said the project meant volumes take the risk and pre-acquire at that stage in the game. We’re to township residents and visitors. Aside from the obvious fortunate the Olesons had a lot of faith in us.” connections made by thousands of scouts over the years, older Long Lake has always been tremendously important to the township residents also fondly remember the days when the Oleson family, Don said. After helping GTRLC protect the property was owned by the Armors, Rosa said. Many township islands, he’s grateful he and Jerry were in a position to help residents – including Rosa’s parents – hired on at the estate to save Timbers as well. help with gardening, cooking, housekeeping and more.

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Love the land. Pass it on.

PHOTO BY NATE RICHARDSON

Former Girl Scouts and counselors gather at Timbers for a reunion in 2013.

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Love the land. Pass it on.

“It’s obvious that people are very passionate about that piece of property. It’s such a unique place, and I think everyone in the township was just overwhelmed by the preservation of it,” she said. “I really think it’s one of the most important pieces we could ever have preserved.”

GTRLC deserves a ton of credit for its role the protection of Timbers, Rosa said.

“I really believe we could never have done it without the conservancy,” she said.

“They were wonderful to work with, and they really took charge of the fundraising, which was a huge commitment. We worked together and partnered together very well.”

McDonough, in return, is grateful for Rosa’s support and involvement.

“She was a great leader at the township level, and many of our land conservation projects wouldn’t have gone nearly as well without strong leadership,” he said. “She is among my favorite public officials I’ve ever worked with. She just gets it.”

The Long Lake Foundation and Long Lake Association were also absolutely critical to the success of the project, Chown said.

These groups helped build support for protecting Timbers, then put GTRLC in contact with all the right people when it came time to fundraise.

“They were absolutely tremendous ambassadors for the conservancy and fantastic advocates for this project,” he said. “We couldn’t have done it without them.”

Shelby Reynolds was a counselor at Timbers for five years during college.

She and other alumni of the camp held a reunion and garage sale of old camp gear to raise money during the protection process. Timbers was a special place to so many girls who camped or worked there, she said, especially since the camp served girls in the especially formative teenage years.

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy | 25th Anniversary

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PHOTO BY NATE RICHARDSON

“It was really an empowering experience, even to go and work there,” she said. “For so many girls and young women in their teens and early college years, it was such an important piece of their self-development.”

Alumni were very saddened when the camp closed, Reynolds said. But knowing that the property is forever saved and open to the public softened that blow.

“I really think it’s one of the most important pieces we could ever have preserved.”

“The property is still accessible, and that’s priceless,” she said. “For girls to be able to still visit that property, which is a place where they were during a very meaningful time in their lives, means that time in their lives can still be alive for them.”

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CHAPTER 04

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

CHAPTER 04

We stand on the shoulders of giants.

From our passionate and visionary founders to those early landowners who made bold statements by protecting their cherished properties, the story of our first 25 years is one of people coming together to support our mission. These people fiercely believed in safeguarding our region’s beauty well into the future, and we are proud of what we’ve accomplished together.

But now is no time to be complacent.

While people have flocked to this area for generations, there’s never been more buzz surrounding the region than there is today.

In addition to stunning and abundant natural beauty, Traverse City and neighboring communities have an increasing reputation as thriving hotspots for the highest quality food, drink, art and culture.

Simply put, the secret is out, and we are experiencing development pressure unlike anything we’ve seen in decades. As more and more people want to live and visit here, and as the economy continues to improve, our region faces substantial pressure to build, grow and expand. While these changes can have positive economic benefits, we must be increasingly vigilant about spoiling the very things that have long made our region so attractive.

BUT NOW IS NO TIME TO BE COMPLACENT. WHILE PEOPLE HAVE FLOCKED TO THIS AREA FOR GENERATIONS, THERE’S NEVER BEEN MORE BUZZ SURROUNDING THE REGION THAN THERE IS TODAY.

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An aerial view of the former Camp Maplehurst property. Lake Maplehurst is in the foreground and Torch Lake is to the right.

PHOTO BY KATHY PARTIN

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy | 25th Anniversary

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We are better prepared than ever to pursue land protection projects that have a profound impact on water quality and to be more streamlined, efficient and effective than ever before when it comes to our mission of land protection.

A view from the Petobego State Game Area addition.

