Archive for the ‘Investigative Article’ Category
Wednesday, April 4th, 2012
 From staff reports
The accolades and attention continue to bless Leelanau County — and our summer season is still over seven weeks away.
A University of Wisconsin study published today named ours as the third healthiest county in the United States — behind Los Alamos County, N.M., and Colorado’s Douglas County. That means we’re the fittest Americans east of the Mississippi River!
Leelanau leapfrogged Ottawa County in southeast Michigan for the claim to the healthiest county in the state. Ottawa won in 2011. View the statewide results here.
The rankings uses factors including health behavior, clinical care, social and economic factors and physical environment. Measures also include the number of fast food restaurants in a county (Leelanau County has none!) and physical inactivity levels.
The study was conducted by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. To view the rankings, visit www.countyhealthrankings.org.
This GlenArbor.com story was sponsored by the Yarn Shop.
Tags: Douglas County, Leelanau County, Los Alamos County, population health institute, University of Wisconsin
Posted in Investigative Article, Sports/Adventure, Talk of the Town | 15 Comments »
Thursday, March 8th, 2012
 By Jacob Wheeler
Sun editor
Northern Michiganders, and residents of Leelanau and Benzie counties in particular, faced the worst snowstorm in decades the first weekend of March. Old Man Winter threw one of his last tantrums of the season Friday night, March 2, and by 8 p.m. much of the area had lost electricity. Power returned to Glen Arbor on Sunday, Empire on Monday, but some far-flung rural outposts — like my parents house, on Echo Valley Rd. — didn’t return to the 21st century until Tuesday evening.
The mighty storm dumped over two feet of heavy wet snow, knocked out electricity in nearly 100 percent of homes in Leelanau County, snapped tree limbs, lay branches onto power lines, made roads impassible and prompted Empire to open the Township Hall as an emergency shelter (here’s a TV 7&4 video report from the Suttons Bay Fire Department, which was also became a makeshift shelter). As the Leelanau Enterprise reported this week, “the storm dropped 12-16 inches across much of the traditional snowbelt of northwest Michigan except for an area found within an ominous white oval that appears to begin at Good Harbor and extend southward to take part of Benzie and Grand Traverse counties. The oval signifies 20 inches of snow; most of the oval is in Leelanau County.”
The storm nailed Manistee County too. David and Christine Flaugher, who own Verdant Farm near Copemish, couldn’t make it home from a meal on the town in Traverse City the night the storm hit. One of their lambs gave birth that night in the middle of the blizzard, and their boys Enoch, 14, and Nathanael, 12, acted quickly and moved the mother and healthy newborn into the barn the following morning.
And the storm reminded us all of what life was like before the convenience of electricity, easy heat, television and Internet. Through the anguish, many rediscovered what matters most in our daily lives — namely, family and community intimacy that doesn’t depend on a wireless router or reality television.
Here are a few perspectives from your northern Michigan neighbors on how they weathered the great winter storm of 2012 (with more words to come in the days ahead):
Anne-Marie Oomen, writer, Empire
I was attending a writing conference in Chicago, so I missed most of the big storm. But coming home Saturday night we got stranded in Grand Rapids. The hotel where we finally found rooms was also housing people who were attending pool, bowling and cheerleading conferences in the vicinity, plus travellers who finally pulled out of the maze of accidents and spinning vehicles on the expressways. Needless to say, the bar scene was more than rogue with a variety of folks and a live band from the seventies.
Once we did make it home, we went into resourceful mode. Because we have a woodstove, we can keep the home fires burning and the pipes from bursting. Like many, we thawed snow for washing and flushing, and warmed food by hand-lighting the propane stove. We made a sauna to bathe and took advantage of friends in Empire who had a generator (Gerry Shiffman was especially generous).
We moved our food outside into coolers, cleared the freezer, and I actually cleaned the refrigerator — first time since it was empty. Eventually, our resident flock of wild turkeys came to the back porch and the big boy tapped the window, so we fed them too from the greens that didn’t make it. We lit a lot of candles so we could read a little, and the house filled with the scent of melted wax to mix with the smoke of the stove.
What was most delightful and strange was the silence. A house without power is a house that holds the quiet of the old world. We curled around the fire and found ourselves listening to the wind in a different way — without the swish of energy underpinning it. We fell asleep listening to the hollow spaces that are usually full of the various musics of living. Though we live quiet lives, the hum of electricity is power (literally and figuratively) that runs through the walls of our buildings and the walls of our being. Without it, we were listening more deeply to breath. For those nights, our sleep was both more still and more alert — listening beyond the illusions of power.
At first, we were trying to hear something that over time, we had forgotten we were hearing. It had filled us and we didn’t know it. When it was no longer there, I was both more attentive and move vulnerable, listening … for what? More quiet? I liked that. Listening for more quiet. It grows if you listen deeply, becomes more, or we become more present to it, hearing the language of the silence as our authentic power. I expected it to tell me secrets — it would have, if I had been allowed to listen longer.
