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Forum:
Land sales jeopardize public access
CALUMET ’Äì The first Public Access Keweenaw
forum brought together the area’Äôs largest
landowner and a diverse group of government and
community representatives and residents concerned
about potential land sales that could jeopardize
recreational use and preservation of the area’Äôs
commercial forest land, lakeshore, trout streams and
places valued for their unique ecosystems. About 200
people attended the forum Monday evening in the
Calumet Theatre despite snowy, windy weather.
A panel of guest speakers included
representatives from The Nature Conservancy,
International Paper (IP) /Lake Superior Land Co.,
the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR),
United States Representative Bart Stupak’Äôs office,
Keweenaw County Board of Commissioners, the Keweenaw
Tourism Council and Trout Unlimited. A question
period allowed audience participants to direct their
concerns to panel members.
"It was as much or more (attendance) than I
expected because we had such a cross section of the
community here ’Äì a good representation of
environmentalists, sportsmen, government
representatives and a lot of just interested
residents," said photographer Charles Eshbach,
publisher of the Keweenaw
Traveler and one of the
organizers of the forum.
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This pink rhyolite beach is one of the special places Keweenaw photographer Charles Eshbach discussed in his slide presentation at the first Public Access Keweenaw Forum Dec. 4 in the Calumet Theatre. Eshbach says the geology and variety of plant life make this beach one of his favorite spots.
(Photo courtesy Charles Eshbach)
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Eshbach "warmed up" the audience with a
slide presentation of some of the special places in the Keweenaw Peninsula and pointed out
the diversity of the shoreline ’Äì from basalt
outcroppings to sand dunes to the rhyolite of Fish
Cove. His photographs demonstrated how the area’Äôs
geology and the influence of Lake Superior and its
weather have produced diverse and rare plant
communities, including "the rare Keweenaw rose
that’Äôs almost extinct ’Ķ15 different species of
orchids" and some flowers that normally grow at
7,000 feet in the Rocky Mountains but grow here
because glaciers brought them. Eshbach noted that
even in winter, under Lake Superior’Äôs thick
blanket of snow, orchids at the bottom of bogs never
freeze.
Eshbach said, while he realized he was
"preaching to the choir," since many in
the audience were familiar with the places in his
Keweenaw photographs, he hoped to create a sense of
urgency in the audience.
"You and I, as residents of the Keweenaw, as
citizens of this area ’Äì we are responsible for
this world class natural community. We’Äôre the
stewards of it."
Moderator Dave Harmon said Monday’Äôs forum had
two goals: 1) to be the beginning of a
community-wide acceptance of the future of public
access in the Keweenaw, and 2) to launch Public
Access Keweenaw as a broad
coalition of community groups and individuals who
will work in a non-confrontational, cooperative
manner to secure a permanent increase in the amount
of public land in the Keweenaw.
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Tina Hall of The Nature Conservancy
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Tina Hall, representing The
Nature Conservancy, said the
unique Keweenaw features shown in Eshbach’Äôs slides
’Äì such as the Great Lakes basalt lakeshore
community, the rhyolite shoreline, a great diversity
of rare plants and the northernmost sand dune in
Michigan (Great Sand Bay) ’Äì were the reason for
her organization’Äôs interest in the Keweenaw.
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The colorful Pitcher Plant, which grows in Keweenaw bogs, traps insects in its spiny-lipped ’Äúpitcher.’Äù (Photo courtesy Charles Eshbach)
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"The Nature Conservancy was attracted to
this area because of those rare and unusual
things," she said. "The Nature Conservancy
certainly has no goal of trying to buy all of
Keweenaw County or trying to lock up land and
exclude others. Our goal nationally and in the state
of Michigan is to try to save and secure remnants of
the unusual gems of a place ’Ķ And I think it’Äôs a
credit to the Keweenaw that there have been groups
with vision that have (tried) to save some of those
points of reference, some of those signatures of
what makes the Keweenaw so special."
Hall noted such local, visionary groups as the
North Woods Conservancy, the Gratiot Lake
Conservancy and the Keweenaw Land Trust have no
intention to lock up large pieces of land either;
but they are aware that land now accessible to the
public could be sold to private owners or developers
who, as land trusts have witnessed in other places,
can change the character of a place.
