Oakland Township Recommended for 2.2 Million Dollar Park Grant

Oakland Township was one of only two Oakland County communities recommended for grants to purchase park land at the December 2016 meeting of the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund Board. The Parks and Recreation Commission would use the $2.2 million dollar grant to add 209 acres to the Township’s Stony Creek Ravine Nature Park, located in the southeast quadrant of the Township.

This proposed park expansion offers natural resource protection and recreation opportunities. Dr. Brian Klatt, Director of the Michigan Natural Features Inventory (MNFI); a team of scientists who support the conservation of important natural habitats, extolled the conservation value of this project, stating that furnishing this grant would be a “very sound investment by MNRTF in natural resources of Michigan.”

This project offers a unique opportunity to protect highly valued habitats including the Stony Creek, one of the highest quality tributaries of the Clinton River. Dr. Ben VanderWeide, the Township Parks and Recreation Natural Areas Manager, says, “I’m excited that this beautiful combination of mature woods, wetlands, streams, and rolling meadows will now be protected. We found over 300 plant species in our initial survey of the property and I believe that there are many other important plants and animals waiting to be discovered.”

Melinda Milos-Dale, Parks and Recreation Director and project grant-writer, is thrilled that this additional land offers the opportunity to connect trail and wildlife corridors with both Stony Creek Ravine Nature Park and Stony Creek Metropark and to add a park entry road and parking lot. The grant application can be viewed on the Parks and Recreation Commission home page of the Oakland Township website:  www.oaklandtownship.org.

Oakland Township residents support this project and continued protection of Township natural resources, through the Township’s Land Preservation millage, which will fund the grant’s required $740,000 local match.  Joe Peruzzi, a retiring Parks and Recreation Commissioner who championed this project, emphasized that this land could have been developed as a subdivision, were it not for the Township residents’ financial support that makes this grant and acquisition possible.

Twenty-sixteen Marked the 40th anniversary of the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund providing funding for the acquisition of public lands for resource protection and the development of public outdoor recreation. This fund is financed by investment income from royalties paid on the sale and lease of state-owned oil, gas and mineral rights. During these 40 years the MNRTF has generated more than a billion dollars to buy land or land rights and to develop outdoor recreation facilities across the state of Michigan.