By the time Wednesday came, I was eager for the light (oh, the blessing of light) to return, but still, I’m thinking about when the power left, I was entranced with the richness and fullness of the unsound it gave in its passing.
Nancy Krcek Allen, chef and writer, Maple City:
“Our power went out Friday night while we were watching television. It was as if my mother had said, ‘Time to go to bed.’ And turned off the lights and television. So we went to bed at 8.30 p.m. I awoke at 4 a.m. with a bit of anxiety that we were the only ones who had no power so I got up and called Consumer’s Power. The recording said power wouldn’t be on until Tuesday evening. I still was in denial.
The next morning our phone was out. I had a large cooking class with 16 out on Old Mission Peninsula and wanted to make sure Chateau Chantal knew I wasn’t coming. When I insisted upon trudging a half mile down the road just to see if I could get cell service and ‘make sure,’ my husband looked at me as if to say I was nuts and said, ‘You’re not going anywhere today.’ Hmm. Still in denial. No cell service. And I couldn’t slog through the two feet of wet snow any further. Went home. A little frantic. No power, no heat, no music, radio or television, no work on computer and no iPhone or email. Thank the gods for my big black gas six burner stove. It kept the house tolerably warm. Husband went out to his studio to weld. Kept him warm and happy. Did I say I was a little frantic?
When the power finally came on after 75 hours I went to bed and lay there thinking of how much goes into the simple thing we call electricity. And I wondered if it will be sustainable in the future. (I was impressed with the people who hiked through snow to fix the power lines. And how many friends who had power suggested we come to stay with them or take showers or eat and so on. And how many people it took to get it all going again.)
The last crippling storm that I experienced was in 1979. It was a three-day affair and no one went anywhere because for three days the roads were impassable — there was just too much snow. I don’t remember the power going out. This storm was of shorter duration, but more severe because of the spring snow’s texture. Last year we were stuck for a day with the same kind of implacable, wet spring snow. It seems to be a pattern.
I loved how this storm disconnected me (and friends) from our ‘normal’ busy life and connected us to each other. It’s been a long time since I was forced to sit and be quiet with no distractions. It should happen once every year …”
Mimi Wheeler, owner, Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate, Empire
“We have extensive roofs on our octagonal house, and snow slid off the roof and blocked any sunlight on eight of the 16 window panes that connect us with outdoor natural light.
Forest, our 28-year-old foster daughter, arrived mid-evening on Friday night and barely made it down the gravel Echo Valley in her four-wheel-drive Subaru through the drifting snow. My husband Norm was playing with Jazz North in Traverse City, and we called to warn him not to attempt a trip back to Leelanau County with the fast growing accumulations of snow.
The electricity went off at around 9 p.m. that evening, and we lit a dozen candles to illuminate our cozy wooden house. By mid-morning on Saturday Forest shoveled a pathway to our driveway, where my car was hidden by a foot and a half of heavy snow. By that time, the path near the roof-line of our home was surrounding by six-foot walls, and the landscape was dramatic and looked like Narnia when the snow queen reigned.
Norm parked his car out on County Road 677 and walked three quarters of a mile home. I headed to Empire, primarily to check on the temperature inside my chocolate shop and whether any water pipes had burst. The county plow had declared most of our road was passable.
A sign posted outside the Empire Township Hall welcoming the community caught my eye, and my curiosity drove me inside. Three or four volunteers from the Red Cross welcome me with hot coffee, fresh water and snacks. Around two tables sat six or eight people who were chatting and sharing stories over the morning’s Record Eagle, whose headline read “Stay Home!”
Several residents from the apartments near the Methodist Church were assembled. Others at the township hall included residents who depended on electricity for heat and who had left their cold homes to be warm and take advantage of the generator there, which providing warmth and fresh water. I was not the only one there charging my dead cell phone and my iPad. Warm meals arrived shortly thereafter. A card game kept a few people busy. The atmosphere was positive and jovial. A few used the cots made available by the friendly Red Cross volunteers for a mid-morning nap, and a few had stayed overnight and would stay until electricity returned to their own homes.
An old friend, an elderly woman was among the community at the town hall. Her son told me later that he and his wife had stopped to encourage her to come home with them to their wood stove and warm house nearby, but the woman replied: “why would I leave while we are having a party here?”
Miriam Owsley, employee, Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate, Empire:
“I think my dad, John Owsley, put it well. ‘Getting the drive plowed after 23-inch overnight snow — $50. Kerosene for the heater — $18.49. Four days snowed in with no power, Internet, or cell phones, and my family gathered about — friction priceless!’”
Tom Ulrich, Deputy Superintendent, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore:
“The high was building a baby luge in the front yard and watching Zoe giggle her way down.”
Holly Hughes Reay, owner, Funistrada in Burdickville:
The high was kids learning to play and enjoy poker. The low was the tree bomb that went off in our front yard!”
Traci Apsey, Lighthouse Insurance, Empire
“I learned to love my snowmobile suit, but brothers inside for too long together creates a migraine for Mom.”
