Little Traverse Conservancy
3264 Powell Road
Harbor Springs, MI  49740

For more information, please call:  231.347.0991

Imagine you are on a boat in Emmet County’s Crooked Lake, moving north along the Inland Waterway. You are heading toward the Crooked River and ahead of you are the Alanson locks which will transport you safely to the Crooked River. To your left, just before the locks, are beautiful, undeveloped wetlands. It is a place where the call of kingfishers is common, as is the water trail of a muskrat or otter that just passed through.

This spring, Little Traverse Conservancy purchased 2,000 feet of this frontage along with 23 acres of marsh and forested wetlands to create the Inland Waterway Preserve. According to wildlife ecologist Burt Ebbers, “I cannot think of any other waterfront parcel in the upper Crooked River watershed more deserving of preservation than this property, both in terms of helping maintain water quality and providing quality habitat for native plants and animals.” Ebbers noted that the new preserve includes a well-defined Northern Fen community, a rarity in this region.

“Protecting this much shoreline near the top of the waterway was a high priority for the Conservancy,” said Tom Bailey, executive director for the Conservancy.      

Funding for the purchase came primarily from the Taylor Foundation, and was greatly enhanced with a $15,000 contribution from the Pickerel-Crooked Lake Association (PCLA), a dynamic group that has worked in partnership with the Conservancy throughout the years. Most notably, this group served a significant role in protecting the Oden Island Nature Preserve and the Black Hole Nature Preserve.

“The PCLA is made up of members with a wide variety of backgrounds with the common interest of protecting the environmental well being of our lakes,” said Ray McMullen, president of PCLA. “Unscientifically speaking, one of the best ways to maintain or enhance the quality of a water body is to leave it the heck alone. This is why PCLA has been pleased to work with LTC on many conservation projects.”

The new preserve directly adds to protection provided by other preserves. On June 24, a pontoon ride to the new preserve will depart from Ryde Marine in Oden at 6:30 pm. There is limited space and pre-registration is required, so please call 231.347.0991 for more information or visit www.landtrust.org.

Since 1972, the Little Traverse Conservancy has been working as the oldest regional, non-profit land trust in Michigan. With the support of more than 4,000 members, the Little Traverse Conservancy works with private landowners and units of local government to permanently protect ecologically significant and scenic lands from development. Since it was founded, more than 40,000 acres and 103 miles of shoreline along our region’s lakes, rivers, and streams have been set aside to remain in their natural state within Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Emmet, Mackinac, and Chippewa counties. In addition, more than 6,000 young people participate in a Conservancy environmental education outing every year. For more information about the Little Traverse Conservancy and land protection options for your land, please contact their office at 231.347.0991 or visit www.landtrust.org.

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Traverse City, MI  — The Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy and Acme Township have announced the awarding of a 1:1 challenge grant from The Carls Foundation in support of the Acme Shoreline Preservation Initiative. The grant will match, dollar for dollar, donations from individuals and other foundations to protect shoreline properties as part of Phase One of the shoreline project. The project will greatly increase public access to Acme Township’s prized Lake Michigan shoreline along a mile-long stretch south of the intersection of M-72 and US-31, at the gateway to the Grand Traverse region.

Phase One of the township's Shoreline Initiative includes the purchase of three properties adjacent to the existing Bayside Park near the M-72 / U.S. 31 intersection. The three properties are Willow Beach, Knollwood, and Shoreside Inn. The properties cover nearly 4 acres of land and will provide over 540’ of frontage on Lake Michigan and provide for recreational opportunities including shoreline fishing, wildlife viewing, day use areas for picnicking and a swimming beach. The cost of the three parcels is $4,008,000. Acme Township was awarded 75% of needed funds – $3,006,000 – in competitive Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grant support, conditional on the Township securing $1 million in matching funds by June 1, 2010. The Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy, who is coordinating negotiations with the landowners partnering on this initiative, is also managing the private fundraising efforts to secure the $1 million. A total of $285,000 is still needed - by June 1st - to meet the match requirement for the Trust Fund grant for Phase One.

“The Carls Foundation challenge grant means that every dollar that comes in from the community will be matched 1:1, up to $100,000. Gifts of any size are appreciated and will literally have a lasting impact on the landscape and character of the gateway to the Grand Traverse region. Everyone in the community will be able to enjoy access to the new beachfront,” commented Acme Township Supervisor Wayne Kladder.
Communities throughout Michigan are increasingly realizing that preserving and featuring their best natural assets - their productive farms, their shoreline, their beaches, their dunes, and their riverfronts – can be a key to future prosperity.

