Boursau Creek Near Burt Lake

Purchased - and Sold - by Bert Ebbers and Katie Parker for Protection

Bert Ebbers and Katie Parker recently sold their ecologically sensitive, yet highly developable property near Burt Lake to the Little Traverse Conservancy. With this decision, the couple relinquished approximately half of the value of the land, selling it at a greatly reduced price. From their original purchase of the property, Bert and Katie were highly motivated by conservation, as explained by Bert below.

F rom 1986 through 1988, I conducted research, funded by the state Nongame Wildlife Program, on the population of red-shouldered hawks nesting in northern Michigan. The Red-shouldered Hawk was, and still is, a threatened species in Michigan. In that three year span, I found only two local forest stands that were perfect nesting habitat, consisting of large diameter, mature deciduous trees with an open, seasonally flooded understory full of frogs, snakes and other riparian prey.  In the mid 1990s, one of these two stands, containing trees that appeared to be well over a hundred years old, was clearcut. 

Knowing that, when we were given the opportunity to purchase the second stand, with equally large trees in an even more ecologically sensitive setting including significant frontage on Bear Saw Creek, we never hesitated. Because the site is so unique for northern Michigan, I still remember how it looked back in 1987, when I first found Red-shouldered Hawks nesting there. The nest that year was halfway up a tree larger than I could reach around, well protected from predators like raccoons by a beaver flooding below, several feet deep. I believe those adults raised and fledged four young that year, a remarkable feat this far north, where the species has been pushed to the limit of its historic range because of wetland habitat loss farther south.

During the 1990s in Burt Township, Katie and I realized that non-waterfront lands were being developed at an alarming rate. This made us wonder what the best use was for this property, which has high ground along the road. If sold on the open market, it seemed likely some sort of structure would end up there because of the property’s proximity to lakefront homes. Any structure, whether house or storage building, would have fragmented this important forest habitat. A new owner might also have had it logged, destroying the fragile soil in the process of removing remarkably large trees, which may have grown undisturbed since the time the township was settled. Walking through the property today, a person finds scant evidence of cutting or logging. Thankfully the previous owner, a close friend, also appreciated the property for its natural beauty and resisted developing or logging it. The entire Bear Saw Creek swamp, of which this parcel is a small portion, is still thickly forested, proving that other landowners in the area, both past and present, have similarly guarded the resource.

Taking all these issues into account, wanting to see the property remain wild forever but not wanting to hold onto it ourselves, quickly led us to offer it to LTC at a reduced price. We felt that LTC was the logical successor in the chain of title, and we were thrilled when they agreed to purchase it.

A big thanks to the Burt Lake Preservation Association for its donation toward the purchase of the Ebbers property and for fundraising assistance.