The tale of
OUR TIME
BY LAURA JUSTIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness.” — CHARLES DICKENS, A TALE OF TWO CITIES
This quote has been rattling around in my head for weeks now. Does it resonate with you as well? Echoing back through the ages, 161 years later it feels like it could have been written on this very day. Although our storyline is unrelated to the book, the same feeling and dichotomy rules our time. On one hand we are suffering and struggling, worried and untethered.
We’ve probably all had those moments of discomfort. We are searching for the best path forward but we don’t have a map to navigate the route. Human beings, by and large, hate the unpredictable and crave structure. These are our challenges. This is the tale of our time. So if all that is true, why have I, and maybe you, felt light and free and happy? Doesn’t seem to make much sense. Or maybe it makes perfect sense? Surviving crisis helps us to reevaluate, appreciate and celebrate our “aliveness.” Small things are brought into larger focus. How the first strawberry or tomato of the summer tastes – Baltimore Orioles singing – sleeping with the windows open and hearing a thunderstorm rolling across the dark sky – the smell of rain on a hot day. Spending time away from people has also meant more walks in the woods, more birdwatching and animal peeking, and listening to water lap on the shore.
PHOTO BY CLARK YOUNG ON UNSPLASH
ISSUE 1, 2020
Growing your own vegetables and fruit because you finally have the time to weed and water and watch things grow a little more each day. Our work has taken on a new meaning; from where it happens and how we communicate with our members to the way we meet with landowners. This crisis has piqued a new interest in land conservation and has spurred people to investigate options they always had an intention to pursue but never found quite the right time, or time at all for that matter. What’s next? How does this end? There is no answer or solution to offer. People we care for have been lost and that might continue to happen. HeadWaters work is not a panacea to these times but we know our efforts lead to good things. We hope you feel proud about being a member of our little community. We will continue to protect the things that bring you joy. You can count on that.
HEADWATERS LAND CONSERVANCY
THANK YOU! W
e are incredibly grateful for all the donations we’ve received so far this year. It absolutely warms our hearts to know that in the midst of a global pandemic, folks like you still care so deeply about conservation and protecting the “Up North” we all love. We were pretty nervous when the stayat-home order was issued but after taking some time to think about our greatest assets, YOU and the J.A. Woollam Foundation, we realized there was reason to hope for great things. We are so lucky to have the generosity and consistency of the Woollam Foundation match, especially this year. We are even luckier to have YOU, because without you the match grant would be meaningless! So thank you for helping us reach our goals and protecting land and water in northeast Michigan year after year. Because of the continued support from you and the J.A. Woollam Foundation, we are only down 4% from our donation level at the same time last year, which is absolutely amazing!
Your generosity has blown us away. Although we are not including a donation envelope in this edition of the newsletter, we never want to make an assumption about your wishes. We know a lot of folks would be very upset with us if we didn’t shout from the rooftops about the match grant! So we wanted to inform you that the match grant is still going on and we are still striving to hit our goal of $70,000 before the end of the year. You can still qualify for the match if you: •
Donate more than you did in 2019
•
Make a donation of $500 or more
•
Convince a friend or loved one who has never donated before (any new donors)
•
Didn’t donate last year but donated in a previous year (any lapsed donors)
•
Increase your donation (if you already donated towards the match this year but wish to send in another donation to contribute more towards the match)
$
$
1,000 Meijer Gift Card $
RAFFLE!
E
ach year HeadWaters Land Conservancy hosts a fundraiser (or two!) to raise money that we use to protect the most significant, beautiful and important lands and waters in northeast Michigan. Unfortunately, we’ve had to cancel all of our fundraising and free community events this year due to Covid-19. YOU mean too much to us to risk anyone getting sick. We do however have something completely different that we are excited to offer. We are going to raffle off two Meijer gift cards totaling $1000! We received this generous donation earlier this year to help pay for supplies and prizes for our events but since those are cancelled, we want to raffle them off for you to win. We are selling the raffle tickets for $50 a piece and we are only selling 100 tickets! So buy yours today! To purchase tickets, you can mail a check to HeadWaters or call our office at 989-731-0573 to pay with a credit card. There is no limit on the number of tickets an individual can purchase. The drawing will be held on “Facebook live” on September 1st, 2020. Need not be present to win. Check our website and Facebook page for updates and good luck to all entrants!
