Group Announces $78 Million Goal to Protect Michigan's Last Great Places; 35th Annual Earth Day Celebration Comes EarlyLANSING, Mich.—April 19, 2005—Leaders and supporters of The Nature Conservancy today announced a plan to protect Michigan’s most ecologically sensitive areas by raising an unprecedented $78 million by the end of 2006. "Today, a new vision is taking root in Michigan," said Steven J. McCormick, president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy (worldwide). "Increasingly, we are working on a larger scale because we recognize that small steps and piecemeal conservation isn't going to be enough to protect our natural heritage for future generations. When the Michigan Chapter’s campaign for conservation is complete, we will have protected four times what we have conserved in Michigan since The Nature Conservancy started working here in 1960." More than $68 million has been raised to date, leaving $10 million to be raised from private individuals and philanthropic organizations. The funding will help protect priority landscapes across the state, from the Detroit River, to the Saugatuck Dunes, to the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula. McCormick said The Nature Conservancy is building on its recent success protecting more than 271,000 acres (423 square miles) in the Upper Peninsula, a project announced earlier this year with Governor Jennifer Granholm. The project ensures permanent public access for recreational activities such as hiking, canoeing, fishing, hunting and snowmobiling along designated trails, and allows sustainable timber harvesting. An estimated 3,000 forest-related jobs will be protected by allowing continued outdoor recreation and forestry on the land. Michigan’s leading foundations are helping fund the project by committing $31.5 million. The Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund has also contributed significant funding, and federal appropriations for the project are now pending before Congress. "Because Michigan holds a unique place at the center of the Great Lakes ecosystem, the work of The Nature Conservancy is incredibly important not only to the future of our state, but for our region as well," said Peter Wege of the Wege Foundation. "We live in the heart of the world’s largest freshwater resource—everything we do that produces adverse effects compromises the entire system." "The Frey Foundation believes that protecting the natural environment is essential to the quality of life," said Milt Rohwer, president of the Frey Foundation. "For this reason we place a major emphasis on land protection. We encourage environmental preservation and seek to maintain a balance between open land and well-planned development in our target communities of western Michigan. The Nature Conservancy works well to maintain that balance and we are proud to be a strong supporter of their work." The Nature Conservancy prioritizes landscapes for protection based on an ecoregional process analyzing threats, strategies, partnership opportunities, and impact on biological diversity (biodiversity). The campaign will focus on the most vulnerable forest, water and shoreline priorities across the state. "You cannot put a price on our natural resources nor the effort needed to protect them," said Philip H. Power, board of trustees chair for The Nature Conservancy in Michigan. "But, we can prioritize through science and understanding what is most vulnerable now." DTE Energy Foundation will commit $500,000 to the campaign for conservation in Michigan and DTE Energy will provide about $2 million in additional funding for a major reforestation project on Louisiana’s famous Cat Island, one of the last known locations of the ivory billed woodpecker. "DTE Energy recognizes its unique position at the intersection of economic and environmental progress," said Gerard M. Anderson, president of DTE Energy. "We have worked with the Nature Conservancy for more than two decades to preserve some of our last great places for future generations and I encourage the corporate community to join me in committing to this campaign and to protecting the forests and waters that define our great state." The campaign will also benefit locations from Brazil to the Bahamas, which serve as winter habitat for the Kirtland’s warbler, an endangered bird that nests in the jack pine forests of Michigan’s northern lower peninsula. The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. The Nature Conservancy counts at least 1 million members worldwide, including 30,000 in Michigan, many of whom are attracted by the Conservancy’s non-confrontational, market-based approach for accomplishing its science-driven mission. For more information, visit http://nature.org/michigan. ************************************************ Some emails are sent out solely for informational purposes and are not always issues I support or reflect my beliefs. |
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