The Monroe Evening News Editorial, December 12 2008
Big step for Academy Preserve
Approval of a state grant for $2.2 million for the proposed Academy Preserve is exciting news indeed.
That’s a large chunk of the money the nonprofit Friends of the Academy Preserve needs to buy 128 acres owned by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The ultimate goal: turn the land into a county park with trails, demonstration gardens and a nature center.
The property lies mostly within the city of Monroe, with a small portion in Frenchtown Township.
The Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund Board awarded the grant. It still needs the approval of the governor and the Legislature, and that could be a year off. But the state’s fiscal problems, at least, shouldn’t pose a major obstacle, as the trust fund is separate from the general fund budget. The trust fund consists of royalties paid by oil and gas development companies for buying and leasing state-owned mineral rights.
The Academy Preserve is exciting because it would be a large swath of open land in the middle of the city that would enrich the lives of area residents for generations to come. The project also aims to protect a variety of ecosystems, including an oak savannah, oak-hickory forest, lowland forest and farmland.
The Friends group has raised about $400,000 in private donations. Monroe County commissioners voted recently in favor of a loan guarantee of up to $421,000 toward purchase of the IHM property. They made clear their hopes that private donations would continue to roll in so a county loan wouldn’t be necessary. But the loan guarantee was a sign of the county’s serious intent to support the project.
That show of support surely was a factor in the decision to award that hefty state grant. Now it's up to private donors and businesses to show their support for a project that could prove a real jewel for Monroe County.