"The land that the land trusts owned (in
those other areas) became the islands or oases among
a sea of development," she said. "Now
sure, in the Keweenaw that’Äôs not going to happen
overnight, but there certainly are some signs on the
horizon that that could happen."
Hall said while The Nature Conservancy would be
interested in preserving special Keweenaw places for
the public, the organization also has as one of its
goals seeing the paper industry remain healthy in
the UP.
"These large corporate landowners are the
fabric that holds what you know as the UP together.
Without their large corporate ownership the Keweenaw
(as the unfragmented force of land we know) would
fall apart," she explained. "The role of
The Nature Conservancy ’Ķ would be assisting in
brokering for a state ownership."
Hall noted the conservancy could buy the land to
hold it, but only as long as it would take for
federal or state funding to acquire it for public
ownership.
As Hall presented it, The Nature Conservancy’Äôs
role could depend on how the other two players in
the drama of Keweenaw County’Äôs future take steps
to communicate and negotiate. Those two players ’Äì
International Paper and the Michigan DNR ’Äì also
appeared on the Calumet Theatre stage during the
forum.
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Art Abramson, region manager for International Paper’Äôs forest resources in the Lake States Region
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Art Abramson, region manager for International
Paper’Äôs forest resources in the Lake States Region
(which includes the company’Äôs operations in
Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Terre Haute,
Ind.), said IP owns 18.5 million acres of land
worldwide, with paper and forest operations in 50
countries. Because of a recent merger with Champion
International, IP is now the parent company of Lake
Superior Land Co. and the largest landowner in the
UP.
"International Paper manages its forests
under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative or SFI.,"
Abramson said. "This is the industry’Äôs
stringent environmental standard ’Ķ a comprehensive
system of principles, objectives and performance
measures that ensure the perpetual growing and
harvesting of trees while protecting wildlife,
plants, soil, air and water quality."
Abramson added IP is a leader in the SFI program,
which mandates that the company keep its forests
healthy in the present and the future. He noted many
of the SFI operating requirements have been IP’Äôs
(and Champion International’Äôs) standard forest
management practices for decades. Besides following
SFI standards, he said, IP was the first forest
products company whose sustainable forestry system
is third-party certified in the ISO 14001 standards
’Äì an international certification that validates
the process used for managing environmental impacts.
"Our vision in managing this land is one of
sustainability and stewardship," Abramson said.
"We understand that the public may have
legitimate concerns about International Paper’Äôs
business and how we conduct ourselves ’Ķ We are
here primarily to listen tonight. We want you to
understand that International Paper is motivated not
only by its business interests, but also by its
responsibility to its employees, to communities and
to our shareholders. Quite honestly, however, we may
not be able to provide the answers you want to
hear."
He added the company cannot discuss certain
information about its business openly because it is
publicly owned and cannot violate the rules of the
Securities and Exchange Commission and because of
competitiveness. Abramson noted, however, that
residents should feel free to contact the Calumet
office of Walt Arnold, Lake Superior Land Company
director of marketing and sales, if they have
questions. He said the company’Äôs method of
operation has always included continuing dialogue
with local elected officials and business leaders.
"It is business as usual for International
Paper operations, including Lake Superior Land
Company, in the Keweenaw area," Abramson said.
"We continue to manage our forest lands within
the SFI guidelines ’Ķ and we continue to sell some
of the real estate in our ownership in both Keweenaw
and Houghton counties."
Concerning lakeshore properties, Abramson
mentioned the company’Äôs objective has been to find
the best use for that property. As for Hunters
Point, which IP recently put up
for sale through a bid process, Abramson said later,
during the informal reception following the forum,
that it was an "open-bid process."
"In my opinion, a bid process is about the
fairest way to sell a piece of land," he said.
"The definition of a free market is a willing
buyer and a willing seller reaching an agreement ’Ķ
Whether that’Äôs in a bid process or a negotiation
process really is irrelevant. (In a bid process)
anyone who’Äôs interested in the property has a
chance to offer what they think is a fair
price."
