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News from the Keweenaw Peninsula October 10, 2001 Photos (except as noted) and Text © 2001 Michele Anderson

Rep. Rich Brown addresses Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District at 50th Anniversary Meeting

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Page 3: Conservation District, NRCS staff members present project reports

During the District meeting, directors and staff from the Conservation District and its cooperating agency, the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), provided progress reports on their projects – including resource management, the Torch Lake Superfund site and the Keweenaw County soil survey.

Jim Sweeting, forester/wildlife biologist and resource professional for the Cooperative Resource Management Initiative (CRMI) spoke about his work of technical assistance to private landowners for forestry and wildlife management. Covering Houghton, Keweenaw, Ontonagon and Gogebic counties, Sweeting offers a free informational service to private landowners who have questions on how to conserve natural resources on their land. He also refers landowners to agencies or consultants who can help them.

Keweenaw County Commissioner Don Keith, right, introduces himself to Jim Sweeting – forester, wildlife biologist and resource professional for the Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District at the District's 50th Anniversary meeting and dinner Oct. 13. In the background is a display on nesting areas for migratory birds. The Mallard Hen House structure at right was awarded as the grand prize to Norman Forsman of Franklin Township.The hen houses, made and sold by the Conservation District, are placed in ponds to help give mallard ducks and other waterfowl safe structures for nesting.

"I go out to (the landowner's) property. I visit with them, walk the property with them, answer questions that they have," Sweeting said. "We try to steer them in the right direction so they get good advice and good direction – to help them avoid mistakes. We can save them time and sometimes money."

Sweeting said any landowner qualifies for this assistance, "whether you have 600 acres or a lot in town." Even a person who doesn't own land can obtain information from the CRMI program. Sweeting noted most of the landowners he's worked with want to practice good conservation but might not be sure what is good conservation practice for their land. An example is the advice he gives to shoreline property owners about putting lawns near the water.

"To turn it all into lawn you destroy a lot of diversity for wildlife," he said. "I try to help them understand what native shrubs to plant or trees to leave to create the best habitat for wildlife."

Gary Aho, NRCS resource conservationist/project manager, reported on the progress of the $15.2 million Torch Lake Superfund Site, funded primarily by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), with assistance from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

Gary Aho, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) resource conservationist and project manager presents an update on the Torch Lake Superfund Site during the Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District's 50th Anniversary meeting and dinner Oct. 13.

"Everyone involved with the project is pleased, as far as I can tell, with the progress we've made so far," Aho said. "The Natural Resource Conservation Service is providing planning assistance, engineering design and construction oversight."

Aho also attributed success of the project in part to recommendations from some of the contractors. The Lake Linden, Hubbell/Tamarack City and Mason sites represent 73 percent of the total project. With the completion of the Mason sands this fall, all of the stamp sand sites on Torch Lake will have been treated to stop wind and water erosion and dust storms. Next summer the project moves to Portage Lake, with the treatment of Point Mills and the Dollar Bay slags, a total of about 125 acres.

"It's not the biggest site, but it's going to be one of the most difficult (because of ) 25 landowners involved," Aho noted.

Aho said the EPA is looking at the possibility of de-listing Torch Lake from the Superfund site. The remediated sites will continue to be fertilized each spring, and EPA will be responsible for their maintenance until 2007, when the landowners will take over the maintenance responsibility.

Bruce Petersen, NRCS district conservationist, reported on the Sturgeon/Otter River Watershed Council's efforts to obtain Clean Michigan Initiative funding for a full-time project manager to work with the public in that watershed for the next three years. While they were unsuccessful in the first round, they are rewriting the grant application, based on comments from DEQ readers.

"We're also pursuing (funding) a project manager on the Traprock River Watershed," Petersen said.

Petersen said NRCS staff also help Lake Linden eighth grade students with the "Adopt a Watershed" program, sponsored by Michigan Tech's Center for Science and Environmental Outreach (formerly the Gem Center), coordinated by Joan Chadde. The program exposes students to what is going on in the watershed – how people earn a living off the land, how mining and other activities impact the watershed – and gives them an opportunity to clean up the area of the stream.

Petersen also spoke about the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grants – a partnership of 18-20 groups, from the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community to the DNR. In Phase I of the grant, the partners received $980,000 to purchase waterfowl habitat sites on the Lake Superior shoreline. (See note, below.)

"I've just been informed that we were successful at the Phase II pursuits," Petersen said. "This will bring in about $750,000 to purchase additional land for waterfowl protection along the shoreline of Lake Superior."

Petersen noted NRCS is also involved in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), which enables cost share to be available to farmers and other landowners to address whole resource system concerns. Recently EQIP provided an ag-waste system for a local dairy farm, allowing manure to be stored through the winter and prevented from impacting water bodies and groundwater.

