Little Traverse Conservancy’s slogan is Protecting the North Country We All Love. This is not only an organization’s promise, but a community member lives by it.
The Little Traverse Conservancy is now in its 50th year of serving the community. It owes its volunteers for the incredible amount of work they have been able accomplish.
Anne Fleming is the director of community outreach. She said that this community really cares about it because it’s such beautiful land and they want it stay that way.
Fleming says that 26 land protection programs were completed by the conservancy between 2021 and 2021. Twelve of these were new nature preserves. These additions were made to the thousands of acres already protected by Little Traverse Conservancy, which covers Charlevoix and Mackinac counties.
Recently, the conservancy unveiled the new Seberon Boo Lizenburger Nature Preserve. This preserve is located off Five Mile Creek Road north from Harbor Springs. The 40-acre preserve was dedicated in memory of Liesel and Gow Litzenburgers father and Little Traverse Conservancyco-founder Seberon Boo Litzenburger. The preserve includes nearly a quarter mile (5 Mile Creek) and features a mile of trails (outside and back), a viewing platform that overlooks the creek and a bridge that crosses it.
Around 150 land preserves are managed by land stewards volunteers, out of hundreds. Volunteers are assigned a preserve and go out on their own to clear brush and invasive plants, inspect the condition of bridges and signs, and report any unsafe trail conditions.
Cacia Lesh (volunteer coordinator) says that the time volunteers spend at theLittle Traverse Conservancy varies depending on the volunteers’ schedules. Many volunteers are retired people who have more time.
Lesh explained that we have a Thursday crew. If you look at the numbers annually, they act almost as a full-time employee. These volunteers volunteer once a week, which is amazing.
Mary Merrill and John Merrill of Readmond Township are not only land-stewards, they are also regular volunteers who are dedicated towards land conservation.
John is a member of Little Traverse Conservancy’s board, and Mary assists with trail maintenance and data collection.
The Merrills teamed up with the conservancy to obtain a conservation easement on their 40-acre property. This means that all future owners will have to follow the rules protecting the land from any development.
The Merrills moved from Columbus, Ohio to Northern Michigan five year ago to retire and to live on the property that they had owned for over three decades.
Mary stated that this is what drove Mary to tell us why we moved here. It was the property and the access to beautiful properties and lands.
Scot and Jilanne both spend their free time volunteering as Little Traverse Conservancy’s land stewards. Scot works in environmental consulting, while Jilanne is the park supervisor at Petoskey State Park.
Scot and Jilanne both work full time. However, Scot stated that it doesn’t hinder their ability to volunteer at theLittle Traverse Conservancy because they would still be out on weekends to fish or hike.
Scot said that it was something we thought would make a great gesture to show our appreciation. We love the preserves, and we’re going to pick up trash anyway so it’s a good idea to let them know.
You can find more information about theLittle Trverse Conservancy atlandtrust.org.
