Seven candidates for the Keweenaw Heartlands Recreation and Natural Resources Authority Board outlined their vision for managing the 32,000-acre forest during a candidate forum Wednesday evening organized by the Keweenaw Outdoor Recreation Coalition.
The forum brought together candidates representing diverse personal and professional backgrounds to answer questions about their understanding of the board’s role in protecting and managing the Heartlands, a project developed over four years through collaboration between The Nature Conservancy, a community advisory committee and countless stakeholders.
“The state was unable to purchase the land at the time,” said Dave Donnay, forum coordinator for KORC. “So The Nature Conservancy stepped up and purchased the land to protect it until a long-term owner could be determined who shares the desire to preserve the land.”
The candidates who appeared at the forum included Jeremy Bos, Richard Marsh, Ramon Simonson, Kevin Tita and James Vivian III, who are running for two-year terms, and Russ Bjorn and Pete Clevenstine, who are running for four-year terms.
Public access to the land emerged as a central concern for all candidates. Bos emphasized the importance of selecting board members based on qualifications rather than personal connections to the area.
“You need to choose people who are going to be affected by the job and know the job inside and out,” Bos said.
Tita stressed the importance of continuing the community engagement that shaped the project’s foundation. “Continuing the impressive amount of public input that was put into it through the Advisory Committee is imperative,” Tita said.
Vivian highlighted his experience managing complex projects. “My connections with the Keweenaw peninsula is not just recreation. I’ve been involved in building, organizing, and managing projects,” Vivian said.
Bjorn, representing a younger generation of candidates, acknowledged the challenge of attracting younger participants to the board. “The circles I run with is that younger generation. My friends have kids too. My nieces, my nephews, all that. So I’m kind of the younger end here. That’s the reason you’re not seeing some of the younger people I feel like, is it’s a sacrifice,” Bjorn said.
Clevenstine emphasized the need for well-organized public meetings that encourage community participation. “I strongly believe in public input. And I just think that there needs to be public meetings, but they need to be well-run public meetings that really reach out to people to encourage them to attend. We want to hear from you. We represent you. It’s your land,” Clevenstine said.
The candidates also addressed questions about generating revenue from recreation opportunities and natural resources within the forest. Marsh stressed the importance of collaboration with local partners to move the project forward.
“We need to work very closely with our partners, our local governments, the transition groups, and continue to move this thing forward. But it’s only going to work if we’re working together,” Marsh said.
When asked how candidates would collaborate with existing partners, businesses, communities and residents, Simonson proposed establishing an advisory committee with representatives from relevant agencies.
“I think there should be an advisory committee set up with all the representatives to reach all the agencies that were listed in that question to let us know, the board know what their concerns would be and how to address them,” Simonson said.
Voters will see the Keweenaw Heartlands Authority Board appear on ballots for November 3rd. Voters will select three candidates to serve two-year terms and two candidates to serve four-year terms on the Recreation and Natural Resources Authority Board.
Keweenaw Heartlands Recreation and Natural Resources Authority Board Candidates: The final board will be made up of five members. Voters will select two members to serve two year terms, and three members to serve four year terms.
Two year term candidates:
Jeremy Bos
Braydon Cima
Richard Marsh
Hannah Rooks
Ramon Simsonson
Kevin Tita
James Vivian III
Four year term candidates:
Russ Bjorn
Pete Clevenstine
Gregg Patrick
Jon Schubbe
George Twardzik
Joseph Vairus
