CADILLAC — One hundred and twenty acres of forest with 1,800 feet of frontage on the Clam River has been donated to the Cadillac Area Land Conservancy by Geoffrey Peckham and Patricia Melzer.
The couple has requested that the preserve be named “Peckham’s 100 Acre Wood” in honor of this land having been owned by two different branches of the Peckham family for nearly 80 years.
The conservancy’s plan is to keep this land undeveloped and open to the public for quiet recreational activities such as hiking, picnicking, fishing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, kayaking and canoeing. The land conservancy will permanently preserve the natural condition of the property while partnering with Lake Township, in Missaukee County, which will own and manage this gift as a public nature preserve.
”Donating land to a land conservancy is one option for landowners to preserve their land,” said Cadillac Area Land Conservancy Executive Director Chris Gentry. “We are protecting this beautiful 120-acre property with a permanent conservation easement and Lake Township will manage its public use. The Clam River is a prized trout stream, and with frontage on both sides of the river — this nature preserve will help to protect the river’s trout as well as other fish and wildlife. While a conservation easement doesn’t require public access, in this case, the vision is to make the property open for public use. The partnership between the Cadillac Area Land Conservancy and Lake Township will make this vision a reality.”