A new nature preserve will soon be under the protection of the Cadillac Area Land Conservancy with the gift of a 120-acre plot of land along the Clam River.
Official ownership is now in the hands of Lake Township through a conservation easement, and they will eventually open the spot to the public for recreational use.
The conservancy's executive director Chris Gentry told WCMU that adding more public access to the Clam River is the special part of this particular property.
"Public access is kind of limited on that river because it's mostly private property up and down the stream," Gentry explained. "Working together with [the township] we're able to make this happen to have it available to the public and also preserve the natural land and heritage of this space."
The official name for the preserve will be Peckham's 100 Acre Wood, to honor the previous owners who took care of the land for 80 years.
"It's kind of like a three-way partnership: Donor, private organization, local government. It's all really kind of cool," Gentry said. "It's been a fun project to work with and I'm anxious to see how it's going to evolve because we'll get to be involved with it on into the future."
Recreational activities such as hiking, fishing, and snowshoeing were mentioned in the discussion as things people will be able to do once the preserve is open.
