Comments on: Protecting Lake Michigan's Shoreline Dunes

By: Rapid City Rex

Rapid City Rex — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 21:36:58 +0000

TRAVERSE CITY — The state is expected next week to approve the purchase of development rights of hundreds of acres in what would be the final stage of a three-year, public-private effort to preserve forest and Lake Michigan sand dunes.

The sale of development rights for 1,185 acres in Arcadia Township in Manistee County and Blaine Township in Benzie County for $2.64 million will complete the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy's plan to preserve around 1,860 acres that include towering sand dunes and a habitat for endangered species.
http://www.record-eagle.com/20.....stsale.htm

By: farlane

farlane — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 16:51:09 +0000

Thanks for clarifying this, Tanya!

By: Tanya Cabala

Tanya Cabala — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 16:34:53 +0000

A correction is needed. The original Sand Dune Protection and Management Act was passed in 1976, led by former state representative Dennis Cawthorne of Manistee. His proposal was originally for a ban on mining in coastal dunes, but the legislation that was enacted focused on regulation of mining activities. Continuing concern over dune mining in the mid1980s prompted then Governor Blanchard to propose a ban on mining, once again. The study committee that was established as part of the effort proposed additional restrictions on mining, but also, for the first time, recommended standards for building in dunes termed "critical dunes." Those recommendations were passed as amendments to the Sand Dune Protection and Management Act in 1989. The standards for development were weakened in 1994, relaxing the standard for building on steep slopes, as well as providing for a special variance for those who felt that they could not meet the standard. To date, there has been no assessment as to how effectively this law has provided protection to the dune resource.

Tanya Cabala, Great Lakes Consulting