MARQUETTE, Mich.(WZMQ) – The Superior Watershed Partnership has just purchased around 226 acres in the Keweenaw Peninsula, including 3,100 feet of Lake Superior shoreline and over 3,000 feet of the wild Gratiot River.
This was all possible through a $600,000 grant from the US Forest Service Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Community Forest Program. SWP staff and the Great Lakes Climate Corps will be creating a trail network with signs for hiking, skiing, and K-12 education purposes.
“We target our work along coastlines because that’s where we feel that has the most impact, for me it’s like I grew up here Lake Superior is super important to me and I just think the best way to keep it healthy is to keep lots of wild space,” commented the Project Manager Solomon Kronberg.
The purchase merges 1,300 acres in five local conservation areas, protecting the Gratiot River Watershed and miles of Lake Superior coastline. The Gratiot River Community Forest also contains protected habitat types including gray wolves, Canadian lynx, and the long-eared bat.