Petersen announced that Keweenaw Bay Indian Community will soon be the first tribe in the Midwest to be successful at organizing its own conservation district.

"This fall or certainly next spring the Secretary of Agriculture will be coming up here to meet with the KBIC," Petersen said.

The Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) is another NRCS project that has enabled landowners to begin restoring wetlands that had been drained in the past for agricultural purposes. Landowners can apply for cost share to restore the habitat.

Bruce Petersen, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) district conservationist, displays a conservation award to be presented to Richard Whiteman, Michigan Tech alumnus and owner of Red Metal Minerals, for his assistance with the bat-friendly closures project in local mine shafts – fall and winter habitat for little Brown Bats. Whiteman owns the property or controls the mineral rights on nine of the 13 mine adit sites, for which NRCS and Bat Conservation International have provided closures to protect bats from being disturbed during their fall and winter dormant period. Petersen said Whiteman has helped prepare the sites and has participated in informational outreach on the project.

Petersen presented the 2001 Wildlife Habitat Improvement Award to Richard Whiteman for his efforts on behalf of brown bats in the area. Whiteman, owner of Red Metal Minerals, has allowed the closure of many mine entrances on his property to be outfitted with special bat-friendly closures, funded by NRCS, to allow the bats undisturbed dormancy inside mine shafts or adits during the fall and winter months. Brown bats can only stand to be awakened about twice during winter dormancy. If disturbed more often than that, the animal's stored energy reserves are so depleted that it will probably not survive until spring, when insects become plentiful.

"Rich has been very cooperative in any way he can," Petersen said. "He has gone out of his way to do all kinds of bat informational outreach activities while he is educating the public about his mining activities."

Whiteman's company supplies Michigan copper specimens and ores to collectors from around the world. He was unable to attend the District meeting because of a business trip.

Ken Wikgren, soil scientist, reported on progress of the Keweenaw County Soil Survey, a five-year project of NRCS and Keweenaw County, now reaching the end of its fourth year of soil mapping. Wikgren, who has been working on the survey with Steve Tardy, NRCS soil scientist, said copies of the work done this past season should be available by this winter.

During a visit to the Keweenaw County Courthouse in Eagle River in April 2001, Rep. Rich Brown, D-Bessemer, right, discusses the Keweenaw County Soil Survey with Ken Wikgren, NRCS soil scientist working on the survey. Wikgren gave a report on the progress of the survey at the Oct. 13 Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District's 50th Annual Meeting. (April 2001 file photo)

About 179,000 acres, or 78 percent of the field work has been completed. Mapping of soils has progressed in Allouez Township, north Houghton Township, south Sherman Township and northeast Grant Township. Wikgren noted the survey crew has also done some mapping of Isle Royale to review work done there in 1989-90. Isle Royale will be included in the final survey publication. The remaining 50,000 acres of Keweenaw County are to be mapped next year, with field work scheduled to be completed by November 2002.

Advance copies of the soil maps for most areas surveyed are available from the Soil Survey office in the Keweenaw County Courthouse in Eagle River. Call 337-2279 for information.

District staff gave recognition to past staff and directors of the District, including Fred Kekko, the District's first Conservationist as well as past board directors Rudy Kerranen, Leonard Ollila, Bruce Porkka, Leo Tervo, and Charles Mikkola.

Tami Anderson, executive director, presented the 2001 Friend of the District award, a copper tree from CopperLand in Lake Linden, to Michele Anderson, former editor of the Web site Keweenaw Today and now editor and publisher of www.keweenawnow.com, for her consistent reporting and promotion of the Conservation District's activities.

A variety of door prizes, contributed by 14 local businesses, were awarded at the end of the evening. Contributors were Quality Hardware, The Loading Zone II Bar & Grill, Yarns & Threads, CopperLand, and RailDreams, Inc., all of Lake Linden; Ace Hardware, Copper World, Calumet Mercantile and General Store, Copper Art, all of Calumet; Auto Value of Houghton; Slim's Cafe of Mohawk; Keweenaw Berry Farm and Northern Cooperative both of Chassell; Superior National Bank main branch office of Hancock.

The Mountain Echo Bluegrass Band provided music during the social hour preceding the District meeting and dinner. Band members are Gary Aho on mandolin and singing; Audrey Viola on guitar and singing; Craig Kurtz on banjo; Don Arnson on guitar; and Josh Peny on bass.

Continued Page 4: Additional photos from Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District at 50th Anniversary Meeting

Return to Page 2: Incumbents re-elected to District Board of Directors

Note: Read about the role of the NAWCA grant in the potential Keweenaw County land purchase at the mouth of the Gratiot River.

Editor's Note: We wish to express our thanks to the Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District for the 2001 Friend of the District award, and we pledge further support of conservation efforts in the Keweenaw Peninsula and beyond.