The Keweenaw Outdoor Recreation Coalition (KORC) submitted a plan and permit application to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to establish permanent public access to the Montreal Falls and Bare Bluff, including a parking lot and trailhead. This plan has been awaiting approval from the DNR since 2022.
This project, proposed by the KORC, would add new parking and a trailhead for the Montreal Falls and Bare Bluff trail located in Keweenaw County near the tip of the Keweenaw. It would also add trail segments, make a safe and public route for everyone, and maintain and enhance existing hiking trails. The plan has already secured funding for the first phase of the project along with pledges for additional funding.
The KORC had a call to action asking Michiganders to write to Governor Gretchen Whitmer, State Representative Gregory Markkanen, State Senator Ed McBroom, and DNR executives by Apr. 1, asking them to approve their permit.
The next Natural Resources Commission meeting will take place Wednesday, Apr. 8, at 9:00 a.m. in the Lansing Community College West Campus and will be streamed on YouTube at youtube.com/@MichiganDNR-Meetings/streams.
The KROC is doing business as the Keweenaw Community Forest Company (KCFC), which brings together individuals, businesses, and community organizations to secure permanent public access to at-risk land in the Keweenaw.
The KCFC is a Michigan non-profit corporation founded in 2003 with a mission “to protect the forest heartland of Keweenaw and to maintain landscape-level intact native ecosystems and watersheds through land acquisition, stewardship, management, and local cooperation. Keweenaw Community Forest Company secures land and works with partners to protect water quality, preserve native animals, plants, and habitats, conserve migratory species, enable trail systems and compatible outdoor recreation, support renewable energy, and mitigate climate change.”
More information on KORC can be found at keweenawoutdoorrecreation.org.