While he would not disclose who had offered a bid
on Hunters Point, Abramson said the company was
still in the process of discussing it with
interested parties. Those parties apparently do not
include The Nature Conservancy or the Michigan DNR,
both of whom say they are limited by policies or
laws that do not allow them to purchase land above
fair market or appraised value.
Arnold said Tuesday both The Nature Conservancy
and the state (DNR) received bid packages for
Hunters Point, but neither of them sent a bid.
"They could have bid ’Ķ the appraised value
($1.6 million)," he said.
Although some residents worry that IP has a plan
to sell off a large portion of their holdings in
small parcels, Abramson said the company is still in
the early stages of the merger and does not have a
long-term plan in place for selling properties.
If the DNR were to purchase Keweenaw lands, they
would use funds from the Michigan Natural Resources
Trust Fund, according to Jim Ekdahl, DNR Upper
Peninsula field deputy in Marquette. He explained
the fund has five goals: resource protection, water
access, community recreation, urban recreation and
economic development.
"I think there’Äôs a lot of misunderstanding
out there about the fact that the land exchange
proposal was rejected," Ekdahl said, referring
to the failure of the proposed exchange last year in
which the Michigan DNR would have acquired 20,500
Keweenaw acres in exchange for 36,200 acres of state
land in the southern half of Houghton County.
"Folks shouldn’Äôt interpret or judge that land
exchange proposal as a lack of interest on the part
of the state in acquiring land up here."
Ekdahl said in the past few months the DNR and
the Governor’Äôs office have written to IP
indicating the state has a continuing interest in
acquiring some Keweenaw land.
A letter from George Burgoyne, Jr., DNR resource
management deputy in Lansing, dated Nov. 28, 2000,
is addressed to Walt Arnold. Burgoyne states that
the DNR is interested in talking to Arnold about
"opportunities for public acquisition of major
portions of [his] Company’Äôs land holdings near the
tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula" and wishes
"to discuss [his] Company’Äôs intentions,
timelines, and willingness to work with [the DNR]
and [their] potential partners in land conservancies
to assure these lands are protected for future
generations."
Arnold said Tuesday, "I have not responded
because they (the DNR) indicated there was another
letter from the Governor ’Ķ We wanted to check that
out before responding to George (Burgoyne) ’Ķ
Basically what we’Äôre going to tell George is that
we’Äôve talked and talked (for three years),"
Arnold added. "What we’Äôd like to see is a
proposal ’Äì whatever they have in mind. We’Äôre
open to whatever they want to propose (and this is
not limited to trading or purchasing)."
Arnold noted Tuesday, however, that no one in the
IP office had seen the letter from Governor Engler’Äôs
office.
Ekdahl said Wednesday the second letter to IP was
from one of the Governor’Äôs staff and said about
the same thing as the DNR letter from Burgoyne. The
DNR wants to meet with IP to make them aware of the
legal constraints the state faces when it acquires
land for public ownership, Ekdahl added.
"Some processes work in a way the state can
compete in buying land, and other processes (such as
the sealed bid process) do not work," Ekdahl
said. "Our process is a very slow and
deliberate process controlled by law. It is intended
to be very open and to assure that land transactions
serve the public interest," he explained.
"It almost has to be a situation where the
seller is cooperating with the public agency to make
the sale occur."
Ekdahl said he thought the Public Access forum
was a good idea, but he wished the question and
answer session could have been longer to allow him
to explain the state’Äôs land acquisition process.
He noted a future meeting could address the topic of
how the state acquires property.
"We could have our real estate people from
Marquette explain the process," he said.
The second DNR representative on the panel ’Äì
Byron Sailor, forester and coordinator of the
Commercial Forest program in the Baraga DNR office
’Äì explained the role of the Commercial Forest Act
(CFA or CFR), which provides a tax break to Michigan
landowners for managing their property for timber
resource value.
"Keweenaw County has 158,990 acres (51
percent of the county) enrolled in Commercial
Forest," Sailor said. "Of that forest land
80 percent is what we classify as timberland. It has
a growth rate, and it’Äôs productive enough that
timber resources can be produced on it."
