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News from the Keweenaw Peninsula Posted Oct. 21, 2003  Updated Oct. 24, 2003 Text © 2003 Michele Anderson. Photos © 2003 and courtesy Eagle Harbor Township, Jeff Knoop, Dana Richter and Gina Nicholas, as indicated.

Township, conservation groups seek to preserve Lake Superior dunes, shoreline, wildlife habitat

EAGLE HARBOR -- Even as The Nature Conservancy recently celebrated the fruits of their efforts in handing over the 6,275-acre Keweenaw Tip land acquisition to the State of Michigan, townships and conservation groups in Keweenaw County have continued their own efforts to preserve special Lake Superior shoreline areas for habitat protection and public access.

While Eagle Harbor Township has been working on several land acquisition projects -- some completed and some nearing closure -- the Copper Country Audubon Club recently organized the purchase of an additional 80 acres of dense, forested land adjacent to Michigan Audubon's Lake Bailey Wildlife Sanctuary. The property is near the southeast corner of Lake Bailey, near Eagle Harbor, almost directly below Lookout Mountain (Mt. Baldy), where The Nature Conservancy owns a preserve.

Complementing these conservation efforts, the Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District (HKCD), with the help of the Keweenaw Land Trust (KLT), was recently awarded a $258,700 Michigan Coastal Management Program grant to purchase Dan's Point, a 24-acre parcel with 643 feet of Lake Superior Shoreline in Eagle Harbor Township at the northernmost point of the Keweenaw Peninsula.

Eagle Harbor Township to acquire dunes, wetlands for protection

Eagle Harbor Township has been working on three new land acquisition projects, two of which are close to completion: These are known as Long Lake Refuge 2 (LLR2, 176.3 acres), Long Lake Refuge 3 (LLR3, 173.3 acres) and the Dunes Marshes area (360 acres behind Great Sand Bay).

"The purpose of (acquiring) these special lands is to preserve the habitat of these areas for wildlife and for the enjoyment of future generations without development or destruction," said Doug Sherk, Eagle Harbor Township supervisor.

Sherk noted the township has applied to the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, or NAWCA, for grant funding of $76,700 to acquire for habitat preservation the LLR 2 (176.3 acres) -- privately held land adjacent to and contiguous with Long Lake Refuge 1. The competitive project scoring is going on now for the NAWCA funds that would provide this grant for LLR2.

"We are awaiting our standing, which will determine if we get funded this year or not," Sherk explained.

If funded, closure on the LLR2 acquisition could occur by December 2004. The township will not have to provide a match for these funds. The township would have closure fees and appraisal costs of $2,500.

The 399.4-acre Long Lake Refuge 1 (including Long Lake) has already been paid for with NAWCA funds ($85,000), matching Lake Superior Basin Trust Funds (LSBTF) from the State of Michigan ($75,000) and Township Land Acquisition Funds.

A large part of the funding for an additional adjacent 170-acre tract near Eliza Lake was also provided through the State of Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund. LLR2 is south of these Trust Fund lands.

At their Oct. 13, 2003, meeting, the Eagle Harbor Township Board voted unanimously to adopt a resolution to apply for a NAWCA Grant to purchase 173.3 acres in Section 12 of T58N-R31W known as LLR3. This companion parcel is just west of LLR 2 above. LLR3 lies south of Long Lake and extends up to the Eagle Harbor Cut Off Road. The purchase cost is $75,360 plus actual closing costs (the same as those for LLR2). If funded LLR3 closure could occur in late summer 2005.

Keweenaw County Commissioner Don Keith, a resident of Eagle Harbor, expressed his support of the township's land acquisition efforts, but added his concern that NAWCA funds could be jeopardized if the township is unable to provide the United States Fish and Wildlife Service requirement of documentation on birds in these areas.

"I concur and very much support land acquisition allowing public access for recreational purposes," Keith said. "We need volunteer help from anybody who's willing to help document the presence of birds in these areas."

In May 2003 Eagle Harbor Township received a private donation of $60,000 to cover the match needed for a Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Coastal Zone Management Program (MCMP) grant of up to $240,000 for the acquisition and preservation of 360 acres behind Great Sand Bay. This area is known as the Dunes Marshes Project.

To acquire this acreage, the township must still apply for a grant to cover the $8,000 cost of a conservation easement with the township paying $1,600 of the cost as its match. The township must also still apply for a grant to cover the $9,000 cost of obtaining surface rights, with the township paying $1,800 of that cost as its match, too. At their Oct. 13 meeting the Township Board voted unanimously to make these two applications. The match cost for the two applications -- $1,600 plus $1,800 -- will be paid from the Township's Land Acquisition Fund.

This aerial photo shows Lake Bailey to the Northeast (top), an area which includes the Audubon Lake Bailey Wildlife Sanctuary and The Nature Conservancy Lookout Mountain (Mt. Baldy) preserve; Eagle Harbor (harbor below Lake Bailey), which includes the Eagle Harbor Township Eliza Lake Project (DNR Trust Fund); Cat Harbor (harbor below Eagle Harbor), site of  Eagle Harbor Township's Long Lake Refuge Project (NAWCA and LSBTF funds); Great Sand Bay (bottom): Eagle Harbor Township's Dunes-Marshes Project (Private donor and Michigan Coastal Management funds). (Photo © 2003 and courtesy Eagle Harbor Township).

These acquisitions are part of Eagle Harbor Township's plan for a Coastal Recreation Area and Wildlife Refuge totaling 939 acres of coastal land situated between Lake Eliza on the East and Great Sand Bay on the West for public access and use, wetland and aquifer protection and conservation of habitats for indigenous and migratory wildlife.

