Headwaters Land Conservancy

HeadWaters Land Conservancy to benefit from the sale of GLFT Au Sable River Property!

In an effort to support HeadWaters' land protection work on the AuSable River, the Great Lakes Fishery Trust will donate the net proceeds from the sale of nearly 30 acres of forested land with over 200' of frontage on the 'Holy Water' section of this legendary river.

This spectacular property has already been protected in perpetuity with a conservation easement.

The GLFT notes that they are eager to maximize the return on the sale of this property in order to have the largest impact possible on protecting the famous AuSable River system.

The GLFT is an innovative funding source created in 1996 as part of the settlement with Consumers Energy and the Detroit Edison Company for fish losses caused by the operation of the Ludington Pumped Storage Plant. The GLFT provides funding to educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies for projects related to Great Lakes fisheries to provide mitigation for the losses.

 For decades, the rate at which our natural world has been lost to poorly planned development has far outpaced the rate at which we have been protecting land in its natural state. Michigan's natural and scenic resources are often the characteristics that define our communities. These resources are also the foundation of the state's agricultural and tourism industries. If we lose these precious resources, we lose our unique identities and our quality of life suffers. Intuitively, we recognize this and in communities all over Michigan, people are trying to do something to make a tangible, lasting difference. Protecting land forever is very tangible.

 February 2008 press release by the Northern Michigan Land Conservancies

That's the motivation behind the local land trust movement. HeadWaters Land Conservancy has protected over 7000 acres in our 11 county service area in northeast Michigan in just 14 years.  In 2007 we worked with 11 conservation-minded landowners to protect over 1690 acres of land forever!  That's over 7000 acres of forests, fields, wetlands, waterfront, and agricultural land in northern Michigan.  These are lands that protect rare plants and animals, scenic vistas, water quality in our rivers and lakes, and local agricultural production.  They protect landscapes that we enjoy while driving down the road and drifting down the river.