ISSUE 1, 2020
LANDOWNERS DONATE HWLC’s largest Conservation Easement to date T
he haunting call of the loon is one of the quintessential sounds of spring and summer on our northern lakes. The common loon is considered a threatened species in Michigan; it has very specific habitat requirements and is highly sensitive to human disturbance while nesting. The lake must be clear, with an abundance of small fish, and large enough so the loon has room to gain speed and take flight. Ample undeveloped shoreline is key so the loons have a secluded spot to nest and rear their chicks. This spring, siblings and Conservation Easement donors Tom Schupbach and Lanette VanWagenen had the pleasure of watching a pair of loons successfully hatch a chick on one of their property’s lakes. Tom and Lanette spent many weekends and summer days at Clear Lake Ranch growing up—swimming, learning to hunt and fish, walking its wooded trails and picking apples from the orchard. The property was owned by their uncles from the 1950s to the 1990s, when it was sold out of the family. In 2018, Tom and Lanette had the opportunity to purchase the 1,200+ acre Clear Lake Ranch. Unlike the land around some of the other lakes in the area, the land surrounding 78-acre Clear Lake and 17-acre Spring Lake hadn’t been platted, subdivided, and sold as lots or small tracts. Now that Tom and Lanette have donated a Conservation Easement on the property to HeadWaters Land Conservancy, they can be sure it’s lakes, wetlands, and forests will be protected for generations to come. Remember, Conservation Easement properties remain privately owned and are not open for public access.
HEADWATERS LAND CONSERVANCY
PROGRESS REPORT:
Priority Parcel Analysis
COMPLETE
CO M
PL
ET E
Presque Isle
ET E CO M
PL
PL CO M Crawford
Alcona
Roscommon
ET E PL CO M
RE SS
Oscoda
PR OG IN
Alpena
Montmorency
ET E
Otsego
Iosco
Ogemaw
Arenac
HWLC Protected Lands 6 Nature Preserves 87 Conservation Easements 12,087 acres of land 0 5 35 miles of shoreline
Legend CE boundary 10
20
30 Miles
Preserve boundary
$
ISSUE 1, 2020
PROGRESS REPORT:
Currently Protected Land Lakes Cities and Villages
Rivers Lakes Presque Isle County Priority Parcels Roads Rivers for Permanent Land Protection
Priority Parcel Analysis
Developed Land Roads Quarries
L
W
ith the help of superstar volunteer Jim Kurbel, we are about halfway done with the Priority Parcel Analysis for each of the 11 counties in our service area. Using county parcel data and other publicly available data, HWLC scores each privately owned parcel in the county based on factors like acreage, waterfront, and proximity to protected land. We then contact the owners of the highest ranked parcels in each county to encourage them to learn about HWLC and consider protecting their land. We have already gotten some calls from interested landowners Oscoda County counties Priority Parcels in Presque Isle and Oscoda for Permanent Land who received our spring mailing! Protection
A
K
0
E
HU
0
1
2
±±
2
4
4
RO N
Rogers City
Onaway
Millersburg
Posen
ABOVE:
HeadWaters Land Conservancy Priority Parcel Analysis Presque Isle County, Michigan HeadWaters Land Conservancy Priority Parcel Analysis
Cities and Villages
Parcel Score Range
Lakes Rivers
Presque Isle County, Michigan Percent
Parcel Count
Parcel Score Range
0 - 6.25 (Very Low) 14,544 ■ 0 - 6.25 (Very Low) 6.26 - 21.25 3,433 (Low) ■ 6.26 - 21.25 (Low) (Medium) ■ 21.26 - 38.00 (Medium)21.26 - 38.001,723 38.01 - 57.50 (High) 1,096 ■ 38.01 - 57.50 (High) 57.51 - 100.00 (Very High) 481 ■ 57.51 - 100.00 (Very High) Total Total 21,277
Roads Quarries Fairview
± 0
2
4
11 Miles
Roads
8.1%
8.1% 5.2% 5.2% 481 2.3% 2.3% 21,277 100% 100% 1,096
4.7%
4.7% 11.2% 21.9% 29.7% 29.7% 32.5% 32.5% 100% 100% 11.2%
21.9%
HeadWaters Land Conservancy Priority Parcel Analysis Oscoda County, Michigan
■ 0 - 8.25 (Very Low) ■ 8.26 - 21.75 (Low) ■ 21.76 - 37.50 (Medium) ■ 37.51 - 58.75 (High) ■ 58.76 - 100.00 (Very High) Total
Rivers
1,723
15,202 15,202 36,067 36,067 70,402 70,402 95,473 95,473 104,355 104,355 321,499 321,499
Data Sources: Presque Isle County Equalization Dept. GIS Parcel Data, Presque Isle County Plat Book 2014, Michigan GIS Open Data Hydrography Lines and Polygons, DEQ Final Wetlands Inventory, MDNR Open Data PLSS Public Lands, MIGDL Gap Stewardship_lp, USGS GAP PAD-US, Michigan Natural Features Inventory Biorarity Index, and Michigan Geographic Transportation Framework. Date Saved: 5/21/2020 7:12 PM
Parcel Score Range
Lakes
14,544 68.4% 68.4%
3,433 16.1% 16.1%
Percent of Total Acreage
Percent of Total Acreage
Analysis Criteria: parcel acreage, wetland acreage, riparian frontage, proximity to other protected lands, and likelihood of rare communities or species.
