“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature — the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.” RACHEL CARSON, SILENT SPRING

What Makes You Happy?

REALLY

Recently, I received an email with the results of an interesting poll. The question was: What

REALLY Makes You Happy? It had been posted on LinkedIn and went out to people on a TED talk list. As I looked at the responses, I realized how lucky we are to do “work” that is directly related to the top 3 things that bring people a deep and lasting sense of happiness:

n SOCIAL INTERACTION WITH FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND PETS {30.4%}

n EXPERIENCING NATURE

{12.0%} n CHARITY AND VOLUNTEERING

{10.9%} n TASK COMPLETION

{9.8%} n INSPIRING OTHERS THROUGH COACHING, TEACHING, OR WRITING

{7.6%} n INTROSPECTION AND LEARNING

{7.6%} n MINDFULNESS OR “BEING IN THE MOMENT”

{6.5%} n GOOD HEALTH

{5.4%} n PHYSICAL PLEASURE AND EXERCISE

{5.4%} n SELF-EXPRESSION

{2.2%} n FINANCIAL WELL-BEING

{2.2%}

I think we all realize how easy it is to fall into the trap of chasing after happiness. So often we think changes in our lifestyles, employment, diets or income will impact our lives in a miraculous way that will finally make us truly happy. We tend to make things much more complicated than they need to be. The answers are actually simple and easily accessible, almost never requiring an overhaul of our lives!

Many of HeadWaters members, donors and volunteers already knew the secret to happiness before they ever laid eyes on this poll. They know they feel their best being part of a group of people who care passionately about preserving the natural beauty of northeast Michigan and supporting HeadWaters Land Conservancy. And WE are happy to have all of you on our team. Thank you!

BY LAURA JUSTIN

CurrentsHEADWATERS LAND CONSERVANCY

Technology is essential to every business and although a non-profit such as HeadWaters Land Conservancy may have a different mission than a for-profit

company, the fundamental business operations remain the same. To succeed in business today, you must be flexible, organized, creative, and operate using a strategic plan. While for-profit companies measure their success in annual revenues we measure our success in acres of land protected, miles of water frontage preserved, the relationships we cultivate and the actions that we inspire in others.

When I became a fulltime staff member at HeadWaters in January after serving a year as an AmeriCorps volunteer, one of my goals was to find a way to access the best technology resources available and apply these tools to our pursuit of protecting significant land throughout northeast Michigan. While much of our work takes place in undeveloped forests and along riverbanks and streams, we are also very busy in our Gaylord office. Cultivating donor relations, increasing organizational development, and creating marketing strategies are just a few of the things that must be done to make our on the ground land protection efforts possible. It was my belief that through specific tech upgrades we could streamline these operations allowing HeadWaters to better serve its community.

Through the generosity of Microsoft, Esri ARC GIS, Salesforce Foundation, and Symantec we are very excited to announce technology upgrades for our office valued at over $15,000! Microsoft has provided software upgrades for all of our office computers. Symantec will provide our office computer network with additional security to help us protect and manage an enormous amount of information. The Saleforce Foundation has provided HeadWaters with a new a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform. The Salesforce.com Foundation supports organizations that are working to “make the world a better place.” Esri ARC GIS is a geographic information system (GIS) for working with maps and geographic information. It is used for creating and using maps, compiling geographic data, analyzing mapped information, and sharing and discovering geographic information. Esri has provided us with their advanced package allowing HeadWaters to turn geographic data into actionable information. These upgrades will allow HeadWaters to better serve you and our community and it will provide us with resources necessary to protect the beauty of northeast Michigan forever.

Community CONNECTIVITYUPGRADESBY PAUL KOGELSCHATZ, DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNICATION, & OUTREACH COORDINATOR

ISSUE 2, 2014

Why We SUPPORT

HeadWaters Land Conservancy

HEADWATERS LAND CONSERVANCY

“The conservation of our natural resources, especially land in Northeast Michigan has long been a passion of mine. Working as a board member of HWLC with others even more passionate about land than I, we have helped landowners conserve and preserve lands that will benefit everyone who lives or visits in Northeast Michigan. All of the activities from working with land owners and monitoring their easements to advocating for Headwaters to the sometimes tough decisions required by the board are invigorating and the good that we do will last forever”.

