To the editor:
Scott Tucker, Superintendent of the National Lakeshore, stated 5/7/24, “We have put design requirements forth for our design team to meander through that corridor. So that’s the design that I’m expecting to see this summer,” said Supt. Tucker. “It’s what is the most responsible, environmentally least impact. The only non environment part is to not build a trail.”
Does meandering down a trail, by Supt. Tucker’s “most responsible, environmentally least impact” route mean riding a bike on concrete boardwalk through fragile wetlands and along twenty five foot retaining walls?
Not one rock is allowed to be removed from the Lakeshore beaches but the Park can destroy/remove over seven thousand trees. Trees removed and their shade canopy destroyed casues the wetlands to not be shaded anymore and eventually wetlands are not wetlands anymore.
Concrete boardwalks, two story house height concrete retaining walls and hauling away 7,200 trees is a serious environmental impact. Our planet needs shade, tree canopies, dune swales and wetlands. How can the currently proposed route be “the most responsible, environmentally least impact”? (To quote Supt. Tucker) Better route options for this segment 9 could be building bike lanes along Little Traverse Lake Road or the option of routing the trail along the north or south sides of M-22.
Nancy Mueller Glen Arbor
