To the editor:
We were very proud of our township supervisor, Tim Stein, and the members of our Cleveland Twp. Board, when they stood up to the NPS and the SBDNL at their August meeting on the proposed Segment 9 of the Heritage Trail.
This proposed trail construction has significant negative environmental consequences for Cleveland and Centerville Townships, not the least of which is the destruction of 7,300 trees, when we are already suffering the effects of climate change and global warming.
Also, the proposed removal of critical sand dunes, and the construction of huge and,unsightly retaining walls in their place, is a terrible way to make use of a quiet, forested road, designated and used by county residents as a “scenic road”. Traverse Lake Road does not need to be changed into another urban roadway like LaFranier Rd. or the Best Buy parking lot in Traverse City.
The alternative trail pathway, following Bohemian Road to Lake Michigan Drive and on to Good Harbor Bay, is a much more beautiful, scenic, and far less damaging option.
Thank you, Cleveland Twp. Board members! Please advise the NPS bureaucrats not to pave our wilderness and destroy our sand dunes ! An environmental assessment must be completed first, to inform policy makers and all who are being asked to approve this environmentally harmful trail
Dennis & Kathy Hurst Cedar
