The Conservation Resource Alliance (CRA) was established in 1968 to work on regional watershed protection. CRA has been extremely successful in building a grassroots network of local support for on-the-ground conservation action at all levels, from individual landowners and citizens to local, state, and federal governmental agencies and many of the large corporations and foundations in teh Great Lakes region and around the country.
According to CRA director Amy Beyer, the organization is "working parcel to parcel to change the way landowners interact with teh land. We're not trying to stop the land from changing hands or being developed." She believes that private landowners may be the most important component in addressing the future ecological health of northwest lower Michigan. The organization's overarching goal is to raise the regional IQ on ecosystem issues and teach people that how they manage their land matters.
Because of CRA's long-term commitment to region-wide ecosystem protection, they were a natural partner when in 1995 The Conservation Fund and the National Park Service's Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program (RTCA) became interested in applying the concepts of greenways and green infrastructure in northwest lower Michigan. CRA worked with the Fund, RTCA, and local and regional government agencies and private groups to develop a plan for greenways protection in the region. From the start, CRA was most interested in the ecological side of greenways - the green infrastructure side - while other groups concentrated on the recreational side. RTCA provided technical Assistance to coalesce various greenway efforts that were already underway in the region.
For more information on this project, see Related Links at bottom right of screen.
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