Home    News    September 2003

News from the Keweenaw Peninsula September 12, 2003  Updated September 15, 2003 Text © 2003 Michele Anderson. Sept. 10 photos © 2003 Janet Shea and Michele Anderson, as indicated.

TNC completes Keweenaw Tip purchase for Michigan

COPPER HARBOR -- On the Keweenaw Peninsula's tip, 6,275 rugged, wild and beautiful acres, including 5.5 miles of forested Lake Superior shoreline, now belong to the people of Michigan. On Sept. 10, 2003, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the State of Michigan completed the historic transaction with a celebratory event in Copper Harbor, followed by a Keweenaw Star boat trip around Keweenaw Point to the mouth of the Montreal River and back to Copper Harbor. 

On top of Brockway Mountain near Copper Harbor, Helen Taylor, right, state director of The Nature Conservancy's Michigan Chapter, applauds as Jim Ekdahl, DNR Upper Peninsula field deputy in Marquette, accepts the "Key to the Keweenaw," representing the new state ownership of 6,275 acres and 5.5 miles of forested Lake Superior shoreline at the Keweenaw Tip. Offering a champagne toast is John Vinkemulder of Frankfort, outgoing chair of TNC's Michigan Chapter. Also pictured is Tina Hall, TNC Director of Conservation for the U.P. Hall's husband, Bruce Ventura, made the key. (Photo by Janet Shea)

TNC's Michigan Chapter representatives joined Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) officials, state representatives, Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund board members and local officials, conservationists and residents on the top of Brockway Mountain for the "Key to the Keweenaw" celebration as TNC symbolically handed over ownership of the land to the people of the State of Michigan.

Jim Ekdahl, DNR Upper Peninsula field deputy, participated in the ceremony, accepting the "Key to the Keweenaw" for the State of Michigan.

"It's a great day and a great place," he said. "It's just a treat to see this deal completed."

Ekdahl noted he has been involved in the effort to preserve the Keweenaw Tip for the public since 1997, when he took DNR Director K.L. Kool to visit the Mouth of the Montreal River and Keystone Bay, now part of the new state-owned acreage.

The mouth of the Montreal River and five miles of the river, a favorite trout stream, are included in the completed land purchase brokered by The Nature Conservancy for the State of Michigan. (Photo taken from the Keweenaw Star by Janet Shea)

Noting the Keweenaw Tip has been his "number-one issue in the U.P.," Ekdahl said he told Kool on that trip that if they didn't do anything else in the time they were in the Upper Peninsula they should put this into public lands.

"He gave us unlimited support after that," Ekdahl said of Kool.

The newly protected land links with property already owned by The Nature Conservancy and the state for a total of 11,104 acres and 13 miles of shoreline protected for wildlife habitat and also open to the public for hunting, fishing and hiking. The land contains more than 900 species of flora, including rare plant species such as the alpine bistort, pale Indian paintbrush and calypso orchid. It also is an important flyway stopover site in the Great Lakes region for thousands of raptors including the bald eagle, broadwing hawk, merlin and peregrine falcon. Home to black bears and wolves, the land could also provide habitat for moose, whose numbers are declining in the Upper Peninsula.

The Nature Conservancy acted as a third-party broker in the transaction, buying the entire acreage from International Paper/Lake Superior Land Company and holding it until being reimbursed over two years from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund. That funding -- the single largest grant ever awarded by the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund in the program's 25-year history -- covered the sale cost of $12.5 million. TNC contributed an additional $400,000 in interest and related costs, thereby allowing the Trust Fund to spread payments over two years, purchasing 3,009 acres in 2002 and 3,266 acres in 2003. The Trust Fund receives its revenue from royalties generated by leasing of oil and gas on state-owned land.

"It’s especially appealing symmetry that the trust fund is using revenue from non-renewable sources to protect an area once known as the largest single source of copper in the western hemisphere," said Helen Taylor, state director for the Michigan Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. "Today, the copper mines are mostly gone; but the natural beauty and biodiversity remains and will continue to remain here forever."

