Connecting to the Future: The Ottaway Crossing & Great Lakes Incubator Farm

The Grand Traverse region is home to some of the most remarkable natural and farm lands in the United States. For over 81 years, it has been the privilege of the Grand Traverse Conservation District to steward these natural resources to ensure our community thrives, with health and vitality for all the wildlife, plants, and humans who call it home.
 
Since 1941, we have been working to connect the community to the land in an active way through restoring natural areas, training future generations of conservation leaders, supporting sustainable, local agriculture, and stewardship of the Boardman-Ottaway River.
 
We now have the unique opportunity to not only connect all aspects of our work, but also enhance how you engage with the natural world with two remarkable projects.
 
Our goal, with your support, is to create an innovative incubator farm on the east side of the Boardman-Ottaway River and build a footbridge that spans the river where the Sabin Dam once provided an east-west crossing, providing the missing connection to over 50 miles of trails, a user-friendly trail loop within the Natural Education Reserve (NER), and access to the new incubator farm.