Friday, Mar 9, 2018

We all use anniversaries to mark significant events in our lives and gauge progress and growth. Last year MNA achieved a remarkable milestone with our 65th anniversary - over six decades of working together to protect Michigan's rare, threatened and endangered species thanks to our many supporters, past and present.

There are more milestones to celebrate in 2018. 45 years ago this August, MNA purchased the first parcel of land to save the Estivant Pines in the Keweenaw Peninsula from logging one of the last, large remaining stands of old growth white pines in the state. In this issue of Michigan Nature, author William Rapai explores the natural cycle of these ancient trees and, while doing so, provides a glimpse into their future as we celebrate the 45th anniversary of the statewide campaign to protect this unusual natural community.

2018 is also the 45th anniversary of the federal Endangered Species Act, signed into law by President Richard Nixon in 1973. Michigan was an early adopter and passed companion legislation in 1974 as explained by MNA member Dr. Sylvia Taylor in our Q&A. Sylvia coordinated the state's endangered species program in its very early days, the first woman scientist in the Wildlife Division of Michigan's Department of Natural Resources, and is rightfully credited with building the program from the ground up during her tenure from 1978 to 1985.

Of course, current conservation successes create new milestones to celebrate. We acquired an exciting new nature sanctuary on the shores of Lake Huron in late 2017. Take a moment to "explore" the new Spitler Shore Nature Sanctuary in the article that describes some of its natural and cultural treasures. The land is protected forever thanks to a generous landowner and your support of MNA.

2018 will be an exciting year - a chance to reflect on milestone achievements while working every day to make new ones. We are all in this together and it is only together that we can build a brighter future full of conservation milestones and anniversaries worth celebrating!