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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Anne Fleming
Communications and Publications Coordinator
Little Traverse Conservancy
(231) 347-0991 | anne@landtrust.org
HARBOR SPRINGS, MI -- A beautiful property on the outskirts of Petoskey was recently donated to the Little Traverse Conservancy so that it could remain a natural sanctuary for animals for all time.
Martha “Marty” Alice Curtis was described as a private woman who had a strong connection to all living things and the earth. Born in Petoskey, Martha developed a love of farming growing up on her family’s hobby farm. Her formal training was in nursing and she worked as a surgical nurse in both Petoskey and California. But her passion was animals.
One of Martha’s closest friends, Lois Holmes, described Martha as generous, non-boastful, and someone who lived the simple life by choice. “I called her ‘the St. Francis of Petoskey’ because she believed every creature was entitled to life, including insects and spiders,” Lois said. “She always felt that when she was with nature, she was close to God.”
Late in high school, Martha owned and registered a small herd of Galloway cattle and used her own money to raise oats and hay for them. At one time, she started a business raising puppies to be trained as guide dogs for the blind.
In her will, Martha donated 25 acres of mixed forest and field, including beautiful views of Little Traverse Bay. The property has been identified as a “priority area” for the protection of water quality in the Little Traverse Bay Watershed Plan.
As part of her gift, Martha included money to remove the home and associated development and for ongoing stewardship of the property. She requested that hunting would not be allowed and that no trails or parking area be developed. Her desire was that the land be returned to its natural state so that local animals could find refuge there. “It was as if the wild animals knew that they were safe on that land,” Lois said.
“And every year, the monarchs seemed to find refuge in Marty’s woods and converged in the fields because of the milkweed. You could count on it every year.”
The new preserve will be known as the Martha A. Curtis Nature Preserve. Lying adjacent to the Bay View Woods, the property greatly increases both watershed and wildlife protection in an otherwise developing region. “Natural lands like this — sitting amidst neighborhoods — serve a multitude of purposes for both wildlife and humans,” said LTC Executive Director Tom Bailey.
“This preserve is a significant addition to land conservation in the area. Together with the Bay View Woods, it provides significant wildlife habitat and protects water quality by maintaining the natural hydrology of a large area with steep slopes that drain into Little Traverse Bay. It is a wonderful gift to the community and to conservation.”
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 4,100 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 105 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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]]>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 IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ty Ratliff
Little Traverse Conservancy
231.347.0991
CHEBOYGAN, MI -- For much of her childhood, Marion Weberlein and her family would travel from their home in Plymouth to the Eastern Upper Peninsula to fish for pike. “At that time, those fish were our family’s meat. My mother would come prepared to can everything we caught,” Marion explains. Her father had been a master baker who had emigrated from Germany, and this was shortly after the Depression.
Marion went on to study veterinary medicine at what is now Michigan State and established a successful business near her home town. But the family’s heart was always up north. Every year, they rented a cabin for their fishing excursions, eventually spending their trips in the northeastern Lower Peninsula. One day, they discovered the nearly 200-acre farm surrounding the cabin they liked to rent was for sale. “My dad just loved it,” Marion says, “but didn’t feel he could afford it.”
So Marion purchased the farm, enabling her parents to move north while she kept her business going downstate. Her folks loved the land and, with Marion’s help, gardened, canned, and built barns for her horses and other animals. Every year, flowers popped up around the homestead, planted by the prior owners who ran a cut flower business.
Many years later, Marion sold her downstate practice and joined her parents on the land, with the intention of retiring as well as raising and showing Arabian horses.
One thing led to another and her passion for the welfare of animals was too strong and the need for her services was too great. She soon found herself back in business just outside of Cheboygan, and worked right up until she was 70. “Marion’s success as a vet was due to her strong spirit and the fact that she always put animals first,” said Mary Talaske, a close family friend. “When someone brought in an animal to put down because they didn’t have the money to pay for a broken leg, she would just say, ‘Oh, I can fix that.’ She never turned an animal or a person away if there was something she could do.”
It was in this spirit that several years ago Marion started thinking about the future of her farm. Throughout the years, she has had numerous offers to purchase the land, especially the 2,000 feet of river frontage. Similarly, she has always turned down requests from hunters wanting to use her land. “She really wants to pass this land on to her family, but with the assurance that it will not ever be subdivided,” says Ty Ratliff, land protection specialist with Little Traverse Conservancy. “The conservation easement was the perfect estate planning tool for her.”
This spring, Marion donated conservation easements to Little Traverse Conservancy to permanently protect a total of 191 acres of her farm. The river easement excludes the homestead and farm, protecting the surrounding 55 acres. A second easement protects a 136-acre forested tract located just down the road. “This place has always been natural and free for the animals to have refuge, and that is just how I want it to stay,” she said
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]]>Contact: Scott Aiken
ST. JOSEPH — A judge on Tuesday ruled that the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy is qualified to serve as watchdog to monitor the state’s stewardship of Warren Dunes and Warren Woods parks.
