A windfall of cash is headed northern Michigan’s way, thanks for a new round of Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grants. The grants, which were announced in a Thursday press release from the office of Governor Gretchen Whitmer, include $45 million in state funding for 75 different land acquisition and park development projects across the state.

The local grants are detailed below.

>$4.8 million for East Bay Township “to acquire an easement on 333 acres known as the Ridge Nature Preserve, permanently protecting public access and future trail connections to the Traverse Area Recreation and Transportation trail system.” That money is part of the recently-completed fundraising for Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy to permanently protect the Ridge, which the nonprofit established in 2024. The property, located between Four Mile and Five Mile roads in East Bay Township, had previously been targeted for a large-scale housing development.

>$400,000 for East Bay Township “to extend the Three Mile Trail to an existing trailhead within the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy’s Mitchell Creek Meadows Nature Preserve.”  

>$300,000 for East Bay Township “to build a trail loop and new entrance, including a gravel parking lot,” at the Holiday Woodlands Natural Area.

>$400,000 for Grand Traverse County “to reconstruct the Vasa Trailhead, adding accessible parking, a plaza and a new connector path to the Vasa Pathway.”

>$133,200 for Long Lake Township “to improve trails at Cedar Run Creek Natural Area, replacing boardwalks and rerouting segments off private property.”

>$400,000 for Elmwood Township “to build a 10-foot-wide multi-use trail along Cherry Bend Road, connecting the TART Trail extension to Cherry Bend Park and the Leelanau Trail.”

>$50,000 for Leelanau County “to build a crushed-stone pathway to the fishing ponds” at Veronica Valley Park near Lake Leelanau, “along with barrier-free parking and interpretive signage.”

>$400,000 for the city of Grayling “to build a 1.8-mile shared-use pathway along M-72 connecting the I-75 Business Loop to Rayburn Natural Area, improving pedestrian and bicycle safety.”

>$299,100 for the village of Thompsonville “to pave a mile of the Betsie Valley Trail from the village to the Betsie River Bridge.”

“I’m proud we got a balanced, bipartisan budget across the finish line that includes grant funding for 75 projects in communities across our state,” Whitmer said of the announcement. “By partnering with local communities, we're expanding access to the outdoors, protecting our natural resources, and creating more places where people can live, work, and play.” 

Pictured: The Ridge Nature Preserve, photo credit Rick Kane, courtesy of Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy.