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Monday, March 07, 2011

Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District to hold 59th Annual Meeting Mar. 8

HOUGHTON -- The Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District (HKCD) will hold its 59th Annual Meeting beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 8, at Michigan Tech's Lakeshore Center (former UPPCO building), 600 E. Lakeshore Drive, Houghton.

The meeting will feature a presentation by Botanist Janet Marr on the Rapid Response Invasive Plant Intervention Team of the UP (RRIP-IT-UP). Invasive plants impact hunting, fishing, boating, gardening, hiking, biking, horseback riding, and other recreational activities in our beautiful Keweenaw. Marr will help us understand why we need to become aware of invasive plants and take action to prevent their spread.

Botanist Janet Marr shows visitors purple loosestrife on the Nara Nature Trail in August 2010. (Photo courtesy Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District)

RRIP-IT-UP is a UP-wide grant project sponsored by Upper Peninsula Resource Conservation and Development with funding of a $150,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

A regular monthly meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m., followed by a Silent Auction and Pot Luck Buffet at 6 p.m.

Copper Country Trout Unlimited volunteers work to improve fish habitat on the Pilgrim River during the summer of 2010. HKCD is awaiting final approval of a Watershed Management Grant through the Coastal Management Program. The grant would assist groups and landowners working together to protect the Pilgrim River and its watershed. (Photo © Gina Nicholas and courtesy Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District)

After the buffet, HKCD will hold an Election to fill two Board positions. Three nominating petitions were submitted: Gina Nicholas, from Keweenaw County; Sandra Palmore, a Hancock resident; and Steve Siira of Kearsarge. Nicholas has been on the Board since 2003 providing her expertise on business, finance, conservation, forestry and grant writing; Palmore has been on the Board since 2002 providing guidance and sound decisions based on her past work experience and love of preserving the Keweenaw’s natural environment; and Steve Siira, a Michigan Tech graduate of Civil Engineering, currently serves on the Keweenaw County Planning and Zoning Commission.

Stewards of the Bete Grise Preserve (SBGP) held their annual picnic at Bete Grise in August 2010. Founded in 2009 as part of a Coastal Zone Management Grant, SBGP supports partners Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District, Keweenaw Land Trust and The Nature Conservancy in raising funds for insurance, easement monitoring and other improvements at the Bete Grise Preserve. SBGP also conducts stewardship activities and events for the public, including the annual picnic. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

A short power point overview on what the Conservation District has accomplished during 2010 and is working on in 2011 will be presented at the meeting.

Everyone is welcome. For more information call Sue Haralson at 906-482-0214.

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