Keweenaw Heartlands – A Community Forest in the Making
Photo credit: Mark R. Upton Photography
The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), and members of the local and regional community continue to work together on building out a publicly owned, community forest in the Keweenaw Heartlands. This community forest takes up approximately two-thirds of the Heartlands 32,500+ acres, with the other one-third being added to lands already managed by the MDNR.
What is a community forest?
Generally speaking, community forests are defined by public access, flow of forest benefits back into the community, and local, public decision-making about forest management. The Trust for Public Land formally defines community forests as: “…protected forestlands that contribute to healthy, flourishing communities. Importantly, they offer residents and community members a direct say in how these lands are stewarded over time.”
Are there examples elsewhere?
Yes! These case studies offer a quick overview of several, or here you can find a chapter from Natural Resources as Community Assets: Lessons from Two Continents that gives thorough detail on the Randolph Community Forest in Randolph, Vermont. This is an example of a successful community forest that is similar in many ways to the Keweenaw Heartlands Project.
Among community forests, what makes the Keweenaw Heartlands special?
Across the United States, community forests have in common a mission to protect the forest’s environmental, economic, social, and quality of life benefits, especially for local peoples. However, each community forest is unique in its size, activities conducted, and approach to governance and management.
The Keweenaw Heartlands, once established, will be unique among American community forests. First, it is this community’s specific response to large-scale, corporate sale of timberland, which has inspired a sense of urgency and community collaboration. Second, it is one of the few of its size, especially as compared to community forests in the Midwest and Northeast. Its large acreage is an asset, especially for its forest products potential. And third, its governance model is one made up of publicly elected officials, prioritizing transparency and accountability in the care of this forest.
The process for realizing a community forest is intensive and takes time—over 1,700 community members’ volunteer hours and counting! But a shared goal continues to motivate: a restored, working forest governed and managed by local people, with the forest’s unique ecological and cultural features protected and its benefits accessible to the public, forever.
DNR’s Fort Wilkins Historic State Park General Management Plan Update
On June 23, 2025 from 6:00-7:30pm, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will introduce to the public a draft General Management Plan (GMP) for Fort Wilkins Historic State Park (read the press release here). This general management plan will define a 10 to 20-year planning and management strategy that protects the park’s natural and cultural resources and plans for land- and water-based public recreation and education opportunities. The DNR began work on this plan last July and held public listening sessions last fall to hear from community members and visitors to the park.
The public meeting will take place virtually, and all are welcome. Additional information and advanced registration for this meeting can be found here. In addition, a public input survey is available here through July 13.
The DNR is also working on a draft general management plan for current and future state-managed lands south and east of Fort Wilkins Historic State Park. These lands include DNR-managed state forest lands and a portion of Keweenaw Heartlands currently owned by The Nature Conservancy. A timeline for release of this draft plan is not yet available. Visit the Keweenaw Point state-managed lands project website for more information
Question of the month: I heard about amendments to state legislation that would permit creation of a new, public entity that would govern and manage a portion of the Heartlands… is there an update on that?
The community, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), and TNC have been working together on a long-term plan for the Keweenaw Heartlands. This involves not only eventual transition out of TNC’s ownership and into public ownership, but also public governance and management of the land. Approximately 1/3 of the Heartlands footprint will be governed and managed by the MDNR, and 2/3 by a new local, public governance entity.
Because the entity—as designed by the Keweenaw Heartlands Community Advisory Committee—will be chartered by, but operate independently of, currently existing local governments, the entity must be established under state statute. The intent is for it to be established under an amended Michigan Recreational Authorities Act (MRAA). Amendments to the MRAA were introduced to the State of Michigan Legislature in November 2024, but they were not taken up before the legislative session adjourned. We anticipate the amendments will be re-introduced to the Michigan Legislature in summer 2025.
Do you want to see this project be successful? Tell the legislation’s sponsor, Representative Markkanen, that you support the Keweenaw Heartlands project, its future public governance, and his introduction of the amendments that will help to make that happen. Email GregMarkkanen@house.mi.gov or call and leave a message at (517) 373-0850.
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