Local club, family members object to Bay Shore plan
By Mary Drier
Staff Writer
SEBEWAING — A local conservation group is supporting efforts to keep a piece of state land in the northwest side of the village of Sebewaing open to the public.
Bay Shore Camp and Family Ministries, which is adjacent to that state land at the end of Pine Street, is interested in the property and made an offer to acquire it in exchange for two other properties that are several miles away from Sebewaing. In the early 1970s, the state of Michigan acquired land at the end of Pine Street in the village of Sebewaing through the efforts of Thelma E. Whitlock’s to honor the memory of her late husband Doctor Stanley C. Whitlock.
The Sebewaing Sportsmen’s Club has gone on record against the land exchange and lists the reasons in a letter to the Department of Natural Resources, a copy of which was given to the Advertiser:
(1) “Many people in the area use this property, which is located on the Saginaw Bay, and they enjoy the natural woodland setting it offers. Even though Sebewaing is located on the Bay, it has very few places for residents or visitors to enjoy its many attributes.
‘If the transaction goes through, everyone – whether it’s schools, residents, or visitors – will no longer have access to this acreage.”
(2) “Bay shore Camp presently has the right to use the property also. Their ownership of the property would only be a means of eliminating its full use and enjoyment from others who presently use it and to those who might use it in the future.”
(3) “It is a unique piece of property. It is the only wooded piece of public property that has easy walking access to Saginaw Bay. The land that would exchanged is split in two different locations and does not have the same attributes of woods and water access.
‘We believe that Thelma Whitlock’s intent was to have this particular piece of property, which had meaning to her husband, Dr. Stanley Whitlock, gifted to Sebewaing for all residents and visitors to enjoy because it abounds with wildlife and water access that her late husband enjoyed.”
“Even though the DNR often does land exchanges, it is important to consider why people ‘gift’ property. If intent of the gift is up for interpretation, future donors may decide to consider this before making ‘gifts’ of property for everyone to enjoy,” said Sebewaing Sportsmen’s Club’s letter signed by the organization’s President Jim Brandenburg.
“The uniqueness of this property, the intent as proven by the plaque located there, and its use by residents should be enough to determine this exchange or ‘re-gifting’ should not take place.”
Bay Shore Camp & Family Ministries officials want the land to use for an outdoor wildlife education for youths who attend the camp and for area school children, according to the camp’s Executive Director Jeff Parsons.
In exchange for that property, the camp will trade of property near Wildfowl Bay State Wildlife Area in Huron County and Quanicassee State Wildlife Area. For the 12-acres of land off of Pine Street, camp officials will trade the state about 17.14 acres of land located in Huron County off of Kilmanagh Road along with land off M-25 and Barney Road on the Quanicassee River to the state. The camp owns land off of Kilmanagh Road, and an option to purchase agreement on the other land if the exchange happens.
However, DNR documents explain Thelma Whitlock did not directly participate in the selection of the Sebewaing property but rather that the executors of her estate provided $78,500 in funds to purchase that property and two others to serve the DNR’s “objectives for waterfowl restoration and hunting management purposes on the marshes of Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron,” and to honor her husband, who was the former assistant chief of the game division.
“There were no provisions limiting the use of the land – so it can be traded for other land,” pointed out Earl Flegler, who is a specialist with the Department of Natural Resources Public Land Division, noting the department was unable to find any of Whitlock’s relatives to talk to them about the proposed land trade.
Since the articles ran, two distant Whitlock relatives have been found.
Peggy Vandecar Daily of Phoenix, Arizona, who is related to the Whitlocks on her mother’s side of the family, says she opposes the trade.
And, Derek Vandecar, whose great, great, grandmother and Stanley Whitlock’s father were sister and brother, also says he is opposed to the trade.
According to Derek Vandecar, he is a avid hunter, and has an appreciation for state land, hunting and so did his ancestors. His great grandfather died while bird hunting and Stanley Whitlock died while deer hunting.
“They both died while hunting and enjoying the outdoors so I would think they would want the land left to the public for everyone to use and not just to a specific group,” said Vandecar.
The proposed DNR Land Transaction Application #20140112 from Bay Shore Camp would have to be reviewed by the Director of the DNR during a Natural Resources Commission (NRC) meeting. The next meeting of the NRC Jan. 15, 2015, at the Michigan State University
Mary Drier is a staff writer for the Tuscola County Advertiser. She can be reached at drier@tcadvertiser.com.