WE’RE EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE OUR 26TH NATURE PRESERVE AND OUR FIRST IN CLARE COUNTY!
The new Howard and Hazel Weting Preserve is located on West Monroe Road in Freeman Township, Clare County. This 80-acre parcel is covered with a mixed age forest of pine, oak, maple, and aspen providing habitat for wildlife such as deer, turkey, grouse, porcupine, and numerous species of resident and migratory birds.
On August 15, 2023, John Weting of Mount Hood Parkdale, Oregon signed a deed transferring the property from Weting Land and Building, LLC to the Chippewa Watershed Conservancy. During a June 2023 visit to the property, John Weting commented “The entire family lives on the West Coast now. If we still lived in Marquette and could still easily visit several times a year, it might be a different story but I think we’re making the right decision in donating the land.”
Originally purchased by John’s grandparents Howard and Hazel Weting in 1929, the property remained in the family for the ensuing 94 years. During that time, the Weting family always managed the land as habitat for wildlife and native plants. Their efforts included planting thousands of red pine seedlings from the 1930s through the 1970s and developing a Forest Management Plan for the property in the 2000s. In 2022, the family signed a conservation easement with the CWC to protect the land in perpetuity before eventually making the decision to donate the property. John Weting reminisced, “I’m pretty sure this is what my grandparents would have wanted, to see it protected this way. I talked to my aunt about donating the property and she said she thought this would make them happy.”
A first public tour of the preserve will be held on Sunday, October 1st at 1:00PM.
More information including photos of the preserve can be found at https://cwc-mi.org/weting-preserve/
[…] of his presentation included the addition of two new nature preserves (Starks Preserve and Weting Preserve), the addition of 60 acres to Linda Walterreit’s conservation easement, volunteer successes […]