The Land Acquisition and Protection Fund
The Land Acquisition and Protection Fund is designed to underwrite one or more grants each year towards protecting ecologically valuable lands within the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The initial funding level is $2000, which like the Environmental Education Fund can be augmented by fundraising and/or member contributions. The Board anticipates that most grant requests will originate with regionally-based land conservancies; the grants may be directed towards the outright purchase of land or towards the purchase of development and/or mineral rights.
As the timing of land acquisition and protection opportunities is unpredictable, the Board will receive and assess grant requests at each of its quarterly meetings (January, April, September, and November). Requests can be made at any time, and application forms are available on the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition website.
The idea for this fund was stimulated by Dana Richter, President of Copper Country Audubon, who urged UPEC support for their bid to purchase 80 additional acres at the site of the Lake Bailey Wildlife Sanctuary near Eagle Harbor. The $1000 donation voted at the May Board meeting was the first such donation towards an outright land purchase in the U.P. (See the Summer 2003 newsletter) With this new fund it will not be the last.
Please note the new checkoff boxes on the last (inside) page of the newsletter, where the new designated funds are listed. Members may contribute to either or both funds, and these donations will be spent only for these express purposes.
For those desiring more information of these funds, email us at: upec@upenvironment.org or call us at: (906) 483-4729.