HOUGHTON - The Houghton County Board of Commissioners heard an update Tuesday on the Pilgrim River Watershed Project.
The project includes purchasing the development rights to 1,360 acres along the Pilgrim River to ensure perpetual access for a variety of non-motorized recreation.
A previous attempt to apply for a Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grant with Houghton County and Portage Township as a governmental supporter was denied. However, the county is working on updating its recreation plan.
"The project is alive and ongoing," said Copper Country Trout Unlimited representative John Ollila, who presented the update to the board. "It has been ongoing for a year as a private effort."
A coalition of groups including the Partners in Forestry Landowner Cooperative, Copper Country Trout Unlimited, Copper Country Audubon Society, Northwood Alliance, Keweenaw Land Trust, Keweenaw Trails Alliance and Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District, is working on the project.
There have also been several challenge donations made, in which the donors will match other people dollar for dollar.
The group's immediate priority is a 360-acre parcel of wetlands area upstream, which Ollila said is less expensive due to limited development potential.
Ollila said the financial committee will, in the near future, make an announcement about a fundraising milestone.
Private funding began in November. At the current rate, he said, it will take less than three years to purchase the 360 acres.
Ollila said the county would make an ideal partner for the land, which spans both Portage and Adams townships.
"I've come to believe you folks have a broader vision," he said.
Work so far has included the construction of a 3.5-mile hiking and biking trail, fish habitat improvement work and water quality monitoring.
For more information on the project and to donate, go to pilgrimriverwatershed.org. T-shirts and bumper stickers supporting the project will also soon be available at the website.
