In a great win for Wisconsin wetlands, clean water, native culture and grassroots activism, a state administrative law judge has reversed the issuance of a wetlands-fill permit issued by the DNR, said Friends of the Black River Forest, a group opposed to the project.
The permit is pivotal to the construction of a proposed, high-end golf course on the Lake Michigan coastline on a Kohler-owned nature preserve.
In the decision, the judge found that the project will require deforesting over half the site and significant regrading, resulting in changes to wetland and site hydrology. He concluded, “the Department’s determination that these adverse impacts will be significant mandate that the permit application must be denied.”
The judge also found that the DNR lacked sufficient information to conclude that the project would not harm water quality associated with chemical and fertilizer applications, and that some of Kohler’s submitted information was unreliable or incomplete.The decision could be appealed to the circuit court.
A complete news release about the decision will appear at the bottom of this post.
Strong testimony vs. Kohler golf project, park & wetland lossesThe golf course proposal would take acreage for a building, road and parking lot within the adjoining Kohler Andrae State Park, strip away much of the project area's forest, cut down important wildlife habitat and even claim rare dunes, as noted by the DNR's site review which I have quoted at length:
Approximately 3.7 acres of wetland would be lost due to filling including impacts to approximately 1.36 acres of Great Lakes ridge and swale wetlands, a wetland type that is considered “imperiled” in Wisconsin. Additional wetland impacts resulting from alterations to wetland hydrology and the influence of increased nutrients could change the wetland type and allow encroachment of invasive species.Note also that is the third such reversal of an environmentally-damaging Walker-era DNR ruling - - two earlier victories are noted here, here and here - - and this development presaged the grassroots win:
Former DNR employee: Staff pressured to OK Kohler golf course on rare Wisconsin wetlands, parkI'd put up last fall a 21-part series on Walker's horrible environmental record, with this installment devoted just to the golf course project, given its significance both for the area and environmental activism:
Few projects with the exception of Foxconn which have the blessing of Walker's 'chamber of commerce mentality DNR and other taxpayer-funded public agencies - - the AG's office, the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board, which is supposed to give independent oversight guidance to the DNR, local officials and annexation officials at the state DOA - - have outweighed the state's disregard for the the environment and fair play than the Kohler golf course proposed adjacent to and grabbing acreage inside a popular state park.
I've visited the site, publicized the opposition organized by Friends of the Black River Forest, and written about it often since 2014.
And put it into a larger context often, including, here:
...the state has 700 impaired waterways by the agency's own count and in 2014 added dozens more to the list; paradoxically, the DNR is currently reviewing whether a major Walker donor can build an 18-hole golf course on 247 acres of forested, wetland-laden land at the edge of Lake Michigan near Sheboygan through which runs The Black River, one of those impaired waterways.
Opponents of the project's groundwater demands, deforestation, and planned incursion into an adjoining state park recently told the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board - - to which the DNR reports - - that test wells were drilled on the site without permits, among other concerns.
See and hear the opponents' ten-minute presentation beginning at the meeting's 2:21 mark, followed by about five minutes of Q & A.
Here is one early post about the developer's donations to Walker's campaign, and something of a more recent summary, below.
And I try to remind people that the Black River which runs through site's current 247-acre nature preserve, and Lake Michigan literally yards to the east, are public trust waters which the DNR is obligated to manage for the people so they are not lost as public resources, as the State Supreme Court has warned.New release test:
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March 18, 2019, For Immediate Release Contact Christa Westerberg, 608/251-0101
JUDGE REVERSES KOHLER WETLAND PERMIT
An administrative law judge on Friday reversed a permit granted by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to Kohler Co. last year. The permit would have allowed the company to fill nearly four acres of high-quality wetland for a new golf course development in Sheboygan County, on land north of and within Kohler-Andrae State Park.
In reversing the permit, the judge found the standards for issuing the permit had not been met and that DNR lacked sufficient information to grant the permit.
