The Little Forks Conservancy

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Projects

The Cedar River Conservation Easement Project

In September of 2005, The Little Forks Conservancy was awarded $363,000 from the State of Michigan’s Clean Michigan Initiative (CMI) to purchase conservation easements from landowners in the Cedar River Watershed. Crossing portions of Clare, Gladwin and Roscommon counties, the Cedar River watershed is a component of the larger Tittabawassee River watershed.

The project’s goal is to protect lands which benefit water quality. Each property is evaluated by the Conservancy’s land protection staff to determine if it meets the following requirements of the grant: benefits water quality; contains significant natural resources; and fits with the land protection goals of the Conservancy.

The use of conservation easements will minimize future development of sensitive shoreline as well as limit disturbance of soil, fragmentation of habitat, removal of vegetation and placement of impervious surfaces. The CMI grant will expire in the fall of 2007.

For more information about the Cedar River Conservation Easement project, contact Elan Lipschitz at (989) 835-4886 or e-mail him at elipschitz@littleforks.org.

A booklet describing the Cedar River Conservation Easement project in more detail can be found by clicking here.

Priority Conservation Lands Assessment

One of the most frequently asked questions we receive is “How much land do you need before you accept a project?” The answer – “It depends.” It is possible that a property as small as one acre can contain vital habitat. As we meet with landowners to help protect their land from undesirable change, we evaluate each property for its conservation value and public benefit. One of the tools the Conservancy uses to locate properties within our service area that have the highest potential for sustainable conservation is the Priority Conservation Lands Assessment. It is a guide based upon the organization’s objectives, contemporary concepts of landscape ecology and conservation biology in order to identify areas of high natural resource value for potential conservation. To view the Priority Conservation Lands Assessment, click here.

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Saginaw Bay Greenways Collaborative

The Little Forks Conservancy is a member of the Steering Committee of the Saginaw Bay Greenways Collaborative. The Collaborative is a voluntary association with representatives from national, state, and local governments, non-profit organizations, and concerned citizens with interests in wildlife, water quality, non-motorized transportation, recreation, urban and land-use planning, tourism, and economic development. Formed in 1999, the Saginaw Bay Greenways Collaborative developed the Saginaw Bay Greenways plan to connect communities to the area’s natural and cultural amenities for the benefits of recreation, transportation, education, health and well being of its citizens. With funding from The Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network, the Saginaw Bay Greenways Collaborative produced an atlas of greenways opportunities for the tri-county region. To view the Saginaw Bay Greenways Collaborative’s “Vision of Green,” click here.

The Lake Huron Alliance

The Little Forks Conservancy is a member of The Lake Huron Alliance, a partnership of land conservancies in Michigan’s Lake Huron basin, working together to promote conservation of the region’s natural resources, shoreline, open spaces and forests. To learn more about The Lake Huron Alliance, visit the website at http://www.lakehuronalliance.org/

Sturgeon Creek Watershed Management Plan

The Little Forks Conservancy is a member of the Oversight Committee for the Sturgeon Creek Watershed Management Plan. Led by the Midland Conservation District, the Sturgeon Creek Watershed Management Plan was developed to identify sites negatively impacting water quality, with funding provided under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Water Act Section 319 initiative, in coordination with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. The management plan has entered the implementation phase of the project that will involve promoting conservation easements as a land protection tool to protect critical areas identified in the management plan. For more information, visit the Midland Conservation District’s website.