Megan Olds, Associate Director of the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy commented, “The Carls Foundation is a state-wide foundation based in Detroit, but with a long history of supporting conservation across Michigan and in the Grand Traverse region. Their support adds to the generous gifts from individuals and local foundations like Rotary Charities of Traverse City, the Oleson Foundation, and the Les and Anne Biederman Foundation, and really speaks to the broad significance of the project.”

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How to help

Donations can be made directly to the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy. Checks should be made out to GTRLC – write Acme Shoreline project in the memo line of the check. You can also donate online at www.gtrlc.org. For information about how to make a stock transfer gift or to explore other giving options, including multi-year pledges, contact Megan Olds at the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy.

Contacts

Wayne Kladder, Acme Township Supervisor, (231) 938-1350
Paul Brink, Acme Shoreline Preservation Committee Co-chair, (989) 430-6946
Pat Salathiel, Acme Shoreline Preservation Committee Co-chair, (231) 938-2128
Megan Olds, Associate Director, Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy, (231) 929-7911, molds@gtrlc.org

Acme Shoreline Protection Initiative Background

In 2006, a broad-based group of Acme Township Shoreline Advisory Committee members, elected and appointed officials, shoreline landowners, regional foundation and agency representatives and state legislators developed a Plan to open Acme’s waterfront. They agreed on the goal of reclaiming and preserving the shoreline for public use in order to:
• Offer public access to scarce waterfront shoreline
• Showcase the natural beauty of Acme Township by opening viewscapes and providing a scenic gateway to Traverse City
• Boost tourism creating a more robust local economy
• Enhance quality of life for Acme Township residents and those who visit
• Encourage non-motorized transportation by connecting to existing amenities, such as the nearby TART trail

An ongoing partnership with Eastern Michigan University has also led to the preservation and distribution of historic artifacts found in the DeYoung home and other structures on the property. Treasures such as children’s toys and household items from the early 1900s will soon be on display at the Grand Traverse Lighthouse and have been added to the collections of the Leelanau Historical Museum, Traverse City Historical Society, and Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear. Last spring graduate students from EMU’s Historic Preservation program documented the treasures, built new windows for the pump house and made recommendations for restoration once funding can be secured.

“It feels good to be recognized for the work we have done to merge land protection with historic preservation,” says Jenee Rowe, Stewardship Director for the Leelanau Conservancy, who accepted the award along with Executive Director Brian Price. “In my mind, both the buildings at DeYoung and the landscape there really capture the spirit of Leelanau County’s early days.” To learn more about the Heritage Center’s other awardees in Leelanau County and beyond, visit www.gtheritagecenter.org.

For information, contact:
Peter Ter Louw,
Executive Director
(269) 324-1600
E-mail: ConserveLand@SWMLC.org

Land Conservancy Awarded NAWCA Grant Funding for work in Barry, Cass, Kalamazoo and St. Joseph

Portage, MI — The Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy (SWMLC) has been awarded $500,000 for wetland conservation and restoration in southwest Michigan. As a partner in a project led by Ducks Unlimited, SWMLC was chosen to be a recipient of funding to conserve wetland habitat in the southeast Lake Michigan watershed by a grant through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act. SWMLC and project partners will acquire, restore or enhance approximately 2,000 acres of forested, scrub-shrub and emergent (wet meadows and marshes) wetlands as well as uplands adjacent to wetlands throughout southwest Michigan.

"NAWCA grants are a crucial funding source for conservation partnerships such as this one," said Michael Sertle, regional biologist for Ducks Unlimited. "As a result of this funding opportunity, we will be able to cooperatively conserve critical wetland habitat for the benefit of waterfowl and other migratory birds."

The partners’ efforts in the project area will protect and restore wetland habitat in a region where thousands of acres of wetlands historically existed. Many of these historical wetlands were drained by drainage ditches, field tiles, or modifications to surface drainage for agricultural purposes. The objective of this NAWCA grant is to conserve approximately 1,350 acres of wetlands and 650 acres of adjacent upland nesting habitat.

"With this funding, SWMLC will be able to purchase and protect high-quality wetland habitat that we have had our eye on for several years," said Emily Wilke, SWMLC director of land protection. "We will focus our work in Barry, Cass, Kalamazoo and St. Joseph counties, which will include two purchase projects and the restoration of a property that we currently own in Kalamazoo County."

Ducks Unlimited partnered with the following organizations to receive matching and non-matching funds to leverage the NAWCA funds: SWMLC, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, R.T. Groos LLC, The Nature Conservancy, Michigan Nature Association, Fort Custer Training Center, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Boy Scouts of America and Potawatomi Resource Conservation & Development.

