Emerald Ash Borer, not citizen opposition, stopped forest canopy walk

By Jacob Wheeler
Sun editor

Mark Evans, who had hoped to build a forest canopy walk this summer in Leelanau’s Kasson Township, confirmed to the Glen Arbor Sun that the prominence of Ash trees on the property (many infected with Emerald Ash Borer), and not the outcry from citizens opposed to the project, was what stopped him from moving forward.

“I can confirm that the sole reason for not pursuing the walk in the Glen Lake area was the fact that there were just to many Ash trees on the property,” Evans wrote in an email on April 14. “After surveying the site in the winter without any leaf coverage it was easier to identify just how many Ash were actually on the property. Unfortunately, there appeared to be a lot more than I first realised. Whilst the property had been logged in the past, unfortunately for me the trees that were taken were predominantly Sugar Maple and Beech. The vast majority of the larger trees left on the property are actually Ash.”

Wendy Martin, who was considering selling her 83 acres to Evans, and potential financier Bob Barnes, confirmed this news in mid-April. “You can’t have a canopy walk without the canopy,” said Martin.

Per email, Evans added that the Ash were located in two distinct clusters. One cluster hugged a ridge line that was parallel to the proposed walk route. Most of these large Ash were badly infected and would have had to be removed due to safety reasons.

“Aesthetically, the walk is about the forest. Whilst dead trees are a part any forest, the unnatural number of dead, dying trees on the ridge would definitely affect the aesthetics of the overall forest experience as you would be looking into the dead crowns from the walk. Once removed, these trees that were shielding the canopy walk would no longer be there, thus increasing the risk of being able to see the walk from adjoining properties and the road side.”

“I said all along the walk is a canopywalk, you won’t be able to see it as it stays within the canopy. I designed the walk based on the tree cover that is currently there. If I was forced to remove a substantial number of larger trees, hence canopy I could no longer guarantee what I said previously and I am very much a man of my word.”

“The gaps left in the forest by the removal of the dead Ash would both be unattractive and also open up the forest to additional risk of wind blow as the ridge is exposed to the prevailing northwest winds that sweep across the lake.”

“The last factor was cost. When you add up the cost of removing and then treating the Ash that are not yet deemed too far gone, this adds up to a reasonable ongoing cost. There is also not a 100 percent success rate on the treatment; it all depends on how far damaged the tree is.”

Evans called Michigan’s Ash trees “in dire straits”. He disagreed with Barnes’ estimate that, had he started the project six months earlier, he may have been able to save the Ash trees.

“I actually think we got here 3-5 years too late. Every ash tree is infected; they just differ in their degree of infection. I have seen healthy Ash since and the Ash in Michigan is in dire straits.”

Will Evans consider building a forest canopy walk elsewhere?

“I do have other options for the canopy walk in the U.S. but at this stage I’m not prepared to speculate as they are only ideas and there is nothing solid. I will continue working on this idea in between my other commitments with Orca and Humpback Whale conservation and my work in Antarctica.”

As to the citizen opposition to the project, Evans felt that he wasn’t given a fair shake from the start.

“The citizen opposition did not deter me from this decision. Whereby it initially was unexpected, I did personally receive a substantial amount of support for this project. All we wanted to do is present an idea to the township. We would abide by all township rules, regulations, bylaws, etc. The decision whether this project went ahead would be in the hands of the township based on our application. We would have accepted that decision whatever way it went. That is the way the system works and we were very happy to work within that system.”

“I personally feel that people were very misinformed, didn’t understand the concept at all, which resulted in hysteria-type thinking. I said all along that if I didn’t think the project fitted the location, I wouldn’t do it.”

“Although this was a commercial venture, it is incredible that some people threw it into the category of Dollywood, Gatlinburg and McDonald’s. These comments just highlighted the complete lack of understanding about the concept and the real conservation ethics and benefits that this type of project can bring about. We never got the chance to hold a public meeting to explain the project because the Ash stood in our way. Until we cleared this issue there was no point in moving forward with anything until we knew we had the right property to move forward with.”