Adopt-A-Beach Clean Up!

Fall cleanup scheduled for Elberta Beach
 
What: Benzie Conservation District is hosting a shoreline cleanup in conjunction with the Alliance for the Great Lakes’ annual September Adopt-a-Beach™ event, part of the International Coastal Cleanup. Thousands of volunteers turn out each September to pick up trash along Great Lakes beaches and shorelines, record their findings, and track environmental conditions that contribute to beach health.
 
When: Saturday, September 16th, 2017; 10 am to 12 pm
 
Where: Elberta Dunes Lake Michigan Beach, Elberta
 
Why: Participants enhance beaches by picking up trash and recording their findings in the Alliance for the Great Lakes’ online Adopt-a-Beach™ system. This information is logged into the online system, made accessible to the public and shared with local beach health officials as well as others working toward improvements.
 
More: Beach adoption is easy and open to everyone. Volunteers are encouraged to register online for the cleanup at http://www.greatlakesadopt.org/. To find out more about the Alliance’s Adopt-a-Beach™ Program, visit www.greatlakes.org/adoptabeach.
 
Please register with the Benzie Conservation District! Contact Aimé Merizon, outreach coordinator, 231.882.4391 x 11; aime@benziecd.org.
 
 
Some Interesting Facts about Elberta, Michigan
 
Most people are familiar with the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, which begins north of Frankfort and Crystal Lake. But what about the sandy hills south of the town of Elberta? Has anyone heard of EDNA? Her full name spells out to be Elberta Dunes South Natural Area. Here’s how the Village of Elberta describes her:

“EDNA is our most recent addition to the Village Parks. Rising to 225′ above Lake Michigan, EDNA rewards hikers with beautiful panoramic views of the Betsie River Wildlife Refuge and the Lake Michigan Shoreline. The hike is moderately difficult and venturing off the path is not encouraged to avoid dune erosion and poison ivy. EDNA is at the southernmost part of the Village and is accessed by a parking area off M-22. ENDA can also be entered by bicycles and pedestrians from the south end of Lincoln Ave.”

And more facts excerpted from the Village’s “Elberta Dunes South Natural Area Management Plan”:

• EDNA is managed by the Elberta Parks and Recreation Commission in partnership with the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy.
• The Elberta Dunes South Natural Area consists of 63 acres of open and forested dunes, meadow, and shoreline, with over 1,400 feet of Lake Michigan frontage.
• The Natural Area’s ridgelines offer spectacular views of Lake Michigan, Betsie Lake, the Betsie River State Game Area, and the Betsie River Valley; and its forests, field, and dune areas are home to a variety of plants and wildlife species.
• This unique property has long been used by the public for recreation, and in 2011 was officially purchased and designated by the Village of Elberta as a public natural area.
• The Village of Elberta is essentially a small peninsula, with its western, northern, and eastern boundaries defined by Lake Michigan, Betsie Lake, and the Betsie River, respectively.
• The Elberta Dunes South Natural Area is located along the southwestern edge of the Elberta Village, between the Lake Michigan shoreline on the west and M-22 to the east.
• Rising to a height of 225’ above Lake Michigan, and with slopes on portions of the property exceeding 60%, these dunes are part of a unique and sensitive natural environment known as the Elberta Dunes complex.
• Three quarters of these dunes have been classified as Critical Dunes by the State of Michigan, in recognition of their globally significant resource value.
• The Elberta Dunes complex provides important habitat to a variety of plant and wildlife species, including the endangered Pitcher’s thistle, which has been identified within the Natural Area.
• The open and forested dune habitats within the Natural Area provide habitat to a number of animals such as deer, coyote, red fox, long-tail weasel, and porcupine.
• Elberta Dunes South Natural Area field is used by walkers and skiers, and the grass and shrub habitat also offers birdwatching and wildlife viewing opportunities for a number of species.
• The Natural Area’s Lake Michigan frontage, which connects with a stretch of undeveloped beach extending over a mile to the north, is a surf-fishing destination that attracts visitors from throughout the region and the state, particularly in the spring and fall, for steelhead and brown trout.
• A grass parking lot and trailhead are located in the field fronting M-22 (Frankfort Ave). Signage installed in 2011, marks the access to the trailhead. 

 
Elberta was first settled in 1855 and incorporated as South Frankfort in 1894. It was renamed Elberta in 1911 for the local Elberta peach.  

An historical note regarding the township of Gillmore:

"As to the geographical surface of Gillmore, we have hills and valleys, sand and water. The high lands are well adapted to fruit raising, and there are some fine peach orchards in town. Our means of transportation are very good, we being able to ship both by rail and boat. Gillmore has arrived at her present history without anything very exciting ever happening within her borders. We never sent anyone to congress. We tried to send a man to the legislature once and got beat so we stepped out of politics. We have a good graded school, with a corps of four efficient teachers, and two district schools. We have a good and well conducted Sabbath school. We also have in town two saloons and three churches, which I think goes to show that the Lord has got the start of the Devil a little in Gillmore."

​[Excerpted from the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society Collections Volume 31 (1901).]