The nonprofit organization working to acquire and preserve 200-plus acres of land near Northport is hoping to build more community buy-in around that process this summer with a series of guided walking tours of the property. The first of those walks are scheduled for this coming week, with other similar opportunities to follow over the next month.

The Leelanau Ticker broke the news a year ago that New Community Vision (NCV), a then-newly-formed nonprofit, had an option to purchase land previously earmarked for the development of a sprawling RV resort called Timber Shores. Negative community reaction to the Timber Shores proposal – and a failed referendum vote – had derailed developers’ plans to put 355 RV sites and 15 tent sites on the property in 2022. NCV hopes to utilize the land as a publicly accessible nature preserve and the home of a small attainable housing development, among other potential uses.

Initially, NCV’s option to purchase the property had a ticking clock that would have required the organization to raise $5 million by October 1 of last year. The organization did not hit that target. But NCV Vice President Beth Verhey says the current owners of the Timber Shores land have agreed to extend the option, giving NCV a second chance at raising the necessary funds.

So far, Verhey says NCV has secured approximately $2 million in donations and pledges, leaving $3 million in fundraising to go. The extended purchase option gives the organization until the end of this summer to raise the remaining dollars. Verhey is optimistic the next few months will bring good news on that front, thanks in part to big new partnerships with both the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (GTB) and Larry Mawby’s Peninsula Housing nonprofit. The GTB partnership could prove particularly instrumental, as it has enabled NCV to pursue “a collaborative application for a significant federal grant” from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).”

Beyond those partnerships and grant opportunities, this summer’s guided walks of the property are intended to generate interest and buy-in from the community in hopes of supercharging NCV’s fundraising efforts.

“We realized from our outreach last summer and fall – and then from rethinking things a bit over the winter – that, while there's certainly a segment of people that are aware of the history of this property, or that have an awareness of the land just from driving by, simply seeing the land from M-22 doesn’t at all give you a sense of the scope and potential of the place,” Verhey says. “So, we went back to the current owners and said, ‘Hey, we need this to be more public. We need a way of getting people on the property.’”

With the blessing of the seller, NCV has created a “mowed loop trail” of the Timber Shores parcel that it plans to use for a series of “docent-led walks” this summer. Goals include showing off the land, highlighting its history and preservation value, sharing information about NCV and its goals, and generating donations for the purchase of the property.

“Some of the walks will feature guest speakers from the tribe, who will be talking about the aspect of the nature preserve,” Verhey says. “Other events will focus more on the attainable housing perspective of this project. And then some of them will be a little more casual. For instance, this property is an especially amazing place for birding, so we’ve teamed up with a few local birding experts to lead walks.”

The events are all free and open to the public, though donations are “suggested and appreciated.” Per the NCV website, each walk “will be kept to a small group size (10), about 1.5 hours in duration, and follow an approximately 1.5 mile, mostly flat loop trail.” The full schedule of events is below, and additional information – including registration links – can be found here. All walks begin at 10am.

>Birding walks: Wednesday, June 12; Saturday, June 15; Saturday, June 22; Wednesday, June 26

>”NCV Partner Highlight” walks with the GTB: Monday, June 17; Thursday, June 20; Tuesday, July 2; Wednesday, July 10

>Partner highlight walks with Peninsula Housing: Saturday, June 29; Saturday, July 13

In addition to these events, NCV is also planning to host a “Stroll the Shores” open house from 5-8pm on Monday, June 24. That event will feature drinks, light food, self-guided walks through the property, and a presentation/progress report from NCV President John Sentell.