Sunday, April 23, 2017

Help save a Lake Michigan nature preserve

This blog has followed the grassroots level struggle - - or should I say forest-floor-and rare dune-and-wetland-level struggle - - to prevent a 247-acre nature preserve adjoining Kohler Andrae State Park along Lake Michigan from being converted into a high-end golf course.

The controversial proposal has been met with a demand for substantially more information by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Now comes word from Friends of the Black River Forest - - named after the already-impaired waterway that runs through the site - - that a critical Federal review stage approaches, so if you want to get involved, make everyday an Earth Day, read on and follow through in your own words:
Please Take Action Now

Comment to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers by May 6
Rare, globally significant ridge and swale wetlands which are protected at the Ridges Sanctuary in Door County and Kenosha will be filled, bulldozed  and covered with foreign material.
Quentin Carpenter, Ph.D. in Land Resources. "Another danger that I see here that if a golf course is allowed this close to the lake, very quickly DNR will receive a request to armor the lakeside to protect it. These are active dunes in a dynamic area of the lake shore. The detrimental effects of armoring on adjacent shorelines are well-documented (more erosion). The neighbors of this shoreline are the residents to the north and the State Park to the south."
USACE PUBLIC NOTICE and Kohler Wetland Permit Application, click here  to view DOCUMENTS

This is the letter FBRF has sent to the Army Corps regarding the Wetland Permit Application:


This is a link t documents sent to the Army Corps of Engineers in addition to our letter.

Suggested Template:

To: The USACE
From:
Subject: The Kohler Wetland Permit Application
Comments: I object to the permitting of the Kohler golf course for these reasons: (Be objective, referring to information in the Public Notice or the Wetland Permit Application. This can include what further information you think is needed or what is not mentioned. If you have written the DNR previously assume the USACE has not read your comments to the DNR.
***FBRF will be asking the USACE for a public hearing.



Wetland Gems, Important Bird Area, Ridge and Swale and Interdunal wetlands, Endangered Species
Check out more documents on our website from:
Wisconsin Wetland Accociation,
Wisconsin Socity for Ornithology
Quentin Carpenter - PhD, Land Resources





FBRF will be hiring experts for the review of this permit. We may have to consider litigation if credible scientific information is not the basis of permit reviews.

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