PHOTO BY NATE RICHARDSON

Positioned for Success GTRLC has carefully taken stock of the region’s landscape, and of our organization itself.

Using tools we’ve fine-tuned over more than two decades of land protection, we are more prepared than ever to both respond to increasing development pressure and ensure that land already protected will be cared for in perpetuity.

The latest version of our Priority Land Atlas (PLA) is our guidebook for protecting, as Executive Director Glen Chown is fond of saying, “the last of the least and the best of the rest.” Using carefully selected scoring criteria, we’ve examined all the land within our service area to identify properties with the highest conservation values.

We are better prepared than ever to pursue land protection projects that have a profound impact on water quality and to be more streamlined, efficient and effective than ever before when it comes to our mission of land protection.

What’s more, we are in an excellent position to continue our tradition of safeguarding not just the land, but the vital landscapes of our region – the beautiful Lake Michigan coast, the rolling farmlands of Old Mission Peninsula, the vital Chain of Lakes watershed and the other scenic gateways to our communities.

By expanding upon previously protected land in our area, we will continue to weave together tapestries that protect more than just land – they protect a way of life.

We’ve also taken a very careful look at the true costs of caring for our protected land well into the future. These calculations, completed for an in-depth examination of our stewardship endowment needs, give us a clear and precise idea of what it will take for us to keep our promise of “forever.”

By critically examining natural features, habitat rarity, size of wetlands, length of shoreline, adjacency to previously protected land and more, we’ve got a clear and concise map of the best remaining unprotected jewels in our area.

The former Camp Maplehurst property.

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy | 25th Anniversary

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CHAPTER 04

Petobego Pond.

PHOTO BY NATE RICHARDSON

BY EXPANDING UPON PREVIOUSLY PROTECTED LAND IN OUR AREA, WE WILL CONTINUE TO WEAVE TOGETHER TAPESTRIES THAT PROTECT MORE THAN JUST LAND – THEY PROTECT A WAY OF LIFE.

CHAPTER 04

Looking Ahead Even as we celebrate and reflect on 25 years of accomplishments, our staff is hard at work on numerous critical protection projects throughout the region.

These projects are designed to protect water quality, sensitive natural features and unique wildlife habitats, and we’re excited about the access to nature that several of these projects will provide to the residents of and visitors to our beautiful region.

Right now, we’re working to protect two of the largest remaining intact parcels along beautiful Torch Lake in Antrim County. One is the former Camp Maplehurst property, a gorgeous 400-acre parcel on the west side of the lake in Milton Township. We helped the township apply for a Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grant to acquire the land, which township officials hope to turn into a public park.

We’re also fundraising to protect a 400-acre private farm on the west side of the lake. This large farm, dubbed Torch Ridge, has critical natural areas that protect water quality and provide wildlife habitat. What’s more, protecting this property through a conservation easement will preserve a beautiful natural view enjoyed by those who use the lake.

Providing and improving access not only enriches the lives of residents and visitors, but also gets them engaged and excited about our mission of protecting and caring for land.

After successful MNRTF grant requests in 2015, we’re working to finalize protection of an ecologically critical addition to the Petobego State Game Area in Grand Traverse County and a beautiful public beach, also in Milton Township.

The 47-acre parcel that will be added to the state game area is critical to water quality and had been on our radar since the early 1990s. This rich marshland property is loaded with an incredible array of wildlife and was the last remaining unprotected property along Petobego Pond. It fills a critical gap between the Maple Bay Natural Area and the state game area, and we’re thrilled to see it protected forever.

The barrier-free public beach in Milton Township will allow people of all ages and abilities to access Elk Lake. We are helping the township acquire the last piece needed to create the beach, which will eventually be part of a larger park that includes restrooms, a playground, parking and more, 160

A Ted Cline aerial shot of Petobego Pond.

all designed with Universal Access (UA) in mind.

Providing and improving access not only enriches the lives of residents and visitors, but it also gets them engaged and excited about our mission of protecting and caring for land.

Planning is underway for UA trails at Arcadia Dunes: The C.S. Mott Nature Preserve and the George & Ada Reffitt Nature Preserve. These trails will give the elderly, families with strollers and anyone with

Love the land. Pass it on.

