EAGLE RIVER – The Nature Conservancy in Michigan and the Keweenaw Community Foundation are celebrating the Keweenaw County Commissioners’ unanimous passage recently of a measure to create the Keweenaw Heartlands Recreational and Natural Resources Authority.

As a result, a new five-member, publicly elected authority board will be able to govern and manage public forests and natural resource areas in Keweenaw County for both their natural resource and recreational values. This capability is particularly important in Keweenaw County, where forests are essential to the local economy and to community members’ way of life.

Last month, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation, Public Acts 12, 13, and 14 of 2026, that amended the Michigan Recreational Authorities Act to become the Michigan Recreational and Natural Resources Authorities Act, allowing for communities in counties under 4,000 in total population to manage and govern their own forest resources.

These amendments were critical in taking the next step toward the forest governance model created by the Keweenaw Heartlands Project Community Advisory Committee, a cross-section of community members and leaders from Keweenaw County and the region.