An iconic farm in Forest Home Township owned by the Lessard family has been protected forever due to a unique partnership between the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy, the State of Michigan, Atlas Gas & Oil Company, LLC, and the landowners. The 182-acre parcel of land in Antrim County features spectacular uplands, highly diverse wetlands and extensive undeveloped shoreline on the North Arm of Lake Bellaire. The property features 1400’ of frontage on the North Arm of Lake Bellaire. A combination of sandy soil and lenses of impermeable soils forces groundwater out of and through the property and eventually into Lake Bellaire, making the property of great importance to the water quality Lake Bellaire and the Chain of Lakes watershed.
The Lessard family members are conservation-minded landowners. With the help of a Clean Michigan Initiative grant obtained through the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) by the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy, the Lessard family members sold a voluntary conservation easement on their property. Conservation easements are voluntary legal agreements which, in this case, limit land division and development while providing for continued private ownership, and use and enjoyment of the property. The Lessards donated a substantial “bargain sale” of their conservation easement, which maximized the leverage for the Clean Michigan Initiative Funds. Funds from this DEQ program are used to protect the water resources throughout the State through a variety of means, including conservation easements.
The Lessard family and Conservancy knew the easement sale would not proceed without addressing the mineral rights associated with the property. The Lessard family wished to lease these mineral rights. Their desire initiated a negotiation process between the family, Atlas Gas & Oil Company, LLC and the Conservancy. Agreement was reached to restrict the number of well sites to no more than two in perpetuity. The upland location of the well sites ensures that the incredible conservation values of the farm are not significantly impacted.
Terry Caszatt, a member of the Lessard family commented on the family’s choice to protect their land and partner to allow for the well sites: “This decision was made very carefully by the family. The representatives from Atlas were up front and courteous, understood our concerns as landowner concerns, and seemed sensitive to environmental issues. Todd Vigland from the Regional Land Conservancy coordinated the interactions and kept everything on track. He was a superb resource person – without him, this might not have happened.”
Dick Redmond, president and CEO of Atlas Gas & Oil Company said, “Atlas aspires to be a good corporate steward of the environment and as such we are pleased to be an active partner in protecting this unique and important piece of property in northern Michigan.”
The preservation of the Lessard Farm is a significant addition to the Conservancy’s other land protection efforts on the North Arm of Lake Bellaire in Antrim County. The Conservancy has protected six properties on Lake Bellaire including 327.6 acres and over 1.5 miles of shoreline. Another 206 acres of land lying on the western boundary or the Lessard Farm was protected through donated conservation easements.
Glen Chown, Executive Director of the Regional Land Conservancy, commented, “This conservation effort and the collaboration between the our organization, the State of Michigan, energy partners, and the landowners is a wonderful example of how all of us who are interested in protecting what is important to northern Michigan – our land, our water, our landscape – can work together.” |
