This spring, Andrew Kalman, trustee of the Kalman Foundation, donated 58 acres to the Little Traverse Conservancy, bringing to closure a land project that was initiated before the Conservancy was even established. It is a wonderful story offering testament to the enduring importance of voluntary land protection through ownership as a conservation tool.

The property, which lies along the north side of Beach Drive, east of the former Ramona Park/Harbor Inn, was part of an important local lawsuit that played a significant role in the history of the Conservancy.

Andrew Kalman’s purchase of the remaining developer’s interests in Harbor Cove cleared the way for providing permanent protection to land that had been protected by the court judgement for nearly 30 years.

New Preserve Completes Historic Circle

In the early 1970s, a small group of individuals who called themselves the Little Traverse Group became involved in a number of precedent-setting lawsuits based on Michigan’s then-new Environmental Protection Act. Their actions were taken in an effort to channel and direct the enormous surge of development that was threatening to destroy many sensitive lands within the Little Traverse Bay Watershed.

One of their most complicated lawsuits involved the protection of wetlands adjacent to the Harbor Cove development, located along Beach Drive southeast of Harbor Springs. The Harbor Cove development was proposed to be much larger when it was first developed, and the members of the Little Traverse Group filed suit to prevent the development from damaging fragile wetlands and many of the springs that give Harbor Springs its name.

The litigation was long and expensive. The court ultimately allowed the project to proceed, while imposing extensive developmental and environmental restrictions. Large wetland areas were restricted from development, but no provision was made for the ultimate status of those lands. And the litigation never seemed to go away, with a succession of developers wanting modifications of the judgement provisions to meet their changing needs. "What ultimately was going to happen to the land was never resolved," explained Dave Irish, a Conservancy founder.

Through these experiences, the Little Traverse Group realized that litigation was not the most effective, or preferred, way to protect land. In addition to being expensive and contentious, it does not afford permanent protection of the land. At that time, the concept of land trusts was only beginning to catch on across the nation. But the Little Traverse Group caught wind of this new conservation wave and decided to give it a try in northern Michigan. Thank goodness they did! In 1972, the Little Traverse Group officially formed the Little Traverse Conservancy to protect land through positive, permanent, and voluntary methods which are stillbeing used today.

Of the original plaintiffs in the 1970s lawsuits, Dave Irish and fellow founder John Tanton have remained active in Conservancy work over the years and find satisfaction in the final

donation of the Harbor Cove wetlands to the Little Traverse Conservancy (see Gateway to Harbor page 1). "We enthusiastically endorse this arrangement that will result in the large area of sensitive wetlands being permanently protected," said Irish. "This closes the loop. If the Conservancy can be the owner, protection can be assured."

Irish also commented about how the end of this nearly 30-year ordeal reminds us of the value of Conservancy work. "After all these years, the completion of this project confirms that we made the right decision in changing our conservation tool from litigation to positive and permanent voluntary land protection, mainly acquisition of fee title or development interests of privately owned parcels."