A stellar and vital wetland along Lake Superior, this easement protects 1,045 acres that have been recognized by the Michigan Natural Features Inventory as the single most important coastal plain marsh remaining in the Upper Great Lakes region. The Preserve is biologically rich, with more than 300 species of plants, nesting sandhill cranes and bald eagles, ladyslipper orchids, carnivorous plants including sundews, bladderworts, and pitcher plants, and a high diversity of grasses and sedges. The intact estuarine marsh provides important habitats for fish and amphibians.

The Preserve is the result of the Keweenaw Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy, the Houghton/Keweenaw Conservation District (owners of the property), and the Michigan Coastal Management program working together to protect this vulnerable shoreline. The Preserve borders Bete Grise Bay and stretches for 1.5 miles from Lac La Belle to Point Isabelle. The Nature Conservancy owns an adjoining 63-acre parcel with shoreline and fragile dunes. This partnership has goals to expand protection of Bete Grise as part of a long-term conservation effort. The Preserve is open for non-motorized use by the public, including hiking, bird watching and nature study, and canoeing and kayaking.

The Preserve was established in 2005.

"The Keweenaw has always been a powerful magnet for me and access to shoreline became especially important after I took up sea kayaking. When the Keweenaw Land Trust helped preserve Bete Grise South, I leapt at the chance to be a steward for this kayaker's paradise. Now I have 'my own' piece of Lake Superior shore to get to know, enjoy and help protect, and as I've met and worked with the community around the area, I feel I'm becoming part of the living web that sustains our natural and social worlds."

JO FOLEY,
VOLUNTEER STEWARD

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