Forks can be dropped off at our office (105 Post St in Midland) Monday through Friday. Please donate your forks before July 8, 2013.

Many types of amphibians, including tree frogs, chorus frogs and salamanders, inhabit the wetland areas of Riverview Natural Area.

To visit Riverview Natural Area, take N. Homer Rd. two miles north of M-20. Turn left on Wheeler Rd. The parking area is a quarter mile from the corner on the right. For more information, contact The Little Forks Conservancy at (989) 835-4886 or e-mail info(at)littleforks.org.

It was another crisp day in mid-Michigan, where the ice caked my windshield and my Columbia fleece was no match for the bitter wind. My coffee cup, piping hot in my hand, set off steam signals to the sun gods wishing for a temperature break while condensing on my cool steering wheel.

Today was going to be a good day though, because today was the predicted first day for the maple sap flow. Today was also one of the quarterly meetings for a small conservation stewardship collective with some of the key conservancies in Michigan. Little Forks Conservancy, my AmeriCorps host site here in Midland, Michigan, hosted this quarterly meeting at the Chippewa Nature Center, where the sap buckets already hung on the sugar maples and the sugar shack crew was ready for the first syrup batch.

But first, we had business to attend to: what sort of donuts should we get? and Did anyone put on the coffee? As the participants filed in, I recognized some faces from various meetings I had through my first three months of service, and welcomed them to our meeting with smiles and conservation jargon. Our topics ranged from farm management practices to trail maintenance and educational outreach, where I gained some excellent insight for volunteer management and educational events. The energy in the room was contagious. And the day just kept getting better!

We took a break from our meeting to walk the trails to the sugar bush, where some Chippewa Nature Center volunteers had fired up the boiling pans for syrup production. About 10 feet from the entrance, the sweet maple steam filled our nostrils and elicited salivation. The syrup guides talked through the process of syrup production, giving us syrup tips and suggested recipes along the way. We talked about the sugar bush, with the trees standing bare and tall above us.

This was when it really hit me, I am in and among people who are just as committed to preserving our precious Michigan environment as I am. I have found my conservation niche! It was simple, really, but the time we took to walk among those trees and talk about the resources in our backyards, put conservation work into perspective and connected me with a purpose for my AmeriCorps service. I knew that my service would impact others in the community. I am preserving the natural history of our area for the community to enjoy for generations to come.

So though the wind is still cool and my coffee still hot, I know that it will soon give way to the beaming sun and sweating water bottles as the field season in Michigan is underway.

Erin is serving through the Huron Pines AmeriCorps program through the end of October. Huron Pines is a Gaylord- based not-for-profit, 501(c) (3) organization with a mission to conserve the forests, lakes and streams of Northeast Michigan. AmeriCorps is a network of three programs—AmeriCorps*State and National, AmeriCorps*VISTA, and AmeriCorps*National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC)—that each year support the engagement of nearly 75,000 Americans in service to meet critical needs in education, the environment, public safety, homeland security, and other areas. More information about Huron Pines can be found at www.huronpines.org. For more information about AmeriCorps, visit www.americorps.gov.

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Want to know more about the work that Little Forks is doing or want to know what you can do to help? Visit our Preserves page!

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Join us at our office (105 Post Street, Midland) Tuesday, May 21 at 6 p.m. For just $25, we will take you step-by-step as you build your own herbicide dauber to take home with you that night!

Additional dauber kits may be available. Contact our office for more details.

Space is limited. Registration closes May 14. To register, contact Joelle Ferguson at 989.835.4886 or jferguson@littleforks.org.

During our Volunteer Open House, you can:

• Discover the Conservancy’s preserves, including our newest acquisition.
• Get a sneak peek at our upcoming events.
• Enjoy refreshments and conversation with Conservancy staff and volunteers.
• Explore our volunteer opportunities and sign up for the one that’s right for you!

