To the editor:
I have always loved Leelanau County for its diversity, from the national lakeshore to the wide open spaces around Northport.
As a kid, summers in Northport got me out of Traverse City and into open fields, apple orchards, and woods where we discovered salamanders in decaying logs, and rare wildflowers.
Owls were heard, or the call of a loon at Kehl Lake. There was no light pollution, then and now.
With the passing of time, I realized that despite the rapid and sudden growth of new vacation homes and development, here my children could still ID native plants, feed chipmunks and chickadees from their hands, and watch possums search for insects.
I am unsure about my grandson’s future children, or any others, who might see such things in a magazine or a zoo.
Natural land in Leelanau is rapidly disappearing.
Right now, 99 acres of land in Northport, including rare undeveloped frontage on Lake Michigan, is of interest to the Leelanau Conservancy.
This land would become part of the existing Kehl Lake Natural Area — long a place of rich biodiversity and undisturbed habitat.
It is a place of respite for unique migratory birds and large mammals, with dense woods and critical wetlands.
The deadline for fundraising has only weeks remaining. For more information or to donate, visit the Leelanau Conservancy website or send to PO Box 1007, Leland, MI 49654.
Olave Russell Traverse City
