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Failed
swap, new land sales generate Keweenaw public access
forum
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While many acres
of Keweenaw County land ’Äì
like this forest near the tip of
the Peninsula with Manitou Island
in the distance ’Äì have
been open to public access in the
past, that access is now
threatened by potential land
sales.
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CALUMET ’Äì A community forum for citizens
concerned about the future of land use and public
access in the Keweenaw Peninsula will be held from 7
p.m. to 9 p.m., Monday, December 4, in the Calumet
Theatre. Public Access Keweenaw, a coalition
of community organizations and concerned
individuals, has organized the forum.
"Public Access Keweenaw's goal is to work
with Keweenaw residents, IP (International
Paper) and other Keweenaw
landowners, government and the community at large to
secure permanent public access in the
Keweenaw," said Greg Kudray, one of the
organizers of the forum. "Public Access
Keweenaw is committed to doing this in a
non-confrontational, cooperative manner. We
recognize that ’Ķ both business and the community
must work together to assure economic health and
protection of this land in the future."
Keweenaw
County Commissioner Frank
Stubenrauch
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At
the Keweenaw County Board of Commissioners meeting
Tuesday, Keweenaw County landowner John Griffith
said he was glad to hear commissioner Frank
Stubenrauch was planning to attend the forum.
Griffith encouraged other commissioners to attend as
well, since the board had passed a resolution in
October on the possibility of arranging a similar
meeting.
"That’Äôs the idea of this December 4th
meeting," Griffith said, "to get
(together) all the parties that are involved in
deciding the future of this company land that we’Äôve
been used to using."
Failed negotiations for a land trade between the
Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and
the largest landowner in Keweenaw County (formerly
Champion International and now International Paper,
of which Lake Superior Land Co. is a subsidiary),
and the planned auctioning of Hunter’Äôs
Point at the west end of Copper
Harbor and the lands extending west to Devil’Äôs
Washtub have alarmed many who have enjoyed the use
of such areas. The sale of Hunter’Äôs Point (about
260 acres, including extensive Lake Superior
shoreline) through a sealed bid process has so far
thwarted the Lake Superior Maritime Heritage Society’Äôs
plans to build a maritime museum in Grant Township.
Most of IP’Äôs land is enrolled in the Commercial
Forest Reserve (CFR) program, a state-run program
that gives large forestland owners tax breaks in
exchange for allowing public access to hunt or fish.
For various reasons, IP has begun to sell off
significant parcels, such as the Keweenaw Point, and
to move forward with other disposition plans.
These developments have raised concerns about the
continued availability of public access to the most
spectacular parts of the Keweenaw, as well as the
possible conservation impacts of piecemeal
development. Snowmobile and ORV trails, fishing
access, lakeshore camping, agate picking, open
hunting, bird watching and more all depend on the
lack of "No Trespassing" signs.
Eagle Harbor resident Paul Freshwater said the
forum sounds like a good idea.
"The question is whether enough of the key
parties will come together to talk," Freshwater
said. "I sincerely hope so."
Anita Campbell, spokesperson for Concerned
Citizens of Keweenaw County, noted many Keweenaw
residents attending recent county and township
meetings have voiced a concern over the fast
disappearance of public access to scenic land and
are looking for some dialogue among all parties to
try and preserve public access to some degree.
"This is an excellent initiative that
everyone in Keweenaw and Houghton counties should
embrace," Campbell said. "Ever since the
days of C & H (Calumet and Hecla Mining Co.),
tourism in Keweenaw County has become very dependent
on public access to the beautiful, rugged
wilderness. To drastically restrict
public access would be very harmful to the famous
eco-tourism we now enjoy and depend on."
Funding for the forum has been provided by the
Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Protection Fund.
Schedule for the December 4 Community Forum:
1. A representative from IP has been invited to
talk about the company's stewardship policies and
plans for its Keweenaw landholdings.
2. A panel of local citizens will discuss the
public access issue from a local perspective.
Representatives of various interests, as well as
elected officials, will participate.
3. Noted photographer Charlie Eshbach, publisher
of Keweenaw Traveler, an area tourism
newspaper, will present a slide show of what's at
stake: the lands and waters of the Keweenaw
Peninsula ’Äì some of it so remote that many area
residents have never even seen it.
4. Question and answer period until 9:00 p.m.
followed by refreshments in the adjacent ballroom.
For more information contact Greg Kudray at (906)
523-4817 or email info@publicaccesskeweenaw.org
.
Click here for Public
Access Keweenaw on the Web.
- Michele Anderson
November 15, 2000
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