Tags: 2012 winterstorm, Empire Michigan, Glen Arbor, Snowpocalypse
Posted in Investigative Article, Talk of the Town | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, February 28th, 2012
 From staff reports
A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 1,280,932 visitors in 2010 spent $120,482,000 in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (National Lakeshore) and nearby communities. That spending supported 2,070 jobs in the local area.
“The people and the business owners in communities near national parks have always known their economic value, and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is no exception,” said Park Superintendent Dusty Shultz. “The National Lakeshore provides a remarkable place for visitors to enjoy the natural, historic, and recreational resources, resulting in a tremendous boost to our local economy.”
Most of the spending/jobs are related to lodging (48%) and food and beverage service (20%) followed by gas and local transportation, groceries, other retail, and entertainment/amusements, each between 6% and 10%. The figures are based on a 2009 survey conducted in the National Lakeshore and are included in an annual, peer-reviewed, visitor spending analysis conducted by Dr. Daniel Stynes of Michigan State University for the National Park Service. Dr. Stynes’ analysis showed that across the United States, national park visitor spending added a total of $31 billion to the national economy and supported more than 258,000 jobs; an increase of $689 million and 11,500 jobs over 2009.
To download the economic report for the National Lakeshore, visit this website. For the national report, visit this site and click on Economic Benefits to Local Communities from National Park Visitation and Payroll, 2010. The report includes information for visitor spending at individual parks and by state.
For more information on how the NPS is working in Michigan, go to this site.
About the National Park Service: More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 397 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities.
Tags: Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Posted in Investigative Article | No Comments »
Monday, February 27th, 2012
 From staff reports
The National Park Service at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (National Lakeshore) announced the completion of the Port Oneida Historic Landscape Management Plan/Environmental Assessment with the signing of the “Finding of No Significant Impact” (FONSI) on January 17. The FONSI identifies the selected alternative and serves as the decision-making document for the project. The FONSI and Environmental Assessment (EA) may be viewed on the National Lakeshore’s website at www.nps.gov/slbe.
This is the culmination of a public input process that began in November 2010, when letters were sent to governmental agencies, interest groups, and the public, asking for ideas on the future of Port Oneida. A press release was also issued on November 8, 2010, requesting public input. The resultant EA, which described the “No Action” alternative (continue current management) and an action alternative (the Preferred Alternative), was placed on public review from August 9 to September 12, 2011. A press release was issued on August 9, 2011, stating that the document could be reviewed on the park’s website, and paper copies were available at village and township offices and area libraries. A public open house was held at the National Lakeshore’s Visitor Center Auditorium on August 23, 2011. As a result, 40 comments were received from the public and were carefully considered before making a final decision on the EA. A Public Comment Summary and General Response to Comments may be accessed at the park’s website. In addition, a few minor errors in the EA have been noted and corrected, and included in an Errata Sheet. This document may also be accessed at the park’s website.
The National Park Service would like to thank all who provided valuable comments on the EA. We reviewed all comments and carefully considered which approach to take to satisfy the objectives of the project.
The Selected Alternative:
• Strives to maintain the historic agricultural landscape so that the period of significance (1870-1945), and the changes that occurred over that time period, are conveyed to visitors.
• Presents an active program of removing vegetation to maintain or reestablish the historic boundary (or a semblance of the historic boundary) and configuration of fields while addressing natural resource concerns such as invasive plant management, wetland protection, and soil conservation.
• Provides direction for stabilizing existing or reestablishing missing patterns of field and forest and protecting existing historic vegetation through removal of non-historic (and often invasive) vegetation.
• Permits the National Lakeshore to respond positively to proposals for adaptively using the farms that are compatible with objectives for Port Oneida.
For more in-depth information, please call the National Lakeshore at (231) 326-5134 or visit their website at www.nps.gov/slbe. Also, check out their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/sbdnl.
Tags: Port Oneida, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Posted in Investigative Article | No Comments »
Friday, February 17th, 2012
 Traverse City filmmaker Aaron Dennis and Glen Arbor Sun editor Jacob Wheeler traveled to the Holy Land in early February to document the Run Across Palestine, which was organized by northern Michigand-based On The Ground. The runners logged over 100 miles over five days across the West Bank to raise awareness about the struggles facing olive farmers and to help reestablish sustainable olive growing practices in a region where the economy, culture and identity are rooted in the ancient tree. Watch Dennis’ and Wheeler’s video series here. And read Wheeler’s dispatches below:
• “3, 2, 1, to Jenin (Palestine) Yalla Run!”
• Joys and Pains on the Run Across Palestine
• Promoting Palestinian art and folklore
• Political art sends clearer message than 1,000 speeches
• Israeli military stops Run Across Palestine on Day 1
• Planting trees, singing and dancing in At-Tuwani
• Planting our children’s olive trees
• Michiganders cross wall to Run across Palestine
Tags: israel, olive farmer, Palestine, Run Across Palestine, west bank
Posted in Dispatch from Afar, Investigative Article | No Comments »
Thursday, January 26th, 2012
 Residents express concerns over marina expansion: Township Board writes letter of concern to DEQ
By Michael Buhler and Jacob Wheeler
Sun editors
The Glen Arbor Township Board held a special meeting today to respond to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) regarding an application for a marina expansion on Big Glen Lake. On the Narrows Marina owner Conor McCahill seeks to add an additional 39 boat slips on a new dock, bringing the total to 46, as well as increase the moorings to 16. On the Narrows Marina is located on the M-22 state highway, just north of the Carl Oleson Memorial Bridge, which divides Big and Little Glen Lake.
