Grand Traverse County weighs a 50-year, $1-a-year lease for a raptor center at Camp Greilick

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Grand Traverse County is close to handing about 2 acres of Camp Greilick to a bird-of-prey rescue for as long as a century, but commissioners want changes first.

At a study session Wednesday, the county board reviewed a draft lease that would let North Sky Raptor Sanctuary put up a bird hospital and teaching building at the county-owned park in East Bay Township. Commissioners did not vote. Parks and Facilities Director John Chase said his staff and the Parks and Recreation Commission will work the board’s comments into a new draft with North Sky and bring it back, 9&10 News reported.

The terms: North Sky would pay the county $1 a year plus 3% of its admissions revenue, which county staff estimate at $4,000 to $5,000 a year to help cover park upkeep, according to The Ticker. The lease would run 50 years with one 50-year renewal. The nonprofit would pay to build, maintain and operate the site. The county would bring electric and internet service to it and keep up the parking lot, entrance and shared areas.

North Sky would own the buildings until it leaves, when they would revert to the county. It would also get a right of first offer if the county ever sells the park. The county parks commission backed the lease unanimously on Sept. 10, The Ticker reported.

The project: North Sky, an Interlochen nonprofit founded in 2018, cares for sick and injured birds of prey and runs public education programs. Co-founder Jeffrey Bohnet told commissioners the group gets no state money, can hold about 130 patients and often has to turn birds away. He put construction at $4.2 million, with just under $1 million committed so far. The group expects about 10,000 visitors a year and hopes to open in summer 2029 if fundraising keeps pace.

The objections: Commissioner T.J. Andrews said the dispute is over the terms, not the project. Andrews noted that North Sky’s 2 acres would be fenced off inside a park that covers nearly 200 acres, and that the draft does not cap building size, crowds, tree cutting or special events. Andrews also questioned clauses that would let North Sky hand the lease to another charity and give it the right of first offer on the park. Andrews said another raptor center in the same township was never asked about the space, and called for a formal request for proposals and a county policy on long-term leases.

Chase said North Sky first approached the county in 2024 and the plan has been discussed in public committee meetings over roughly 18 months. He said competitive proposals suit an empty building the county has no plans for. Bohnet said the fence protects birds that are federally protected and that some of its resident education birds live for decades, which is why it wants a long term. Commissioner Darryl Nelson said he was open to changes and thought the two sides were close.

What’s next: A revised lease will return to the county board for an approval vote. North Sky’s site plan also needs East Bay Township approval, which requires a public hearing.

Sources:
9&10 News, “Proposed raptor center at Camp Greilick draws support, lease concerns from county commissioners,” Oct. 14, 2026, https://www.9and10news.com/2026/10/14/proposed-raptor-center-at-camp-greilick-draws-support-lease-concerns-from-county-commissioners/
The Ticker, “County to Consider North Sky Lease; Funding Allocations to Support County Services,” Oct. 14, 2026, https://www.traverseticker.com/news/county-to-consider-north-sky-lease-funding-allocations-to-support-county-services/
Photo: Rhododendrites, “Red-tailed hawk (44371).jpg,” Sept. 14, 2019, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Red-tailed_hawk_(44371).jpg

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