Opposes Sleeping Bear bike trail

Dear editor,

With fundraising beginning by TART Trails for the Leelanau Scenic Heritage Trailway project, it’s time for people to learn the true nature of the project before they give their money.

The route goes from the Leelanau-Benzie county line at Manning Road south of Empire to Good Harbor Bay at County Road 651 north of Little Traverse Lake, a length of 27 miles, through the heart of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

The route does not stay along existing road corridors for the most part but veers into pristine forests, wooded wetlands, and fragile dune scrublands that are supposed to be protected forever by our National Park Service.

Many, many trees will be cut out and fragile forest soils will be dug up and replaced with six inches of sub-base rock and two inches of asphalt.

Large heavy equipment such as bulldozers, asphalt mixers and heavy rollers will be constructing this so-called trail, leveling the terrain as much as possible.

Wildlife habitats will be destroyed and affected by invasive construction and increased human traffic.

The width of the paved portion of this “road” (calling it what it is) will be 10 feet, with two-foot crushed rock shoulders on each side, making a total width of 14 feet, which is wider than a normal freeway lane.

This is going through the entire length of a national park. The scope and extent of this paved bike trail is unprecedented in the entire National Park System. While other national parks, such as Cuyahoga River National Park and Cape Cod National Seashore, have dedicated bike trails, they follow pre-existing rights-of-way, an old canal towpath in the former and a railroad in the latter.

Grand Teton National Park, a much larger park with more visitors, has a paved bike trail of only eight miles; it goes along the side of the main road into the park in an area of open sagebrush, not interior heavily forested areas as is the case here in Sleeping Bear.

There are already many fantastic bicycling opportunities in Leelanau County, and the county is well known as a great bicycling touring area. The National Lakeshore has a popular ranger-led bicycle tour program in the summer months. The Sierra Club sponsors a bike ride through the Lakeshore, calling the rural roads “picture perfect.” Then why did the National Park Service go along with this very expensive, unnecessary project?

One reason proponents say the trail is needed is because there are no bike trails “in” the park. Yet there are many county roads, paved and gravel, great for bicycling, that are surrounded on both sides by the national park. The only reason they are not considered “in” the park is because the Leelanau County Road Commission retains title to them. (Cape Cod National Seashore’s rail-to-trail bike path is technically owned by the state of Massachusetts, but I don’t think Cape Cod is claiming that it doesn’t have any bike trails.)

We must remember that Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is a national park, not a national recreation area. In fact, it is lower Michigan’s only national park. Can’t we let just a small bit of Michigan remain as natural as possible?

Contact the Lakeshore (231-326-5134 or slbe_superintendent@nps.gov) and remind them of the original stated purpose of the National Park Service: “to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.” Tell them that the Scenic Heritage Trailway project is unnecessary and contrary to the principles of the National Park Service.

Not only is it destructive to the very environment that the National Park Service is supposed to be protecting, it’s also an expensive waste of money that could be better used for more rangers and interpretative programs.

Sign the Don’t Pave the Forest Petition at www.thepetitionsite.com/1/dont-pave-the-forest.

Sincerely,

Marilyn Miller

P.O. Box 187, Glen Arbor, MI 49636

No asphalt

Even though they call this a multi-use trail, it is not. This is a bike trail funded by bike enthusiasts. Even though the trail surface has not been officially determined, this group is already moving ahead to fundraising. Never mind that someone who is asked for money for this project might ask some details about the trail. Ahh, surface doesn’t really matter anyway.

The Park Service has sold us out to TART who is going to build suburban bike trails through our National Lakeshore. There is no concern on behalf of TART that this is a National Lakeshore. Just put in a 14-foot wide asphalt trail. Don’t worry about the impact of asphalt in the National Lakeshore. Don’t research any other option for trail surface like packed earth. There is plenty of money to spend.

Building asphalt trails in a National Park is unprecedented to date. Why was the Park established anyway if park officials are going to cave in to outside influences? Doesn’t it matter what the mission of the National Park is? If they consider putting in hard-packed earth trails, I would consider donating money, otherwise, if asphalt, no way.

Respectfully,

Nancy Mueller

Submitted via GlenArbor.com