From the Chippewa Luce Mackinac Conservation District
On Thursday, April 4, 2024 the Chippewa Luce Mackinac Conservation District held their 75th Annual Meeting at the Les Cheneaux Distillers in Cedarville, where they announced the recipients of their annual Land Steward of the Year and other awards. Following the awards there was a keynote address by Connor Crank, Project Administrator for the institute of Water Research at Michigan State University (MSU). The meeting also featured a buffet style baked chicken dinner and Director Election.
The 2023 Land Steward of the Year award was awarded to Jayne Roohr and Kristie Sitar from the Newberry DNR Wildlife Division. Jayne and Kristie have been fundamental assets to CLMCD and the Three Shores CISMA programing over a number of years. With their support, Three Shores was able to survey and treat invasive phragmites at the Blind Sucker Flooding in northern Luce County while also restoring manoomin (wild rice) at the flooding. Jayne and Kristie also used this money to treat several other sites in the area as well. In addition to the invasive phragmites treatments, Jayne and Kristie teamed together with MUCC earlier this year to bring the community together for a volunteer day treating invasive autumn olive shrubs and replacing them with 100 mast-producing trees.
Additionally, Jayne and Kristie were one of the founders and lead organizers in the creation and launch of the Shore-to-Shore Birding Trail in 2022. The Shore-to-Shore Birding Trail kick off happened in August 2022 with guided birding tours at Whitefish Point and prizes and giveaways at the Paradise Wild Blueberry Festival. Many of the stops and interpretive information for the trail were completed by Jayne and Kristie and the trail would not have been created without their leadership.
If that isn’t enough, Jayne and Kristie are active in the Luce County community and host a number of outdoor educational events and topics in the area including with the local 4-H program and Tahquamenon Public Schools. CLMCD is proud to have Jayne and Kristie working in our service area and providing such amazing resources to our community through their careers with the DNR.
Congratulations, Jayne and Kristie!
