Preserve the Bluff group nears purchase of 80-acre Scheef parcel on Grand Marais hillside

For the past 10 months, a handful of Cook County residents who make up the Preserve the Bluff group have been making significant headway toward purchasing an 80-acre parcel along the Grand Marais hillside, owned by John Scheef.

In just over a week, on Feb. 20, the Preserve the Bluff group, which recently received its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, will officially close on the purchase of the parcel and become the new property owner.

The landlocked parcel is located in the Sawtooth Mountain range and abuts a blend of city and county-owned property west of the Grand Marais water tower. For over a decade, Scheef has explored placing the land in a conservation easement, pursuing a land swap with the county to preserve the property, and, more recently, gaining access to the property via an easement from Old Ski Hill Road.

Location of Scheef property in Grand Marais outlined in red

The Preserve the Bluff group formed nearly a year ago after Scheef, from Plymouth, Minn., approached the Cook County Board of Commissioners in April 2025 to propose that the county purchase the 80-acres for $475,000. The Board of Commissioners said it would help facilitate the sale and expressed interest in preserving the property, but would not purchase it.

Soon after, about 15 Cook County residents, many of whom were natural resource professionals, community members, and Old Ski Hill Road residents, launched an initiative to raise the $475,000 to purchase the property. The group’s objective was to preserve the 80 acres from residential or commercial development, avoid potential erosion and environmental impacts from road construction via the Old Ski Hill Road, and protect the viewshed of the Grand Marais hillside.

While several Preserve the Bluff members have changed over the past 10 months, the mission has remained the same, said Sue Abrahamsen, who serves on the board of directors.

Abrahamsen described the past 10 months of raising $475,000, forming a nonprofit, and navigating the options to purchase the 80-acre parcel as being a “complicated” process.

One of the options explored was working with the Minnesota Land Trust to purchase the property and place the 80-acre parcel into a conservation easement.

The Minnesota Land Trust had undergone an appraisal process of the Scheef property during the latter part of 2025, but Abrahamsen said the appraisal was not completed due to insufficient information. The Preserve the Bluff group then had to pivot and form a nonprofit so they could begin collecting donations toward the parcel purchase.

Despite the uphill challenge, Abrahamsen said the group has raised the necessary funds and, in January, signed a purchase agreement with Scheef for the property.

Financial support for purchasing the property has come from numerous small donations and several large donors, Abrahamsen said. The donors include Cook County and Twin Cities residents, as well as supporters from outside the region who want to preserve the Grand Marais hillside from development and environmental impacts.

“Everyone’s generosity has been so appreciated,” Abrahamsen said. “Almost overwhelming.”

Abrahamsen, who is also a retired federal forester, has been involved in the Preserve the Bluff group since the beginning. She said she’s invested in this initiative because, “I care about the natural environment. I just wanted to do what I could. It’s hard to witness so much development happening. And not just here, but all over.”

Ann Belleman is one of the newer members to join the Preserve the Bluff group and also sits on the board of directors. Belleman said she became involved in the initiative shortly after its launch and, like many others involved in the group, shared similar sentiments about preserving the Grand Marais viewshed and “also the watershed for the city.”

Above Scheef’s property and the neighboring Sawtooth Bluffs area sits the Fall River Patterned Fen. The U.S. Forest Service has categorized it as a unique biological area and the only patterned fen in the far northeastern part of Minnesota.

Sawtooth Mountain ridge in Grand Marais | Photo by M Baxley

With the closing date on the parcel approaching, Abrahamsen and Belleman said the nonprofit will continue its fundraising efforts to cover property taxes, insurance, accountant and legal fees, and other miscellaneous expenses for the coming years. The Preserve the Bluff group has set a goal to raise an additional $100,000 by Feb. 17.

Looking ahead to the coming years, Abrahamsen and Belleman said the nonprofit plans to retain ownership of the property for three years for tax-exempt purposes. Then, the nonprofit can explore transferring ownership to either another nonprofit organization, the Minnesota Land Trust, or the county, depending on interest at that time.

Regardless of who the future property owner may be, the objective will remain to preserve the property from future development. Prior to the three-year mark, the nonprofit may enter the land into a conservation easement, which Abrahamsen and Belleman said the group intends to proceed with immediately.

In addition to financial support from donors, throughout the process, Abrahamsen and Belleman said they have heard from many Cook County residents who have learned about the Preserve the Bluff group’s efforts and have said “thanks” for their work.

“Everybody looks up at that Bluff. That’s part of the heart of Grand Marais. That’s part of the backdrop,” Belleman said. “We’re just trying to do our little part to keep a little bit of land protected in the viewshed.”

Kalli Hawkins February 11, 2026