Over 100 residents and interested neighbors listened in the gymnasium as the Board met to discuss the issue. Since this was a meeting and not a hearing, public comment was limited to the end of the session. Township Zoning Administrator Bob Hawley reviewed the requirements of the Resort zone, and noted that the marina and its structures are a non-conforming use of the property, grandfathered into the original 1975 zoning plan. He questioned whether an expansion would then make this a “more non-conforming use,” and necessitate the entire project to come into zoning compliance, which it then could not do.
After deliberation and audience input, the Board voted 4-0 to write a letter to the DEQ noting its concerns over parking, pedestrians, road safety, navigation at the bridge, water safety, and the potential for pollution. The Board also asked the DEQ to conduct a public hearing on the matter.
Andy DuPont, President of the Glen Lake Association (GLA), reported that he was assured by Robin Schmidt of the DEQ that the department plans to hold a public hearing, and that online links where citizens can comment on the application, and a PDF of the application itself, are available on the GLA website, www.GlenLakeAssociation.org. You can also comment on the DEQ’s website here and view the PDF here NarrowsMarinaExpansionApplication. The GLA and Township Board encourage everyone to make their views known to the DEQ, and the GLA website will share any updates on the application — as well the Glen Arbor Sun via GlenArbor.com.
On the DEQ application last month, McCahill wrote, “Due to high demand, we would like to expand our boat slip and mooring offerings. If permitted we would simply install additional freestanding seasonal docks and move and expand our mooring field. This would take place in Spring 2012. … There is very high demand for slips and moorings on Glen Lake that we currently cannot accommodate. … Following our pre-application meeting we adjusted our layout and design to exclude a boat ramp and any dredging activity. This will require more dock sections to be used, but eliminate dredging in the shallow areas.”
In an open letter to the Glen Lake community posted at On the Narrows Marina’s website today, the McCahill family wrote: “Our objective in seeking expansion is to provide more opportunities for others to have access to the lake. We have a long waiting list from local residents seeking lake access for their boats. Most of our mooring customers are members of the local community and favor having boat slips as opposed to moorings. While we anticipated there would be opposing opinions, some quite legitimate and others self centered, the first step in the process is to comply with state law which we know will inevitably lead to a public hearing where we look forward to answering questions, addressing concerns and hopefully finding solutions that allow further access to a wonderful natural resource for Glen Lake residents, families and visitors.”
On the Narrows Marina’s expansion plans on Big Glen Lake have spread like wildfire through the local media. TV 7&4 news jumped on the story on Tuesday, quoting resident Kathy Schmid, who owns a home on the lake, as saying she’s worried that “peaceful summers on Glen Lake will turn into a crowded party atmosphere with the expansion.” Schmid also worries that the area wouldn’t be able to accommodate extra parking or restrooms that would be needed for the influx of visitors.
On Wednesday, the Traverse City Record-Eagle described On the Narrows as a “sleepy little marina” and quoted Kathy’s brother Greg Schmid as saying, “I think this is the first robber baron taking advantage of us being called the most beautiful place in America. I think by next year we’ll lose that designation.” The Schmids worry that the addition of nearly 40 boat slips will turn the Glen Lakes into “another party spot like Torch Lake.”
“They are valid concerns,” Conor McCahill told the Sun. “From our point of view, we don’t see why we can’t work with the community to address them and get something done. We take the lake very seriously, and we’re not looking to cause any harm. We’re just looking to expand and meet demand on the lake.”
McCahill conceded that parking is an issue in the congested area north of the Narrows Bridge. He suggested that the parking lot in front of “McCahill’s Crossing” — the former Narrows Dairy Bar, which will re-open this summer — is a possible solution.
“Parking is an issue. But it’s an issue throughout Glen Arbor too. There are different options in our plan. We own the property across the bridge. We could perhaps do a shuttle service.”
McCahill sought to address concerns that the expansion will overcrowd the lake with traffic.
“Our goal, as far as the expansion is concerned, is to allow more people to use the lake. It’s a misconception that the lake will all of a sudden become overcrowded with boat traffic. Our clientele are mostly people from the community who are already on the lake. They just want to put their boat somewhere where they don’t have to use the ramp every single day.”
The McCahills contracted the Traverse City-based surveying and engineering firm Gourdie-Fraser to investigate riparian rights and bottomlands where the docks and moorings would go. Conor McCahill believes that On the Narrows owns the riparian rights south of the marina.
“People are under the impression that that is not our land, but we went through the process, and it is,” he said. “All we’re looking for is an opportunity to work with the community to get this accomplished. If the plan goes through and we have a separate pier, that’s just another place where people can park their boats. Another avenue, so the lake is not as congested.”
