Michigan’s first-of-its-kind endowment rewrites the rules of forest conservation

For generations of Michiganders, the deep, unbroken forests of the U.P. haven’t felt like private property, but like a birthright for all residents to enjoy.

Expansive forests of towering hardwoods, rushing river corridors and sweeping coastal ridges form the backdrop of a way of life, one rooted in outdoor recreation and a thriving timber economy.  Yet, for decades, public access to vast tracts hung by a thread. Public access relied entirely on the quiet, unpledged permission of private landowners.

Take the Michigamme Highlands, a massive 73,000-acre expanse of wilderness west of Marquette in the Huron Mountains. For years, its future—and the future of lands like it—was a question mark.

“Historically, timber companies have allowed the public to use these properties,” says Kerry Heckman, forest land administrator for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR). “But that could change at any time. It was very permissive on their part.”

The state, however, has been busy securing those lands, but not by buying them outright. Through the strategic use of conservation easements, the DNR has permanently protected more than 224,850 acres of forests across Michigan. These legally binding agreements keep the land in private hands and on local tax rolls, while forever guaranteeing public recreational access and sustainable forestry.

But drawing up an easement is only step one. The real challenge spans years beyond: How do you fund the perpetual oversight, physical monitoring, and potential legal defense of hundreds of thousands of remote acres?

The answer lies in a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership in Michigan. Established in 2024, the Michigan DNR Conservation Easement Stewardship Endowment, stewarded by the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation, has broken traditional bureaucratic molds. Thanks to a recent, generous anonymous gift tied directly to the Michigamme Highlands project, the endowment now stands at $670,000—marking a critical milestone in a collaborative effort between the state agency and the community foundation. 

It is a model that conservation leaders nationwide are watching closely.

The story of the endowment began out of necessity. Over the last two decades, the DNR’s portfolio of conservation easements grew dramatically, fueled primarily by the federal Forest Legacy Program. Funded by offshore oil and gas drilling revenues, this highly competitive national program covers up to 75 percent of project costs.

“We compete nationally against the grizzly habitat in Montana and the rainforests in Hawaii,” Heckman explains. “We have been able to compete incredibly well.”

Yet, as massive acreage was added—including 150,000 acres in the Northern Great Lakes Forest project in the eastern and central U.P. —the long-term administrative burden mounted. Conservation easements require rigorous annual monitoring to ensure landowners stick to sustainable forest management plans. In remote terrains, this demands immense staff time, advanced technology, and a dedicated legal war chest to defend against future violations.

The DNR needed a permanent, compounding fund to support this work, but the state government isn’t built to easily create or nimbly manage standalone, long-term endowments.

“We couldn’t do it easily within the department, so we needed to get creative,” says Heckman. “We were looking for a statewide partner that could hold an endowment and provide specifically for conservation easement stewardship.”

The search led them to the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation.

From a traditional philanthropic standpoint, the community foundation was an unexpected choice for a statewide initiative. The community foundation is explicitly place-based, built to serve a distinct five-county footprint in Northern Michigan, alongside the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa & Chippewa Indians.

However, the community foundation possessed a unique institutional skill set that transcended geographical boundaries.

“The community foundation has a unique role as a steward of long-term resources,” says Alison Metiva, who is president and CEO of the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation. “Part of what makes our region thrive is the long-term stewardship of natural areas and forest lands. To be a part of making that happen for communities across the entire state was an incredible opportunity.”

The resulting organizational endowment allows the community foundation to manage the investment strategy, delivering a predictable, annual grant back to the DNR to fund real-world field operations.

“This stewardship endowment is entirely unique,” Metiva emphasizes. “To my knowledge, it is the only endowment in the state where the DNR has partnered with a community foundation to support their work statewide.”

The funding arrives none too soon. The sheer diversity and isolation of the protected properties mean that no two stewardship strategies are identical.

The endowment’s portfolio covers an astonishing array of Michigan’s natural gems. It safeguards the fragile shoreline ecosystems of the Arcadia and Green Point Dunes in Benzie and Manistee counties, the 750-acre primary easement at Thumb Lake in Charlevoix County, and the Pilgrim River Forest corridor in Houghton County.

But the crown jewel of the current portfolio remains the massive Michigamme Highlands project. The completion of this 73,000-acre easement was accompanied by the anonymous donation that propelled the endowment to its current $670,000 mark, ensuring the property’s future was secure from day one.

“”The gift to support Michigamme is a huge addition to our portfolio, and it’s timely,” Metiva says. “The land is entirely protected from future development and open for public recreation, yet the timber company continues to harvest the forest sustainably. It’s a beautiful balance.”

Managing a tract as immense as the Michigamme Highlands requires a modern toolkit. DNR staff utilize satellite imagery to flag structural changes or anomalies across vast swathes of remote wilderness that cannot easily be visited on foot. But technology cannot entirely replace human relationships.

“On an annual basis, we go out and monitor the property,” DNR’s Heckman says. “A lot of the work is actually being in the field and working closely with landowners to build good relationships. That is what ensures violations don’t happen in the first place.”

While the growth of the endowment is a triumphant milestone, both leaders view it as a foundation rather than a finish line.

“The endowment is not yet fully funding all of this work, but it is providing a crucial, reliable cushion,” Heckman says. “Our ultimate goal is to grow the fund to a level where it completely covers the staffing and operational costs required to steward these 225,000 acres entirely.”

Because the fund is structured as a public endowment, anyone passionate about the preservation of Michigan’s wild spaces can contribute to its growth. It stands as a testament to what can happen when state administrators and philanthropic leaders refuse to be constrained by traditional boundaries.

“For us, this partnership isn’t how we would normally lean into our regional role,” Metiva reflects. “An asset like the Michigamme Highlands is hundreds of miles from our home office. But it is a powerful example of public-private philanthropy. By empowering the DNR to do their work, it benefits the people of our region and everyone across the state of Michigan.”