EAGLE RIVER – The Keweenaw County Board of Commissioners, Wednesday, approved a request for a letter of support for the state of Michigan’s Forest Legacy Grant Program grant application for the Keweenaw Forest Program. The request was made by Kerry Heckman, forest land manager with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

According to the letter, the DNR is working with The Nature Conservancy in hopes to purchase what is known as the Little Betsy River Tract, a 13,719-acre working northern hardwood forest, through fee acquisition.

The Keweenaw Forest project contains much of the southern view from the Brockway Mountain Scenic Drive, including sections of the Keweenaw Highlands, and three miles of Lake Superior shoreline.

According to the DNR Forest Resources Division, the transaction would be a simple fee purchase, which grants the purchaser full rights to the land and any structures on it.

The Forest Legacy Program (FLP) is a federally funded program administered by the USDA Forest Service in cooperation with state partners. Only state governments are eligible applicants, though they can partner with others such as, in this case, TNC. Projects must be within a designated Forest Legacy Area, be at least 75% forestland, and be managed for long-term sustainability. A non-federal cost share of at least 25% is required. The goal of the Forest Legacy is to protect important forest areas from development and fragmentation and ensure conservation of the important public benefits sustainable forests provide.

The Little Betsy Tract purchase will provide public recreational opportunities, says the DNR, along with timber resources for the local economy, and will protect the Lake Superior shoreline. “This is part of the (Keweenaw) Heartlands we’ve been working on for three years now,” Commissioner Bob DeMarois said. “Basically, for the first part of the Heartlands 13,719 acres that is submittted … to the DNR, then it will eventually have to be moved up to the Forest Service.”

DeMarois made motion to approve the request, which passed unanimously.

Graham Jaehnig/Daily Mining Gazette
Keweenaw County Board of Commissioners Vice Chairman Del Rajala (L) and Commissioner Bob DeMarois discuss a request for a letter of supper for a state forestland grant application.