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EAGLE HARBOR
’Äì Nicole Pearce, recently appointed Western Upper
Peninsula outreach and stewardship coordinator for
The Nature Conservancy (TNC), will be the special
guest at a ’ÄúMeet the Conservancy’Äù Open House
from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, August 11, at Eagle
Harbor's Lake Breeze Resort Hotel, located near the
Eagle Harbor Lighthouse. The Open House is meant to
be an informal community outreach, open to the
public. Pearce, who is a resident of Eagle Harbor
Township, will speak briefly about what TNC is doing
in Keweenaw County and will answer questions about
the conservancy. ’ÄúWe just
want to be able to talk to the people in Eagle
Harbor and tell them about The Nature
Conservancy,’Äù Pearce said. TNC presently
owns two preserves in Grant Township ’Äì the
Horseshoe Harbor property on the north shore,
east of Copper Harbor, and the ’ÄúRocket Launcher
Site’Äù near High Rock Point on the east shore.
Pearce said TNC is considering possible future
purchase of property in Eagle Harbor Township. Said Marcia
Raley, owner of the Lake Breeze, ’ÄúI’Äôve been a
long-term supporter of The Nature Conservancy, and I
think that what they’Äôre hoping to do in Eagle
Harbor Township is important.’Äù Pearce noted
she would also answer questions about TNC’Äôs role
in the Michigan
Department of Natural Resources grant application
for a possible state purchase of about
6,000 acres at the Tip of the Keweenaw. TNC has been
acting as a broker in the proposed land purchase,
which depends on appraisals and on whether or not
the grant application is approved by the Michigan
Natural Resources Trust Fund Board at their meeting
on Oct. 3, 2001. If it is approved, TNC is willing
to purchase the land and hold it until the state can
obtain the funding. Pearce said
she always knew she wanted to work for The Nature
Conservancy but just wasn’Äôt sure how or when she
would get the opportunity. Her wish came
true when she joined The Nature Conservancy-Michigan
Chapter staff on June 1, 2001 at their new office in
the Entrepreneurial Center in Lake Linden. The
seasonal position repeats the work she did in this
area last year for the Chapter and adds new
responsibilities capitalizing on her unique skills. "I’Äôm so
excited to be back at The Nature Conservancy for
another summer," Pearce said. "It’Äôs the
best environmental organization for matching my
personal beliefs. Their non-confrontational
community approach to saving great places fits with
what I want to do and best utilizes my skills and
local connections." Pearce’Äôs
responsibilities this summer have included hosting a
national volunteer group, Landmark Volunteers, that
brought a group of 13 high school students from all
over the United States to Keweenaw to help make
TNC’Äôs preserves more user friendly. In addition to
trail work, the students did maintenance at Fort
Wilkins and at the Copper Harbor School. Pearce also
helped in the rededication and renaming ceremony of
the Horseshoe Harbor Preserve. Pearce
recently completed a rigorous National Outdoor
Leadership School course to become a certified kayak
instructor, specializing in sea kayaking. In September
she will take a group of eight TNC members on a
multi-day field trip, which includes kayaking and
mountain biking to the conservancy’Äôs preserves
from Copper Harbor. This particular trip is already
filled, since reservations are made far in advance.
Participants need not be expert kayakers or cyclists
for these excursions, but they need to be aware of
the challenges involved. ’ÄúWe’Äôre not
recommending people have previous experience, but
they have to be in good physical condition,’Äù
Pearce explained. Pearce also
works as a guide for Copper Harbor’Äôs Keweenaw
Adventure Company, which specializes in day trips.
She said she enjoys taking people out on tours. ’ÄúBeing a
guide helps get the word out about TNC,’Äù she
added. Pearce is most
excited about stewardship and outreach activities to
educate people on how and what The Nature
Conservancy is doing in the Upper Peninsula. Tina Hall,
TNC’Äôs Upper Peninsula director of conservation,
said Pearce is a great asset to TNC’Äôs work in the
Keweenaw Peninsula. "Nicole
is an outstanding person and really cares about what
we’Äôre doing,’Äù Hall said. ’ÄúWe’Äôre thrilled to
have her with us again as we increase our outreach
to the local community." Pearce’Äôs
family is originally from the Mohawk/Ahmeek area.
She is a graduate of Houghton High School. ’ÄúThe
majority of my experience is here,’Äù she said. Pearce
graduated from Northland College in Ashland, Wis.,
with a bachelor’Äôs degree in outdoor education,
emphasizing natural history. While in school, Pearce
became interested in TNC and was the youngest
participant on a national field trip outing. Upon
graduation, Pearce taught environmental education
courses at several locations around the country. In
California, for example, she taught marine biology
and astrophysics to fourth to twelfth graders in an
outdoor education program similar to the Camp
Nesbitt program for Copper Country schools. ’ÄúIt’Äôs like
summer camp during the school year,’Äù she said. Pearce is
planning a Keweenaw beach cleanup for the second
weekend in September in conjunction with research
conducted by the Center for Marine
Conservation.
Anyone can participate, she said, including high
school and college students. The Center puts out a
brochure listing items collected by volunteers. ’ÄúThey send
it to companies who they feel are creating the waste
found on the beaches,’Äù she explained. Pearce has
hopes that her present job will eventually become a
year-round position. ’ÄúWe’Äôre
looking at a lot of options now to make that
possible,’Äù she said. Pearce noted
she returned to her Keweenaw roots to protect the
land she has loved all her life. "The main
thing I want to accomplish is to educate local
people on what the conservancy is doing,"
Pearce said. "We are here to help. If we
don’Äôt do something now to protect the U.P., we may
never get the chance again." The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. The Nature Conservancy counts one million members nationwide, including 32,500 in Michigan. To date, TNC and its members have been responsible for the protection of more than 12 million acres in the United States. The organization owns more than 1,300 preserves in the country. For more information about TNC's Keweenaw projects, call Nicole Pearce at (906) 296-9063. ’Äì
Michele Anderson |
