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March 2003
Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District holds annual Tree Sale
HOUGHTON -- This Friday, April 4, is the extended deadline for ordering plants through the Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District's annual
Tree Sale. The District (HKCD) is currently accepting orders on Conifers, Trees and Shrubs for Wildlife, Berry Bushes, Fruit Trees, Native Wildflowers Seeds and Plants and Conservation Merchandise.
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| The Houghton Keweenaw Conservation
District Tree Sale is an annual fundraising event that benefits soil and water
conservation programs in Houghton and Keweenaw counties. (Photo courtesy and © 2002 Houghton Keweenaw Conservation
District) |
Profits from this fundraising tree sale go toward conservation education and the daily operations of the local conservation district.
Numerous Houghton and Keweenaw County students will have the opportunity to experience a hands-on conservation education program with Jim Sweeting, a Forestry/Wildlife Biologist and District staff member. The District -- in partnership with Baraga, Gogebic and Ontonagon Conservation Districts -- received $10,000 from the Michigan Department of Agriculture for a Private Lands Technical Assistance Grant. Tree sale profits will go towards the local share of this grant project providing wildlife and forestry management assistance in Houghton and Keweenaw counties.
New items this year include three-inch pots of Native Wildflowers such as Columbine, Pale Purple Coneflower and Bergamot.
The Columbine possesses a fascinating flower that appears to be two flowers in one; an inner yellow flower that is surrounded by an elegantly spurred red outer flower. Hummingbirds find it irresistible. It blooms in late spring with a height of two to three feet. Indians crushed the black seeds into a powder and mixed it with hot water to treat fever and headache.
The Pale Purple Coneflower has very showy, large purple flowers on three-to-five-foot stalks in early summer. This long lived, tough plant was used by Native Americans of the Northern Great Plains to treat burns, snakebites and stings.
The Bergamot is a fragrant member of the mint family that produces an abundance of picturesque purple flowers. It makes a great tea and is excellent for fresh bouquets.
Why Use Native Plants? Native plants have evolved here over thousands of years are well suited to our climate and site, resistant to disease and pests and require little or no special treatment. By using them we provide food and habitat for our native animals. When using native plants it is best to use those from your local area.
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| Serviceberry bushes like this one are also available
through the District's Tree Sale. Serviceberry is a wildlife shrub that attracts
a variety of birds. (Photo courtesy and © 2002 Houghton Keweenaw Conservation
District) |
In case you didn't receive an order form and newsletter in the mail, check out the
District's Web site. All the tree sale information is there, and an order form can be downloaded for your convenience. You can also call the District at 482-0214 and request an order form or stop in at their office on the second floor of the UPPCO Building, 600 East Lakeshore Drive in Houghton.
The pick up schedule for orders will be Friday April 25, 3 p.m.-7 p.m. and Saturday, April 26,
9 a.m. - noon at the UPPCO Building Garage facing the Dee Stadium.
The Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District helps local people find answers to their land management questions by linking them with natural resource professionals, products and services. A Board of Directors, consisting of elected community volunteers, makes decisions about conservation programs and services and hires qualified staff to conduct and carry them out.
The Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District (a local unit of government) began more than 50 years ago and is one of eighty-two districts in the state of Michigan. The District is here to serve its constituents.
Their monthly meetings are open to the public.
For more information about the Annual Tree Sale and the District, including time and place of meetings, call Sue Haralson, Administrator, at 482-0214, or check the
Houghton/Keweenaw Conservation District
Web site. 
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