IPR: Former Timber Shores site closer to becoming tribally owned nature preserve

Interlochen Public Radio | By Ellie Katz

Published July 18, 2024 at 2:49 PM EDT

The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians is one step closer regaining ownership and stewardship of a 187-acre chunk of land on the Leelanau Peninsula.

The site, which sits along Grand Traverse Bay, was once the site of Timber Shores campground. It was later eyed for a luxury condo development with a private marina, and most recently, a group hoped to turn it into an RV park and campground.

But before that, it was part of the ancestral lands of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians for more than 300 years, according to a report on the site’s history.

The land that became Timber Shores was illegally transferred to private ownership in 1855.

Now, a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration could change that.

Keep Reading

NCV efforts to benefit from a multimillion federal grant

Press Release from New Community Vision

Contact: info@newcommunityvision.org 

Dated: July 21, 2024

New Community Vision’s 2-year effort to acquire and preserve the former Timber Shores property is set to benefit from a multi-million-dollar federal grant to the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (GTB) as part of an overall $11.9 million funding recommendation announced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on Thursday July 18th. The grant is being provided through NOAA’s FY 23 Transformational Habitat and Coastal Resilience grant opportunity.

A significant portion of the NOAA grant will be earmarked to integrate with NCV’s ongoing fundraising campaign to acquire the former Timber Shores campground - one of the largest and highest-profile, undeveloped coastal properties available in the Grand Traverse region - specifically for land preservation and restoration. Other allocated grant monies will support GTB’s important river restoration efforts on the Lower Boardman-Ottoway River.

This grant funding means that New Community Vision needs to raise only an additional $2 million to reach its fundraising goal of seeing the former Timber Shores property permanently protected and restored for the community.

As part of NCV’s effort to acquire the former Timber Shore property outright, the Northport-based non-profit is closely partnering with the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (GTB). John Sentell, President of NCV said  “We are deeply grateful for our close partnership with the Grand Traverse Band. Their expertise and leadership in the stewardship of natural habitats throughout our region reinforces the importance of preserving this special lakeshore property. This close partnership is key to not only preserving and restoring the property, but connecting all people in the community to the wonders of this remarkable natural asset again.”

The portion of the overall NOAA grant to GTB for land acquisition will be coupled with critical matching funds secured by NCV through private donations. John Sentell, president of NCV, said: “With this grant recommendation from NOAA, we are incredibly close to success. As of now, thanks to donations and monies already pledged, raising an additional $2 milion more will get this deal done. The importance of protecting this site forever will benefit our broad community and the health our entire region. As a community, we simply must get this done now.”

As part of the recommended grant award from NOAA, and upon completion of the purchase, 187 acres will not be developed, and will permanently remain as a nature preserve stewarded by GTB.The NOAA grant award will also provide substantial funding for long-term restoration of this parcel’s vital coastal, wetland and fish habitats. “This is the largest, most significant site available forconservation and restoration located on West Grand Traverse Bay. Coastal resiliency, essential fish habitat, critically rare ecosystems, spectacular vistas – it has it all,” said Sentell.

An additional 24-acres of the former Timber Shores property is also targeted for acquisition by NCV for attainable housing and will be adjacent to the planned nature preserve.

An exciting element of the recommended grant from NOAA is the support of coordinated efforts for GTB citizens and the non-Native community to come together through tribal-led community engagement sessions that highlight the importance of Mashkiigaki and invite all community membersto embrace nature.

To learn more about New Community Vision, visit: https://www.newcommunityvision.org

Note to editors:

NCV was launched as a 501(c)3 non-profit in 2023 with a vision to re-think how the former Timber Shores property could best benefit both current and future generations. The all-volunteer organization has been keenly focused on acquiring the property in order to preserve the majority of the 200-plus acres - including 1,800 feet of valued lakeshore - as a public nature preserve for the community while utilizing upland sections to address some of the housing issues faced in the Township. 

In late 2023, NCV highlighted the opportunity of securing pledges upfront that would enable the project to qualify for grant opportunities to support NCV’s vision. The organization continues to urgently raise funds to secure outright ownership and pursue a new vision for this high-profile property. The group retains an exclusive option to purchase the land from the current owner, NM Investment Co., LLC, and RVTS Investment, LLC.

Acquiring the property will preserve and restore critical ecosystems, including strengthening native fisheries, broadening ecosystem resilience, and advancing priorities within the Coastal Grand Traverse Bay Watershed Plan by preserving and restoring 187 acres of critically sensitive habitat including: 1)  .75 lineal miles of a Lake Michigan tributary, Ennis Creek, within the property contributing the to the broader health of the 5.3 lineal miles of the full creek; 2) 1,800 feet of Laurentian Great Lakes shoreline; 3) 20 acres of Ennis Creek riparian wetland corridor; 4) 42 acres of fractured wetlands and artificial marina created in the late 1970s for the former campground called Timber Shores.