Sailor said 81 percent of land eligible for CFR
in Keweenaw County is already enrolled. To be
eligible it has to be a parcel of at least 40 acres,
with no dwelling or camp, in private ownership. This
would include the forest industry, private
corporations and individual landowners. Each of them
pays $1.10 per acre per year; the state contributes
$1.20 per acre per year, making the total township
revenue $2.30 per acre for CFR land. What these
landowners provide for the public (in return for the
tax break) is access for hunting and fishing only.
Sailor noted that other activities such as
cross-country skiing, bird watching and mushroom
picking are not legally permitted, although most
landowners allow those activities. He explained that
since hunting and fishing on CFR lands are only
permitted on foot, landowners have the legal right
to gate and block roads, especially for reasons such
as garbage dumping and road maintenance. The
landowner is required to have a timber resource
management plan open for DNR review.
"When people come to me and ask about
Commercial Forest, I tell them it’Äôs a lifetime
commitment," Sailor said. "Once lands are
enrolled in Commercial Forest, it automatically
transfers with the deed. The only time it will ever
come out of Commercial Forest is when there is a
request."
Sailor said removing land from CFR requires a
$200 application fee plus penalties. As examples he
noted a 40-acre piece of property in Eagle Harbor
cost $1,900 to remove from CFR, while a 40-acre
parcel in Grant Township cost $1400 to remove.
Another player in the drama, who could assist the
state with funding for land acquisition, is the
federal government.
Federal funding for public land purchases is
available through the Land and Water Conservation
Fund, funded mostly by oil revenues, said Matt
Johnson, who represented United States Congressman
Bart Stupak, D-Menominee, at the forum. While the
fund has normally averaged $200 million a year, it
received $540 million, the largest in three decades,
from the Clinton administration for fiscal year
2001. The most important part of this, Johnson said,
is the States Grants program, worth $89 million (in
50 percent matching grants) this year.
"It is not known yet what Michigan’Äôs
appropriation will be," he noted.
Three local community leaders on the forum panel
added perspectives of logging, tourism and watershed
protection for fishermen.
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Frank Stubenrauch, Keweenaw County commissioner and logger
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Logger and Keweenaw County Commissioner Frank
Stubenrauch, addressing the forum audience as
"Friends of the Keweenaw," countered the
conception held by some Keweenaw County residents
that "the Keweenaw" refers only to the
county. He acknowledged that it includes the entire
geological formation of Keweenaw Peninsula,
beginning at the head of the bay in L’ÄôAnse.
"The term ("the Keweenaw") does
not belong to Keweenaw County," Stubenrauch
said. "Get over it." *
Stubenrauch also stated frankly his belief that,
as a logger being paid by Lake Superior Land Co., he
does not see a conflict with his position on the
county board.
"I don’Äôt exempt myself from making
decisions involving Lake Superior Land because I try
to vote in a way that best benefits the county, and
I hope nobody objects to that," he said.
In response to criticisms of logging and
clear-cutting, Stubenrauch said clear-cutting is
appropriate for some types of timber ’Äì such as
aspen, white birch and some spruce and balsam ’Äì
which grow back. He added that not much Keweenaw
land is still "pristine" since it has all
seen the hand of man, even near the Estivant Pines
Sanctuary.
"I’Äôm not saying that man should just run
amok and do what he wants in this area, but I also
say that there are limits to the kind of restraint
you can put on development or economic activity like
logging."
Stubenrauch also explained that IP withdrew its
road-building crews recently, not because they are
ready to give up logging and leave the area, but
because of the increased expense of stream crossing
restrictions. Stubenrauch also defended the present
CFR rate, which some residents would like to see
increased. He explained the clear-cut cycle means it
is 40-60 years before the company gets a return on
the taxes it has paid. Even with selective cutting,
the cycle is 15-20 years before they get any income
on the taxes.
"We have plenty of trees, and I hope
International Paper keeps cutting them,"
Stubenrauch said.
To those who object to logging trucks,
Stubenrauch noted that supplies come into the area
by truck and logs are one of the few things going
out of the area. A dwindling of logging trucks, he
added, could mean IP has "given up" on the
area, which they might do if hassled too much.
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Don Kauppi of Copper Harbor represented the Keweenaw Tourism Council at the forum.
