On Friday, the Keweenaw Heartlands Advisory Commission and Keweenaw Community Foundation host a celebration of the project’s progress so far.
Since 2023, KCF has helped The Nature Conservancy and the Heartlands Advisory Commission move from purchasing 32,000 acres to a plan for how the forest will continue to benefit communities across Keweenaw County.
“But what people may not realize is that that was still privately owned land that when it went for sale could have been bought by someone who said, no one’s accessing this land anymore,” said Robin Meneguzzo, CEO of Keweenaw Community Foundation. “And so if you imagine going on top of Brockway Mountain and looking out, most of what you look out to see is heartlands.”
Just in time to celebrate three years of hard work, in May Michigan amended the state’s Municipal Recreation Authority Act to include managing natural resources and a working forest. That new legislation was built around Keweenaw County piloting a new recreation and natural resources authority board to manage the Keweenaw Heartlands.
“And that’s now Public Acts 12, 13 and 14 of 2026. That then allowed the local government, Keweenaw County Board of Commissioners to last night incorporate the Keweenaw Heartlands Recreational and Natural Resources Authority, which is the first authority of its kind in the state of Michigan,” said Julia Petersen, project manager for The Nature Conservancy – Michigan.
Publicly managing such a significant portion of Keweenaw County will require large financial support. In 2025, the Keweenaw Heartlands Project established the Heartlands Forest Fund with the Keweenaw Community Foundation. In one year, the fund has raised more than half of the initial goal.
“And that forest fund will be the thing that allows this community forest to start up. It’s wonderful that there’s an opportunity for a brand new board to start up to be able to oversee this forest resource. At the same time, they are going to need dollars to do it. They’re gonna need dollars to manage the footprint of the land,” Petersen said.
Meneguzzo explained the startup funding needs.
“You know, just things to get something started from nothing, honestly. And so while we, as a community advisory committee have worked to build an idea, they still have to actually put it into and implement it and make it into policies and procedures and bylaws,” Meneguzzo said. “And so that initial funding that is needed, we identified to be about $600,000 for the first couple of years, which would allow the authority board operating dollars to be able to do that work.”
After Keweenaw County leaders approved an authority board at a special meeting on Monday, voters could elect a five-member board as early as November.
“You know, one is eligible to vote in the county, then they’re eligible to run for this office. And then there are the two subcommittees. One is a government relations advisory committee and one is a new community advisory committee,” Petersen said. “And each of those are spelled out in the articles of incorporation in terms of who they involve or what type of expertise in the case of the community advisory committee that the board will be looking for. Individuals that serve on those two subcommittees can be from beyond county borders.”
On Friday, the groups host the For the Heartlands fundraiser at the Hidden Pines Barn in Calumet.
“We had 29 different organizations and individuals come together regularly for years saying, this is important enough that we’re gonna keep showing up,” Meneguzzo said. “And I think that alone is something to really hold up and champion and say like communities can do hard work and they can overcome a lot of obstacles.”
Tickets for that event are available to purchase online. Also find an archive of past newsletters and project information online.
Tickets for the For the Heartlands Fundraiser will cost $125. Children under 9 years old can attend for free. The dinner and concert will include a silent auction with prizes from event sponsors and local businesses. The Go Rounds will provide entertainment. Hancock manufacturer Chicken Tramper will even offer limited-edition merch supporting the Heartlands at the event for attendees to purchase. Learn more about the For the Heartlands dinner and concert in Calumet here.
