The county Road Commission liked what it heard about county road rights-of-way in the proposed Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore’s general management plan (GMP) update.

Lakeshore superintendent Dusty Shultz and assistant superintendent Tom Ulrich attended Tuesday’s Road Commission meeting, and presented highlights of the preferred GMP alternative. One of the biggest concerns commission members had was whether the National Park Service would continue its promise to leave county road rights-of-way alone as part of the GMP update.

It will, according to Ulrich. After first presenting a proposed update to the 20-year general management plan in 2004 that was soundly rejected by the public and members of Congress, Sleeping Bear officials held a series of public input sessions to better learn what the public would like to see. From those sessions and from their own reviews. National Park Service officials came up with four versions for the GMP: the Preferred Alternative, and Alternatives A, B, and C. In all four plans, Ulrich said, existing county road rights-of-way are shown as being under control of the local county road commission. “We do not include any existing county road rights-of-way as part of our proposed wilderness designation areas with in the Lakeshore,” he said.

Shultz said the deadline for final public comment on the four alternatives is June 13. There will be three public hearings to take input on June 3, 4 and 5. The hearings will run from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at the following locations: June 3, Platte River Elementary School, Benzie County; June 4, Hagerty Center in Traverse City; and June 5, the Glen Arbor Township Hall..

Ulrich said all public comment is welcomed. To ensure everyone who comments is heard, there will be two court reporters taking notes. “One is for the people who want to get up at the microphone and speak. There will be another court reporter there for people who want to offer comment, put don’t want to speak in front of everyone,” he said.

For people who can’t attend any of the public comment meetings, the entire proposed GMP update may be reviewed and commented upon at www.nps.gov/slbe.

Shultz and Ulrich said they have received mostly favorable comments from the public and community groups for the proposed preferred alternative. “The new preferred alternative came from a lot of what we heard in public comment last spring and summer. We took bits of the other three alternatives and put them into the preferred,” Shultz said.

In addition to recognition of local authority over county road rights-of-way, Road Commissioners were pleased with proposed changes to allow motor vehicle access to the Valley of the Giant Cedar on S. Manitou Island. As part of the preferred alternative, the concessionaire offering motor vehicle tours of the island, Manitou Island Transit, will be able to take visitors nearly the entire length of Shefler Road to the popular destination. Currently, people wanting to see the large cedar trees at the end of Shefler Road have to walk a entire seven-mile round trip to reach the area from the main dock area on the island.

Member Glen M. Noonan said he was happy that Park Service officials recognized the need for getting people, especially the elderly and those with special needs, close to the Valley of the Giants. “There are a lot of older residents here in the county who would enjoy visiting the site, but it was just too far for most to walk,” he said.

Ulrich said while the concessionaire will be able to bring people much closer, visitors will still have about a half-mile walk to reach the site.

Other possible developments for trails in the Lakeshore that the Road Commission supported include transforming a railroad grade that runs from the Sleeping Bear Dune Climb to Glen Lake and a Bay-to-Bay footpath that would run from the southern border of the Lakeshore in Benzie County up to Good Harbor Bay. Ulrich said the Bay-to-Bay trail would be similar to the Appalachian Trail with small, primitive campsites along the way.

In a related Lakeshore matter, the Road Commission reviewed a request from the Park Service to abandon portions of M-209 in Glen Haven around eight existing structures to help redevelopment of those buildings. Ulrich said the chief concern is adding a 15-foot buffer around each building to allow for repairs to structures. Also, the Park Service would like to set up a long-term lease for the Sleeping Bear Inn, but can’t do so until the Road Commission relinquishes more of the 209 right-of-way.

The Road Commission asked Ulrich and Shultz to talk with Park Service attorneys to see if an easement could be used as opposed to an outright abandonment.