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Grassroots citizen efforts and negotiation are
preferable to fights and hassles, noted Don Kauppi,
chairman of the Copper Harbor Downtown Development
Authority, who represented the Keweenaw Tourism
Council at the forum. He reported the council is
working with the DNR and IP to secure rights of way
for snowmobile trails, but "rock piles and
gates" suggest time may be running out, as
lands are sold to private owners.
"I believe we should establish some of the
special areas in the county and form coalitions to
save them as was done with Bete Grise beach,
Horseshoe Harbor, Estivant Pines and what we are
attempting to do with Hunters Point and the Gratiot
River ’Äì negotiate. There are special areas like
Great Sand Bay, the mouth of the Montreal River,
Fish Cove, Cliffs of Phoenix, Brockway Mountain
Drive to name a few," Kauppi said.
"Protecting one of these areas will only take
the next 48 months or four years of your life, but
it will give you an opportunity to show how much you
really care about Keweenaw. Pick a spot that is
special to you and rally a group to save it rather
than fight someone."
Although the failure of the land trade was
unfortunate, Kauppi noted, it may be easier to save
smaller areas, one at a time. Possible funding
sources include the Michigan Trust Fund,
conservation funds, The Nature Conservancy and the
Michigan Nature Association, just to name a few.
Kauppi suggested the Western Upper Peninsula
Planning and Development District (WUPPDR) compile a
list of all potential funds for land acquisition.
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Bill Deephouse, left, of Trout Unlimited, chats with photographer Charles Eshbach in the Calumet Theatre ballroom during the reception following the forum.
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Public access to some of the places Kauppi
mentioned is a high priority for sportsmen and
sportswomen, as Bill Deephouse of the Copper Country
Chapter of Trout Unlimited pointed out. Deephouse, a
retired Michigan DNR fisheries biologist, said the
local chapter ’Äì now 107 men- and women-strong ’Äì
was formed in 1997 to help the DNR improve trout
habitat in the Copper Country.
"This pool of hardworking men and women
generously volunteer their time to the benefit of
everyone of our area," Deephouse said.
Some of the group’Äôs successful projects,
supported by fundraisers and grants, have included
partnering with the DNR in improving trout habitat
in local lakes and streams ’Äì including the Gratiot
and Pilgrim rivers, Lost Lake and Lake Manganese ’Äì
through stocking, removal of non-game fish, removal
of beaver dams, erosion control and provision of
garbage barrels at favorite fishing spots. The group’Äôs
most recent efforts are directed at helping Keweenaw
County secure a 25 percent match (about $150,000)
for a Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grant to
purchase 4,000 feet of Lake Superior frontage and
100 acres at the mouth of the Gratiot River.
"We are dedicated to leaving (lakes and
streams) in the Copper Country a little better than
we found them," Deephouse said. "We truly
are dedicated to our mission statement ’Äì
conserving, protecting and restoring ’Ķ but we are
alarmed at what we see happening in our area. Lands
that were formerly open to all are being sold to
private interests. Access is being denied ’Ķ I
wonder if my grandson will be able to wander and
explore lakes and streams like I have for the last
four years."
Deephouse noted good economic times have made
this area attractive to new owners, but land sales
bring a high cost to those who live here year-round.
"We think it’Äôs important for International
Paper to recognize that when they bought all of
Champion’Äôs properties they got a lot more than
just land, trees, lakes and streams. They bought a
culture," he said. "The tourism industry
is now dependent on public access. Extreme economic
hardships could result if the plug is pulled on
public access in the Keweenaw. If International
Paper doesn’Äôt recognize this fact, then it’Äôs up
to us to explain it to them."
Deephouse concluded by saying Trout Unlimited
encourages IP, Keweenaw County, the State of
Michigan and various non-profit conservancies to
explore all means of maintaining public access to
shoreline and inland waters for recreation. Trout
Unlimited wishes to be a partner in those efforts,
he noted.
*Editor’Äôs Note: Keweenaw Today,
which has attempted to keep to a policy of avoiding
the term "the Keweenaw" in order not to
offend certain county residents, is grateful to Mr.
Stubenrauch for permission to use the term more
freely to include the whole Keweenaw Peninsula, or
what is sometimes still called "the Copper
Country."
Click here for Part II of this
story ’Äì questions and responses following the
Public Access Forum.
-Michele Anderson
December 7, 2000
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