Berrien County Trial Court Judge John Dewane made the finding after a hearing on a proposed amendment to a 2009 judgment that would give title to about 550 acres of park land to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment.
The court heard several witnesses and reviewed other information before concluding that the conservancy is qualified and has the capability to act independently as special trustee.
The hearing provided an opportunity for the public to comment on matters affecting the future of a popular resource. Warren Dunes on Lake Michigan near Bridgman is the state’s busiest park, attracting more than a million visitors a year.
“We’re looking down the road years and years,” the judge said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Portage-based SWMLC would serve as monitor under the proposed amended judgment, which is supported by the conservancy, the state attorney general’s office and others involved in litigation over the land and its trustee.
Dewane said that when certain changes are made, as agreed by all parties, he will sign the amended judgment.
The Department of Natural Resources, now the DNRE, was appointed successor trustee for the land in 2009, but the judge left the title vested in the court, saying that additional oversight was needed.
Although the state has managed the parks for decades, the judge at the time of last year’s ruling pointed out examples of changing government positions, such as Indiana’s decision to sell the Toll Road to a foreign joint venture group for $3.8 billion.
The amended judgment now before the court would give title to the Warren Dunes and Warren Woods property to the DNRE but prohibit the agency from selling, leasing or granting an interest in any part of it.
Formed in 1991, the nonprofit SWMLC has preserved about 8,450 acres of land, or 13 square miles, in nine counties through conservation easements, purchases and gifts. The organization has 1,200 members, an annual budget of $500,000 and a staff of five full-time and two part-time employees.
SWMLC would not be involved in day-to-day operation or maintenance of the parks but would monitor DNRE’s compliance with restrictions on the property title specified by the judgment. The restrictions include holding and maintaining the land forever as public parks.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Suzanne Klein, lawyer for the land conservancy, called three witnesses to testify about the organization’s capability to serve as special trustee.
Much of the questioning was about SWMLC’s ability to function independently of the DNRE.
George Burgoyne, who retired from the DNR in 2004 after 33 years and is now a member of the SWMLC board, said 80 percent of the conservation organization’s funding is donated by private sources.
“The second thing I see is our board is very proud of our independence,” he said.
Burgoyne, a Berrien County native, said he is familiar with the Warren Woods and Warren Dunes land and is aware of its significance.
“I view this as an extra layer of protection for a very special area,” he said of designating SWMLC special trustee.
Burgoyne said that during his last DNR position he was responsible for the land management functions covering 4.5 million acres. Over the years, he said, it was sometimes helpful to have a local organization watching over land that had special qualities.
Dewane reminded Burgoyne of oil and gas leases on public land sold by the state in past years and asked if SWMLC could bring such a proposal to the court’s attention if one arose involving Warren Woods or Warren Dunes.
“I have no doubt in my mind,” Burgoyne said.
Paw Paw lawyer Harold Schuitmaker, corporate counsel for Van Buren County, and Kip Miller, chief naturalist for Berrien County parks, also testified on behalf of SWMLC.
Under the amended judgment, SWMLC is to be responsible only to the court, and if necessary after giving notice to the DNRE, can enforce compliance with the restrictions in the judgment.
The court could ask the conservancy to examine the property and report findings.
The restrictions are in keeping with those set by Three Oaks industrialist Edward K. Warren and his wife, Mary, who deeded the land to a charitable trust in 1918.
The Edward K. Warren Foundation leased the land in both parks to the state for 100 years.
A 1937 agreement covered 250 acres in Lake Township, now part of the 1,952-acre Warren Dunes park, and a 1949 agreement for the 300 acres in Warren Woods in Chikaming Township.
In 2009, Dewane appointed the Department of Natural Resources, which this year became DNRE, successor trustee for the land. The DNR was named to replace the Warren Foundation, which dissolved in 1964.
While designating the DNR as successor trustee, the court retained title to the property.
The attorney general appealed Dewane’s decision about the title, but while the appeal was pending the parties agreed to the amended judgment.
In October 2008 Dewane dismissed a complaint filed by heirs of Edward K. and Mary Warren, who sought to resurrect the long-defunct Warren foundation.
The judge found that there was no statutory basis for renewal or reinstatement.
The trust then vested in the court until Dewane named the DNR as successor.
The state’s petition for appointment of the DNR as successor trustee was consolidated with the Warren heirs’ complaint.
For information, contact:
Peter Ter Louw,
Executive Director
(269) 324-1600
E-mail: ConserveLand@SWMLC.org
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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