We applaud a land transfer made recently within the city of Marquette that results in a handful of acres being protected from future development.

The 25-acre tract includes a combination of forest types, open meadow, wetlands, a brook and several historic sites plus a wide variety of important terrestrial and aquatic habitat types, according to an announcement by the Harbour View Development Corp. and the Superior Watershed Partnership and Land Conservancy. The land includes a section of the Noquemenon Trail Network, which connects with the Iron Ore Heritage Trail and other trails.

Harbour View is transferring ownership of what’s now being called the Harlow Farms nature preserve to SWP for good reason, said L.R. Swadley, president of Harbour View Development.

“Given the outstanding job the Superior Watershed Partnership has been providing the Upper Peninsula for 20 years now, we felt they were the best organization to entrust the care and protection of these conservation lands (in) perpetuity,” Swadley, in a news release. “Both the management and the residents of Harlow Farms are confident in the team and mission at SWP.”

SWP staff have skills including watershed planning, climate adaptation, environmental restoration, pollution prevention, field inventory, water quality monitoring and more, so deeding them ownership makes sense, from a preservation standpoint. In addition, setting the acreage aside from future development supports the city’s overall goal of billing itself as an outdoor recreation destination.

This was a good move all round.