Keweenaw Heartlands Project

Thank you for your interest in the Keweenaw Heartlands Project! We update this page at least once a month. Scroll down to view updates, sign up for project notifications, and learn how you can support this community-driven project.

 

WHAT IS THE KEWEENAW HEARTLANDS PROJECT?

PROJECT MAP This map outlines the existing protected lands and the newly protected lands in the Keweenaw Peninsula as of autumn 2022.

In late 2022, The Nature Conservancy in Michigan (TNC) announced the purchase of over 32,500 acres of working forestland, known as the Keweenaw Heartlands, near the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula in Keweenaw County. This purchase from a large-scale, corporate forest owner was completed with the support and input of community leaders, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and people locally, regionally, and beyond who love the Keweenaw. 

Since then, TNC, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and a community advisory committee have been working to develop a long-term governance and management plan for the Keweenaw Heartlands. Their collective goal: to shift the Heartlands into public ownership, with both DNR and local decision-making that ensure  the benefits of the forest are realized by both locals and visitors, forever.

As the interim owner while these plans for transition develop, TNC cares for the forest day-to-day. The forest remains in the Commercial Forest Program, on the tax rolls, and publicly accessible. In addition, because these lands contain many sites of unique ecological, historical, cultural and recreational significance, from 2023-2024 TNC conducted a comprehensive inventory of all resources—including infrastructure, timber, cultural, and ecological—to inform governance and management recommendations for future public ownership, governance, and management.

This forestland contributes to the identity of Keweenaw County and its residents.
A community-driven project, the Keweenaw Heartlands will be publicly governed, sustainably managed, and kept available for the public to access and enjoy for generations for residents and visitors.

Blueprint for the Keweenaw Heartlands

Throughout much of 2023, The Nature Conservancy, Michigan Department of Natural Resources and other partners worked closely with residents, community leaders, and interested individuals to create the Blueprint for the Keweenaw Heartlands.

This Blueprint is a more than 90-page document summarizing local values and principles for governance and management and outlining a goal of public ownership and community-based governance of the Heartlands forest. The Blueprint also documents the public engagement process for arriving at those values and principles, and it describes ongoing work, and future recommendations for successful implementation of a community forest model for the Heartlands.

Monthly newsletter UPDATES

 

UPDATEs Archive

Upcoming Events and Meetings

We hold public update meetings approximately three times per year, and other events on occasion. When these are upcoming, we will post here and in the update section.

For the most recent public update meeting (April 30, 2025), view the presentation slides or watch the meeting recording.

Community Advisory committee

Brigitte LaPointe-Dunham / Erin Johnston – Keweenaw Bay Indian Community

Don Piche – Keweenaw County

Bob Demarois – Keweenaw County

Curt Pennala – Keweenaw County Sheriff’s Office

John Cima – Keweenaw County

Greg Kingstrom – Keweenaw County Road Commission

Sandra Loy – Sherman Township Fire Department

Sam Raymond – Grant Township

Rich Probst – Eagle Harbor Township

Harvey Desnick – Sherman Township

John Lehman – Michigan Technological University

Dave Reed – Michigan Technological University, retired

B Lauer – Keweenaw Land Trust

Nancy and Bill Leonard – Michigan Nature Association

Wendy Davis – Keweenaw National Historical Park

Sean Gohman – Keweenaw National Historical Park Advisory Commission

Paul and Anita Campbell – Keweenaw County Historical Society

Daryl St. John / Mike McMahon – Keweenaw ATV Club

Dave Donnay – Keweenaw Snowmobile Club

Adam Yeoman – Copper Harbor Trails Club

Gina Nicholas – Keweenaw Community Forest Company

Richard Marsh – Calumet Keweenaw Sportsmen’s Club

Jerry Wuorenmaa / Lisa McKenzie – Western UP Planning & Development Region

Robin Meneguzzo – Keweenaw Community Foundation

Brad Barnett – Visit Keweenaw

Jeff Ratcliffe – Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance

Peter Clevenstine – Agate Harbor Land Pool

Kelly Ryan – U.S. Endowment for Forestry & Communities

Don and Peg Kauppi – The Mariner North Resort

Jessica Curtis – Umbra Arts

Project Team

The Nature Conservancy in Michigan
Helen Taylor, State Director
Rich Bowman, Director of Policy
Julia Petersen, Keweenaw Peninsula Project Manager

TNC has been taking the lead on a process to assemble the resources to purchase the land for sale and transfer it to the most appropriate long-term owner(s).

Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Scott Whitcomb, Director of Public Lands
Tori Irving, Upper Peninsula Field Analyst

The Michigan DNR is committed to working with other project team members in finding and funding the path to achieve the community’s vision.

If you have any immediate questions that are not answered here, please contact the Project Team directly.

How you can help

Donate Today

TNC is working with numerous local partners to support the community’s vision for the conservation of the Keweenaw Heartlands property and help raise the necessary funds for its protection and management. 

We need your help to make it happen! No gift is too big or too small. With your gift, you help keep the Keweenaw Peninsula wild and wonderful. You create opportunities for people to hike, bike and explore the outdoors. This is more than a gift—it’s a legacy.

Your online gift through this link (www.nature.org/midonate) supports TNC in Michigan, which is critical to TNC’s efforts to conserve the Keweenaw Peninsula. TNC retains the discretion to direct the funds as outlined in the donation form.

Giving Options

To make a gift restricted to the Keweenaw Heartlands project, please send a check to:

The Nature Conservancy in Michigan
101 E Cesar E Chavez Ave
Lansing, MI 48906
Memo Line: Keweenaw Heartlands

For more information or to discuss giving options, please contact:

Paul Beczkiewicz
Associate Director of Development
517-316-2269
pbeczkiewicz@tnc.org

Keweenaw Community Foundation

The Keweenaw Community Foundation’s mission is to serve as a catalyst for lasting change, a partner for local organizations, and a resource for emerging community needs. Our role with this project is to support our local communities engagement of this process by leading the organizing of public meetings, providing regular informational updates about the project and ensuring the communities voice is heard through this process.