"Extraordinary Event" to help raise funds for year-round trails near Keweenaw Mountain Lodge

By Sam Raymond

COPPER HARBOR -- Keweenaw County, in association with the Copper Harbor Trails Club, is working to secure grant funding through the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF) to purchase up to 1900 acres of mostly timber management owned property that borders the County land at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge.

This view from the summit of Brockway Mountain illustrates the adjacent ridge and a big section of the desired acquisition property. Click on photos for larger versions. (Photo courtesy Keweenaw Adventure Company.)

This land acquistion is significant to keep the existing summer human-powered trails contiguous and free from fragmentation, in addition to providing the prime location for Phase II of the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge Nordic Ski Center, including the eventual development of skate-ski trails. The area of the proposed purchase is located primarily between the Mountain Lodge and the State-owned land at Lake Manganese and inclusive of +/- 93 acres of land currently owned by the Fort Wilkins Gardens Conservancy. The bulk of the desired property is located west of US Hwy 41, across from the Mountain Lodge, and is essentially the ridge that is south of and runs parallel to Brockway Mountain Drive, west almost to Lake Medora.

This photo is a view of Lake Medora as seen from Brockway Mountain. (Photo courtesy Keweenaw Adventure Company.)

The proposed trails will be used for hiking and mountain biking in the non-snow months and cross country skiing (both classic and eventually skate-ski trails) and snowshoeing in the winter months.

To qualify for the MNRTF Grant, we (the County) must have a minimum of a 25% matching grant. The acquisition will likely be inclusive of several phases, and plans are to obtain as much as we're capable of, depending on how the fundraising goes to compose our local match.

Extraordinary Event to raise funds modeled on Babette's Feast

With this in mind, an Extraordinary Event is being planned for Saturday, Dec. 13, at the Mountain Lodge. Renowned chef Malcolm Hudson will prepare, in a labor of love, a delectable six-course dinner to replicate the impressive meal included in the film Babette's Feast, which will be shown at the Lodge prior to the dinner. All proceeds of the $100/plate dinner will go towards the local match needed to allow things to move forward with the grant application process in order to meet the upcoming deadline for the next round of applications -- April 1, 2009.

There is a big emphasis on COMMUNITY with this event. It is hoped that business owners and elected officials of the greater Keweenaw area will recognize the economic potential of the proposed land purchase, while conservancy groups, trail users and local residents will realize its conservation and recreational benefits. We need to demonstrate that the County has support for this project, which we feel is of utmost importance to secure the future of the Keweenaw. In addition, we need to show that we have the ability to raise funds before launching the project.

RSVP and pre-paid reservations are required by Sunday, Dec. 7. To make reservations for dinner, please call Sam Raymond of the Copper Harbor Trails Club at 906-289-4303 or e-mail: sam@keweenawadventure.com.

Editor's Note: The author of this article, Sam Raymond, is Vice-President of the Copper Harbor Trails Club. Visit their Web site for more information on the land acquisition project and for maps of the proposed purchase areas. See also Chef Malcolm Hudson's Web site for information on local motels offering special discounts for the evening of the dinner and for an excerpt from an article on Babette's Feast.