Tom and Carol McCahill, and their three adult children, Conor, Megan and Neil, originally from Littleton, Colo., purchased the marina from Jack and Marcie Ferris in 2008 and re-opened it in 2009. Read our feature on the McCahills here. They recently acquired the former Dairy Bar on the south side of the Glen Lake narrows and plan to open that soon. Last summer, employees of On the Narrows won the adoration of the community when they saved a tiny fawn from drowning in Big Glen Lake.
Tags: Carl Oleson Memorial Bridge, Conor McCahill, Glen Arbor, Glen Arbor Township Board, Glen Lake, Glen Lake Association, Glen Lake Narrows, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, On the Narrows Marina
Posted in Business Feature, Investigative Article, Talk of the Town | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, January 18th, 2012
 From staff reports
A number of concerned locals have contacted Glen Lake School about the clear-cutting of aspen trees on the school-owned property on County Road 677 (Benzonia Trail), just north of the M-72 intersection — a 180-acre plot that the local public school typically calls the “Benzie Trail Property”. To address those concerns, Glen Lake posted the following interview with its forester, Richard Cooper, from nearby Honor, on its website, www.glenlakeschools.org.
According to Glen Lake, “the school board chose Cooper as its forester based on the respect he has both within the environmental community and the logging community as somebody who takes a careful approach to timber management. We asked him to provide some perspective on the forestry management plan that is in place for the property and to explain why clear-cutting was used on the aspen stand.”
Glen Lake: Before we get into the specifics of the forestry management plan, can you take us back a little further in time and explain how the school got the property in the first place and why special deed restrictions on the property require the school to cut trees on it.
Cooper: It originally became part of school property back in the 1940’s or so through a DNR program. Schools could get tax-reverted land for forestry purposes. The deed restriction you refer to requires timber management, requires some logging for the school district to maintain the ownership. If not managed for timber and education, the land can revert back to the state, which would mean the school district would lose a very valuable asset. An interesting historical aside, some of the older people in the Empire area remember planting the pine trees out there as kids, in the old abandoned agricultural fields. They planted red pine, jack pine and white pine for soil erosion control and educational purposes.
Glen Lake: So if the deed requires logging, why has the school never done that until recently, yet was obviously able to maintain ownership of the property for the past several decades?
Cooper: The school district has been managing the forest since the 1940’s by planting trees, protecting the forest from fires, building trials, conducting field trips and classes, on-site camping, cutting firewood, and recently harvesting some trees. Cutting trees is only a small part of managing a forest. Also, the forest was maturing during all those years, and it has just recently reached the point where the timber is ready to harvest. We’ve had four timber sales on Glen Lake Community Schools property over the past fifteen or so years and the timber has generated in excess of $125,000 for the school. In addition, the first thinning of the pine was conducted perhaps twenty years ago and was handled by the Leelanau County forester, Rick Moore. So it is not correct to assume the Glen Lake Community Schools land was never managed nor logged previously.
Glen Lake: How did the forestry management plan take shape?
Cooper: First we do an inventory of the timber to see what timber types and volumes we have to work with. This property had about 150 acres in upland hardwoods—maple beech forest. There are also three types of pine on the property: red pine, jack pine and white pine, which total about 12 acres. And the aspen, which covers about 18 acres, about 10 percent of the property.
Glen Lake: So we have thinned some types of timber but clearcut the aspen. Can you explain why the different approaches are used?
Cooper: There are three different cutting techniques used on this parcel of land, one for each timber type. With the pine, we “thin from below.” The smaller trees are taken, leaving the dominant and co-dominant trees for future growth and harvests. Other issues can also determine the approach and timing. For example, the red pine stand had a small infestation of pine beetle, and I was concerned that the beetle would really flourish. We cut the infested trees in 2008, a little ahead of schedule because it’s very hard to get rid of the pine beetle once it gets established.
A selective harvest cutting technique is used in the hardwood stand. Every 10 years or so, individual trees are marked and harvested to open up small areas for regeneration. Generally trees are harvested at age 100 in the hardwood stands, and you manage it so there are about 10 harvests over 100 years.
Glen Lake: The aspen clearcut, which is so visible from the road, is what has people most upset; can you explain the strategy on that?
Cooper: As for the aspen stand, the trees were nearing the end of their natural lives and they were beginning to die off. We wanted to keep aspen on the property for diversity and educational purposes. To regenerate a healthy aspen stand, a clearcut is used to allow full sunlight to hit the roots. If only partial sun hits the root system, the new aspen shoots are not as strong and viable. If we had thinned the aspen stand or left it alone, the aspen would have died out and natural forest succession would have eventually replaced the aspen with poorer quality hardwoods. Aspen are a very important food source and cover for many animals, like whitetail deer, woodcock, lots of songbirds and grouse, so providing habitat was one reason we wanted to keep it. We also plan on leaving some large logs from this harvest around the aspen type for grouse to use as drumming logs—those are logs that the male grouse sits on and drums to attract females, so that was also a habitat decision. Aspen doesn’t live long, about 50 to 70 years, but it grows very quickly. Even by next May the aspen shoots will be about a foot high and by next fall aspen reproduction should be about 5 to 6 feet tall. By the time today’s kindergartners graduate in 12 years, the aspen will be 50 to 60 feet tall.
