New District Partner! Conservation Resource Alliance and the Wild Roots Program
Conservation Resource Alliance (CRA), in partnership with area Conservation Districts, is pleased to announce the 2021 season of Wild Roots! Wild Roots is a cost-share program that allows landowners and organizations to order native seedlings at a highly reduced cost, offset by the generous support of our funding partners. The program kicks off online TODAY and runs as long as supplies last.
This year Wild Roots is expanding with the addition of Antrim and Kalkaska, joining Mason-Lake, Manistee, Grand Traverse, Leelanau, and Benzie as the seven participating Conservation Districts.
Conservation Districts offer great resources to help navigate the various landscapes of Northern Michigan with expert advice, tools, and education to ensure a successful planting experience for Wild Roots participants and healthy trees in the years to come!
Wild Roots offers packages that have been carefully crafted to suit different habitats, including Riparian, Upland, and Wildlife areas. Assisted Tree Range Expansion Project (ATREP) and Pollinator packages offer innovative avenues to help combat climate change and increase biodiversity.
Each package consists of 50 native seedlings (2 species – 25 each) for only $15.
With a focus on maximizing survival, Wildlife Browse Protection Packages (tree tubes) are recommended. They are available $20 for 25 tubes.
Orders can be placed online at www.rivercare.org/shop
Participants will pick up the packages at Conservation District they ordered from in April 2022. (Our Kalkaska Conservation District Tree Sale dates are April 29 and 30!)
The overall goal of Wild Roots is to plant 100,000 native trees across Northern Michigan by 2023 to help restore and improve natural habitats for future generations. Beyond their immediate impact, trees are the most efficient and cost-effective method of carbon sequestration we currently have and our best defense against a changing climate. Trees play an integral role in each of our lives. They reduce runoff and flooding, filter pollutants, provide shade and habitat, and increase resiliency for people, wildlife, and our precious waters.
Wild Roots is made possible through generous funding from these partner agencies and organizations: Consumer’s Energy Foundation, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation – Sustain Our Great Lakes Program, Michigan Department of Natural Resources – Wildlife Habitat Grants Program, and Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund. Also, this project is funded in part by a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant through the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Thank you for making this world a better place!
-Your friends at CRA