Approximately $2 million in matching and non-matching partner funds and $989,000 in NAWCA grant funds will protect, restore and enhance emergent and forested wetland habitat critical to waterfowl in southwest Michigan. Approximately $1 million — or half of the matching dollars — is being provided by conservation-minded landowners who have donated their land or development rights to SWMLC. With their donations, SWMLC was able to leverage $500,000 to purchase and restore wetlands. Conservation projects are expected to take place over a period of four years beginning in the summer of 2010.

"I am very pleased to see this grant awarded to a project that is very important to preserving and restoring these wetlands in southwest Michigan, and look forward to the work Ducks Unlimited will do in implementing it," said U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow. "This is one of the nation’s most effective conservation programs, and I am pleased this project will also focus on conserving associated upland habitat along Lake Michigan’s coast."

To learn more about the NAWCA grant or about SWMLC, call the office at (269) 324-1600 if you have questions, or visit their web site at www.SWMLC.org. For more information on Ducks Unlimited, visit www.ducks.org.

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Background Information:

The Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy serves the nine counties of southwest Michigan, and has protected over 7,500 acres since its inception as an all-volunteer organization in 1991. The Conservancy currently has five full-time and two part-time staff and 170 active volunteers and is supported by 1,100 household memberships.

SWMLC is partnering with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources on the Barry State Game Area conservation project and with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality on watershed management planning projects for the Rocky River, Paw Paw River, Black River, Dowagiac Creek, Dowagiac River, Prairieville Creek, and Augusta Creek. SWMLC is working on waterfowl conservation, endangered species acquisition and stewardship projects in collaboration with other land conservancies and nonprofit conservation partners through funding from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. SWMLC is also working on watershed planning and management with the Two Rivers Coalition (Van Buren Conservation District) and Friends of the St. Joseph River. In addition, SWMLC works with county and municipal governments to protect natural areas and open space along Lake Michigan as well as land that provides significant public benefit.

To learn more about the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy, call (269) 324-1600 or visit their web site at www.SWMLC.org.

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April 28, 2009 

Contact: Chris Soto
csoto@lta.org

Association Recognized for Innovation in Media and Publishing

Presented with two 2009 EXCEL Awards

Washington, DC—The Land Trust Alliance is being honored by the Society of National Association Publications (SNAP) at its 29th Annual EXCEL Awards, which recognize the best and the brightest in association media and publishing.

As one of 181 winners selected from nearly 1,000 entries, the Alliance is being presented a Gold Award in the Magazines: Most Improved category and a Gold Award in the Magazines: Redesign category (submitted by Bates Creative Group) for taking bold chances and delivering excellence in the association industry.

“Congratulations to the Land Trust Alliance, one of the recipients of our EXCEL Awards,” said Amy Lestition, CAE, SNAP’s executive director, “These publications demonstrate the importance of conveying content in a variety of formats to our constituents. Bravo to the publication and media association professionals for their mastery of the field.”

“We went through a rigorous redesign process and this is a wonderful affirmation of our success,” said Chris Soto, editor of Saving Land, the winning magazine of the Alliance.

The Land Trust Alliance will be honored and celebrated at the 29th EXCEL Awards Gala on June 4, 2009. Award-winning entries are displayed at the EXCEL Awards Gala and are featured in the July/ August issue of Association Publishing. The Alliance may also be a winner of the distinguished EXTRA! Awards—presented to associations pushing the edge of the envelope further to innovate in an ever-changing publishing environment—which will be announced at the EXCEL Awards Gala in June. For more information on the Association Media and Publishing Conference and the EXCEL Awards Gala, visit www.snaponline.org.

For more information about the Land Trust Alliance, please visit www.landtrustalliance.org.

About the Land Trust Alliance: The Land Trust Alliance is a national conservation group that works on behalf of America’s 1,700 land trusts to save the places people love by strengthening conservation throughout America. The Alliance works to increase the pace and quality of conservation by advocating favorable tax policies, training land trusts in best practices and working to ensure the permanence of conservation in the face of continuing threats.

