The Leelanau Conservancy has signed an option to purchase 700 acres of hardwood forest that straddles the Glen Lake and Good Harbor Bay watersheds. Owned by Ki Corp., the property is the largest contiguous privately-owned tract of forested land remaining in Leelanau County.

The Conservancy must raise $500,000 by July 21 to exercise the option. There is a dollar-for-dollar match up to $265,000 for all cash and pledges before then.

The total project cost – including land purchase, timber management planning, initial trail development and funding stewardship responsibilities – is $4.1 million. Three-quarters of that has already been raised. No public monies are available for the project.

If preserved, the proposed Palmer Woods Forest Reserve, located a mile east of Glen Lake, will stay on the tax rolls and be open to the public for four-season recreation opportunities. The land also adjoins the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and provides a 2.4-mile long buffer to the park.

According to Conservancy Executive Director Tom Nelson, Ki Corp. acquired parcels over 40 years and has practiced sustainable forestry for decades and that practice would continue.

A video detailing the property and the project can be found here.