WE ARE IN AN EXCELLENT POSITION TO CONTINUE OUR TRADITION OF SAFEGUARDING NOT JUST THE LAND, BUT THE VITAL LANDSCAPES OF OUR REGION.

mobility issues safer and easier access to natural beauty that would otherwise be inaccessible.

We’re also engaged in exciting initiatives like the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), leveraging nearly $2.8 million in federal dollars to protect farmland within the critical fruit belt that runs through our service area. This globally unique agricultural resource is the reason Michigan is the second most diverse agricultural state in the country. But it’s also one of the most threatened landscapes in the entire Midwest, and we simply must work tirelessly to protect it.

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy | 25th Anniversary

And, of course, our phones never stop ringing. After 25 years of land protection, we’ve become a trusted resource for landowners looking to protect their property and communities looking to add parkland, protect farmland or increase recreational opportunities for local citizens.

Our long list of accomplishments wouldn’t exist without the willing landowners, generous donors, dedicated volunteers and loyal friends who have supported our mission. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for the support – now and into the next 25 years.

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A view from the former Camp Maplehurst property.

PHOTO BY DREW SMITH

OUR LONG LIST OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS WOULDN’T EXIST WITHOUT THE WILLING LANDOWNERS, GENEROUS DONORS, DEDICATED VOLUNTEERS AND LOYAL FRIENDS WHO HAVE SUPPORTED OUR MISSION.

CHAPTER 04

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for the support – now and into the next 25 years.

2015-2016 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Bob Marshall, Chair Jennifer Jaffe, Vice-Chair Ken Engle, Treasurer Kevin Russell, Secretary Paul Brink Betsy Calcutt John Collins Cortney Danbrook Matt Drake Kathleen Guy Jim Huckle Royce Ragland Greg Seman Evan Smith Maureen Smyth Allen Taylor Terrie Taylor Maureen Templeton

PHOTO BY NATE RICHARDSON

CHAPTER 05

By the Numbers

44

MILES OF RIVERFRONT

MILES OF SHORE

64

INCLUDING

20

MILES OF LAKESHORE

ACRES OF LAND FOR PUBLIC USE

16,088

GTRLC HAS PROTECTED

MILES OF TRAIL

66

INCLUDING

acres

2,492

acres manistee county

4,822

acres benzie county

GTRLC ASSIST PROJECTS

acres

6,889

GTRLC OWNED PRESERVES

9,199

2,254

acres kalkaska county

acres antrim county

The Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy works hard to balance public access and use with protecting natural features, unique habitats, and scenic beauty on conservation lands

4,591

acres grand traverse county

1,676

253

acres neighboring counties

CHAPTER 05

VOLUNTARY EASEMENTS ON PRIVATELY OWNED LAND

278

ACRES OF PRIVATELY OWNED LAND ARE PROTECTED WITH CONSERVATION EASEMENTS OR OTHER PROTECTION TOOLS

23,217 59%

OF ALL CONSERVANCY PROTECTED LANDS

ACRES OF FARMLAND

5,876

LOCAL FARMS & FOOD

HEALTHY HABITATS FOR WILDLIFE & FISHERIES

WATER QUALITY

VIEWSHED PROTECTION

PUBLIC BENEFIT OF PRIVATE EASEMENTS

MILES OF RIVERFRONT AND LAKESHORE

57

PRIVATE LAND PROTECTION

121

MILES OF RIVERFRONT

83 MILES OF LAKESHORE

38

INCLUDING

MILES OF SHORELINE

HAS PROTECTED

13.4

miles of shore manistee county

22.7

miles of shore benzie county

GRAND TRAVERSE REGIONAL LAND CONSERVANCY

23.4

miles of shore kalkaska county

Protecting shoreline along lakes and rivers provides many benefits to our region including improved water quality, fisheries and wildlife habitat and access to water for recreation.

