Great Lakes/Great Lands

(Upper Peninsula)

MICHIGAN / Hiawatha and Ottawa National Forests / Congressional District: 1
Member(s): Rep. Bart Stupak
Location
Purpose
Purchase
Opportunities
Partners
Cooperators / Acquired to Date
Method / Acres / Cost ($)
Purchase / 30,426.34 / 19,065,517
Exchange / 0 / 0
Donation / 0 / 0
Other / 0 / 0
Partners / 0 / 0
FY 2010 Enacted
Method / Acres / Cost ($)
Purchase / 650 / $1,500,000
President’s Budget FY2011
Method / Acres / Cost ($)
Purchase / 620 / $1,300,000
PendingFuture Request
Method / Acres / Cost ($)
Purchase / 2,910 / $3,500,000
Michigan’s Upper Peninsula; within a day’s drive of metropolitan areas (e.g. Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee).
Protect integrity and health of multiple watersheds, support Great Lakes Restoration Initiative objectives, augment critical ecosystem qualities and species habitat through protection, conservation, and restoration.
Northern Land and Sales, LLC and Plum Creek are offering to sell portions of their Upper Peninsula holdings.
The Trust for Public Land
N/A
Project
Description / Great Lakes/Great Lands-Upper Peninsula tracts are within the boundaries of the Hiawatha and Ottawa National Forests, situated within four major watersheds which influence Great Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior and support the national Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Major watershed integrity and health protection through acquisition of supporting wetland and riparian areas will benefit these watersheds and ultimately the Great Lakes Region. Plant and wildlife species are abundant and habitat consolidation will provide travel connectivity for endangered Eastern gray wolf and threatened Canadian lynx. Various sensitive species,state threatened and endangered species, two forest management indicator species, and the delisted bald eagle are known to occur on or adjacent to the tracts.
The properties available for acquisition consolidate unique landforms and minimally developed landscapes of intact forests resilient to climate changes and ready to contribute to on-going carbon-sequestration efforts. Ownership consolidation not only contributes to landscape-level conservation efforts, but also provides improved public, recreation, resource, and heritage site access. Enhanced safety and recreation values will occur along four existing trails and a Wild and and Scenic River.Heritage resources are not inventoried, but several tracts are in areas with cultural resource potential (e.g. historic logging/mining areas; Native American trails).
Properties available for acquisition include:
  • Prickett Lake, Phase II – Ottawa NF ($1,300,000 - 620 acres). The acquisition of the Prickett Lake property, with associated wetland and riparian habitat, would provide significant protection to the Sturgeon River watershed, which drains directly into Lake Superior. A portion of the property is located within the designated corridor of the Sturgeon Wild and Scenic River. Efforts to protect the Sturgeon River watershed contribute to the conservation objectives of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and complement conservation efforts by the State Department of National Resources in the area.
  • Trout Lake, Whitefish River and Stonington – Hiawatha NF ($ 1,000,000 - 2,500 acres). Acquisition of the parcels would significantly consolidate federal ownership in various areas of the Forest and help ensure the protection and conservation of three separate watersheds (two watersheds drain into Lake Michigan and the remaining watershed drains into Lake Huron). The parcels also contain significant wetland habitat (the National Wetlands Inventory designates approximately 48 percent of the subject acreage as wetlands). The conservation of these watersheds and associated wetland areas would help support the objectives of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
  • Victoria East – Ottawa NF ($ 2,500,000 - 410 acres). The subject Victoria East property is located within the Ontonagon River watershed, which also drains into Lake Superior. The property contains significant riparian habitat associated with Victoria East reservoir, the Middle Branch of the Ontonagon, and various streams and tributaries. A portion of the property is located within the designated corridor of the Middle Branch of the Ontonagon Wild and Scenic River. Acquisition of this property would provide significant protection for these riparian areas and, thereby, benefit the watershed and further the objectives of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

O&M Cost / Estimated “start up” costs: $0 / Estimated annual maintenance: $0
USDA Goal / Restore, sustain, and enhance national watersheds and related wetland ecosystems within UP Forests while conserving open space and improving public and resource access, without disruption of existing outdoor recreational patterns