(See George Hite's Eagle Harbor Web for details of this plan and a map showing these areas.)

Eagle Harbor Township is also fortunate to have lands on Mt. Baldy (also known as Mt. Lookout) purchased by The Nature Conservancy for protection and public access.

This photo, taken at the top of Mt. Baldy, or Mt. Lookout, near Eagle Harbor, shows the bedrock near the surface of an area exposed to cold winds and other conditions that have allowed a treeless northern bald community of rare plants to establish itself. The Nature Conservancy has purchased land on Mt. Baldy to protect its delicate ecosystem. (Photo courtesy Jeff Knoop)

Copper Country Audubon Club adds acreage to Lake Bailey Sanctuary

In six months the Copper Country Audubon Club recently organized the purchase of an additional 80 acres of dense, forested land adjacent to the Michigan Audubon's Lake Bailey Wildlife Sanctuary near the shores of Lake Superior in Keweenaw County. The property is near the southeast corner of Lake Bailey, near Eagle Harbor, almost directly below Lookout Mountain (Mt. Baldy).

The club raised $35,000 on their own, and the Michigan Audubon Society contributed the balance for the purchase price of about $55,000.

"It was a great showing of support for land protection in the Keweenaw," said Dana Richter, the club's president. "People all across the state wanted to donate to it."

Richter noted appreciation for the efforts of Keweenaw County Commissioner and Audubon member Don Keith, who encouraged many Keweenaw residents with interest in land protection to contribute to the purchase.

This property is one-half mile long east-west, and one-quarter mile wide, sloping north towards Lake Superior. It is entirely forested with aspen, birch, spruce, fir, pine and cedar. Similar to the mid-slope of the sanctuary property, this area has not been cut since the early part of the century when only the largest trees were taken.

Richter said the acreage likely contains stands of the beautiful, state-endangered, yellow-flowered heart-leaved Arnica that is in this same zone on the sanctuary. Over 250 species of plants have been catalogued on the Lake Bailey Sanctuary, including several species of orchids and four state-threatened or endangered plants. In the spring the forest floor is literally covered by beautiful and delicate twin-flowers and fringed polygalas. One can hear warblers, thrushes, vireos and sometimes a winter-wren in the underbrush.

In June 2002 in the Lake Bailey Sanctuary, Copper Country Audubon President Dana Richter photographed this rare wild Lilac, a state-threatened species. (Photo © 2002 Dana Richter. Reprinted with permission.)

The additional property will bring the protected area to 405 roadless acres, with no other access except a parking area on M-26. The additional property touches corners with the big 1,550-acre purchase that The Nature Conservancy recently made in the area surrounding Lookout Mountain (Mt. Baldy).

Conservation District, Keweenaw Land Trust to preserve Dan's Point

The Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District (HKCD), with the help of the Keweenaw Land Trust (KLT), was recently awarded a $258,700 Michigan Coastal Zone Management Program grant to purchase Dan's Point, a 24-acre parcel with 643 feet of Lake Superior Shoreline in Eagle Harbor Township at the northernmost point of the Keweenaw Peninsula.

This photo shows the Lake Superior shoreline at Dan's Point, a  24-acre parcel with a high quality bedrock plant community. It will become the property of the Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District, with a conservation easement from the Keweenaw Land Trust. The property will be named the Joseph and Mary Lizzadro Lakeshore in memory of Gina Nicholas's grandparents. Nicholas is contributing the match for the grant money awarded to fund the purchase. (Photo © 2003 Gina Nicholas. Reprinted with permission.)

The property is a high quality bedrock plant community, listed in the Michigan Natural Features Inventory's Study of Bedrock Shorelines. The Conservation District will own the land, which will be protected by a conservation easement from KLT for noninvasive public access, education and conservation.

Christa Walck, past KLT president, said Gina Nicholas, the landowner and a KLT member, approached KLT several years ago about finding a conservation buyer for her Dan's Point property.

"When KLT learned about the Coastal Zone Management (CZM) grants, we invited HKCD to partner with us since the grant requires a governmental entity own the property. Both Nicholas and the CZM program want the property protected long term, so they are enthusiastic about adding the protection of a conservation easement through KLT. With so much work to be done in land conservation, it is imperative that we use partnerships with like-minded groups to get the job done."

The funding, awarded by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, is 75 percent of the $323,900 project. Gina Nicholas will contribute a 25 percent local match of $65,000 in consideration that the property be named the Joseph and Mary Lizzadro Lakeshore in memory of her grandparents.*

"What I wanted to do was preserve a beautiful spot for all its natural inhabitants and for people to visit and enjoy," Nicholas said. "It's in honor of my grandparents, who influenced me as a child and started my love of Keweenaw."

Nicholas added the area was a favorite blueberry-picking spot.

"People will still be able to pick berries there," she noted.

The primary goals of the project are to protect sensitive Lake Superior shoreline from development, to increase public awareness of the need to protect such areas through on-site education and to provide for noninvasive public access to Keweenaw's north shore, which is dominated by private ownership. A secondary goal is to acquire the first of two properties that will enable an extensive non-motorized trail linking conservancies and public lands from shoreline to mountaintop in the Keweenaw Peninsula.

This will be KLT's first project in Keweenaw County and the first land acquisition for the Conservation District.**

Editor's Notes:  * Gina Nicholas was recently appointed to the Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District Board of Directors. Read more about Gina Nicholas, a Keweenaw Now guest author. ** Learn more about the Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District and the Keweenaw Land Trust by visiting their Web sites.