Glen Lake: Also, some people have complained about how messy the forest is still. What’s going to happen as far as cleanup goes?
Cooper: Yes, it is muddy out there right now with all the recent rain. By contract, the logger is required to smooth the trails and roads. Most of the slash will be chipped for pulpwood. But there will be some limbs and slash that will be left to decompose over the next few years, enriching the soil. I hold a cash bond on the purchaser to hire another contractor for cleanup if he does not fulfill his obligation in that regard.
Glen Lake: Any final thoughts about the property’s forest you’d like to share?
Cooper: It’s important to keep in mind that the forest is an amazingly resilient system. After European settlement, the lake states were clearcut. We stumped, farmed and pastured the land. It eroded. We abandoned it. It burned. We walked away from it, and 4 million acres reverted to state of Michigan ownership back in the 1930’s. In spite of all of that, the forest came back and is now ready for cutting today. Imagine what our forests would look like if we had tried to grow trees! We obviously manage the land with infinitely more thought, understanding and care than what happened a hundred years ago. Absolutely no comparison. So the people of the school district can know that even though this forest is not currently managed to become an old growth forest, and current deed restrictions prevent that, it will continue to be a healthy forest and provide an outstanding outdoor classroom resource for studying sustainable forestry and forest science. Please let teachers know that I would be happy to lead classes out there for field study.
This GlenArbor.com story is sponsored by Forest Gallery and Center Gallery, ground zero for Glen Arbor’s art scene.
Tags: aspen trees, Benzonia Trail, Glen Lake School
Posted in Investigative Article | 1 Comment »
Thursday, December 22nd, 2011
 From staff reports
Tom Ulrich, Deputy Superintendent of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, reports that 2011 won’t be the Lakeshore’s busiest year in history — despite Sleeping Bear being voted “the most beautiful place in America” by Good Morning America — and the final tally won’t come close to the 1,364,834 the Lakeshore welcomed in 1999. But 2011 will post the second highest visitors total.
Through November, 1,339,454 visitors walked through the proverbial turnstiles. “That’s a 25,000 gap to close in a month whose visitation has only once exceeded even 10,000,” says Ulrich. “And with no snow we aren’t getting good visitation (in December).”
The Lakeshore won’t have a final count until January 5.
This is the only the third year that the Lakeshore has topped 1.3 million in visitor numbers: 1999 and 1988. Last year boasted the fifth highest annual total, at 1,280,932.
This GlenArbor.com story was sponsored by the Yarn Shop, a creative force in Glen Arbor since 1955.
Posted in Investigative Article | 1 Comment »
Monday, November 28th, 2011
 By Pat Stinson
Sun contributor
Details surrounding the history, legend and exciting 2010 discovery of one of the Great Lakes’ most sought-after shipwrecks will be disclosed during the Empire Area Heritage Group’s Dec. 2, free public program at the Empire Township Hall.
Beginning at 7 p.m. Ross Richardson, a Lake Ann diver and a 10-year former board member of the Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates, will share his extensive research on and incredible discovery of the Westmoreland. The 160-foot passenger steamer sank more than 150 years ago in the icy waters off what is known now as the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
The ship, with 34 passengers and crew, was rumored to have been carrying whiskey and gold coins when she went down in December, 1854 — a tale that launched over a dozen expeditions in the ensuing years to find her and her treasures. Only 17 people were saved during the tragic event.
Richardson solved the mystery of the ship’s whereabouts using history books, old newspapers and what he calls “a little bit of hard work.” He found the wreck in July, 2010 — sitting upright, bow and arches intact — in an uncharted hole.
 The local diver has spent the last decade looking for and documenting shipwrecks off the state’s west coast. He has worked with David Trotter and Clive Cussler’s National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) Team, is part of the Benzie Area Public Safety Dive Team and is a Special Deputy with the Benzie County Sheriff’s Department.
The Westmoreland project was partially funded by a grant from the Great Lakes Shipwreck Research Foundation, Inc. For more about the project, visit www.michiganmysteries.com.
A goodwill offering will be accepted at the door during the event and free beverages and popcorn will be served. For more information about Friday’s program, email empiremuseum@centurytel.net.
This GlenArbor.com article was sponsored by the Western Avenue Grill, featuring casual fine dining in downtown Glen Arbor.
Tags: Benzie County Sheriff’s Department, Empire Area Heritage Group, Empire Michigan, Great Lakes shipwreck, Great Lakes Shipwreck Research Foundation, Lake Ann Michigan, Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates, National Underwater and Marine Agency, Ross Richardson, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Westmoreland
Posted in Historical Feature, Investigative Article, Upcoming Event | No Comments »
Thursday, November 17th, 2011
 By Jacob Wheeler
Sun editor
When I spoke on the phone recently with Derek Bailey, current chair of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians and now Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress, he was crossing the Mackinac Bridge and returning home to Traverse City. The tires on his 2005 Saturn VUE hummed loudly as he passed over the rumble strips on the majestic arch that connects Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas.
