George and Sue Lane’s legacy: A nature preserve in Gladwin County

Pictured are George and Sue Lane. (Photo provided)

The Little Forks Conservancy and TU’s Martuch Chapter were to hold a ribbon-cutting in late August to celebrate creation of the Conservancy’s preserve: 270 acres boasting 2.5 miles of trails and nearly a mile of frontage on the Cedar’s North branch. Soft-opened in 2018 and further developed since, it is the conservancy’s first project outside of Midland County, fulfilling a longheld goal of the group. 8

George and Sue Lane’s legacy:

A nature preserve in Gladwin County

STEVE GRIFFIN For the Daily News

George A. Lane, in parallel with a sterling career as a chemist at The Dow Chemical Company, pursued trout fishing and conservation with similar focus, expertise and passion.

That led to his role as a founder and longtime member of Midland’s Leon P. Martuch Chapter of the international conservation group Trout Unlimited. And to his deep affection for his property and cabin along the North Branch of the Cedar River in Gladwin County.

When Sue (Pulkiner) Haske married the widowed Lane in 2000, she brought a passion for conservation and nature that she traced to her spiritual roots and her long marriage to the late Gary Haske, a legendary and lifelong Midland hunter and angler.

So, as the Lanes explored their "second act" together, they not only enjoyed George’s cabin refuge on the Cedar and the natural setting on which it stood, they became more and more committed to preserving its natural charms and setting the stage for others to enjoy and be inspired by them.

Both Sue and George, long my friends, are gone now, but their conservationist visions live on in the George and Sue Lane Preserve.

The Little Forks Conservancy and TU’s Martuch Chapter were to hold a

The George and Sue Lane Preserve can be accessed from a parking area located on Shearer Road approximately one-third mile south of M-18. For more information visit www.littleforks.org.

(Photo by Steve Griffen/For the Daily News)

ribbon-cutting in late August to celebrate creation of the Conservancy’s preserve: 270 acres boasting 2.5 miles of trails and nearly a mile of frontage on the Cedar’s North Branch. Soft-opened in 2018 and further developed since, it is the Conservancy’s first project outside of Midland County, fulfilling a long-held goal of the group.

A lifelong outdoorsman active in both the Conservancy and the TU chapter, George Lane donated a conservation easement – the rights to potentially develop the property – to the Conservancy in 2004. When he died in 2016, he left the property itself to the TU chapter. But the national TU organization had in the interim decided that its individual chapters could not own land.

Said Josh Jenkins, Martuch chapter president, in a Conservancy news release, “We also quickly realized that though our chapter had expertise in managing waterways, we were lacking the ability to manage the non-riparian zone of the property,” that portion not immediately adjacent to the Cedar, a high-quality trout stream.

Land management is a specialty of the Conservancy, on whose board George served and which works to permanently protect and improve natural habitats in mid-Michigan. (It has helped private landowners protect almost 4,000 acres of land, including more than 20 miles of waterways and shoreline.)

In the novel partnership, at the Lane Preserve, river corridor projects are conducted by the TU chapter, echoing the Lanes’ stewardship through sediment removal and erosion control work.

The Conservancy manages upland portions of the property. Among current plans are further trail development, continued efforts to eradicate invasive species, and planting of native grasses and wildflowers.

Steve Wilkowski, who sits on the boards of both the Conservancy and the TU chapter, said this places him “in the catbird seat,” from which he can see “what a perfect collaboration it is” between the two groups.

Another organization, the Chippewa Watershed Conservancy, holds the conservation easements, and a trust established by Lane directs that it remain open for public hunting and fishing.

Within the Preserve are examples of ecosystems including forestland, grassland and trout stream, all visited by several connected trails.

About those trails: Several are fairly new, and not the richly-signed and unmistakable bare-dirt paths some visitors might expect. More signage is being installed, though, and increased visitation – among ribbon-cutting goals – will make trails more apparent. Map, compass, insect repellent and water are good carry-alongs.

The payoff is great: immersive patches of thick, newer tree growth, a stunning stand of massive oaks, grassy fields. Scanning across the property line, one views a neighboring pond; listening carefully, one can hear its mallards chuckling.

And then, there’s the gurgling whisper of the shaded Cedar as it sneaks past an iron-framed bench, from which one can be confident George and Sue Lane mapped plans to preserve the splendid experience for others.

The George and Sue Lane Preserve can be accessed from a parking area on Shearer Road approximately one-third mile south of M-18.

Saturday, October 2 10 am-4 pm

for kids & members, Just $5/adult!

Woodcarving • Cider Making • Blacksmithing • Bee Keeping • Chair Caning • Heirloom and Children’s Gardens • Candle Dipping • Rope Making • Schoolyard Games and More!

Activities subject to change. 400 S Badour Rd, Midland • 989.631.0830 www.chippewanaturecenter.org I