The Upper Peninsula Land Conservancy has closed on a land purchase that will be known as the Dead River Community Forest. Shown here is UPLC Executive Director Andrea Denham on the old County Road 510 bridge in Negaunee Township, located near the DRCF. (Photo courtesy of the UPLC)

NEGAUNEE — The Dead River Community Forest, an ongoing project of the Upper Peninsula Land Conservancy, now is legally protected.

The UPLC, based in Marquette, announced that with the help of The Nature Conservancy, several foundations, local businesses and numerous individuals, it has raised over $250,000 over the last four years to purchase two properties that will be known collectively as the Dead River Community Forest. One parcel is near the County Road 510 bridges, while the other is north of UPLC’s Vielmetti-Peters Conservation Reserve.

A community forest is just that: a forest for which the community can be engaged as the forest is managed and protected.

The six main goals of the new protected land, according to the UPLC, are:

≤ to permanently preserve the ecological values of the two properties;

≤ to provide recreational opportunities that meet the needs of the community;

≤ to actively engage the public in the land protection and management processes;

≤ to provide opportunities for the public to establish an emotional connection with the property, which the UPLC noted will spur a sense of communal responsibility;

≤ to expand environmental education opportunities for students and landowners to experience hands-on learning about the sustainable management of U.P. forests;

≤ to initiate a climate-change mitigation and restoration-focused forest management plan.

Future plans, the UPLC said, include having around five miles of multi-use trails, including Americans With Disabilities Act-compliant trails, and an outdoor classroom in partnership with local educational institutions.

However, the UPLC stressed that until it has completed the necessary infrastructure, it asks the public not to access the properties until construction is complete.

“By abstaining from visiting the property, you are honoring the sensitive wildlife habitat, protecting clean water from sedimentation and slopes from erosion, as well as preventing the accidental creation of confusing social trails,” UPLC Executive Director Andrea Denham said in a statement. “Future trails will be designed to provide access and protect sensitive plants, animals and soils.

“Even a small handful of individuals wandering can have long-lasting impacts that will be difficult and expensive for us to repair.”

However, the UPLC plans to host guided tours of the DRCF soon.

“We hope to begin building trails next summer,” said Denham, who asks the public to consider including the DRCF trails in financial and volunteer plans.

The DRCF, located in Negaunee Township, contains 186.5 acres of forestland on the edge of an expanding commercial area. The area includes nearly three miles of riverfront, rare vegetation and many native wildlife species.

The two portions of land that have been acquired — called the Bridges and the Bayous — have naming opportunities via sponsorship. These parcels, the UPLC noted, were slated for housing development.

The UPLC also indicated that the forest will be actively managed for timber and non-timber forest products.

The UPLC, which said it closed on the land purchase on Oct. 5, still has about $50,000 left to raise to complete infrastructure as well as provide public recreation and education opportunities.

For details, visit www.uplandconservancy.org or email uplc@uplandconservancy.org.