GREILICKVILLE -- Elmwood Township will buy a portion of the DeYoung Natural Area if officials can secure a state grant, a move that could help the Leelanau Conservancy pay its debt on the 145-acre farm off Cedar Lake.
The conservancy purchased the Louis DeYoung property in June 2006 for $1.8 million to preserve the land for its natural and recreational assets like the Leelanau Trail and Cedar Lake shoreline. They've raised about $700,000 in private donations and pledges, leaving more than $1 million to go.
"The bottom line is we're going to get this done and we know the community supports what we're doing," conservancy executive director Brian Price said. "We don't regret it for a moment that we had to get in and do this project."
Township officials voted last week to purchase 65 acres of lake front property if they can get a state grant to cover 75 percent of the cost. The conservancy would pay the other 25 percent with private fund-raising.
That would fit into the group's initial plans to raise about $1 million in private donations and $1 million from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund, Price said. He added they don't want to spend any of the group's own money, which they'd like to save in case another property or project comes up.
The township board originally agreed to buy a conservation easement from the conservancy because the trust fund is only available to government entities. It later voted 6-1 to purchase a portion of the property after grant coordinators suggested going with the more traditional means of owning the land instead of an easement.
"We have always been absolutely delighted," township Supervisor Derith Smith said of the partnership. "This is 145 acres of just beautiful property and it provides passive recreation that we don't have included in our park system."
The conservancy will still manage the township-owned piece and take on the liability for it, Price said.
The first grant application asked for $1,039,400, but this time Price isn't sure how much they'll request until an appraisal is completed on the lake frontage.
The township will submit its new grant application by Oct. 1 and should hear back from the trust fund in December.
"I'm hoping to be in a position at the end of the year where we have around $500,000 still to raise, and that's manageable," Price said.
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