Kama Ross Wants You To Be A Forester In Your Own Backyard
By Emily Tyra      
Forty-three percent of Leelanau's land is forest, and one of its primary protectors says that despite the current demand to clear land for residential development, the trees are still winning.
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Kama Ross, district forester for the Leelanau, Grand Traverse, and Benzie Conservation Districts, explains that the greatest tree loss in the region is due to “what we call land conversion — turning beautiful woods into developments. And I get it that it sells, and it’s a commodity.”

But the good news for Leelanau: The volume of tree growth is still greater than volume harvested. “We are not running out of trees,” she says, “but the sad fact is that we lose more to insects and disease than we harvest.”
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We were rained out from one of our scheduled work bee dates at Veronica Valley Park and have rescheduled for Tuesday, July 28, 9:00 am to noon with a rain date of July 29th in case it happens again! 

We need to continue to support the native tree and shrub plantings at the park by weeding, spreading mulch, repairing planting tubes and watering. We didn't get to a third area with edible native trees/shrubs planted along the County Road and we can do touch-ups on the two exclosures where we did a fantastic job.

Please bring a hoe or rake, gloves and drinking water and let myself, Kama Ross, know that you are planning on attending. We can safely spread out again, but I want to make sure we think safety first, so having an idea of who is attending will help.  Contact me at: 231-256-9783 or kama.ross@macd.org.  
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If these dates don't work for you but you'd like to hear about future volunteer opportunities at this park or at other natural areas, please let me know. We are also trying to encourage park visitors to take part in the Bio Blitz & Beyond statewide effort. Veronica Valley Park is part of the month-long umbrella project with MSU using the app iNaturalist to identify what plants and wildlife we have at our area.  Check it out - the info is posted below!