November 25, 2024

Landowner donates 120 acre riverfront property to Cadillac Area Land Conservancy for nature preserve
Conservancy partners with Missaukee County and Lake Township to create quiet recreation area

Cadillac, Michigan

120 acres of pristine forest with 1,800 feet of frontage on the Clam River has been donated to the Cadillac Area Land Conservancy by Geoffrey Peckham and Patricia Melzer. The couple has requested that the preserve be named, “Peckham’s 100 Acre Wood” in honor of this land having been owned by two different branches of the Peckham family for nearly 80 years. The Conservancy’s plan is to keep this land undeveloped and open to the public for quiet recreational activities such as hiking, picnicking, fishing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, kayaking, and canoeing. The land conservancy will permanently preserve the natural condition of the property while partnering with Lake Township, in Missaukee County, who will own and manage this gift as a public nature preserve.

“Donating land to a land conservancy is one option for landowners to preserve their land,” said Cadillac Area Land Conservancy Executive Director, Chris Gentry. “We are protecting this beautiful 120-acre property with a permanent conservation easement and Lake Township will manage its public use. The Clam River is a prized trout stream, and with frontage on both sides of the river—this nature preserve will help to protect the river’s trout as well as other fish and wildlife. While a conservation easement doesn’t require public access, in this case, the vision is to make the property open for public use. The partnership between the Cadillac Area Land Conservancy and Lake Township will make this vision a reality.” 

Donating land to the Cadillac Area Land Conservancy, as has been done with “Peckham’s 100 Acre Wood,” is one option for people who wish to see land preserved in its natural state. Another cost-effective option is for land owners to put a conservation easement in place to protect their land.  A conservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement that allows landowners to permanently protect land by limiting future development, and the landowners retain their ownership of their land and the ability to sell. Conservation easements are perpetual—future owners of the land are held to the terms of the conservation easement agreement. Also note that public access is not a requirement of a conservation easement. 

Michigan’s conserved land provides a number of public benefits including clean air and water, the preservation of natural lands and working farms, increased wildlife habitat, and the ability to maintain areas of our State that have a rural character to their way of life.

The Cadillac Area Land Conservancy has protected nearly 3000 acres in Missaukee, Osceola, Wexford, and northern Lake and Mason counties in northern Michigan. Learn more about the Cadillac Area Land Conservancy at https://calc-landtrust.org/or call 231-775-363