Success Stories

Heritage and Private Land Conservation  

By Rev. Roland Schaedig
 

 Rev. Schaedig's Grandparents picking wild blueberries

on their Presque Isle County land, ca. 1930

In the 2002 Special Issue newsletter of the Michigan Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, I saw an alert to the threatened status of the dwarf lake iris,  that it occurs along the northern shores of Lake Huron and even inland, and that protection of its habitat was underway.

It called to my mind the yearly June blossoming of a lovely iris in a small bog on my forty acres in Presque Isle County. I quickly calculated that this was the dwarf lake iris and that I should take steps for its preservation under my stewardship. The Nature Conservancy told me to contact Headwaters Land Conservancy (HWLC), where Fred Gottschalk agreed to drive over from Gaylord to meet me and take a look.

Before he arrived, I met a high school classmate, recently retired as a forester for Michigan's DNR, and told him about my potential discovery of my very own rare dwarf lake iris. He dismissed that premise, saying that the rare species thrived on alkaline soil, whereas my soil was acidic.

Wanting to spare Fred a useless trip, I called to head him off. But he declined to be put off, saying he'd like to take a look at my forty regardless. After a pleasant walk around the property, Fred had me convinced that a conservation easement was an appropriate action to take, even though my iris was not the dwarf lake species. There remained abundant rationale for this action.

With that action, a whole constellation of values and passions was revealed to me regarding this simple act of land preservation.

Of primary value and passion in that constellation is my spiritual obedience to the voice of my Creator, who has pronounced the creation of human and non-human life and the inanimate world as "good". My Creator calls me and all of humanity to gentle and loving care of this good garden which is our planetary home. This obedience calls me to care for the forty acres of woodland which I inherited and to care about the forties adjoining mine and all those beyond that section of our township, yes, even unto the far reaches of this planet. We landowners are in this together; our lands are a complex and beautiful web of vitality, linking flora, fauna, minerals and solar energy. Our ownership is more of a caring stewardship of something precious entrusted to us only for the short time of our lives.

For me another part of the constellation follows closely from the first: conservation. It is vitally important to me that the forces of our planetary life be protected, conserved, and sustained so that all species be allowed their maximum give and take in fostering a healthy web of life, a thriving biosphere.

That is why I want my small part of the watershed that feeds the Ocqueoc River to feed it the best. That's why I'm interested in keeping the watersheds that feed other rivers healthy, so that life along those streams and rivers and out into our lakes remains diverse and healthy. That is why I'm interested in conserving woods, farms and orchards and preserving them from the self-interest that is merely an economic taking without a sustaining balance.

Another prominent part of my values and passions in caring for the land seems to be linked with my genetic make-up. I inherited this relationship to the land and love for it from my ancestors. My great grandmother's maiden name back in Germany was Desjardin, a French name meaning something like "of the garden". Her ancestors were French Protestants, invited to Germany by the Prince of Prussia to help rebuild the devastated farms and forests after the 30 Years' War in 1648. They were very good at this restoration.

My ancestors continued this skill and passion for the land when they settled in Presque Isle County. As pioneers, they cleared parts of the forests and made way for farms and gardens. They knew the value of retaining sufficient  woodlands for wild game and lumber, and made proper use of the blessings of woodland and farm. They lived in a sustainable way, balancing the give and take, aware of their Creator, and knowing that they were caretakers only for the short span of their lives. They bequeathed to me not only real property, but more importantly, their passion for gentle and loving care of God's good Garden.

My passion knows no shyness when I meet friends and relatives who also own acreage "up North". It is a given that I will bring discussion of land preservation, HWLC and conservation easements into my visits with them.

In a recent personal letter to about ten of them earlier this year, promoting awareness of conservation easements, I told them about my visit with my wife to the "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island in Florida in January. We were told by a naturalist that there are some 542 national wildlife refuges in the U.S., with more than 93 million acres of wildlife habitat in them. I said in my letter that each one of us with sizeable property holdings was a manager of our own wildlife refuge, and how convenient it is for us to be able to call upon the Headwaters Land Conservancy to help us in our management for the good of all life.

It is heartening to observe that good government, at the state and federal levels, seems to approve of such values and passions. It has seen fit to reward us with good tax incentives whenever we act on these motivations to make conservation easements for the good stewardship of the land. It is heartening to realize that good government is our other ally with the HWLC in the management of our individual wildlife refuges.

Ypsilanti, Michigan
August 12, 2007