The Trails Association is working toward developing a trails master plan for Beaver Island. Currently, very few of our trails are looped or have a destination of any sorts. Most are old hunting or lumber trails which either just peter out or terminate at some arbitrary point on a road. We hope to develop a master plan of multi-use looped and destination trails, with the intent of enhancing the quality of life of island residents and adding to the appeal of Beaver Island for off island visitors.
The first step in the process of developing the master plan is to bring together the various island, county, and state stakeholders. With the very generous financial support from Peaine Township and from St. James Township, BIATA has retained Land Information Access Associates (LIAA), of Traverse City. The LIAA staff is well acquainted with Beaver Island, having been intimately involved in the creation of the island Water Trail. LIAA will convene and moderate two meetings for BIATA. It will also prepare the various supporting documents for the meetings and produce a post meetings report.
Our intent is that the meetings will take place over the next three months. The objective of the meetings is to solicit concerns, reservations, and suggestions from the stake holders attending, and to incorporate this input into the formulation of the master plan. We will not succeed in the development and implementation of an island wide trails master plan without the active buy in and support from the stake holders involved.
If you have any suggestions or concerns relevant to this initiative, please contact Louis Post at Lpost48@gmail.com
Editor’s Note: Your BIA is working with other island organizations (including the Chamber, the Beaver Island Archipelago Trails Association, the Historical Society and The Preservation Association of Beaver Island) to develop an integrated set of Beaver Island trail websites. The existing Birding Trail and Water Trail sites will be updated and moved to the platform. The Dark Sky Sanctuary site is now up and running there. Also to be included are sites for hiking, biking, touring by car and the Harbor History Trail among others.