Jim Supina Vice Chairman

Why We SUPPORT

ISSUE 2, 2014

Northern Michigan seemed to skip spring entirely this year. One day it was cold and snowy and the next it was in the seventies and trees were

beginning to bud with their annual display of green. After a very long winter, HeadWaters transitioned into the warmer days by venturing outdoors once again. The past several months have been full of site visits, conservation easement monitoring, and trail work days. There is no shortage of work to be done.

The warmer months have also brought a personal transition as I embark beyond HeadWaters and to other parts of this great state and world. It was not an easy decision for me to leave my position as Land Protection Specialist. I have gained an incredible amount of experience in the conservation field and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with HWLC’S incredible staff, volunteers, donors, and landowners. They all hold a passion for our unique environment that gives me hope for our planet’s future.

Northeast Michigan was a place I rarely visited before moving to Gaylord two and a half years ago. I was always bound to the west coast of the mitten state as it was where I was raised. Now, however, I see that the east side of the state holds just as much charm. The Pigeon River State Forest is the Lower Peninsula’s largest track of uninterrupted land. Lake Huron, the “less busy” lake as I now call it offers up a different view in the form of a sunrise. The shore of the AuSable River is home to many passionate locals who talk about their “cabin on the river” as if it were a member of their own family. I will definitely miss these stories.

Libby Benjamin, Land Stewardship Coordinator and Huron Pines AmeriCorps member will be taking on many of my projects and I encourage you to contact her with any questions you may have. She is also managing this year’s conservation easement monitoring so it is quite likely that you’ve been in touch already. I have no doubt that she, along with the other members of the staff, board of directors, volunteers, and donors will help HeadWaters thrive and grow in the coming years – a necessity for northeast Michigan.

BY EMILY COOK, LAND PROTECTION SPECIALIST

Land ProtectionUPDATE

SUMMER 2014

Congratulations to former HeadWaters

Land Conservancy Board Chairman Dr. Don

Inman for being inducted into The Michigan

Environmental Hall of Fame. Dr. Inman had the concept for the Michigan Natural Resources Trust

Fund. The Michigan Natural Resources

Trust Fund generates royalties from oil and gas on state-owned

land for the purpose of acquiring recreational and environmentally

significant land for future generations. Thanks

for your dedication to HeadWaters and never-

ending support preserving the natural beauty of

Michigan.

HEADWATERS LAND CONSERVANCY

My name is Libby Benjamin and I am a member of Huron Pines AmeriCorps. I am looking forward to getting started as the Land Stewardship

Coordinator at HeadWaters Land Conservancy.

I am from Farmington Hills, MI but spent my summers on Mackinac Island. I attended high school at the Leelanau School in Glen Arbor, surrounded by the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Spending so much time in and around the Great Lakes has given me a strong desire to preserve Michigan’s unique natural resources. There is a section of I-75 North about halfway between Gaylord and Vanderbilt where the highway curves downhill and to the left. From the top of this hill you can see miles and miles of forests and the Pigeon River Country. On our many trips from Farmington Hills to Mackinaw City, my Dad would always comment that this was his favorite part of the drive. I am thrilled that I am going to be a part of protecting that view for future generations!

I graduated from Grand Valley State University in 2012 with a B.S. in Natural Resources Management. This is my first opportunity to put all the skills I learned at GVSU to work. I have a lot to learn but I have already monitored my first conservation easement and am excited to visit more of the beautiful properties protected forever by generous Northeast Michigan landowners. HeadWaters will soon have ESRI ArcGIS mapping software in the office, and I am eager to put this tool to work for land protection. I will also be planning a few events and coordinating monitoring of HWLC’s eighty conservation easements. With any luck I will get to help write some new conservation easements this summer!

I currently live in Petoskey with my boyfriend and his family, and when I’m not serving at HWLC you can find me working at Starbucks, riding my horse, Pippen, or reading a book on the beach. I am very grateful to have this opportunity to serve alongside HWLC staff, board members and volunteers and look forward to meeting and learning from you in the coming months.

