Marc LaBeau of Marquette, a board member of the Upper Peninsula Land Conservancy, takes part in a trail-cleaning day on Wednesday at the Vielmetti-Peters Conservation Reserve. The UPLC’s reserve is home to a variety of habitats. (Journal photo by Christie Mastric)

MARQUETTE — Even a wild natural area needs a little sprucing up now and then.

The Upper Peninsula Land Conservancy, based in Marquette, held a trail-cleaning event on Wednesday at its Vielmetti-Peters Conservation Reserve, located in Negaunee Township adjoining Marquette Township. The reserve is a 123-acre working forest with over 4 miles of trails.

UPLC Executive Director Andrea Denham said Wednesday’s event represented an early-season trail work day following trail clearing in the early spring. However, in nature, plants grow.

“We’ve got raspberry brambles and all sorts of stuff all over the trail, so we’re super excited to have this group of folks out here to help us open the trail, make sure that it’s safe and accessible, and friendly and welcoming to the community for their use — and we’re all not getting raspberry scratches along our legs all the way through,” Denham said.

She noted that cleanups take place every spring at UPLC’s major preserves with trails.

Denham pointed out that UPLC protects 15 miles of trails within Marquette County.

“So, we definitely rely on the help of volunteers to help us keep those trails clean, help take out branches, dig post holes so we can put signage up so people don’t get lost, that sort of thing,” Denham said.

On Wednesday, UPLC began to put up interpretive signage that educates people about climate change-resilient forestry and how local landowners can use forestry as a tool to ensure their forests are healthy and productive with the change in weather and demographic shift being seen in the U.P., she said.

The signage was funded, Denham said, through a grant from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Community Forestry Program that UPLC has used with local foresters and schools, among other activities.

The Vielmetti-Peters Conservation Reserve is part of UPLC’s Forests for the Future Program, she said, which is a climate change-resiliency program.

“One of the things we love about the Vielmetti-Peters Reserve is that it is a beautiful example of how water works,” Denham said.

For example, Midway Creek flows through the reserve, plus there is a waterfall as well as and several springs that originate on the site, she said. Those springs flow together with Midway Creek to the Dead River.

Denham pointed out that the Vielmetti-Peters Conservation Reserve, as well as land to the north, is vital to the city of Marquette drinking water supply and in fact is within the 90th percentile of importance to local drinking water.

“One of the ways that water works around here is it flows through the ground, eventually pops up out of the ground into these springs and creeks and rivers that we’ve got,” Denham said. “Those all flow together and then eventually out to the lake (Superior), of course, which is where our drinking water comes from.”

The reserve, she noted, also has rolling hills, post-glacial features and medial moraine.

“It’s a very rolling, fairly challenging hike, but it is mostly old logging trails, so it is decently wide for people to come in groups and walk side by side,” Denham said.

Kathy Peters donated the 123 acres at the end of Brickyard Road to the UPLC, with the dedication taking place in 2016.

She was at Wednesday’s event, looking pleased at the work being performed. After all, she did give away the land.

“When I first thought about it, somebody said, ‘Well, you know, people would love to live back there,'” Peters said. “And I thought, ‘Oh, no.'”

What’s going on at the site now, she said, is a “much better way to do it.”

Christie Mastric can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250. Her email address is cbleck@miningjournal.net.