Beaver Island Michigan

Beaver Island remains under an Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) quarantine along with Isle Royale and Charity Island. "Don't Move Firewood" signage is at all points of entry and under the watchful eye of the Beaver Island Boat Company and the island airlines. The biggest threat to the introduction ...

The Beaver Island Natural Resources and Eco-tourism Steering Committee (NRESC), an advisory board to the Peaine and St. James Townships, is holding a public meeting Saturday, March 2, starting at 10 a.m. at Peaine Township Hall to review and discuss draft recommendations for a natural resources mana...

Peaine Township Recreation Survey is available on-line. Just click the link below to tell us about your recreational use of the Islands. The deadline for submitting is December 16. You do not have to live in Peaine to take the survey --it is open to all. The survey is confidential and the results ar...

EXPLANATION OF THE NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT PLANNING PROCESS

This press release was unanimously adopted by the NRESC during its meeting on October 13, 2012.

What is the NRESC?

The Peaine and St. James Township Boards unanimously created the NRESC in September 2011â??to â??develop a balanced plan for promoting preservation and achieving sustainable economic growth and development for the Island.â?￾ The townships appointed NRESC members representing the Chamber of Commerce, Wildlife Club, real estate and construction businesses, Beaver Island Association, the school, both townshipsâ?? planning commissions, and the Peaine Trails Committee, as well as at-large community members, the DNR, and the Little Traverse Odawa tribeâ??a balanced group of citizen-volunteers with different points of view, interests, and expertise.
At the same time, the township boards asked the new NRESC to develop for the boardsâ?? consideration a comprehensive management plan for the natural resources of the Beaver archipelago, with support from the DNR and MSU facilitators. The NRESC agreed and began a planning process that it decided would rely heavily on consultations with community members and other stakeholders.

What are the benefits of developing a Beaver Island natural resource management plan?

It goes without saying that most residents of and visitors care about the Beaver archipelagoâ??s unique natural beauty and varied marine and land environments. They recognize that these natural resources are a foundation of economic activity and community well-beingâ??and they want them to stay as they are and/or be restored for years to come. Itâ??s also true that many different entitiesâ??the state of Michigan, the townships, thousands of individual property owners, local businesses, the school, Indian tribes, conservancy organizations, state universities, and the federal governmentâ??control the use of different parts of the Islands and that some volunteer organizations, such as the Wildlife Club and the Beaver Island Association, undertake many activities to enhance, restore, and protect the environment.

Given the importance of Beaverâ??s natural resources, the fragmentation of control over them, and the many stakeholders with keen interest in them, developing a comprehensive natural resource management plan with Goals, measurable Objectives, and action Strategies should have the following benefits:

1. State land management. Provide strong community input to the state DNRâ??owner of a third of Beaver Island, and all of High, Hog, Squaw, and Whiskey Islandsâ??about the desired goals for its management of state lands.
2. Economic development. Identify ways that all of the interested parties can work together to increase natural-resource based economic activityâ??home construction, recreation, and eco-tourismâ??and showcase the Islandâ??s assets to attract visitors, residents, and investment.
3. Invasive species. Respond more effectively to current and future threats to the quality of natural resources, such as invasive species.
4. Funding. Increase the financial resources available for managing the natural resources by showcasing for governments at all levels and philanthropic organizations the uniqueness of the natural resources and the shared goals of the community and other stakeholders.
5. Effective organizations. Help government and nonprofit organizations prioritize and more effectively use their volunteers and funding to achieve results the community wants.
6. A model for other communities. Provide a model of community/DNR collaboration and planning that other communities can adopt, which would reflect well on Beaver Island.

Where is the NRESC in the process of natural resource management planning?

During the spring and summer of 2012 the NRESC conducted community forums and multiple focus groups that engaged about 150 year-round and summer residents and middle-and-high school students of the Island, as well as some off-Island stakeholders, to discuss their views about the Islandâ??s future and its natural resources.
Since then, NRESC members have been developing a set of goals and objectives for a natural resource management plan that reflect the communityâ??s desire for a balanced plan to support economic development and preservation of natural beauty and the environment. The process is based on reaching consensus, meaning all of NRESCâ??s members must buy in to all aspects of the plan.
When the NRESC members reach agreement on draft goals and objectives, they will seek extensive feedback from the communityâ??and ideas about what actions could be taken to achieve the objectives and goals. Only after the feedback process will NRESC members start to draft a full-scale plan to be presented to the community and the township boards for discussion and, perhaps, adoption. This will not happen until sometime in 2013, but itâ??s not yet known precisely when.

(All NRESC meetings are posted and open to the public. All NRESC agendas, minutes, and other materials are posted at www.binresc.org.)

Signed by NRESC Members
Sandra Birdsall (Peaine Township representative)
Bill Cashman (At large community)
Jim Gillingham (At large community)
Pam Grassmick (At large community)
Paul Johnson (Chamber of Commerce)
Archie Kiogima & Bill Parsons (Little Traverse Bay Odawa Tribe)
Linda McDonough (St. James Planning Commission)
Bill Markey (Peaine Planning Commission)
Dan Martell (Beaver Island Community School)
Brian Mastenbrook (DNR)
Peter Plastrik (St. James Township representative)
Jeff Powers (Wildlife Club)
Craig Schrotenboer (Beaver Island Association)
Doug Tilly (Peaine Trails Committee)
Ed Wojan (Realtors and Contractors group)

Summer Residents & Visitors. Please attend one of two community forums at Peaine Township Hall: August 1 (Wednesday), 7p.m. to 9 p.m. August 2 (Thursday), 10a.m. to Noon Give us your input regarding the use and management of the Island's Natural Resources. Discussion led by facilitator from Mich...

Best wishes on a wonderful retirement. You will be missed!
Pam and Brad

Below is a link to the report from MSU facilitators, John Beck and Julie Brockman, related to the 2 focus groups and 3 interviews conducted in June. These will be added to the previous April community forums and focus group comments: http://binresc.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/BI-Individual-interv...

VISITORS AND SUMMER RESIDENTS PLEASE ATTEND ONE OF THE TWO COMMUNITY FORUMS â?¢ When? August 1st at 7 p.m. August 2nd at l0 a.m. â?¢ Where? Peaine Township Hall 36825 Kings Hwy, next to Four Corners â?¢ What? Discussion groups facilitated by Michigan State University â?¢ Why? To help plan the future...

PUBLIC NOTICE BEAVER ISLAND NATURAL RESOURCES/ ECOTOURISM STEERING COMMITTEE (NRESC) PUBLIC IS INVITED TO A PRESENTATION BY THE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES (MICHIGAN DNR) WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27 AT PEAINE TWP HALL 3 TO 5 P.M. An opportunity to learn more about the DNR and its relationship to the Isla...

The Service Learning Honors group is awesome. Glen LaFreniere had the camp sites looking great but the dunes with the federally endangered Pitcher's thistle were damaged from multiple illegal fire pits, broken glass, and burned garbage. They went to work on the dunes and now those ugly sites are gon...

Please join members of NRESC on May 21st at 7 p.m. for a mute swan presentation by DNR Wildlife Habitat Biologist, Brian Mastenbrook, at the Peaine Township Hall. Did you know that the mute swan population in Michigan originated from one pair introduced in Charlevoix County in 1919? Mute swans were ...