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.
Eco-tourism guide Mark Evans will likely not pursue a forest canopy walk with views of the Glen Lakes in Leelanau County’s Kasson Township, the Glen Arbor Sun has learned. A site study conducted late this winter revealed that many of the ash trees on John and Wendy Martin’s 83 acres — perhaps as many as 60 percent — were infected with, or at least affected by, the emerald ash borer invasive species, which has decimated hardwood forests across the eastern United States. Only 40 percent of the trees affected were deemed treatable.