Hundreds of acres of land along Torch Lake — including more than a mile of lake frontage — will be protected under a deal announced Friday.
The Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy says it’s worked with the YMCA Hayo-Went-Ha Camps to put a permanent conservation easement on 354 acres of camp property.
That includes more than 6,000 feet along Torch Lake’s northeastern shore.
“We really feel like this is a permanent protection of all of that land. It’s beloved,” said Jennifer Jay, communications director for the Conservancy.
“You see the camp building, you see that beautiful forested ridge," she said. “You just understand what a significant property it is, and how, if it were developed like we’re seeing so many other places, it would really have a significant impact on water quality, scenic vistas, air quality, the whole bit.”
The YMCA Hayo-Went-Ha camp has operated along Torch Lake for more than 120 years. Additional camp acreage is outside the conservation easement, but the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy will have the first right of purchase on the property, should the camp ever decide to sell it.
The combined deals cover a grand total of nearly 500 acres.
“It is a huge deal. We are elated right now,” said John “J.C.” Carlson, CEO of YMCA Hayo-Went-Ha Camps. “I’ve been calling it a game-changing moment for the organization, for sure.”
What it means
Land along Torch Lake is incredibly attractive to developers. Homes here can go for seven figures. One listing on the real estate platform Zillow is valued at more than $10 million.
So the camp’s acreage, were it ever to hit the open market, would surely fetch hefty sums for developers.
The land was appraised at $16 million, according to the Conservancy. Hayo-Went-Ha discounted the cost to $13 million and the Conservancy has tremendous success fundraising for that sum. A quiet campaign already has secured $10 million, with a fundraising campaign underway now for $4.5 million. That includes funding for “permanent stewardship of the conservation easement.”
The conversation between the Conservancy at the YMCA Hayo-Went-Ha Camps board is about 20 years old.
“You don’t want to try and duct-tape and bubble gum your way through taking care of your facilities. You want to do it the right way.”JOHN "J.C." CARLSON | YMCA Hayo-Went-Ha Camps
The camp itself predates those conversations by a century, and its aging facilities need attention. That includes a 1904 boathouse and an old dining hall right on the shore of Torch Lake.
“And it needs saving right away,” Carlson said. “We can save it but we need to move quickly and this allows us to move quickly and not be so exasperated about ‘How are we going to raise the money?’ and ‘Who are we going to call?’”
The deal with the Conservancy is a “win-win,” Carlson said.
It fulfills their shared goal of protecting the land from development and gives the camp a hefty infusion of cash to tackle some important needs.
The money will allow work at the camp's Torch Lake facilities as well as its camp at Arbutus Lake near Traverse City.
“You don’t want to try and duct-tape and bubble gum your way through taking care of your facilities,” he said. “You want to do it the right way.”
With this plan, the camp continues to do its work, will be able to upgrade its facilities, and both parties will know that these nearly 500 acres will remain protected into perpetuity.
Environmental impact
The Conservancy, meanwhile, is celebrating what this means for the land itself.
“It’s important that we protect those areas that we know are critical to our quality of life and our water quality and our clean air,” said Jay, from the Conservancy.
“That’s where we swim and fish and it’s also where we get our drinking water here in Traverse City. So this is a regional impact.”JENNIFER JAY | Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy
And this property has “extremely high conservation value,” she said.
The Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy mapped all parcels of property greater than five acres within its five-county area, and developed what it calls a “Priority Landscape Atlas.” It’s a ranking of how important it is to conserve the various parcels.
“This property ranks in the top 6 percent of the entire five-county region that we service,” Jay said. “This one has extremely high conservation value.”
That’s because it feeds into Torch Lake, which feeds into the Elk River chain of lakes, which ultimately ends up in Grand Traverse Bay.
“That’s where we swim and fish and it’s also where we get our drinking water here in Traverse City,” she said. “So this is a regional impact.”
