The Upper Peninsula Land Conservancy works to create the Dead River Community Forest. Although the land would be its property, the public would have access to the area. (Photo courtesy Christopher Burnett
MARQUETTE — The proposed Dead River Community Forest has the potential to conserve habitat and mitigate climate change, among other actions.
The public will be able, regardless of its mission, to enjoy the forest. It has the world. “community”Its name.
The Upper Peninsula Land Conservancy, which is seeking to buy land to create the DRCF, held a community input forum on Saturday at the Peter White Public Library to hear people’s thoughts and concerns.
The forest, according to UPLC, would protect 186 acres of forested land on the expanding edge of greater Marquette and adjacent to UPLC’s Vielmetti-Peters Conservation Reserve, located at the Marquette Township-Negaunee Township line. The DRCF is a recreational, economic, and educational resource that can be managed with public input.
UPLC is looking to buy 161 acres south the Dead River. The McClure Basin Association is donating 25 acres close to the County Road 510 Bridge. The DRCF will protect 3.5 mile of river frontage, provide access to almost 5 miles of multi-use trails including American with Disabilities Act-accessible trails, and act as an outdoor classroom with local educational institutions.
The proposed community forests have wilderness characteristics.
Andrea Denham, Executive Director at UPLC, called DCRF land “special.”
“You’re in the middle of nowhere,”She spoke.
Denham also said the proposed DCRF is a floodplain forest — a “rare and declining ecosystem” — and would act as a “sponge”In the event that there is a flood, you can still absorb nutrients from rivers.
Denham stated that UPLC aims at raising $318,000 to cover both the purchase and acquisition costs.
“We have to get surveys,”She spoke. “We have to get appraisals. Those are very expensive.”
She stated that there would be other costs beyond the initial property establishment costs like early signage or trails.
She reminded that July 8th is the deadline for purchasing and securing the land. She also pointed out that a purchase-and sale agreement with McClure Basin was signed in 2019, before local property prices rose. If the deadline is not met and if the UPLC was allowed to re-sign the agreement, the cost would be the current appraisal price — higher than the original price.
Denham stated that UPLC still has $78,000 to reach its initial goal.
“We’re super excited about where we’re at in terms of fundraising,”She spoke.
Clare Fastiggi, UPLC’s lands program manager, noted that UPLC is getting $90,000 through the U.S. Forest Service’s Community Forest Program.
UPLC, as landowners, must create a management program for the forest.
“We want to make sure we’re doing our research for influencing that management plan and our monitoring moving forward,”Fastiggi said. “As you know, it’s protected in perpetuity, and that means we have to be good stewards — not just now, but into the future — and have a plan to guide that.”
Denham stressed the importance public input.
“The entire point of the community is not to just have it be a piece of property that the U.P. Land Conservancy owns and makes all of the decisions for,”Denham stated. “The entire point of the community forest is to talk to our neighbors, make sure that people who are interacting with the property or interacting with the surrounding area or have any sort of benefit or connection to the property, have not just an avenue for communication but a direct input and a direct say into what’s happening here on this piece of property.”
John Highlen, president of the local Fred Waara Chapter of Trout Unlimited, said TU is interested in the DCRF’s potential to help fisheries, acknowledging that community forests can nurture local environment health — in this case, Lake Superior.
“This is part of a much, much bigger picture,” Highlen said.
Jo Foley, an UPLC member, attended the forum and stated that protecting the Dead River wetlands is her top priority for the proposed community forests.
She pointed out that climate change management is also a top priority.
“But I think it’s very compatible with having recreation of a certain type in there, and certainly education as well,”Foley spoke highly of the DRCF.
Survey results
Recently, the UPLC conducted an online survey asking the public for their opinions on the DRCF.
The input session provided the results as of March 18, 2018.
Below are some sample survey responses
89% believe habitat conservation is an important benefit from the DRCF. 72% want interpretive signage. When asked about their priorities in conserving the Greater Marquette area, 65% indicated that water pollution is their top concern.
The top three most popular activities that respondents participated in over the past 12 months were hiking (92%), wildlife viewing (85%), and snowshoeing (74%).
66% of respondents also feel that a sense of connection to nature is important.
To donate to the UPLC, mail a check to the organization, with Dead River Community Forest on the memo line, located at 148 W. Hewitt Ave., Marquette, MI 49855, or visit uplandconservancy.org.