Sincerely,

Libby Benjamin

HeadWatersSUPPORTERS,

HelloPATIENCE, Change

& GRATITUDEBY LAURA JUSTIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Most of you are not aware of the challenges my husband Curtis and

I have faced over the last year. I hesitate to share personal struggles because we all face the same kinds of problems. My change of heart stems from the

burden this has put on the staff and Board, frequently having to explain my absence from the office. I hate to think of anyone questioning HeadWaters progress because of me.

In February 2013, Curtis was diagnosed with cancer-transitional colon lesions and had to have a partial colectomy. The surgery led to complications that kept him in the hospital for 30 days. One year later, on March 19, he was almost killed in a head-on collision. He is still with me, healing every day and fighting so hard to come back to the place we were before the accident.

There have been innumerable moments of fatigue, anger and anticipation. The inevitable question of “why us”? Spending weeks working from the hospital room or from home, burdening the HWLC staff with my responsibilities. It all sounds pretty horrible as I type these words, and lots of it was a test of our wills. In the midst of all of this, we have also lost two of our staff with the departure of Kristy Mortham and Emily Cook.

So why share all of this?

Life will always change and no amount of hard work or preparation can stop it. Bad things are going to happen, mistakes will be made, people will leave, and plans will be altered. We had some very ambitious goals for 2014, personally and for HeadWaters. Since my arrival three years ago, we have pushed harder each year to be better than the last, and we have succeeded! We might reach our 2014 targets despite the set-backs but we might not, and that’s okay. We will be patient with ourselves, as we move forward at a slower and more deliberate pace. We ask for your patience and understanding as well. The office continues to hum with activity because Paul Kogelschatz (Development, Communication, & Outreach Coordinator) and Libby Benjamin (Land Stewardship Coordinator AmeriCorps Volunteer) are working so hard. We are lucky to have them both.

To say I am grateful for this life…this job…this moment, would be a ridiculous understatement. There is no way to adequately thank everyone who has helped me. There is no prayer that can be flung toward the heavens that could match the gifts I have received. Our best moments of healing have come in the woods and near the water. All the answers seem to lie there, in the ferns, under the rocks and singing from the leaves of every tree or lapping wave. Thank you for preserving beautiful places… you never realize just how much we will all need them someday.

Laur

a an

d C

urtis

Just

in

ISSUE 2, 2014

HeadWaters Land Conservancy110 South Elm Avenue Gaylord, MI 49735

989-731-0573 www.headwatersconservancy.org land@headwaterconservancy.org

Recycle your newsletter ~ Pass it on!

Printed on Recycle Paper with Vegetable-Based Inks

The Conservation Leadership Circle is a group of distinguished individuals and organizations who recognize the importance of preserving northeastern Michigan by providing charitable gifts annually at leadership levels to HeadWaters Land Conservancy. Members of the Circle enjoy some benefits and—more importantly—know that they are leaders in conserving the “Up North” we all enjoy.

Watershed Guardians ($10,000 and above)Benefits:• “Outdoor Lovers” classroom

experience- learn the basics of fly fishing, hunting, snow shoeing, bird watching or other outdoor activity from a HeadWaters Board Member

• Personalized float trip and catered lunch

• Personalized wild flower or birding tour

• Invitation to private board member reception and other events

• Listing in newsletter

River Guardians ($5,000 thru $9,999)Benefits:• Personalized float trip

and catered lunch• Personalized wild flower

or birding tour• Invitation to private board member

reception and other events• Listing in newsletter

Stream Guardians ($1,000 thru $4,999)Benefits:• Personalized wild flower

or birding tour• Invitation to private board member

reception and other events• Listing in newsletter

Spring Guardians ($500 thru $999)Benefits:• Invitation to private board member

reception and other events• Listing in newsletter

Guardians ($250 thru $499)Benefits:• Invitation to private board

member reception• Listing in newsletter

John Dallas, Chairman

Jim Supina, Vice Chairman

Virginia Pierce, Treasurer

Martha Eberly, Secretary

Mike Mang

Desiree Worthington

Dr. Don Inman, Director Emeritus

Stephen Qua, Director Emeritus

Roger Rasmussen, Director Emeritus

BOARD of Trustees

L E A D E R S H I PCircle

HEADWATERS LAND CONSERVANCY