That bridge is already a well-worn path for Bailey, who traverses the northern part of the state once or twice a week to build political support for his congressional bid next November. He hopes to unseat Tea Party-backed freshman Republican Dan Benishek and represent Michigan’s 1st District, which, following redistricting, now encompasses Leelanau, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Manistee and half of Mason counties as well as the tip of the mitten and the entire Upper Peninsula. But first he’ll have to win the Democratic primary against Gary McDowell, who lost handily to Benishek last fall. The Congressional seat was previously held by Blue Dog Democrat Bart Stupak, who didn’t seek re-election following the beating he suffered during the health care debate. Whoever wins the primary will likely receive handsome financial support from the national Democratic Party, which has made it clear that it will prioritize reclaiming blue districts that it lost in 2010.
If Bailey succeeds, it will be because he is a bridge builder and not just a bridge crosser. Only eight Native Americans have served in Congress in this country’s 235-year history, and Bailey would be the first from the Midwest. While the dynamic 38-year-old (he turns 39 on Dec. 3) will surely win votes from Indian country, he’ll need crossover appeal to win white voters too. And he’ll need to bridge the heated partisan divide between Democrats and Republicans. The 1st District is considered conservative, but Stupak, a centrist Democrat, held it for 18 years. Can Derek Bailey, who wears his long dark hair in a traditional ponytail and rides a black Victory Kingpin 8-Ball motorcycle, tap into a long history of “Bill Milliken” Michigan moderates?
 “I’ve been able to work as tribal chairman with local, state and federal officials from both parties,” said Bailey, who claims that during his exploratory campaign he received emails of support from both sides of the aisle. Half of the members on his exploratory committee were Republican. “I’ve had successful working relationship with Democrats and Republicans … I don’t want to be looked at as a tribal vote.”
The native vote will no doubt come out strong for Bailey. Of Michigan’s 12 Indian tribes, eight are located in the 1st District — five in the Upper Peninsula (U.P.) and three in the upper third of the mitten. Through his wife Tonia, who is half Alaskan Native, a quarter Standing Rock Sioux and a quarter Ojibwe, and their three sons, Nimkees, 12, Ohsawkihew, 8, and Maengun, 3, and two daughters, Daanis, 13, and Panika, 11, Bailey has familial ties to the Bay Mills Indian community and the Keweenaw Bay Indian community, both in the U.P. Derek’s father is Odawa (typically spelled “Ottawa” in English) and his mother is of Norwegian descent. During the campaign, Tonia and the kids are living in the town of Brimley near Sault Ste Marie.
In recent weeks Bailey has also taken his campaign national in order to attract fundraising support outside of Michigan. In early November he flew to Portland, Ore. for the annual Convention of the National Congress of American Indians.
“I think we need more people in Congress who understand tribal sovereignty,” he told 2,800 American Indian and Alaska Native leaders. “I know it and I advocate for sovereignty issues. I will do the same in Congress.” Bailey told the crowd that current Congressman Benishek hasn’t connected with people in the 1st District. “He sent my tribe a letter and did not even spell the word ‘Chippewa’ right. I know he does not understand our issues.”
 As tribal chairman since 2008 — the youngest in the Grand Traverse Band’s history — Bailey has championed job-creation and the environment, two pillars around which his campaign is building. The tribe fluctuates between the second- and third-biggest job provider in northwest-lower Michigan, following Munson Medical Center in Traverse City and tied with Traverse City Area Public Schools. The tribe’s job creation power surged when it acquired the Grand Traverse Resort in 2003, and again when the doors opened to the new Turtle Creek Casino in nearby Williamsburg in June 2008.
“I told Governor Rick Snyder, ‘I hope you are the first Michigan governor who recognizes the economic impact of the tribe, through gaming’. That’s never highlighted, but it’s substantial.” In an effort to straddle that political middle ground, Bailey includes photos of himself with both Michigan’s Republican governor and President Barack Obama on his campaign website, DerekBaileyforCongress.com.
Meanwhile, Bailey touts the austerity measures that the Grand Traverse Band took during the economic recession. Government cuts, he knows, could win him support among conservatives. “We worked with tribal leaders to reduce our budget by over $5 million. Some services were scaled back but we maintained most of our services. Those were tough choices, but we didn’t run a deficit or leave our future leaders in an economic hole.”
Bailey’s advocacy for the environment is where he can build support among liberals and, perhaps unique to northern Michigan, conservatives too — though he claims that Benishek has done nothing to support the environment, whereas Stupak was a vocal supporter of protecting the Great Lakes.
 “When I’m advocating for the Grand Traverse Band on stopping Asian Carp or other invasive species, that’s something that’s relevant to all of us,” explained Bailey. “These issues affect our entire region.”