Last year, volunteers contributed over 400 hours of their time to help with events, trail work, boardwalks, plantings and invasive species removal.

Can’t make it but want to know more? Contact Erin Quetell at 989.835.4886 or equetell@littleforks.org.

“We’re thrilled to have Erin join the Conservancy and LPMTU to help private landowners with land management projects, specifically invasive species control,” said Elan Lipschitz, the Conservancy’s director of land conservation. “Her efforts will have direct, positive impacts in the Tittabawassee River Watershed.”

Erin is serving through the Huron Pines AmeriCorps program through the end of October. Huron Pines is a Gaylord- based not-for-profit, 501(c) (3) organization with a mission to conserve the forests, lakes and streams of Northeast Michigan. AmeriCorps is a network of three programs—AmeriCorps*State and National, AmeriCorps*VISTA, and AmeriCorps*National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC)—that each year support the engagement of nearly 75,000 Americans in service to meet critical needs in education, the environment, public safety, homeland security, and other areas.

“I am very excited to start my service with Little Forks Conservancy and the Leon P. Martuch Chapter of Trout Unlimited,” said Quetell.

A recent graduate from Grand Valley State University, with a background in biology, Quetell previously worked at the Detroit Zoo in Royal Oak, MI.

More information about Huron Pines can be found at www.huronpines.org. For more information about AmeriCorps, visit www.americorps.gov.

The Little Forks Conservancy’s office will be closed December 24, 25 and January 1.

Then, one day in 1981, the family noticed a nearby 40 acre property for sale. “We were driving by and saw the sign,” Richard W. Guthrie said. The family knew that the property, with a mix of woods and open fields along 950 feet of frontage on the West Branch of the Cedar River, would be a great spot for their own little hunting camp. “It was hard then, even having extra money to buy hunting land. So we all went into it together.”

For the last thirty years, Richard and his wife Mary, Thomas E. and Darla Guthrie, Thomas W. and Connie Guthrie, and Gregory R. and Kathy Stanifer have gone up to the property to enjoy deer, turkey and even partridge seasons.

“We get t-shirts made every year for the hunting group,” said Thomas W. Guthrie. “We didn’t even think about [this] being the thirtieth year.”

Now the family has once again come together, this time to make sure that the property they purchased together is conserved forever. The family recently gathered at Cabela’s in Dundee to sign a conservation easement with the Midland-based Little Forks Conservancy to permanently protect this cherished hunting land.

Elan Lipschitz, the Conservancy’s land protection specialist explained, “Our conservation easement projects are a partnership with the landowner. They own and manage the land, but choose to limit activities that could damage its natural resources.” The Conservancy visits the property once a year to meet with the landowner and ensure the terms of the agreement are being met.

The property was protected through a grant by the State of Michigan. “The Conservancy was originally contacted by the Guthrie family during the first phase of our Cedar River project,” said Lipschitz. “However, that grant had already been completed. When we received the second grant in 2009 to complete more conservation easements, we hoped that this was one of the properties we could help protect.”

Through this agreement, the West Branch of the Cedar River will always have a mature forest of spruces, northern white cedars, and pines mixed in with a variety of deciduous trees along the river. “Under the terms of our grant,” said Lipschitz, “we are looking to conserve our area’s high quality waterways. The protection of the property helps ensure a healthy fishery for the future, which preserves important recreational activities throughout the watershed.”

The conservation easement is the latest step the family has taken to conserve local natural resources. The family has been involved with conservation issues locally and statewide as active members of Michigan United Conservation Clubs.

Richard said, “I just enjoy sitting out in the woods. If I shoot anything it’s secondary to just being out there.”

The Conservancy’s Cedar River project has protected almost six and a half miles of our region’s waterways and over 950 acres of land. The Conservancy will continue to work with landowners in the Cedar River watershed in 2013. Contact the Conservancy at 989-835-4886 or info@littleforks.org to learn more about the Cedar River project.