2013_Spring - Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy

Eight-Year Land Negotiation Completed with Aid from Interim Buyers
Complex deals that protect land can take years to finalize. Here’s a summary of how the Timbers Recreation Area
deal unfolded:
2004-2008
Eight years ago, Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy entered into conservation easement negotiations for
Timbers Girl Scout Camp with the owners, Fair Winds Girl Scouts Council. After three years, negotiations fizzled
out (a feasibility study indicated that the conservancy could not raise the needed funds because the easement
would not allow for public access). The Conservancy, however, agreed to continue looking for ways to protect
the property.
2008-2011
Meanwhile, the pressure to liquidate the
property increased for the Girl Scouts as the
Fair Winds Council was consolidated with
a larger Council in Detroit. As an interim
measure, Grand Traverse Regional Land
Conservancy held the option to buy the camp
property for one year at a cost of $35,000.
The year passed, and, still unable to find a
suitable partner for the land, the Conservancy
let go of its option to buy, unable to raise
the money to purchase the property and
determining it was not a good budgetary
risk to pay another year to hold the land.
Still, the Conservancy continued searching
out potential partners in hopes that the land
would not be sold privately for development.
2011-2012
Eventually, the Conservancy started
discussions with Long Lake Township,
which agreed to apply with the assistance
of the Conservancy for a Michigan Natural
Resources Trust Fund grant of more than
$2 million to purchase the land. While the
Timbers Recreation Area grant award was
announced on December 5, 2012, the funds
will take up to 18 months to reach Grand
Traverse County. The Conservancy has until
June 2014 to raise $891,300 in matching
funds, a requirement of the grant funding.
Unfortunately, the Girl Scouts were not in
a position to hold the land for another 18
months. In a deal carefully constructed and
negotiated by Grand Traverse Regional Land
Conservancy, interim buyers purchased the
land for $2.7 million from the Girl Scouts.
When the grant funds arrive and the match
money is raised, the interim buyers’ “loan”
will be repaid.
SPRING ‘13 | Vol 60
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