Traverse City Record-Eagle

Antrim County

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    Clarence Kroupa
July 4, 2009

Northern People: Kroupa plants legacy

80 acres off Barney Road are now chockful of trees

BY VANESSA MCCRAY

TRAVERSE CITY -- On a blistering hot day, cooler air -- fragrant and piney -- wafted from the forest floor.

Clarence Kroupa climbed behind the wheel of a purple 1948 Jeep and rumbled into the woods behind his Garfield Township home. Noise from the jostling Jeep filled in the gaps of Kroupa's narrative. Some of these tall trees were just small seedlings when he planted them.

"These are white pine over here," Kroupa said. "See how tall they are? Imagine trees growing like that in your lifetime."

The hilly 80 acres off Barney Road featured about 45 acres of hardwoods when Kroupa purchased it in three parcels in 1952, 1953 and 1954. The remaining acres were barren, undesirable farmland and depleted soil. It is hard to picture the place as Kroupa first saw it. He had a vision to restore and reforest the property, and now trees grow straight, sure and tall from all sides. In the early years, Kroupa estimated he planted as many as 2,000 trees annually. This year, he planted about 100. There's not much room left.

"See, I keep filling in. There's one over there, one here, three more there," Kroupa said, then he pointed out "one of the last open areas."

One spot where Kroupa's effort is most dramatically visible is along a deep valley, where a long-ago washout left it looking like "a gravel pit." Kroupa planted trees that now tower around the area and down the steep slope. Needles blanket the soil.

Back on the winding trail, Kroupa pointed out Jack-in-the pulpit, maple, basswood, bracken fern and the remains of an old apple tree. Kroupa has planted red and white pines and Norway, blue and white spruces. He doesn't plant hardwoods because they require too much care and coaxing to survive.

The original goal was to reforest the land and "always have timber for firewood," logs that Kroupa has arranged in perfect stacks. But area environmentalists point to the effort as much more than that.

"I consider Clarence to be a regional hero," said Greg Reisig, of the Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council, which awarded Kroupa its first environmentalist of the year award and later named its lifetime achievement award after him.

"What he's done is he's created an example for people of how areas can be reforested," Reisig said. "A lot of people talk about doing things, but Clarence has actually done that."

Grand Traverse Baykeeper John Nelson called Kroupa "an icon" and a "wonderful steward" of land. Nelson and Reisig have both toured the property.

Kroupa said the site is being used for its best use.

"The planet can't live without trees," he said. "Here we have a chance to preserve or at least contribute to preserving the environment."

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