Many who love the Yellow Dog River have visited our Community Forest, with its rambling trails through mature woods and alongside iconic waterfalls. After the initial purchase in 2016, we were able to reserve nearly 200 acres as a wilderness zone. For most of the rest, we were obliged by the state to develop a forestry plan, including a timetable for timber harvesting.

It has been our intention all along to withdraw as much acreage as possible from commercial forest designation, but time has caught up with us, and now some of the most highly visited and publicly visible parts of the Community Forest are due for cutting, including lands on both sides of the river at the access site off County Road 510 and along the trail to the main falls (see map below). To ensure that these ares remain pristine, protecting them not only from logging, but from invasive species and the illicit motor vehicle traffic that inevitably follow in its wake, we aim to remove 150 more acres from logging obligations.

The price tag is $21,328, but we are off to a good start in meeting our goal. The Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition has awarded us a $10,000 grant, and generous donors have contributed $5400 more.

This is where you come in! To help us make up the $5,928 difference, you can sponsor the withdrawal of additional Community Forest acreage from commercial forestry. $70 sponsors the removal of half an acre; $140 sponsors an acre; and $700 sponsors five, but any donation is welcome. Simply write “Community Forest” on your check, or go to our Donations page, and under Contribution Detail/Donation Dedication, specify “Community Forest.”

As an expression of appreciation, we would like to offer contributors our special edition “Forests for Grandchildren” t-shirt (see images above and below), designed to remind us that our efforts are not just for people now, but for generations to come. Just note your size, and we will be glad to send you one.