Donation of 198 Acres at Gratiot Lake

In July, Lizzadro Farms Inc. donated additional land to GLC.  The 198 acre parcel is indicated on the map below as the gray area in section 4 at the northern tip of the lake. This new GLC land adjoins “Sandy Beach” (the gray area in section 3 below) which was donated to GLC in 2018.

 The wooded parcel includes the mouth of Sucker Creek and approximately 3,500 feet of mostly cobble shoreline. Sucker Creek is a high quality feeder stream to Gratiot Lake. Historically, Sucker Creek is known to anglers and eagles alike as a location for springtime smelt and white sucker runs. These fish swim up freshwater streams to breed.

 While much of Gratiot Lake is underlain by Jacobsville sandstone, this forested slope steeply rises from the lake on volcanic basalt bedrock. The Keweenaw Fault runs through it, under the tip of Gratiot Lake, and towards Lac LaBelle. The wooded slope meets the narrow shoreline near the lake’s deepest hole (over 70’ in depth). It is hypothesized that during the last Ice Age a glacier rose as much as two miles above the bedrock here and created the deep “plunge pool” as its melt cascaded and scoured into the basin that is now Gratiot Lake.

Lizzadro Farms Donates "Sandy Beach" Land (2018)

GLC is pleased to announce the recent addition of a 184.46 acre parcel to the Gratiot Lake Preserve. This parcel is the most recent gift of land from Lizzadro Farms, Inc. Much of its 3,000 foot stretch of shoreline is known by residents at Gratiot as “Sandy Beach.” The lakeshore is a mix of sand and of cobble stretches. Inland is a mixed hardwood/conifer forest and wetlands. The Little Gratiot River snakes its way through a portion of it. The land is an especially significant conservation addition because it is contiguous with the Little Gratiot River Wilderness which forms a nearly intact wildlife corridor to the Bete Grise Preserve and to Lake Superior. It abuts the portion of the Gratiot Lake Preserve which includes the Noblet Field Station.

In 2014, we announced the donation to GLC of 18.75 acres with approximately 2075 feet of shoreline on the west end of Gratiot Lake. The land was donated by Lizzadro Farms in December of 2013. This conservation area includes some upland forest but consists mainly of cedar swamp and other wetlands. It can be accessed by canoe, kayak, or other small watercraft for low impact activities such as hiking and birding. Wildlife observed in recent years on this lakeshore include river otter, beaver, bobcat, black bear, deer, bald eagles, loons, kingfishers, ducks, and great blue heron. A botanical survey of this nature sanctuary began in May of 2014.