FOREVER NATURAL

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

By JEFF KART

TIMES WRITER

Bill Schlageter spent much of his life hunting ducks, enjoying nature and making friends on Wildfowl Bay in Huron County.

He died of cancer at age 64 in 2005, but his love for the outdoors will live on at a 5-acre natural area at North Island, a small piece of land southwest of Sand Point.

The 5 acres will be put under a conservation easement held by Ducks Unlimited, to ensure it remains forever natural and undeveloped.

What's more, Ducks Unlimited, a conservation organization that Schlageter volunteered with for 40 years, has pledged to undertake a $1 million project in his memory to restore and protect wetlands in the 22-county Saginaw Bay watershed.

The idea for the preserve and memorial fund sprang from one of Bill's best friends, who wishes to remain anonymous.

Bill's widow, Linda, says she knows who the friend is, and is grateful for what he's done.

''Our family's very honored,'' said Linda Schlageter, who lives in Rocky River, Ohio, outside of Cleveland.

''It's a wonderful tribute to Bill and it's very special to us, because it was important to him.''

Bill Schlageter's friend purchased the 5 acres on North Island, where he and Schlageter used to hunt, said Russ Terry, manager of conservation programs for Ducks Unlimited's Great Lakes-Atlantic Regional Office in Ann Arbor.

The 5 acres is forested, with wetlands and a coastal marsh. A little bit of the bay cuts through the property, which is a stopover point for migrating songbirds.

A sign has been erected on the land, marking it as ''Schlageter Bay.''

Ducks Unlimited officials decided to put together the

$1 million project, using money from group coffers, Schlageter's friends and family and grants.

The money will go to help restore what historic wetlands the bay area has left, Terry said.

Coastal counties in the Saginaw Bay have lost up to 90 percent of their historic wetlands to development and farming, he said.

What's left has been degraded by invasive species like phragmite plants, which crowd out native cattails.

''There's a big need and there's big potential,'' said Terry, also a wildlife biologist.

Ducks Unlimited will work with numerous partners on the $1 million project, including the state Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, land trusts and conservancies and other agencies.

The first money may be spent at Fish Point Wildlife Area near Unionville, to replace 40-year-old pumps and water control structures used to manage wetland habitat there, Terry said.

Bill Schlageter was born June 4, 1940, in Toledo, Ohio.

He earned an electrical engineering degree from the University of Detroit in 1964, and worked in Iowa on the Apollo Space Program while in school, his family said.

He married Linda in 1964, shortly after going to work for Michigan Bell Telephone. He retired from Ameritech in 1993 and embarked on a career in international communications.

Linda Schlageter, her and Bill's three sons and 10 grandchildren all made the trip to North Island for a land dedication ceremony in April.

''I think he would like it,'' she said of the memorial there.

To learn more about the Bill Schlageter Memorial Fund, call Ducks Unlimited at (734) 623-2000.