38.5

miles of shore grand traverse county

20.0

miles of shore antrim county

3.0

miles of shore in neighboring counties

CHAPTER 05

VIEWSHED PROTECTION

WATER QUALITY

HEALTHY HABITATS FOR WILDLIFE & FISHERIES

LOCAL FARMS & FOOD

PUBLIC BENEFIT OF PRIVATE EASEMENTS

12

5 miles from GTRLC protected property manistee county

miles from GTRLC protected property benzie county

7

12

miles from GTRLC protected property grand traverse county

8

11

miles from GTRLC protected property kalkaska county

miles from GTRLC protected property antrim county

MILES FROM GTRLC PROTECTED LAND

IN OUR REGION YOU ARE NEVER MORE THAN

RESIDENTS AND VISITORS BENEFIT FROM LAND PROTECTION ON BOTH PRIVATE AND PUBLIC LANDS ACROSS THE REGION

RECREATION ACTIVITIES ON LAND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

CHAPTER 05

CHAPTER 05

10

22

13

5

tons per year benzie county

tons per year grand traverse county

tons per year kalkaska county

tons per year manistee county 1

2

3

1

2

(p)

141

590

694

182

427

(s)

* Annual pollutant and sediment numbers are based on total lands protected by GTRLC as of April 2016. These annual numbers will increase as more land is protected. Cumulative numbers (one year added to the next) are not available for the first 25 years of land protection but will be going forward.

16

tons per year antrim county

(n)

tons kept out of local waters annually*

66

(n)

NITROGEN

tons kept out of local waters annually*

9

(p)

PHOSPHOROUS

All numbers are derived from STEPL (Spreadsheet Tool for the Estimation of Pollutant Load) designed for EPA grant reports and tracking.

GTRLC’S LAND PROTECTION EFFORTS IMPROVE WATER QUALITY AND HABITAT BY PROTECTING HEALTHY NATURAL LANDS THAT CONTRIBUTE LESS POLLUTANTS AND SEDIMENTS TO OUR LOCAL WATERS

tons kept out of local waters annually*

2,034

(s)

SEDIMENT

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CHAPTER 05

The Grand Traverse Region has long held a special spot in the hearts of those who live and visit here. Generations of year-round and seasonal residents have savored the breathtaking beauty of its Lake Michigan bluffs and beaches, its forests and farmlands, its inland lakes and rivers. This spectacular combination of land and water has provided the backdrop for countless hours of recreation and relaxation for people of all ages and walks of life.

The Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy has protected and stewarded these vital assets since 1991. Despite our many achievements over the last quarter century, our mission is more important today than ever. The very attractiveness of the region’s natural features, in combination with a growing economy, has generated development pressure on critical properties worthy of permanent protection. The region’s growth has placed additional stress on its lifeblood of clean lakes and streams. In a place and time that cry out for strategic conservation, the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy stands ready to work with willing landowners to meet that urgent need.

We use a scientific approach to identifying land with high conservation value within our service area. Conservation value is determined through a scoring process based on five criteria including parcel size, adjacency to protected land, length of shoreline, size and contiguity of wetlands, and habitat fragmentation. Parcels are ranked in a tiered system based on their cumulative scores with the highest scores representing priorities for protection.

Since designing this Priority Land Atlas in 2004, 133 parcels, totaling over 17,000 acres previously identified as conservation priorities have been protected. Updated in 2016, the Priority Land Atlas continues to be a valuable tool to help evaluate potential projects. It is effectively a “living document” and can be amended as new conservation drivers are identified.

LEGEND All GTRLC Protected Lands (Public & Private) Other Protected Land (Federal, State & Local) GTRLC Priority Lands for Future Protection Conservation Drivers

Tier 1

Tier 2

Parcel Size

≥ 120 acres

80 - 120 acres

Adjacency to Protected Land

Shares 3 or 4 sides with protected land

Shares 1 or 2 sides with protected land

Length of Shoreline

≥ 1 mi of shoreline

0.5 - 1 mi of shoreline

Size and Contiguity of Wetlands

≥ 20 acres if connected wetlands or ≥ 40 acres of isolated wetlands

1 - 20 acres of connected wetlands or 20 - 40 acres of isolated wetlands

Habitat Fragmentation

Intact habitat

Mostly intact habitat

Natural Communities

Rare for the area with little protection

Uncommon for the area with little protection

Crop Cover (for farm lands)

75-100% of parcel

50-75% of parcel

Soil Capability (for farm lands)

75-100% of parcel

50-75% of parcel

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PHOTO BY DREW SMITH

THE GR A ND TR AVER SE R EGIONAL L A ND CONSERVA NCY ’S FIR ST 25 Y EAR S

Protecting significant natural, scenic and farm lands, and advancing stewardship – now and for all future generations.

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy | 25TH ANNIVERSARY

GRAND TRAVERSE REGIONAL LAND CONSERVANCY