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KEWEENAW COUNTY - The Nature Conservancy in Michigan (TNC) and the Keweenaw Community Foundation (KCF) have secured a $2 million endowment fund for sustaining the Keweenaw Heartlands Project's community forest program. The announcement was made at tuesday’s Keweenaw Heartlands Project Public Update.
The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation's Kigme Fund have each contributed $1 million toward the establishment of a Keweenaw Heartlands stewardship endowment, says the KCF. Once established with the Keweenaw Community Foundation, the endowment will help to provide resources needed for the long-term care of the Heartlands forest.
The $2 million in philanthropic contributions fulfill a commitment made by TNC early in the project in response to concerns about sustaining the Heartlands long-term.
In July, the KCF announced the start-up of a separate Keweenaw Heartlands Forest Fund.
The goal was set to raise $600,000. The fund will cover startup operations for the community forest for up to four years, including trail and road maintenance, while the endowment becomes established and grows. To date, the KCF has raised $317,000, the organization says
"The $2 million will be there, will be put into an endowment that will grow and help us sustain the Keweenaw Heartlands," said Keweenaw Heartlands Project Manager Julia Petersen. "It will help to offset the expenses of the community forest and ensure that the local board can care for this land forever. So, it's a pretty big deal."
Petersen said TNC and the KCF are excited to establish the endowment as they continue to make progress to the goals of the Keweenaw Heartlands Project.
"We've been proud to support this effort since 2022," Executive Director of the KCF Robin Meneguzzo said in a release. "This investment shows a real belief in our community's vision and in what we can accomplish together through care, collaboration, and shared purpose."
Petersen expressed that belief at last Tuesday's update meeting.
"I just want to note that right now -- the Nature Conservancy -- we're not going anywhere," she said. "We are here right now, managing the land on a day-to-day basis. We are working with the DNR, with the advisory committee to work toward transitioning this land into public ownership, governance and management."