Candidates Forum on September 23rd for the Keweenaw Heartlands Recreational & Natural Resources Authority Board Candidates!
Thirteen individuals in Keweenaw County filed candidacy paperwork and are now running for the Keweenaw Heartlands Authority Board. These candidates are running at-large, which means if you are a Keweenaw County voter, you can vote for five individuals regardless of where they live in the county.
To create a staggered board, candidates are running for either a two-year or four-year board position. Six candidates are running for three four-year board positions, and seven candidates are running for two two-year board positions.
Four-Year Term:
Russ Bjorn
Peter Clevenstine
Gregg Patrick
Jon Schubbe
George Twardzik
Joseph Vairus
Two-Year Term:
Jeremy Bos
Braydon Cima
Richard Marsh
Hannah Rooks
Ramon Simonson
Kevin Tita
James Vivian III
Want to learn more about these individuals and hear what they have to say? Attend the Keweenaw Heartlands Authority Board Candidates’ Forum for Keweenaw County Voters.
Who: Keweenaw Heartlands Authority Board candidates and Keweenaw County voters
When: September 23, 5:30-8:00 pm
Where: Horizons School (110 Stanton Ave., Mohawk, MI)
Hosted by: Keweenaw Outdoor Recreation Coalition (KORC)
Special thanks to the Keweenaw Invasive Species Management Area (KISMA) for work on the Heartlands!
KISMA volunteers removing an invasive species, buckthorn.
The Keweenaw Invasive Species Management Area (KISMA) partnered with The Nature Conservancy this summer to survey and treat invasive species in coastal, riparian, and wetland habitats across the Keweenaw Heartlands. While old logging roads had a presence of common disturbance-area invasives like burdock, dock, knapweed, tansy, and mullein, European marsh thistle and reed canary grass showed early signs of spreading into otherwise intact wetlands and cedar swamps. The team was also surprised to discover multiple small patches of glossy buckthorn along the Mandan Road corridor.
In the more intact habitats, the KISMA crew treated thistle and accessible burdock and dock by pulling, digging, and bagging seed heads. They weeded, wrenched, or cut and smothered stumps of many of the buckthorn populations, but more monitoring is needed to catch these riparian invaders early. Fortunately, no purple loosestrife or invasive phragmites were found in the surveyed areas.
It is partnerships like these that help The Nature Conservancy manage the Heartlands forest while in the organization’s interim ownership, and TNC is so appreciative of the KISMA crew’s time and energy on the Keweenaw Heartlands!
