Northern Michigan WildLink--An Innovative Tribal Partnership for Regional Habitat Conservation

Northwest Michigan is home to a number of world-class coldwater rivers and vast forest and wetland resources. Because the region is undergoing such tremendous growth, fragmentation and loss of ecological Habitat are the topmost concerns of resource managers. The proposed project is a joint initiative of the Conservation Resource Alliance, a regional resource conservation and development council in northern lower Michigan, and the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians (one of 12 federally recognized tribes in Michigan). The primary project goal is to test and use the innovative “Wild Link” approach to deliver Farm Bill services to a broad base of customers. Secondary goals are to restore and protect critical ecological corridors on a regional scale in rapidly developing northwest Michigan watersheds and to establish a model for integrating tribal interests and participation into both Wild Link and the USDA’s Farm Bill programs.