Published: October 07, 2009 07:57 am      

Dinner benefits Arcadia Marsh

TRAVERSE CITY -- A feast featuring fall's bountiful harvest is promoting investment in future generations.

A harvest dinner Saturday evening in Arcadia will benefit Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy's push to protect the Arcadia Marsh in Manistee County. Hoping for a full house of 200 attendees at the event, which will be held at Camp Arcadia, proceeds will boost the private fundraising portion of a total $460,000 project.

The conservancy envisions a 155-acre nature preserve at the 400-acre marsh, which is an estuary directly linked to Arcadia Lake. While there are competitive grants both proposed and pending, the project also needs help from the community. Overall Arcadia Marsh project expenses will include purchase and acquisition costs as well as funds for organization and stewardship of the land. Citizens are stepping up to the plate -- literally, thanks to chef Kurt Harvey's planned showcase of local foods -- to help. Just as they did six years ago when the conservancy tackled the 3,000-acre Arcadia Dunes: The C.S. Mott Nature Preserve endeavor.

"That was such a wonderful event, we've kind of been itching to do another one," said Gerard Grabowski of Bear Lake about the informal citizen group.

"None of us individually could afford to buy or manage (this land) so we have to work in a collective fashion," he said. "It's kind of like a gesture to our grandchildren, as yet unborn generations of people."

Grabowski lives about seven miles from Arcadia Marsh and passes it frequently on trips to town. He relishes its pristine, aesthetic beauty and is determined to help save it.

"It's a real precious place," he said, but acknowledged some challenges for this fundraiser: "Marshes are not as sexy and we're in a recession."

Chris Sullivan, a land protection specialist with the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy, agreed that the sense of urgency to preserve and restore the land may not be apparent to a casual observer. Since the land is not specifically slated for development, the threat to a relatively rare Great Lakes marsh on the state's west coast is more subtle.

"Development is only one factor, there are other things like invasive species or hydrological changes -- changes in the water flow," he said. "That marsh there is sort of the kidney for that watershed, a properly functioning marsh will settle out sediments and remove nutrients."

In addition, the Arcadia Marsh welcomes and supports an abundance of wildlife. It is a major spawning and nursery area for fish including northern pike and yellow perch. The land is also a rich site for birds.

"At various times there's been 13 different species of birds that are either threatened or endangered or Michigan species of special concern documented at the marsh," Sullivan said. "It's been well known to the birding community for a long time."

Tapping local foods for the harvest dinner fundraiser was an easy decision for Harvey. He planned the dinner in part as another homage to the bounty of northern Michigan. The chef at Camp Arcadia drew up a menu including pot roast of beef from Rice Farm, roasted and steamed vegetables from Manistee and Benzie counties and bread from the Pleasanton Brick Oven Bakery.

In his mind, his services plus the combined effort of local citizens is the least they can do to help the conservancy save the marsh.

"We're just a small part of this whole effort, it's a lot of money," Harvey said. "The work that the conservancy has done with other parcels I respect a lot so I believe that they'll be able to handle this in a way appropriate to this type of environment, which is very sensitive."

Tickets for the harvest dinner are $100 each for the 6 p.m. event, which will be held at Camp Arcadia, 3046 Oak St. in Arcadia. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 929-7911 or see www.gtrlc.org.