By Frank Boles
On July 10, Heather Shumaker, author of Saving Arcadia: A Story of Conservation and Community in the Great
Lakes (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2017), spoke on how one of
Lake Michigan’s treasured perched sand dunes became open to the public, and how
she came to write a book using the techniques of a fictional novel writer to
tell the story.
Arcadia Dunes, located on Lake Michigan south of Frankfort, is
one of the many beautiful sand dunes that sit perched along Lake Michigan’s
eastern shoreline. In 1969 representatives of a previously unknown real estate
company began to knock on the doors of people who lived on or near the dunes, making
very generous offers for their property. Eventually Viking Land Company
assembled an approximately 4,100 acre tract, and in 1971 Consumers Power revealed
that it had purchased the dune to construct a pumped storage power plant
similar to one it was constructing near Ludington. A pumped power storage plant
used excess electrical capacity available during non-peak demand hours to pump
water “uphill” into a large storage reservoir.
At times of peak electrical demand, the water was released and power was
created by hydro-electric generators, creating needed additional power.
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| Map of the Arcadia Dunes. |
Although the Arcadia hydro plant was never constructed
Consumers retained the property it had purchased, and continued for the next
two decades to add new land to its holdings, eventually amassing around 6,000
acres. In the late 1980s Consumers went on another land-buying spree, this time
with the hopes of developing a large resort. That plan too failed, in part
because of stout local resistance. One of the more interesting ploys used to
stop the resort was the realization that any high end hotel or golf course
would need a liquor license to be profitable. The township that encompassed the
dunes was authorized to issue only one liquor license. The license was applied
for an awarded to a local, family owned resort, which actually didn’t want it
very much but very much did not want Consumer’s to get it. (although serving
wine at wedding receptions they catered developed into an unanticipated, but
profitable, sideline).
In 1991 the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy was
incorporated with a staff of one to place in trust the natural beauty of the
region.. In the late 1990s the Conservancy, now with a staff of five that
included Ms. Shumaker, developed the audacious idea of preserving the property.
The only problems standing in their way were that they had no money to make the
purchase and Consumer’s wasn’t interested in selling the land. Eventually
Consumers consented to discuss selling the land, but the company did nothing
more than talk, and for long periods of time chose to not even do that.
But this became a story of friends, connections, and hard
work. One example makes this point. Consumer’s at the beginning of the 21st
century found itself involved in a financial scandal. It was suffering from
terrible public relations, and a very immediate need for cash. Consumers wanted
a rate increase, and its senior officers went to newly elected Governor
Jennifer Granholm to seek her support for it.
Friends of the Conservancy knew, Granholm, new Consumers was
coming hat in hand to ask her help in getting a rate increase. They explained
the situation to Granholm, suggesting she might be able to persuade Consumers
to seriously consider transferring ownership of the dunes to the Conservancy. At the meeting between the governor and the
senior management of the company held March 12, 2003 Granholm listened to their tale of woe, and
shocked the Consumer’s representatives by suggesting if they needed cash so
badly why didn’t they just sell the Arcadia Dunes to the Conservancy? Rumor
was, she noted, they could get $18 million for the land. Arcadia Dunes were not
something management had expected would come up in their conversation with the
governor, but making her happy was clearly on the agenda. Suddenly Consumers
placed the Dunes on the market, and proved a very motivated seller Finding the
money wasn’t easy, but the Mott Foundation had the money to purchase much of
the land at once, and then agreed to sell it to the Conservancy over time and
at a steep discount, effectively both financing the much of the purchase and making
a large contribution toward the project. Eventually the Conservancy owned the
Dunes. There was still fundraising to do to cover those portions of the Dune
land Mott did not subsidize, but with the Mott money available, the wind was at
the Conservancy’s back.
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| Arcadia Dunes from a distance. |
If Shumaker’s story is compelling, her choice of writing it
in the style of a novel was equally interesting. Her point was simply; she
wanted to convey to readers the drama and energy that occurred in ways that
traditionally written non-fiction did not do. And she had an unusual mentor who
helped her in her work. Shumaker, who lives in Traverse City, resided close to
another writer, Doug Stanton, a New York
Times best-selling author of non-fiction.
Stanton liked her, liked her writing, liked the project, and became the
coach any other author would envy having. Using techniques drawn from fiction,
and allowing herself license to place herself in rooms and share conversations
and details actually unheard and unobserved, gives the book a directness
otherwise unobtainable. And a good deal of talent at writing also came into
play.
As one person told Shumaker, “you’re the only person who can
pen a chapter about grant writing and make it sound interesting.” Shumaker and
her colleagues had to write a lot of grants, as well as engage in other forms
of fundraising, to find the difference between what the Mott Foundation
generously donated to the Conservancy by discounting the price of the property,
and the money the Foundation really did expect to get back over time.
Personally, I’ve written a few grants. I’ve taught workshops
on the subject. Nobody has ever talked about my description of grant writing as
being interesting. Informative, yes. But those workshops were always long
afternoons, even for me. Anyone who can keep an audience awake describing grant
writing has a gift. After listening to
her presentation about saving Arcadia, I have to admit being really excited
about that grant writing chapter. But
then, that’s me. Most people will just find the story itself a page turner,
even if they kind of skim the part about grants.