When coupled with the protected Gull Island offshore, the protection of this parcel creates a virtual “land and water nature preserve” on West Bay.

The former Timbers Shore’s property is part ofthe ancestral homeland of the GTB; it is called Mashkiigaki (Mashkeeg-aki) and is historically, culturally and spiritually significant to the GTB. Mashkiigaki (Mashkeeg-aki) means the place of the medicines and represents the importance of these wetlands as a traditionally significant location for hunting, fishing, gathering, and collecting medicines. The successful protection of Mashkiigaki will integrate private funds raised by NCV with the NOAA grant funding to purchase and restore the property.  

An upland 24-acre section of the property not included in the nature preserve portion has been identified for critically-needed attainable housing.

NCV has a collaboration with Peninsula Housing (PH) to develop attainable housing with community input. PH is an independently-funded community land trust based in Suttons Bay with a mission to provide affordable workforce housing in Leelanau.

The NOAA release can be found here: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/noaa-recommends-nearly-220-million-funding-transformational-habitat-restoration-and

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/habitat-conservation/transformational-habitat-restoration-and-coastal-resilience-projects

Ends

Birding with Greg Nobles

One of the great appeals of the old Timber Shores site for me is the attraction it holds for birds. The location alone should be enough of a plus—an open, undeveloped spot on Grand Traverse Bay, a welcome resting place for weary spring migrants on their way north, a perfect nesting place for year-round residents.

It’s an avian haven, and we need to embrace it. [...] In about a month’s time, May 14-June 15, we’ve encountered 45 different species (listed below), but that’s only the beginning. We have yet to discover the full bird diversity the site Timber Shores has to offer. [...] New Community Vision needs all of us to join in protecting this site as a nature preserve in perpetuity.

Better still, the area offers three related but distinct habitats for an abundance of birds:

• wide, grassy fields for Eastern Meadowlarks, Grasshopper Sparrows, and Chipping Sparrows

• mixed hardwood and evergreen woodlands for Red-eyed Vireos, Black-capped Chickadees, and Indigo Buntings, not to mention a host of warblers; 

• a rocky and sandy shoreline for Killdeer, Spotted Sandpipers, and Common Mergansers. 

         It’s an avian haven, and we need to embrace it. Because the site has long been closed to the public, local birders haven’t had the opportunity to explore Timber Shores over the seasons. Now, thanks to the generous permission of New Community Vision, I’ve had the good fortune to go birding there several times this spring, along with fellow birders Ed Ketterer and Bert Thomas.

In about a month’s time, May 14-June 15, we’ve encountered 45 different species (listed below), but that’s only the beginning. We have yet to discover the full bird diversity the site Timber Shores has to offer. Ed has wisely suggested getting a bunch of birders to go back more systematically, day after day, and do a more extensive survey of birds. Leelanau County has long been an inviting landing location for all sorts of birds, and this site could well be a very significant addition to the list of local hotspots.

            For that to happen, though, we have to keep the place attractive to birds. Too much human intrusion, especially in the form of permanent paving for RV pads, will change the environment dramatically. Instead, by conserving the land as a place where people can observe and listen to birds in their natural homes, we can create an exciting outdoor science site for local school children, their families, and the thousands of visitors who, like the birds, migrate to Leelanau every year. 

 New Community Vision needs all of us to join in protecting this site as a nature preserve in perpetuity, for these many important bird species and future generations.

Birds observed at Timber Shores from May 14-June 15, 2024

(Listed in taxonomic order)

Mallard

Common Merganser

Canada Goose

Mourning Dove

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

American Woodcock

Spotted Sandpiper

Killdeer

Ring-billed Gull

Herring Gull

Double-crested Cormorant

Turkey Vulture

Bald Eagle

Red-shouldered Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

Hairy Woodpecker                                                                                                                         Red-bellied Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Great Crested Flycatcher

Eastern Kingbird

Red-eyed Vireo

Blue Jay

American Crow

Black-capped Chickadee

Tree Swallow

Gray Catbird

Brown Thrasher

Eastern Bluebird

American Robin

Cedar Waxwing

American Goldfinch

Chipping Sparrow                                                                                                                          Field Sparrow                                                                                                                                   Grasshopper Sparrow

Song Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow                                                                                                              White-throated sparrow

Eastern Meadowlark

Red-winged Blackbird

Common Yellowthroat

American Redstart                                                                                                                          Ovenbird

Northern Cardinal

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Indigo Bunting

NCV thanks Greg Nobles for being a guest author on our blog. We look forward to learning more about the birds that call the site home over the seasons and appreciate the work that Nobles, Ed Ketterer and Bert Thomas have already contributed to this effort.

About the author: Greg Nobles is a local, avid, experienced birder. He is a historian and author, including John James Audubon: The Nature of the American Woodsman.