Helen Taylor, state director of The Nature Conservancy in Michigan, said at a news conference Thursday the conservancy has secured agreements to purchase what is referred to as the Keweenaw Heartlands.

“Yesterday at 5:30 p.m. I received word that we closed and now own the first segment of that, 22,700 acres, purchased from the The Rohatyn Group, also known as TRG,” Taylor said.

The conservancy plans to add the remaining 8,900 acres by the end of the year, she said.

Taylor acknowledged receiving numerous requests for updates on the project over several months but said The Nature Conservancy was under a very strict confidentiality agreement throughout the entire negotiation process.

The Keweenaw Heartlands, she said, was divided into four large parcels that were for sale, with the conservancy purchasing three as of Wednesday: the Point, which is the most eastern two blocks; the middle parcel, called Harbor View; and also the most southern parcel, called Little Betsy. The combined price was $27.2 million, Taylor said.

While the conservancy was unable to reach an agreement for the Keweenaw Alpine parcel, Taylor said, a “conservation-minded individual” was expected to finalize his purchase of that parcel today and has agreed to sell the bulk of that, including all trails, to the Nature Conservancy at fair market value before the end of the calendar year.

“With these acquisitions,” Taylor said, “The Nature Conservancy is acquiring the land’s mineral rights, trails and historic structures.”

The land will remain open to the public under the Michigan Commercial Forest Act as well as remaining on the county tax rolls.

In the long-term, she said, the conservancy truly believes that stewardship of these lands is best left to local residents.

THE POINT, one of three large land parcels The Nature Conservancy has purchased in the Keweenaw Peninsula. The conservancy is working to acquire a fourth parcel to protect more than 31,000 acres in Keeweenaw County. (Quincy Aerial Photography)

“And so, we look forward to working with the state of Michigan, the county, the townships, the local residents — the people who love these lands — to determine the best ways to achieve our shared goals, and that includes who the final owners of the lands will be,” Taylor said.

By acquiring this land, Taylor said, the conservancy is protecting a landscape of global significance to The Nature Conservancy, to the Great Lakes, to the state and especially to area communities.

“And this significance dates back a billion years,” she said, “Literally, we are ensuring that it remains a place where people and nature can thrive together.”

The wildlife is not just the bears and the wolves and the bobcats in the woods, she went on. It’s the steelhead and brook trout and the rivers.

“It’s the tens of thousands of raptors that migrate over this point every year, the thousands and thousands of songbirds,” she said.

HELEN TAYLOR, left, state director of The Nature Conservancy, and state Rep. Greg Markkanen talk after the public announcement Thursday of the global conservancy organization’s purchase of the Keweenaw Heartlands in Eagle River. (Graham Jaehnig/Daily Mining Gazette photo)

The Keweenaw Heartlands are an unfragmented forested and freshwater area that ranks as one of the highest climate-resilient places in North America, according to the Nature Conservancy. It is an area recognized by the conservancy as a global priority for both biodiversity and climate resiliency and presents an opportunity to protect an extraordinary region for both nature and people.

Keweenaw County Board Chairman Don Piche thanked The Nature Conservancy for working with community members through the entire acquisition process.

“We have a long-time tradition in Keweenaw County of enjoying our outdoor access and the land that we have here,” Piche said, “and the loss of it would really hurt.”

By the listening to the county’s needs and concerns, Piche said, the conservancy helped the county achieve a major milestone in the county, which is securing the lands.

“I believe I speak for most of the residents in Keweenaw County, we’re looking forward to continuing working with The Nature Conservancy and the Michigan DNR to get all (the details) set in place,” Piche said.

Brigette LaPointe-Dunham, CEO of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, said the peninsula is part of the community’s historic lands that “our families have used for hunting, fishing, gathering and ceremonial purposes for generations.”

Said LaPointe-Dunham, “I want to thank TNC for leading a culturally appropriate plan that protects this sacred land so it can be enjoyed and appreciated for the next seven generations.”