Title
Resolution Naming the Property Purchased from Girl Scouts of Huron Valley as “Hilltop Nature Area”
Memorandum
Attached for your review and action is a resolution to approve the naming of the property purchased from Girl Scouts of Huron Valley as “Hilltop Nature Area”.
In February 2007 the City of Ann Arbor purchased the 7.7 acre parcel from the Girl Scouts of Huron Valley Council. The property had been operated as a camp for Girl Scouts and was named Camp Hilltop, a name commonly known to many Ann Arbor residents.
The property shares a border with Kuebler Langford Nature Area, and has many of the same features as the woods and ravine at Kuebler, as well as with the nearby Bird Hills Nature Area. With the exception of the area immediately surrounding the buildings, the entire site is relatively undisturbed and of high ecological quality. A plant list has been kept separately for the site since 2000, and contains 183 species, of which 154 are native, yielding a floristic quality index (FQI) of 51.4. This places it in the top 21 of 78 city-owned properties on which floristic quality has been assessed, which is remarkable given its small size of 7.7 acres. High-quality uplands such as those at the property are considerably more unusual.
Special species on the property include broad-leaved puccoon, and a state-threatened plant, both of which provide additional incentive for management of the property. In addition to the ecological quality of the site, the steep slopes and views of the river make the property a special place.
Given that the property is known to many Ann Arbor residents as “Camp Hilltop” and given its high quality natural features on the site, the Parks Advisory Commission recommended at their November 18, 2008 meeting that the park be named, “Hilltop Nature Area.”
Staff
Prepared by: The Conservation Fund
Reviewed by: Jayne Miller, Community Services Area Administrator
Body
Whereas, The property was purchased as parkland by the C...
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