Oden Island Preserve Hiking Tour with Brad Von Blon
Brad will discuss the moss and lichens during a hike of this beautiful property. A successful fundraising effort in 2000 resulted in the Conservancy’s purchase of this large, undeveloped waterfront property. The acquisition closed the door on a controversial 34-unit subdivision proposed for the site. Now the preserve helps maintain the water quality of Crooked Lake, which lies near the upper portion of the Inland Waterway, a 40-mile navigable waterway that boaters can take into Lake Huron at Cheboygan.
BRAD VON BLON
STEWARDSHIP TECHNICIAN
Brad grew up in Ohio but quickly escaped a few times to neighboring states with more exciting flora. He earned an Associate’s Degree in Wildlife Management at Hocking College before transferring to West Virginia University for a Bachelor’s in Wildlife & Fisheries Resources. A lot of his time has been spent on the arid ridge tops of the Appalachians down to the humid muskegs of Michigan, usually looking for rare plants. He’s worked mainly as a naturalist, a “certified bird feeding specialist,” a bobcat necropsy technician, and a tech at West Virginia’s largest herbarium. He fell in love with the North Woods after spending a season at Seney National Wildlife Refuge, and this will be his third summer with LTC.
North Central Michigan College • 1515 Howard Street, Petoskey, MI 49770
