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February 2004
Trust Fund Board approves Allouez Township's potential Seneca Lake purchase
MOHAWK -- Allouez Township families may eventually enjoy a park and recreation area near Seneca Lake if a grant of $175,000 from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF) is approved by the Michigan legislature.
The township received word recently that their project -- acquisition of about 200 acres including Seneca Lake -- is one of eight state and 19 local land acquisition projects totaling $18 million and recommended for funding by the MNRTF Board of Trustees in December 2003. Property owner International Paper/Lake Superior Land Co. has agreed to sell the property to the township.
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| A paddleboat offers peaceful enjoyment of Seneca Lake
in Allouez Township. (Photo © 2004 Jane Bjorn. Reprinted with
permission.) |
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Allouez Township Supervisor Bill Luokkanen said township surveys and public meetings led to the application for the land acquisition grant, which would be step #1 of the project.
"We would like to see a family-use type picnic area put in there and maybe some small fishing piers and (non-motorized) hiking trails," Luokkanen said. "Once we've purchased the property, we'll have more public meetings on it to determine the usage."
Seneca Lake presently has small fish such as perch and blue gills -- fish that children like to catch, he added.
The township needs to receive funds from the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) for the township's share of the Trust Fund grant.
"If we don't get our grant money, the township will go with a long-term loan for the township's share," Luokkanen explained.
Several options exist for loans, including possibly a bank loan from Rural Development, he noted.
The picnic area would be nestled among the trees and would probably be located on the Mohawk side of the lake, where there is an existing road. Some ideas are to have a hiking trail from Ahmeek to Seneca Lake and possibly a hiking trail around the lake. There is an existing trail from Seneca Location to the lake.
The lake also borders on Cliff Drive.
"These are just ideas that the public has expressed so far -- what they want to see," Luokkanen said. "At this time the township is considering family use only for the area."
A letter to the township from present DNR Director K. L. Cool stated that the DNR evaluated 186 applications under this program, totaling $113 million in requests. In addition to the $18 million for land acquisition projects, the MNRTF Board recommended $5.6 million for 24 local outdoor recreation development projects.
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