Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy

The Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy has been awarded a grant of over $26,000 from the Bay Area Community Foundation. The grant will be used to fund the Capacity Building for Watershed Protection project, which enables the Conservancy to increase financial capacity through 2008.

"The Conservancy must increase our donor base in order to protect and conserve more land throughout our 22-county territory," said Valerie Roof, executive director. "This grant will enable us to hire the right staff and maintain the equipment necessary to identify, educate and attract community supporters."

The grant is a renewal of a 2006 application. Specific requests included hiring a development specialist and purchasing computer equipment and donor software to maximize future fundraising efforts.

Bay County land owners recently donated a conservation easement on 115-acres to the Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy, ensuring protection of wildlife habitats and natural resources. The easement will enable owners to own the land but prevent future development.

Jim and Shirley McLean of Midland donated the easement, located on property near Flajole and Erickson Roads. It is bisected by the Kawkawlin River, which has been targeted by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality for E.coli bacterial reduction.

"People who donate easements on their land do it because they love the land," said Valerie Roof, Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy executive director. "They have a legacy they want to leave."

The McLean property supplements existing protected natural lands nearby, including the AuSable State Forest in Midland County, the Fraser Mini-State Game Area in Bay County, and other Garfield Township private land protected by a permanent conservation easement.

The property also lies within the green way corridor identified by the Saginaw Bay Greenways Collaborative, which seeks to maintain and restore links between land and nature as well as protect water quality and buffer developed areas from floodwaters.

"We always worried where the wildlife will go if everyone makes their fields into subdivisions," said Jim McLean. "Many of the roads between Bay City and Midland used to be nothing but farms, but now they're nothing but houses."

The easement includes a sugar maple forest, southern hardwood swamp, evergreen plantings, wetlands and waterfowl and migratory bird habitats. Several threatened species are sustained by the area, including the bald eagle, least bittern and black-crowned night heron.

In addition to these recent activities, Naomi Gumprich-Munn has been hired as the Conservancy's communications and development coordinator. The foundation grant will fund the position through 2008.

Gumprich-Munn has over 17 years of experience in communications and public relations. She has a degree in journalism from Ryerson University in Toronto, and is an internationally published writer and reporter.

Successful grant implementation results include fundraising strategy development, increased public relations through more frequent media and donor contact, redesigning the Conservancy's website and expansion of educational and volunteer efforts.