“We are grateful for this decision, which thoroughly addressed the adverse, irreversible impacts of the proposed golf course,” said Mary Faydash, President of Friends of the Black River Forest, Inc. The group filed the petition challenging the permit, which was heard during a five-day evidentiary hearing last year.
“We are definitely delighted,” added Friends member and co-petitioner Claudia Bricks.
In the decision, the judge found that the project will require deforesting over half the site and significant regrading, resulting in changes to wetland and site hydrology. He concluded, “the Department’s determination that these adverse impacts will be significant mandate that the permit application must be denied.”
The judge also found that the DNR lacked sufficient information to conclude that the project would not harm water quality associated with chemical and fertilizer applications, and that some of Kohler’s submitted information was unreliable or incomplete.
Said the judge, “[t]he Department should be making its determinations based on completed plans, not trusting that management plans that will be prepared will adequately protect the groundwater and wetlands. Once the golf course is constructed the adverse impacts will be permanent and irreversible.”
“The golf course would be a major development on an extraordinarily sensitive site,” said Friends attorney Christa Westerberg. “The evidence simply did not support granting a permit in this case.”
P.O. Box 804 Sheboygan, WI 53082 www.friendsblackriverforest.org
JUDGE REVERSES KOHLER WETLAND PERMIT
An administrative law judge on Friday reversed a permit granted by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to Kohler Co. last year. The permit would have allowed the company to fill nearly four acres of high-quality wetland for a new golf course development in Sheboygan County, on land north of and within Kohler-Andrae State Park.
In reversing the permit, the judge found the standards for issuing the permit had not been met and that DNR lacked sufficient information to grant the permit.
“We are grateful for this decision, which thoroughly addressed the adverse, irreversible impacts of the proposed golf course,” said Mary Faydash, President of Friends of the Black River Forest, Inc. The group filed the petition challenging the permit, which was heard during a five-day evidentiary hearing last year.
“We are definitely delighted,” added Friends member and co-petitioner Claudia Bricks.
In the decision, the judge found that the project will require deforesting over half the site and significant regrading, resulting in changes to wetland and site hydrology. He concluded, “the Department’s determination that these adverse impacts will be significant mandate that the permit application must be denied.”
The judge also found that the DNR lacked sufficient information to conclude that the project would not harm water quality associated with chemical and fertilizer applications, and that some of Kohler’s submitted information was unreliable or incomplete.
Said the judge, “[t]he Department should be making its determinations based on completed plans, not trusting that management plans that will be prepared will adequately protect the groundwater and wetlands. Once the golf course is constructed the adverse impacts will be permanent and irreversible.”
“The golf course would be a major development on an extraordinarily sensitive site,” said Friends attorney Christa Westerberg. “The evidence simply did not support granting a permit in this case.”
P.O. Box 804 Sheboygan, WI 53082 www.friendsblackriverforest.org
The proposed golf course is located on forested property between the Black River and Lake Michigan. It hosts rare ridge and swale and interdunal wetlands and is an important stopover site for migratory birds. The property is susceptible to groundwater contamination due to sand soils and a high groundwater table.
Kohler’s proposal also called for using land in Kohler-Andrae State Park for a golf course entrance road and large maintenance facility. That land is characterized by dunes, wetlands, and forest, and is used by park visitors for hiking and wildlife observation, among other activities.
Said Faydash, “this decision is a victory for all of Wisconsin, particularly the grassroots groups who have worked tirelessly to hold the DNR and developers to Wisconsin conservation law.
Kohler’s proposal also called for using land in Kohler-Andrae State Park for a golf course entrance road and large maintenance facility. That land is characterized by dunes, wetlands, and forest, and is used by park visitors for hiking and wildlife observation, among other activities.
Said Faydash, “this decision is a victory for all of Wisconsin, particularly the grassroots groups who have worked tirelessly to hold the DNR and developers to Wisconsin conservation law.
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247-acre nature preserve golf course site Steve Back photo.
Hooray!
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