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Greetings!
Happy Holidays! We have good news in this issue - the protection of three beautiful dune areas has been assured.
Also, the DEQ has established new procedures that should clarify owners' responsibilities when building in the dunes. It should produce a win-win result.
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PTD needs your financial support. We are approaching the time for a renewal of the sand dune mining permit at the Nadeau Site. This may well require significant expenses on our part.
Donations can be sent to PTD, P.O. Box 164, Riverside, MI 49084 or made with credit card or PayPal by selecting the Donate button below.
Remember we are a 501(c)3 organization and all donations are tax deductible.
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North Point Conservation Area Protected
Final Agreement Reached.
On November 10, the Van Buren County Board of Commissioners approved a conservation easement for the 17-acre North Point Conservation Area on Lake Michigan with South West Michigan Land Conservancy (SWMLC).
The county-owned property has been enjoyed by the public for almost 100 years and has been used by several generations of Boy Scouts for camping and outdoor education. The property has frontage on Lake Michigan and is a mix of forested dune and wetland areas with trails that wind through the property and the adjacent Van Buren State
Park.
During the summer of 2007, the Van Buren County commissioners began to explore the possibility of selling the property. In response, local citizens joined together to oppose this action. They circulated a petition signed by over 1,400 people, urging the commissioners to keep the land open to the public for current and future generations. The commissioners asked the citizens' committee to develop a recommendation for the site.
The committee, led by South Haven resident Maureen Lewandowski, held meetings over a four-month period to identify alternatives and solicit public input. The citizens' committee submitted a final report to the county commissioners in early 2008 with two main recommendations: any improvements to the property should respect the fragile environment, and oversight of the property should be entrusted to a third party through a conservation easement.
The commissioners' accepted the recommendations and requested that the citizens raise the money for a monitoring fund. The committee and volunteers raised funding and pledges to meet this goal within three weeks.
The property is located on Ruggles Road, South of 20th Avenue and abutting Van Buren State Park.
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Deerlick Creek Beach
Article Subtitle
This past summer, South Haven Township purchased Deerlick Creek Beach for a township park. Located at the dead end of 13th Avenue at Lake Michigan, the park includes 172 feet of Lake Michigan frontage and another 700 feet along Deerlick Creek. Although the property was privately owned, it was used for decades by the public as an access to Lake Michigan.
Deerlick Creek Beach contains important habitat for many forms of wildlife, and locals have long used the area for smelting, swimming, canoeing, and shipwreck diving.
The success of the project are due in large part to local residents and concerned citizens - spearheaded by Marcy Colclough, Maureen Lewandowski, Joseph and Jennie Stezowski, and Olga Stieve.
Michigan's Natural Resources Trust Fund gave the township $1 million toward the $1.4 million purchase price. The Great Lakes Fishery Trust gave the township an additional $100,000 toward the purchase. Friends of Deerlick Creek raised almost $20,000! SWMLC has served as the fiduciary agency to account for the donations.South Haven Township will cover the
balance of the costs.
Visit deerlickcreek.com to see how this project came about and why it was successful. Or better, visIt the new park!
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Saugatuck Dunes Gain Protection
Deal Actually Finalized
The Land Conservancy of West Michigan has reached a deal to acquire 171 acres of Lake Michigan dunes property for a natural area south of the mouth of Kalamazoo River for $19 million.
The Nature Conservancy, in cooperation with the Land Conservancy and Saugatuck, in September reached a $20.1 million purchase agreement to buy the southern portion of 412 acres formerly known as the Denison property. When the state grant came up short of the initial $12.6 million requested, the Land Conservancy and McClendon renegotiated the purchase price.
The project's cost is estimated to be $22.1 million, with $4.5 million still to be raised for associated costs including repaying interim financing and a maintenance endowment. More information ...
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DEQ Adds Services to Ease Permitting Process
Owners of land in the Critical Dunes Areas (CDA) will be pleased with several DEQ innovations that have been developed in response to requests from the regulated community.
Certain projects of very limited scope that had required permits will no longer need to make application - these projects are referred to as de minimis projects. Official notice should be posted on the DEQ web site shortly.
The DEQ has also implemented optional pre-application meetings with field staff. There are three levels of meetings. Level 1 is intended to answer general questions regarding regulations for building in critical dune areas and high risk erosion area. Held in the regional office. There is no charge for Level 1 meetings.
Level 2 meetings are a general on-site meeting and evaluation. The fees vary from $400 to $1,000 depending on the site area. DEQ will provide a written response identifying the crest of the dune, the location of the erosion hazard line, height of the bluff, and offer input on viable building sites, access road locations, etc.
Level 3 meetings are also held at the proposed site. Fees vary from $500 to $1,100. These meetings will provide all of the information included in Level 2 meetings plus the DEQ field staff will measure slopes within and inside the construction area, and determine if proposed project location meets the HREA requirements.
The pre-application review form and description of procedures, submittals and deliverables are available on the DEQ website.
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"These dunes are to the Midwest what the Grand Canyon is to Arizona . . .
once lost, the loss would be irrevocable." Carl Sandburg
Sincerely,
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