Little Traverse Conservancy in final stage of fundraising for new preserve

Tess Ware, The Petoskey News-Review
·3 min read
The Little Traverse Conservancy is in the process of acquiring the Lamkin property as a new preserve.
The Little Traverse Conservancy is in the process of acquiring the Lamkin property as a new preserve.

GOOD HART — The Little Traverse Conservancy is in the final phase of fundraising to purchase 112 acres of land in northern Emmet County that will connect to the Elmer Johnston and Goodhart Farms Nature Preserves.

The stretch of land is a mix of forest and farm fields that has been owned by the Lamkin family for about 150 years. According to Chief Development Officer Emily Hughes, the conservancy has been interested in this property for about 30 years.

“What's really cool is that we have been talking to (the Lamkin family), we started this (project), 32 years ago,” Hughes said. “So we were pretty early in our days as a conservancy because we're now 51 years old when we recognized that this is an iconic property that really protects the beauty and natural character of Good Hart. Last year was when the stars aligned with resources and negotiation with the family to start to work to actually protect it and make it a reserve.”

Little Traverse Conservancy is nearing the end of the fundraising period for the Lamkin Farm property, which will become a preserve called Woody's Woods.
Little Traverse Conservancy is nearing the end of the fundraising period for the Lamkin Farm property, which will become a preserve called Woody's Woods.

The preserve will be named Woody’s Woods in honor of Woody Gardner, who donated $1 million towards purchasing the land.

The cost of the land is $1.3 million and the conservancy is looking to raise another $200,000 to go towards care costs. The conservancy website includes a link to donate to the fund. The Carl’s Foundation has agreed to match any donation up to $200,000.

The deadline for the donation fundraising period is July. Currently, the conservancy has about $1.18 million, so about $320,000 is needed to reach the fundraising goal.

Once the conservancy officially owns the land, it plans to put in a trail that would link the preserve to the Readmond Township Nature Preserve and the Elmer Johnston Nature Preserve.

The area is very scenic with open fields and forest. Less than a mile away is Lake Michigan, which can be seen from the property.

The land was owned by the Lamkin family and the fields are used as hay fields. For the time being, the conservancy plans to continue using the fields for hay and leasing them to a local farmer until a management plan is put in place with a clear idea of what to do with the fields.

More: Celebrate nature this spring with the Little Traverse Conservancy

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A home and farm still exist on the Lamkin property but are not part of the conservancy’s purchase. Signage will be placed along the route directing hikers away from the private property once a trail is built through the preserve.

“It's just a very scenic place, you know, if you're in Good Hart and you're going to the general store, or you're one of the hundreds of thousands of people who have driven through the Tunnel of Trees, this is an iconic view,” Hughes said. “It would be very different if it was developed and that's the mission of the Little Traverse Conservancy is to balance development with conservation and this is a perfect example of doing that.”

— Contact reporter Tess Ware at tware@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter, @Tess_Petoskey.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Little Traverse Conservancy nearing fundraising goal for new preserve