LEFT: 7
Mio
Currently Protected Land
Total of Total Percent of Total Acreage Total Count Acreage Count
Parcel Count
HeadWaters Land Conservancy Priority Parcel Analysis Oscoda County, Michigan Parcel Score Range
Parcel Count
Percent of Total Count
Total Acreage
Percent of Total Acreage
0 - 8.25 (Very Low)
2,441
39.4%
10,377
7.3%
8.26 - 21.75 (Low)
2,050
33%
21,228
14.9%
Parcel Count
Percent of Total Count
Total Acreage
Percent of Total Acreage
2,441 2,050 912 536 264 6,203
39.4% 33% 14.7% 8.6% 4.3% 100%
10,377 21,228 26,180 27,143 57,639 142,567
7.3% 14.9% 18.4% 19% 40.4% 100%
7
HEADWATERS LAND CONSERVANCY
Preserve UPDATES!
I
n 2019 we finished our boardwalk with help from the wonderful Youthwork crew. It has already been a year since this large project was completed and we’ve had so many people visit the Sturgeon River Preserve! In fact, we’ve already had over 1000 visitors this year! From families to fishermen, and folks walking their dogs, they all seem to love taking a stroll on our boardwalk along the Sturgeon River. This huge increase in visitors is wonderful and even more so when you see that wildlife is still thriving. We’ve been able to capture pictures and videos of coyote, raccoon, deer, squirrel, and even bear since the completion of the boardwalk. It’s an amazing feeling to see people visiting a natural area and respecting the wildlife while enjoying the glorious surroundings. In other news, we had the privilege of working with a young man, Jonah Richard that reached out to us about volunteering at our preserves. We happily accepted his offer so he went with his family to our Big Lake preserve, located on the corner of Big Lake Rd. and Oley Lake Rd. just east of Gaylord, to pick up trash along the roadside. They did a fabulous job. Thank You! More and more we see the truth of our motto, “Together we save land forever”.
ISSUE 1, 2020
Thank you
LOWE’S!
I
n 2018 we received a grant from the Lowe’s Charitable Fund for office renovations needed to host youth environmental education activities. Last year we hit a snag, our office boiler went out and we were without heat at the end of January 2019. We went out on a limb and asked Lowe’s if we could reallocate some of the funds they awarded us to a new boiler and have the remaining funds for the office renovations. We were overjoyed when they said yes! We got our new boiler and we were able to use the remaining funds to replace most of the flooring, as well as update one of our bathrooms and our kitchen. A crew of volunteers from Lowe’s did the demo, and YouthWork AmeriCorps did the installation. We couldn’t be more pleased with how everything turned out. It was truly a great opportunity for us and we are excited about the possibility of bringing children in for environmental education as well as small workshops and visits with our members once it is safe to have guests.
BEFORE
DURING
AFTER
HEADWATERS LAND CONSERVANCY
HeadWaters Land Conservancy
Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage Paid Petoskey, MI Permit No. 110
110 South Elm Avenue Gaylord, MI 49735 989-731-0573 www.headwatersconservancy.org land@headwatersconservancy.org
Recycle your newsletter ~ Pass it on! Printed on Recycled Paper with Vegetable-Based Inks
S TA F F Laura Justin Executive Director
Libby Gunderson Director of Conservation Lucas Thoms Stewardship & Program Coordinator
“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” – MARIE CURIE
B OA R D
of Trustees Virginia Pierce, Chairwoman Jim Supina, Vice Chairman Robb Smith, Treasurer Martha Eberly, Secretary John Dallas, Mike Mang Keith Martell, Jeff Twyman Bill Anderson Dr. Don Inman, Director Emeritus Stephen Qua, Director Emeritus
FINDING Peace
As we discussed in the June E-News, there is no better time to search for peace than in a time of fear. We hope you are finding your peace in the woods, on the water, among plants and animals and all manner of Mother Nature’s gifts. Eat from your garden and photograph the birds who come to visit your feeders. Take the dog on an extra walk or linger with your cat for a lazy summertime afternoon nap. Write an old fashioned letter to someone you’ve missed or press flowers in a book that somebody will cherish years from now. Finding peace and feeling in control of our lives is the way to defeat worry. Remember that we are here to help you plan for the succession of the land you love. Crafting a thoughtful roadmap to the future for you and your family will bring you peace of mind and lift a burden from generations to come. We are here to help you understand your options and connect you to others who have conserved their land. Be well and stay in touch.