He writes on his website, “Protection of our greatest natural resource must be shown through a commitment driven by knowledge, understanding and spirit. I will bring that strong northern Michigan voice to the halls of Congress,”
That’s where the rising leader’s Native heritage comes into play. Though sensitive to American Indian stereotypes, he embraces the image of the Native as the caretaker of Mother Earth. “We need to protect what we have been given by our ancestors: we need to love our waters, our land, and save them for future generations. So when I advocate for the environment, it has a deeper meaning.”
Bailey was recently awarded the 2011 Glen T. Miller Tribal Leadership Award from the Great Lakes Region of the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society in Wisconsin for his “outstanding leadership on natural resource issues, and the protection of Indian hunting and fishing rights on behalf of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.”
He crossed another bridge early this year when he signed a memorandum of understanding with U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Michael Parks. The agreement, signed on Jan. 28 at the Traverse City Chamber of Commerce, formalized cooperation between the Coast Guard and the Grand Traverse Band to solidify an enduring relationship.
“That exemplifies a government-to-government relationship — hands reached out to each other and saying ‘let’s work together’,” said Bailey. “We’re willing to pay for better commitment, for safety, and for opportunities for our children to explore a career in the Coast Guard, and for the Coast Guard to learn culturally from the Grand Traverse Band.”
Derek Bailey’s most unique attribute may be his experiences working with the needy and impacting people on a personal level. Before making this run for office, he wasn’t a lawyer or a businessman, but a social worker. At 25, Bailey received a Master’s of Social Work from Grand Valley State University then worked as a therapist at Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services and as a substance abuse counselor with Project Rehab, which helped inmates at Kent County Jail in Grand Rapids.
“To have a degree in social work has been a tremendous asset,” Bailey analyzed his resume. “As a political leader, passing legislation is at a macro level. But having the experience of working with families and communities and understanding the impact of social issues on individuals, that’s at a micro level. It’s rewarding to me if I can use my education to help others in need.”
When I asked Bailey what his proudest moments have been thus far, he quickly listed meeting President Obama three times, his appointment to the National Advisory Council on Indian Education last year, his accomplishments as chair of the Grand Traverse Band, and signing the memorandum of understanding with the Coast Guard. But then he focused on a congratulatory card he received — and still has — from the elders of the Grand Traverse Band upon getting his Associate’s degree from Glen Oaks Community College near Three Rivers, Mich.
“Being away at college and knowing they are wishing you well: that showed me at the time that I could go out in the world but that I’d always have the community there standing behind me.” Ever since then, Bailey has wanted to give back to his Native community, and honor his roots.
“When you see a luncheon event with both youth and elders, where the elders are playing bingo and the youth are playing along, or serving them food and cleaning up the tables. That’s an intergenerational exchange, and you know there’s learning going on there.”
 The analogies between Bailey and Obama are tempting to make. Both are young, dynamic and philosophical leaders who have made meteoric rises through politics: when Obama was running for President, Bailey was running for tribal chair. Both worked on the community level with disenfranchised populations before they ran for office. Both come from minority communities that have been oppressed throughout the history of the United States. Both are bi-racial, half-minority and half-white, and represent a cultural bridge, and perhaps a wound healer. Obama broke the nation’s ultimate color barrier. Bailey hopes to carry a torch that very few Natives before him have done. And of course, they have met on several occasions.
Bailey seemed uncomfortable with the analogy when I floated it over the phone, probably because admitting it might seem arrogant, and because he wants to appeal to voters from both parties next fall.
But Bailey did concede that he has learned a lot from Obama’s employment of Internet-based social media and government transparency. He appears to be harnessing the same strategy to appeal to voters — using Facebook, Twitter and weekly email blasts. He has also recorded Grand Traverse Band presentations so that they could air later on public access television. Bailey said that, under his reign, the Tribe has also paid for advertisements in the Traverse City Record-Eagle to show how its money is spent.
“Government transparency is something I believe in, and my actions as chairman have been extremely transparent … I have treated media as a fourth arm of government.”
Perhaps the greatest complement that Bailey has received in this digital age came from Lee Sprague, the “Ogema” or “leader” of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians.
“You’re the first e-Ogema,” Sprague told Bailey.
This GlenArbor.com article is sponsored by the Martin Company, a company with unmatched experience in the local real estate market.
Tags: American Indian, Asian carp, Bart Stupak, Bay Mills, Bill Milliken, Blue Dog Democrat, Brimley, Dan Benishek, Derek Bailey, Gary McDowell, Glen Oaks Community College, Glen T. Miller Tribal Leadership Award, Grand Rapids, Grand Traverse Band, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Grand Traverse Resort, Grand Valley State University, invasive species, Kent County Jail, Kewaanew Bay, Lee Sprague, Leelanau County, Mackinac Bridge, Michigan moderate, Michigan redistricting, Munson Medical Center, National Advisory Council on Indian Education, Native American, Odawa, Ogema, Ojibwe, Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services, President Obama, Rick Snyder, Tea Party, Traverse Area Public Schools, Traverse City, Turtle Creek Casino, U.S. Coast Guard, Upper Peninsula
Posted in Investigative Article, Local Personality | 7 Comments »
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From staff reports
