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A Diamond celebration

Conservation District celebrates 75 years

CALUMET TOWNSHIP -- The Houghton-Keweenaw Conservation District celebrated its 75th anniversary at Calumet Township’s Waterworks Park Saturday morning. Several partner groups including Keweenaw National Historic Park, the Keweenaw Outdoor Recreation Coalition (KORC), Sierra Club Michigan Chapter and more joined in the celebration.

District Manager Matthew Mendoza said the organization's goals are to support the land and its resources. "Our goal as a local unit of government is mainly to help residents of our county manage their natural resources," he said. "That can be done in many ways through technical assistance, through educational events, outreach events, sending people to different partner organizations that can help them with any sort of natural resource or conservation issues they have."

Part of preserving and maintaining the Keweenaw's natural resources is trail management and stewardship. Michigan Nature Association Regional Conservation Coordinator August Camp said protecting ecosystems and managing invasive species is a big part of how wilderness is protected for future generations.

"All of our lands are publicly accessible and they are some of the most unique and special ecosystems throughout the Keweenaw," he said. "I'm always looking for volunteers to help for stewardship of certain preserves."

Hunting and fishing responsibly also play a key role in conservation. Calumet-Keweenaw Sportsmen's Club Secretary Richard Marsh said educating younger generations on protecting their environment will benefit important conservation areas in the long run.

"If we don't conserve what we have, we won't have it for future generations," he said. "If we just extract and continue to take away, then there will be nothing left for the future generations to be able to enjoy an experience like we have."

Another element in conservation highlighted at the event was advocating for the environment. Sierra Club's Michigan Chapter Forest Ecologist Emma Shedd said the administrative and policy elements of managing ecosystems start at the state and local levels.

"There's a lot of behind the scenes work and making sure that the documents get created to manage our forests," she said. "And then there is also a lot of control that people in the legislature have over our forests."

Partnership between conservation-based organizations is important, KORC Outreach Manager Bryce Holden said.

"We are a coalition of other groups, organizations and individuals," he said. "Working with other organizations and having that communication is key."

The Conservation District is aiming to get the word out on maintaining the Keweenaw's ecosystem and natural resources. After joining the organization in 2024, Mendoza said he is now trying to make the District's presence more well knows in the area, through events like these.

"We definitely want to focus on getting out into the community," Mendoza said. "Doing events like this, having educational workshops, doing fun little projects -- just doing things with the community."