About SNAP: SNAP is the one non-profit, professional society serving the needs of association publishers and communications professionals. Areas of expertise include: fostering effective relationships among publishers, communications professionals, and industry providers; developing and maintaining high editorial and advertising standards through our Excel Awards and Publications Review Program; providing members with the latest industry movements through bi-annual meetings, Lunch & Learn Seminars, the SNAP listserve, and Association Publishing, our bimonthly magazine; and, connecting professionals with career opportunities in association publishing through our Career Center.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Rachel Kuntzsch
Heart of the Lakes
517-285-0460
rachel@heartofthelakes.org

Erin Heskett
Land Trust Alliance
269-324-1683
eheskett@lta.org

$1 Million Program to Bolster Michigan Land Conservancies

June 30, 2008

Lansing, MI — Conservation groups today reported that Michigan ranks only 25^th in the nation in terms of percent of land conserved in the state (1.3%) and called on the state’s nonprofit conservancies to step up and do more to stop the rapid loss of land to development.  Toward that end, Heart of the Lakes Center for Land Conservation Policy and the Land Trust Alliance (the Alliance) announced today a new conservation program in Michigan to help transform the state’s land conservancies into a high-performing, sustainable and cohesive conservation community.

Called the “ACE” program for Advancing Conservancy Excellence, this call-to-action initiative will provide three years of sustained coaching, training and capacity-building to strengthen land conservancies across the state.  Over the course of the next 30 years, more than four million acres of land in Michigan, including vital open space in urban areas, will disappear to development.  The ACE program will accelerate the growth and development of Michigan conservancies so that they have the ability to scale up their operations and the sustainability to increase greatly the number of conservation transactions.

The new program will also help position Michigan’s land conservancies to win national accreditation through the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Alliance.  Accreditation provides the assurance of quality and permanence of land conservation and recognizes a conservancy’s ability to protect important natural places and working lands forever.

“Michigan’s nonprofit land conservancies are doing great work helping communities save the land that defines our quality of life,” said Rachel Kuntzsch, Executive Director of Heart of the Lakes. “With the tools, training and technical assistance provided through ACE, they can achieve so much more.”

Rand Wentworth, President of the Land Trust Alliance, an umbrella group for the 1700 land conservation groups in America, said: “This is the right program, the right strategy, and the right group of experienced players who can really make a difference on the ground.  Model programs like ACE are what the land conservation community needs if we hope to double the pace of conservation over the next 25 years.  The alternative will be over 50 million acres of land paved and lost to development across America that would otherwise sustain our drinking water supplies, wildlife habitat, and recreation lands.”

The ACE Program is made possible through the generous support of the Carls Foundation. Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Frey Foundation, Kresge Foundation, and Wege Foundation.

Tom Bailey, Executive Director of Little Traverse Conservancy in Harbor Springs, Michigan, and President of Heart of the Lakes credited the funders for their leadership, saying, “Thanks to the support of a number of Michigan foundations, Heart of the Lakes and the Land Trust Alliance will be able to help land conservancies increase their level of performance and advance collaborative, strategic and high-impact land conservation in Michigan.”

Helen Taylor, State Director in Michigan for The Nature Conservancy noted, “This program will be a great resource for land trusts in Michigan—a resource that not only will strengthen the performance of individual organizations, it also will strengthen our skills and ability to partner and collaborate effectively to collectively achieve greater results.”

Michigan is home to more than forty active land conservancies who have collectively protected more than 400,000 acres of Michigan coastline, forests, unique agricultural land, and other natural areas for future generations to enjoy.  Conservancies work on a local, regional, or statewide basis with private landowners, local units of government, and the state to ensure the permanent protection of the state’s natural assets.

New state and federal tax incentives for private land conservation are leading to increased landowner interest in conservation options.  This, combined with declining public budgets for conservation programs, points to the need for a strong, sustainable conservancy community.

Michigan conservancies will have the opportunity to participate in the ACE program’s technical trainings, organizational assessments, mentoring, and consultations tailored individually to their needs.  Capacity-building grants up to $20,000 per conservancy will also be available on a competitive basis.  In addition, the program will facilitate the formation and strengthening of strategic partnerships among conservancies, government agencies and the private sector that will achieve more conservation throughout the state.

For more information on ACE, visit Heart of the Lakes or the Land Trust Alliance.

Heart of the Lakes Center for Land Conservation Policy is a nonprofit organization serving as the policy voice and convener of Michigan land conservancies. Our member organizations have helped to protect more than 400,000 acres of Michigan forests, farmland, coastline, and other extraordinary places. Heart of the Lakes is also a source of independent research, analysis, new ideas, and communications on Michigan's biggest conservation successes and challenges.

The Land Trust Alliance is a national conservation group that works to save the places people love by strengthening conservation throughout America.  It works to increase the pace and quality of conservation by advocating favorable tax policies, training land trusts in best practices, and working to ensure the permanence of conservation in the face of continuing threats.

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