To the editor:
Thank you Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians and Cleveland Township for opposing Segment 9’s environmentally destructive and outrageously expensive trail.
It confounds common sense there is plan to fragment a globally rare wetland, remove 7,300 trees and decimate massive glacial dunes. We know this type of alteration and environmental devastation invites ecosystem stress and invasive species risk. What about the trees stretching beyond Segment 9’s excavation limits, what happens to the health of this interconnected tree/animal/insect/microbe community during and after Segment 9’s destruction?
NPS and TART tell us Segment 9 will educate visitors about the rare wetlands. Ok, so they will be fragmenting a globally rare ecosystem with a roadway, wide and heavy enough for emergency vehicle access potentially destroying the very habitat they want to educate? Makes no sense.
Is a path of whizzing bikes (including electric bikes) the best way to teach about nature? Why can’t this Wilderness Area simply be appreciated for its quiet beauty? Why does NPS feel so compelled to build a bike trail to the end of the park at the peril of this beautiful span of land? Where is your responsible stewardship and priorities NPS? Let’s hope with the collective voice of GTB, Cleveland Township, NMEAC and thousands of others, NPS and TART will come to their senses. There are alternatives.
Let this quiet land sing, now and for future generations.
Sherri Moore Cedar