Helen Taylor, state director of The Nature Conservancy's Michigan Chapter, addresses the crowd gathered on top of Brockway Mountain for the "Key to the Keweenaw" ceremony on Sept. 10. Taylor said the land sale began with the local community and landowner International Paper. (Photo by Janet Shea)

Introducing Taylor to the crowd at the ceremony, Phil Power of Ann Arbor, chair-elect of TNC's Michigan Chapter, said, "No one has worked harder to make the Keweenaw deal come true than Helen Taylor."

Taylor said that wasn't true, that many people worked as hard and harder.

"It really began with the local community and International Paper -- their willingness to sell this land," she said.

The parcel newly purchased from International Paper/Lake Superior Land Company (IP/LSLC) includes: 5.5 miles of forested shoreline along Lake Superior, five miles of the Montreal River (a top-ranked trout stream), stunning waterfalls and three inland lakes -- Schlatter, Hoar and Copper. This area has long been identified by The Nature Conservancy as a high priority for biodiversity protection because of its unique ecological value. Some of the finest remaining examples of hardwood/boreal forest communities left in the Keweenaw are part of this parcel, along with patterned peatlands (a unique wetland system) and cliffs overlooking Lake Superior.

Bare Bluff, a favorite hiking and kayaking stop, is near the Mouth of the Montreal on the south shore of the Keweenaw Tip. Owned by the Michigan Nature Association, it is adjacent to the new state land acquisition property. (Photo taken from the Keweenaw Star by Janet Shea)

"When we began these negotiations almost three years ago, much of the land was staked out in small parcels for splitting up and selling," Taylor said. "Not only would this land have been lost for the people of Michigan, but also for the unique diversity of plants and animals living there. Thank goodness we still have it, and we can enjoy this last great place forever."

Taylor noted the Keweenaw Tip is not just important locally but is significant to the Great Lakes and has global prominence.

The tip of the 60-mile Keweenaw Peninsula juts into Lake Superior so dramatically that its finger-like extension can be seen distinctly from the moon. Geologists date the peninsula to be at least one billion years old, with a unique rugged landscape not seen anywhere else in the Great Lakes ecoregion.

Jeff Knoop, TNC Director of Land Protection for the Upper Peninsula, worked closely with Walt Arnold, IP/LSLC director of marketing and sales, to negotiate the sale. Knoop took over the project from Tina Hall, TNC Director of Conservation for the U.P., who initiated the deal in its earlier stages.

Jeff Knoop, right, TNC director of land protection for the U.P., chats with Gail Lewellan, TNC attorney, and Frank Stubenrauch, Keweenaw County Board chair, during the Keweenaw Star boat trip around Keweenaw Point. (Photo by Michele Anderson)

Said Knoop, "I think it's the greatest land acquisition ever completed in the Keweenaw Peninsula. It's really a landmark acquisition because it not only protects rare and endangered species but provides public recreational access for a variety of users -- hikers, bikers, skiers, snowmobilers and kayakers. It provides for multiple recreational uses."

Knoop added TNC and the State of Michigan are consulting to put together a long-term management plan for the 6,275 acres.

IP's Walt Arnold was unable to attend the celebration because of a Leadership Michigan special meeting the same day.

In a Sept. 15 email to Keweenaw Now, he wrote, "Wish I could have been there. I feel the big breakthrough came from IP's willingness to pursue a sale option versus Champion's former trade-only stance. It also did not hurt that IP and TNC have a nationwide partnership and long history of successful transactions. It is a great example of win-win-win (TNC-IP-State residents and visitors). I feel honored to have played a major role in making it happen."

The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. The Nature Conservancy counts at least 1 million members worldwide, including more than 32,000 in Michigan. The Conservancy and its members have protected more than 80 million acres on Earth, including more than 73,000 acres in Michigan. TNC embraces a non-confrontational, market-based approach for accomplishing its science-driven mission.

Go to Page 2 for more on the Keweenaw Tip celebration and more photos ...