The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has created a draft of a management plan for Leelanau State Park, including a list of priority projects over the next decade. Among those projects which are considered “priority level one,” and targeted for the next two years: pursue land acquisition to connect the north and south park units; and realign the campground to ensure long-term sustainability from changing lake levels.

The DNR is planning to hold a public virtual meeting next week to gather final feedback on the park plan before adopting it.

The virtual meeting will take place March 10 from 6-7pm, with an opportunity for people to ask questions of DNR staff. Registration is required. 

The DNR will also post an interactive public survey following the event and accept comments on the draft plan through March 30. Debbie Jensen, park management plan administrator for the DNR Parks and Recreation Division, emphasizes that “we are reaching out now so the public can review it and let us know if our priorities should be different, or if we’ve missed anything.”

Jensen says the plan was developed in consideration of the property’s significant features that make it distinct from other parks in the state park system. These include the historic Grand Traverse Lighthouse operating as a nonprofit museum on the property; the 8.5 miles of trails that are seasonally expanded to provide winter recreation; the park’s fragile and invaluable critical dunes which cover roughly 1,000 acres of the park; and its peaceful and “off-the-grid” feeling.

The DNR started the process to create a Leelanau State Park management plan in June 2019. An online survey drew 512 responses from the public on current use of the park and priorities for the future; of those, 94 percent had visited Leelanau State Park in the last five years.

A stakeholder workshop was held in October 2019 to gather insight from members of organizations tied to the park: the Cathead Bay Association, Grand Traverse Lighthouse Museum, Friends of Leelanau State Park, Grand Traverse Audubon, Northwest Michigan Invasive Species Network, Michigan Wild Turkey Hunters Association, Northport Public School, Northport Chamber of Commerce, Leelanau Conservancy, Bike Leelanau, Leelanau Road Commission, and Child and Family Services – YouthWork. An extensive list? Yes, Jensen says. “Leelanau State Park is unique in its numerous and dedicated nonprofit partners.”

Based on urgency, park management is already assessing the resilience of the park’s infrastructure to changing lake levels. Record-high lake levels in 2019 and continuing into 2020 caused erosion and flooding of the campground roads. “Realigning the campground road would involve modification or relocation of campsites, but vastly improve the shoreline longevity and sustainability,” says Jensen. “Those goals are immediate, and among our highest priorities.”

The park’s critical dunes are under threat from erosion as well, which can be exacerbated by heavy use. For this reason, a natural area dedication for the open dunes along the Cathead Bay shoreline is proposed, offering additional protections. And though mountain biking trails through the park were on the table, only foot traffic will continue to be allowed in open dune areas. “The planning team felt we have right amount now,” says Jensen. “Most of trails are in the critical dune area, so there are no action goals to provide new trails.”

However, there is a goal to connect the parts of the park that are currently not contiguous. “There is a gap in land ownership now, so we are looking to find way for a trail to connect those two units,” says Jensen.

According to the draft plan, an approved project boundary proposes to add land that would envelop Mud Lake within park boundaries, connect the park to Leelanau Conservancy land with additional undeveloped acreage, and connect the park’s north and south units with additional undeveloped land (also protecting the important migratory bird flyway). In total, all the land within the proposed project boundary would add 1,325 acres to Leelanau State Park.

Jensen adds, “There was also one new idea we hadn’t thought of: a proposal from a stakeholder to include the park in ongoing Dark Sky initiatives. It makes sense with the park’s unique location at the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula.”

Goals to complete larger construction projects involving capital improvement funds include studying the options for drinking water and restroom upgrades; conducting a cost/benefit analysis for development of a group campground; and exploring the potential to expand the campground with a limited number of rustic campsites that would maintain the natural character of the park. “It will interesting to see how public reacts to improvements at the campground,” says Jensen. “There are vault toilets right now — we’d like to do better than that — and also provide some kind of pretty basic shower facility.”

She adds, “The goal is not modernizing. The survey revealed it’s a much-loved park because it’s peaceful and rustic.”

Jensen says once final public input is collected and the new management plan is approved, it will guide the next phases of improvements at the park, including aligning potential funding sources with the annual “call for projects” in July for capital outlay funding requests. Management plans do not guarantee future funding to achieve the actions identified but, Jensen says, are based on funding realities and sound investment policies. “We are realistic,” says Jensen.

Photo by Tyler Leipprandt

Editors Note: A previous version of this story stated that another near-term park project aims to improve accessibility at the lighthouse museum by providing a remotely operated camera and display (so that visitors can experience views from the top of the lighthouse without the need to climb the tower). Executive Director of the Grand Traverse Lighthouse Museum Stef Staley clarifies there has been a webcam on the tower of the Grand Traverse Lighthouse for some time — and that the nonprofit replaced it one year ago with an updated one.