Kent Kraft, for the Gazette A new sign adorns the trail out to the new canoe and kayak launch at the Lac La Belle sloughs.

Lac La Belle – A partnership that started in 2022 between the Keweenaw Outdoor Recreation Coalition (KORC), the Calumet Keweenaw Sportsmen’s Club (CKSC), and the Keweenaw County Road Commission (KCRC) has completed a project bringing a new canoe and kayak launch at the Lac La Belle sloughs. Located across the road from the Bete Grise North Public Beach, this area provides a safe, manual boat launch at the end of a gravel path allowing users the choice of heading into Lac La Belle or into Bete Grise Bay.

Each organization played an important role in making this new launch site available to the public. Mark Ahlborn with CKSC set the whole thing in motion. “[CKSC members] were talking about what we could do for a club project. One day, I was back in here on my boat and I noticed a bunch of kids playing on these docks,” Ahlborn said during the opening ceremony. “KORC has done a lot of cleanups,” he continued, “and I said there is a cleanup project down here to get these dangerous docks out of here. They’re all abandoned and haven’t been maintained.”

Gina Nicholas, steering committee chair for KORC, said her organization was excited by the idea of getting the sloughs usable again. “I think all of [the groups involved] care about protecting our natural [areas of the] Keweenaw and making it accessible in a good way for outdoor recreation so that people can experience nature first hand and learn from it.”

In order to make this area accessible, two major hurdles were identified. First, permission from the land owners was required and, second, the docks would need to be removed, as Ahlborn pointed out, which was no small task.

This portion of land turned out to be owned by the KCRC, and which was excited to hear about the project. Rich Olson, chairman of the Board of County Road Commissioners for KCRC, said, “When [we] acquire these properties, [we] get what’s there, [we] don’t really have a choice. Whatever is there is left there. We knew the docks were there, they were an issue we wanted to get taken care of. So, when KORC approached the board, we were certainly 100% behind it. Anytime we can get things cleaned up, we’re going to do it.”

The major hurdle for KCRC was a lack of funding for such projects and a limited number of personnel. CKSC brought the bulk of the manpower for the project, KORC brought the funding, and KCRC provided access to the land and helped with the permits making for an effective team.

According to Nichols, “CKSC did a huge amount of the labor that was involved with this project. They installed the sign, they installed the bench, they were instrumental in the design of everything along the way.”

She also mentioned funding for this project came from the membership of KORC. “This project was fully funded by [our members and supporters]. This project cost us over $8,000, so it isn’t a small project for KORC, it is a medium sized project. We didn’t get any other special grants, we got a lot of donations.”

The launch site was ready for public use even before this official ceremony, and Ahlborn said he’s already seen it get a lot of use. Olson said, “It’s a great place to launch. The best part about it is you’re so protected right here.”

He also said KCRC thinks this project “made good use of this land. I thought it was an awesome thing to have here. We’re very happy we did it.”

Nicholas is excited to have the public use this launch site and said it fits with one of the main tenants of her organization. “KORC believes if you understand [nature] and you interact with it, you’ll become a better steward of it.”

After showing off the new launch site to the gathered crowd, celebrations continued just down the street at Mount Bohemia. KORC provided pizza so people could gather for a meal and plan out their next canoe or kayak adventure launching from the Lac La Belle sloughs.