One of Leelanau’s most northern inhabitant’s, Vlad Borza, has been a caretaker at the remote South Fox Island in Lake Michigan for the past six years.
The island is located about 17 miles northwest of the Leelanau peninsula and features a historic lighthouse and skeletal light tower, along with many natural and diverse ecological features that make it the special, and mostly untouched place that it is today. Part of the island, about two-thirds, is privately owned, while the remaining one third, which includes the lighthouse station area, is state owned. Borza works for the privatelyowned part of the island.
Although the job of caretaker requires a certain mindset to withstand the isolated landscape for long periods of time — about two to three weeks on the island before returning back to the mainland — the lifestyle has been something Borza has found fulfillment in for years now. He previously studied environmental science/biology at Wayne State University and taught middle and high school students these subjects in Grand Rapids for eight years before he found his way to Leelanau County.
