Grants: Land Use

Community Wood Use and Demonstration Project

This project considers a demonstration / fundraising project related to the use of urban wood (forest management and tree removal primarily). Recognizing the increased infestation of the emerald ash borer and its effect on the ash tree stock, as well as the fact that communities continue to cut back significantly on forestry programs, this project proposed to use this wood – and other urban wood -for new purposes. Generally, urban wood is chipped. This project will show that the wood can be used for other purposes, some of which can be profitable and can self-support these efforts.

Bay-Zilwaukee Trail

This project, sponsored by the Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy, contemplates the acquisition of more than

six miles of abandoned railway for the purpose of providing a connection between current and proposed non
motorized/railtrail systems in Bay City and Saginaw. This WIN investment will be used as a match to
leverage approximately $200,000 that has been made available by the Michigan Department of
Transportation. This route has been identified as a critical link in the WIN funded “Vision of Green” report
that developed the plan for a three-county connected non-motorized link.

University Center Trail

The project requested initial cash investment in a proposed non-motorized trail between Delta College and Saginaw Valley State University. This trail appeared as a priority in the Saginaw/Bay/Midland Greenways plan that was funded by WIN in 2005. The funding will match additional grants that are required for this $1.5 million non-motorized route.

Metamore Horse Country Project

Located in parts of Lapeer and Oakland Counties, the Metamora “Horse Country” region encompasses approximately 60 square miles. This project implemented components of the GLS Greenlink Plan (funded in part by WIN) by protecting critical natural areas, agricultural land, and connection between them primarily by the use of conservation easements. This area is currently under development pressure by the metro Flint and Detroit areas. This project is unique because it focused on a distinct part of the community – horse owners- who also own a majority of the land available for conservation. This project funded forums, planning activities, outreach and education.

Genesee County Land Bank Clean and Green Program

The Genesee County Land Bank (GCLB) assembles tax-reverted land for transfer to adjacent homeowners, develops long and short-term green spaces, and assembles land for new housing and commercial development. The objective is to restore the integrity of the community by removing dilapidated structures and redeveloping abandoned properties. The Land Bank encourages re-use of more than 4,000 residential, commercial, and industrial properties that it has acquired through the tax foreclosure process. The Clean and Green Program works with community groups to support the maintenance of these reverted properties and prepare them for productive use. The “adopt a lot” process provides small grants to established neighborhood groups to assist in the maintenance of these properties. WIN funding expanded this effort beyond simple maintenance and into innovative demonstration projects such as phytoremediation, vegetable gardens, rain gardens, tree nursery, and turf alternatives.

Southern Lakes Planning Initiative

This project, located in Genesee County, was a planning and regional cooperation initiative designed to better coordinate land use planning across local government jurisdictions. This area, known as the “Lakes Region” includes the communities of Linden and Fenton, as well as the Townships of Mundy, Fenton, Argentine and Tyrone. This effort inventoried land use in the region, develop strategies for managing growth, develop a steering committee made up of representatives of the affected communities, and gradually move toward the creation of an area-wide land use plan and strategy.

Bay County Farmland Preservation Program

This project coordinated and developed a Farmland Preservation Program for Bay County. Led by a steering committee consisting of both rural and urban interests, this project established the mechanism by which Bay County can potentially preserve high quality farmland through a variety of market mechanisms such as the purchase of development rights. Currently, many farmers are facing escalating lad prices and pressure to sell their land to developers, which can result in “urban sprawl”, loss of community character, and adverse environmental consequences. This project help Bay County plan for the protection of high quality areas, while at the same time identify areas where development may make sense.

Bay County Farmland Preservation Program

This project coordinated and developed a Farmland Preservation Program for Bay County. Led by a steering committee consisting of both rural and urban interests, this project established the mechanism by which Bay County can potentially preserve high quality farmland through a variety of market mechanisms such as the purchase of development rights. Currently, many farmers are facing escalating lad prices and pressure to sell their land to developers, which can result in “urban sprawl”, loss of community character, and adverse environmental consequences. This project help Bay County plan for the protection of high quality areas, while at the same time identify areas where development may make sense.

Urban and Community Forestry/Saginaw Bay Watershed Region

This project, developed by Global ReLeaf of Michigan, propsed to support and grow a network of communities in the Saginaw Bay Region that are focused on maintaining and establishing urban tree programs. This grant supported quarterly meetings for watershed communites, provision of technical assstance to communites, the utilization for native and local provenance trees for street tree replacement and park plantings, and the engagement of volunteers in tree inventories, tree boards, and tree plantings.

Chippewa Trail

Proposed by the Chippewa Nature Center, this project provided support for the Chippewa Trail which was constructed adjacent to the Chippewa Nature Center and City of Midland property and connects Downtown Midland with the Pere Marquette Rail-Trail. This project was built on recommendations published in Saginaw Bay Greenways Collaborative’s Vision of Green report. This trail includes interpretive stations that discuss economic, environmental, and community issues related to the area that the trail traverses.

Tittabawassee River Watershed Priority Conservation Land Assessment

The Little Forks Conservancy developed a green infrastructure based strategy for the identification of priority conservation lands within the Tittabawassee River Watershed. A steering committee made up of members of land conservancies working in this region provided project direction and input based on the working priorities and strategies employed by their respective organizations, while facilitation and strategic visioning was guided by members of the National Park Service RTCA program. The development and need for a green infrastructure based strategy was driven by the diverse needs of these conservancies and the need for a cooperative, systemic approach to resource protection in the Tittabawassee basin. Utilizing the principles of green infrastructure, a strategy was developed that allowed regional conservation organizations to evaluate potential protection projects against an overall planned preservation framework while taking into account relative risk of development. Such a strategy can be used on a broad scale to target the most logical properties to protect, and on a much smaller scale for a detailed site analysis of individual ecoblocks. Geographic Information Systems and other planning information systems, utilized in conjunction with the goals and operating strategies of the collaborating organizations, were the predominant tools used in creation of this strategy.

Green Infrastructure GIS Development

This project was a subset of three ongoing projects in the Saginaw Bay region: Saginaw Bay Greenways Collaborative, Ducks Unlimited Habitat Evaluation Network (HEN), and associated planning at East Central Michigan Planning & Development Region. The project created three Geographic Information System (GIS)layers for the 22-couty Saginaw Bay Watershed. To aid regional planning, these layers are be identified as Conservation and Recreational Lands, Part 361 Agricultural Easements, and Water Bodies.