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This Preserve, along the US Highway 41 Scenic Byway, is home to frogs and turtles, wild irises and cattails, where the call of red-winged blackbirds can be heard. A 15-acre pond is surrounded by sedges, grasses, rushes, sweet gale and willow. Upland species include leatherwood, birch, pine, spruce and aspen. The central location of this preserve, along with its natural diversity and historic features, makes it a perfect outdoor classroom for both nature and cultural studies and exploration.

The Preserve was established through the generosity of the Copper Country Masonic Lodge No. 135 in Hancock, which donated 40 acres to the Keweenaw Land Trust. The Trust expanded the Preserve to 115 acres in 2006.

The original walking trail was developed by a Boy Scout-he earned his Eagle Scout badge as a result of the project-who coordinated the work of volunteers from his troop. The trail system was expanded in 2007, passing through a diversity of wetland and upland habitats, offering views of a large pond central to the preserve and abundant bird life. Remnants of a traditional Finnish family farmstead are found in a meadow clearing that is now a great spot for a picnic lunch. The trailhead is accessible from a parking area on No. 9 Road, east of US 41, just north of Quincy Hill near Hancock.

The Preserve was established in 1999 and expanded in 2007.

"No longer having a need for the property, the Masons chose to donate the acreage to the Keweenaw Land Trust because we wanted to see it preserved for wildlife. There's a duck pond on the site. We didn't want the land to be used for a commercial purpose or logged off."

HOWARD ANDERSON
MASONIC LODGE NO. 135

"This trail goes through a different type of habitat-mostly alder scrub-than the usual trails through forests, or boardwalks through marshes. On this trail you can really see the difference that a slight change in elevation makes, as only a small drop in elevation leads from a dry open field to a marshy alder scrub forest."

WILL LEWIS
EAGLE SCOUT WHO BUILT A TRAIL IN THE PRESERVE.

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