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In Michigan the Fund has worked closely with local farmers, communities and other partners to protect nearly 32,000 acres of the state’s working landscapes, wildlife habitat and river corridors—from the shores of Lake Superior to rural communities and city green spaces.
We're helping to implement the Ann Arbor Greenbelt Initiative, a far-reaching project designed to protect and link city parks, natural areas and working farms throughout the city, while curbing the growth and effects of suburban sprawl.
Read the recent article, "Ann Arbor's Greenbelt Program Making Strides On Preserving Open Space" featured on AnnArbor.com.
Nature-based tourism is an important economic base in many communities, especially in rural places like Michigan’s famed Upper Peninsula (U.P.). For these communities, protecting land and water resources is more than good conservation. It is good business.
The Sturgeon River—a blue ribbon trout stream and wild and scenic river—is a prime destination in the western U.P. for paddlers, hikers, nature enthusiasts and trout anglers. In 2010, we protected more than five miles along this vital waterway, connecting neighboring lands to form a continuous 30-mile stretch of public land along the river. In addition, the North Country National Scenic Trail, a 4,600-mile hiking trail that crosses seven northern states, parallels the river for four miles.
The Siawassee National Wildlife Refuge serves as the gateway to the Great Lakes. The refuge contains one of the largest and most productive wetland ecosystems in Michigan. Not far from Saginaw, this urban refuge draws 60,000 visitors a year and provides outstanding opportunities for hiking, wildlife viewing, hunting, fishing and boating. Large populations of migratory birds also use the refuge as a stopover point.
In recent years, the Fund has helped add 231 acres to Siawassee. Most recently, in 2009, we helped protect 118 acres situated along the Cass River. We partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and DTE Energy—with key support from Ducks Unlimited and the North American Wetlands Conservation Council. The land was added to the refuge as part of a partnership launched in 2007 with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and DTE Energy to reduce and offset carbon emissions. We purchased the property in 2008 and held it until the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service could secure the necessary funding to take ownership in 2009.
The 118 acres includes a combination of bottomland hardwood swamp, shrub marsh and oak ridges that provide a home for a variety of wildlife, including wood ducks, barred owls, eastern wood-pewees, wood thrushes, American redstarts and scarlet tanagers.
Prior to 2009, in partnership with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, we acquired 113 acres to establish a Great Lakes Visitors Center, trail complex and wildlife observation stations. The center provides interactive exhibits and presents information that offers a broader view of the Great Lakes Basin.
At the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula, Leelanau State Park invites visitors to hike, swim or simply drink in panoramic views of Lake Michigan. Native Americans used the term “Leelanau” to mean “land of delight,” a translation that holds true today. In 2008, supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, we provided a timely loan to help a longtime partner, the Leelanau Conservancy, add 51 acres of scenic lands to the park—including nearly 1,400 feet of pristine shoreline.
Securing the latest addition to the Saugatuck Harbor Natural Area along Lake Michigan was a saga worthy of the big screen. It took five decades. It cost $19 million. The cast of characters included an Oklahoma landowner, a regional land trust (The Land Conservancy of West Michigan), a host of local donors, state and municipal government officials—and, at a critical moment, The Conservation Fund. Learn more >>
The Galien River flows through fertile farmland, Warren Woods State Park and portions of the city of New Buffalo before it winds its way to Lake Michigan. Because of agricultural run-off and failing septic systems, this once-pristine waterway is now impaired. In 2005 the Fund and its partners worked with the city and the surrounding townships to refine and carry out the Galien River Watershed Management Plan, an initiative supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to reduce sediment and improve water quality.
Striking views, rolling hillsides, and working farmlands characterize the 58 acres of Maple Bay Farm that are now protected through a Conservation Fund loan to Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy. With assistance from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, and as part of the Petobego Watershed Conservation Initiative, the Fund is helping to safeguard vital rural lands along the Great Lakes’ shorelines.
Launched by the Fund and its partners in 2000, the Michigan Dune Alliance promotes conservation and stewardship of coastal marshes, dunes, forests and freshwater river systems along the shores of Lake Michigan. In 2003, with support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Michigan Dune Alliance awarded grants for strategic conservation plans at eight sites along the Lake Michigan coastline.
Michigan is one of the nation's top producers of navy and black beans, pears and grapes, maple syrup, and cranberries. The state is projected to lose almost two million acres of farmland to development over the next 40 years. To protect its farmland, the Fund, in concert with the Michigan Department of Agriculture, has created a Farmland and Open Space Preservation Program. The program allows qualified farmers and landowners to sell their development rights to the state of Michigan, permanently protecting their land from development.
In 2004 the Fund facilitated the protection of more than 700 acres of farmland and helped its partners reach a significant milestone: 15,000 acres conserved since the program began six years ago.
Since 1998 the Fund and the Michigan Department of Agriculture have partnered to help local farmers preserve their working lands and the important economic and environmental benefits those lands provide. Through a state agricultural protection program, the Fund has arranged conservation easements on more than 13,000 acres of farmland in 27 counties.
Steep valleys, deep caves and sinkholes characterize Mystery Valley, a unique karst terrain in northeast Michigan. Here, the region's spectacular earth cracks and sinkholes swallow natural springs as they edge their way toward Lake Huron. The Conservation Fund, through its Great Lakes Revolving Fund, provided a loan to the Michigan Karst Conservancy to safeguard 75 acres in the valley.
Seven Mile Point is known for its billion-year-old Lake Superior bedrock, cobble sand beach and wetlands. The 32-acre property connects to the Turtle Lake wetlands complex, habitat for 270 bird species. With the support of the new Great Lakes Revolving Loan Fund, initiated through a grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Fund helped Northwoods Conservancy acquire the point, including its 150 feet of Lake Superior shoreline.
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The Fund is dedicated to reconnecting kids with nature. Mike Kelly, our Great Lakes Office Director, writes about teaching kids his favorite activity: fishing!
Powered by: Phase2 TechnologyThe Conservation Fund National Office
1655 N. Fort Myer Drive, Suite 1300
Arlington, Virginia 22209-3199
Phone: 703-525-6300
Fax: 703-525-4610
Email: postmaster@conservationfund.org
