Come and hike through beautiful Stearns Creek Park with district forester Ben Savoie!  "Walk with a Forester" will be offered on May 12, 2023, at Stearns Creek Park in Grand Haven, providing information to forest landowners and other interested residents on the history of oak management on the property, and how they can apply the same practices to their land.

This workshop is hosted by the Ottawa Conservation District in partnership with Ottawa County Parks and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), with funding from the White Oak Initiative. The Ottawa Conservation District works on a wide variety of conservation, education, and outreach initiatives like this to promote responsible natural resource and land-use management for present and future generations. 

More than half of Michigan’s land, nearly 20 million acres, is forested. Oak forests can be found throughout Ottawa County and have historically been an important part of the landscape, especially in dune ecosystems. Over time, however, Michigan's forest landscape has shifted with development and management that does not always favor oak regeneration. Over half of all Michigan forested land, nearly 11 million acres, is privately owned. Many of Ottawa County’s privately owned forests are family-owned, small acreage, or first-time forestland owners. 

The May 12th event offers an opportunity for local residents to hear from conservation experts about forest management practices that have been implemented at Stearns Creek, and to see the effects of those practices firsthand. Participants will also learn from how those practices, and others, can be applied to private land woodlot management.

The event is free, but participants are asked to pre-register to ensure sufficient supplies for all attendees. Refreshments will be provided and participants will have the chance to win door prizes including Cabela’s gift cards and outdoor recreation gear. Free registration for this workshop is made possible by the support of the White Oak Initiative.

🌳🌳>> Register here: bit.ly/walkwithforester <<🌳🌳

The workshop is from 6:00-8:00 pm on Friday, May 12, 2023. For more detailed information or a parking map, please call 269.908.4134 or email ben.savoie@macd.org.

Find more information here: maeap.org/event/walk-with-a-forester

About the White Oak Initiative

The White Oak Initiative is a national coalition promoting sustainable management of white oak forests for their numerous economic, cultural and environmental benefits. White oak occupies 104 million acres of public and private forest across the eastern and central United States. The White Oak Initiative seeks to reverse the decline of America’s white oak population through collaboration and enhanced forest management practices. A National Assessment and Conservation Plan for white oak management and restoration is available at WhiteOakInitiative.org.

About Ottawa CD Forester, Ben Savoie: Ben has served as the Conservation District Forester for Barry, Allegan, and Ottawa counties since 2016. Ben provides forest landowners with technical assistance and referrals to cost-share programs, forestry management tax incentive programs, and other local forestry professionals.