LUCE COUNTY, MI-- Governor Rick Snyder and officials with the Nature Conservancy and Department of Natural Resources were in Luce County Wednesday to mark the ten-year anniversary of a historic U.P. land deal.
In 2005 the Conservancy and several partners announced a public-private partnership that would set aside about 423 square miles of forest land for recreation, conservation, and forestry. Under the $57.9 million Northern Great Lakes Forest Project – dubbed the "Big U.P. Deal” – the conservancy purchased a conservation easement on about 248,000 acres throughout eight counties.
The deal also included the purchase of 23,338 acres in the Two Hearted River watershed in northern Luce County, adding to an existing nature preserve.
Snyder, Nature Conservancy Michigan state director Helen Taylor, and DNR Director Keith Creagh marked the anniversary with a ceremony at the Mouth of the Two Hearted River State Forest Campground.
