Tag: wetlands

Court upholds permit denial for private boat basin and channel on Long Lake

Published on April 11th, 2024 by - Blog Posts, Reports & Media Releases

Citizen action and public engagement safeguards Michigan waters

Most everyone familiar with the beauty and majesty of Long Lake regard it as an exceptional example of the stunning natural features that are so abundant in Northwest Lower Michigan. The largest lake in Grand Traverse County and the headwaters of the Platte River, Long Lake harbors five exquisite islands that enhance every lakeshore view and vista.

Recently, the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) received an application for the construction of a boat storage basin that would significantly impair Long Lake’s ecology, shoreline, and wetlands. The proposed project would entail dredging 292 cubic yards of bottomland materials to create a private entrance channel 88 feet long and 33 feet wide.

The dredged channel would provide connecting access to the inland boat basin, requiring the excavation of more than 3,200 additional cubic yards of material landward of the ordinary high water mark. In addition, the proposed project would include a 40-foot-long by 5-foot-wide boardwalk, supported by helical piers, to be constructed across 200 feet of wetlands.

EGLE denied the permit based on those impacts, as well the determination that the dredging would disturb fish habitat and interfere with littoral currents. The permit applicant, the Carrie C. Barnes Trust, appealed, much to the consternation of neighboring lakefront property owners. EGLE’s administrative law judge (ALJ) affirmed the permit denial in every particular.

When the Barnes Trust appealed the ALJ’s decision to EGLE’s Environmental Permit Review Commission (EPRC), FLOW was asked to weigh in. After reviewing the extensive record, FLOW provided detailed comments on the facts and applicable law. The EPRC unanimously upheld the ALJ’s decision.

But the Carrie C. Barnes Trust wasn’t done. The trust filed yet another appeal to the 13th Circuit Court in Grand Traverse County.

The good news is that on Tuesday, April 9, Judge Charles M. Hamlyn affirmed EGLE’s permit denial.

As a result, a project that would have done significant, permanent harm to Long Lake has been averted. And the citizens who would have been most impacted successfully joined together in concerted action to maintain the health, character, and ecology of Long Lake. FLOW commends their efforts and is proud to have supported them.

Indiana Wetland Protection Rollback Threatens Great Lakes

Published on February 29th, 2024 by - Blog Posts

A new Indiana law that weakens the state’s wetland protection framework will have repercussions beyond Indiana’s borders.

Indiana’s move follows a U.S, Supreme Court ruling last year that gutted federal wetland protection under the Clean Water Act and gave states leeway to weaken their wetland protections. The ruling removed federal protection for about 50% of the nation’s wetlands. Indiana had already weakened its wetland law in 2021.

Wetlands have multiple benefits. They filter pollutants, provide habitat for fish and wildlife, and reduce flooding by storing and slowly releasing excessive flows.

Because flowing waters cross state boundaries, weakening wetland protection in Indiana will have an impact on the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds.

Indiana’s new move will compound ecological damage sustained by over a century of development. The state has lost an estimated 85% of its original wetland acreage.

The Indiana law that just took effect lowers protections for the most sensitive wetlands in the state, in less developed settings that often contain rare, threatened or endangered species. 

Michigan has a stronger wetland law and program than the federal minimums. The 2023 Supreme Court ruling is having little impact on state protection of Michigan’s wetlands. Similarly, Wisconsin’s expansive wetland protection authority is limiting the impact of the Supreme Court decision.

From Wastelands to Wetlands: Once Condemned, Now Celebrated

Published on February 2nd, 2023 by - Blog Posts

World Wetlands Day is February 2, 2023.

World Wetlands Day, celebrated annually on February 2, is not only an opportune time to appreciate these special ecosystems, but also to understand why we destroyed so many until recently.

Michiganders especially need to know this history, and what residents of the Great Lakes State can do to write new chapters in the understanding and protection of wetlands. Over 6 million acres of Michigan wetlands remain—a vast number, but that’s 4 million acres less than existed when European settlement began in the mid-17th century.

Over 6 million acres of Michigan wetlands remain—a vast number, but that’s 4 million acres less than existed when European settlement began in the mid-17th century.

Today we know wetlands to be a valuable element of Michigan’s landscape, places that filter out pollutants, store floodwaters, provide habitat for diverse species of plants and animals, and provide recreation. We now recognize, in fact, that wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems in the world, comparable to rain forests and coral reefs. It wasn’t always so.

To generations of Americans, wetlands were “associated with disease, dangerous animals, muck that can swallow you whole, poisonous gases, death, and decay. Words used to perpetuate that perception of wetlands as undesirable places include: dismal, miasma, putrid.”

Like other states in the 19th century, Michigan public policies actively encouraged the destruction of wetlands.

Policy of Destruction

Like other states in the 19th century, Michigan public policies actively encouraged the destruction of wetlands. These policy tools included drainage districts, ruled by powerful drain commissioners whose mission was to convert wetlands to “productive” uses like agriculture. Drain commissioners remain an important part of Michigan wetland law and policy, but some of these elected officeholders now devote considerable effort to protecting and even creating wetlands. For example, the Ingham County Drain Commissioner created Lansing’s Tollgate Wetland, which beautifies a neighborhood while reducing stormwater pollution.

Michigan did not have an effective law for wetland conservation until 1980, when the Wetland Protection Act took effect.

Michigan did not have an effective law for wetland conservation until 1980, when the Wetland Protection Act took effect. Its passage was complicated by development interests that wanted the freedom to destroy wetlands for human use and by organizations that claimed the law would trample on private property rights. But the law was carefully crafted to allow trade-offs where some wetlands could be converted to developed uses in exchange for the creation or protection of other wetlands, usually in the same watershed.

Before the 1980 law, Michigan had lost 4.2 million acres of its original wetlands endowment of 10.7 million acres, approximately 39%.

Before the 1980 law, Michigan had lost 4.2 million acres of its original wetlands endowment of 10.7 million acres, approximately 39%. Since the passage of the state’s wetlands protection law, the rate of wetland loss has declined dramatically, according to a 2014 state report. The total decline of wetland between 1978 and 2005 is estimated at 41,000 acres, with the rate of decline slowing between the periods 1978 to 1998 (loss of approximately 1,642 acres per year) and 1998 to 2005 (loss of approximately 1,157 acres per year).

A global treaty commemorates wetlands of significance on a worldwide level. Michigan’s Humbug Marsh is one of those wetlands, important for fish, wildlife and other values.

One step toward protecting wetlands is to know where they are.

Dive into FLOW’s immersive story map—Groundwater: Michigan’s 6th Great Lake

Where Are the Wetlands?

One step toward protecting wetlands is to know where they are. Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy offers a wetland map viewer. FLOW’s immersive Groundwater Story Map also features a section on “unique ecosystems,” explaining in text and visuals that groundwater flows can create distinct surface environments where rare ecosystems thrive. Many of these are a type of wetland, or peatland, called a fen. Protection of peatland is a priority focus for the 2023 World Wetlands Day because of the terrestrial wetland ecosystems importance in combating climate change and promoting biodiversity.

What we once neglected and despised—wetlands—can become an appreciated, even cherished piece of the living world around us.

We celebrate wetlands today because we see the beauty in them, and because science has taught us much about their importance to a healthy, functioning environment. World Wetlands Day is a day of hope. What we once neglected and despised can become an appreciated, even cherished piece of the living world around us.

Celebrate “Earth’s Kidneys” on World Wetlands Day

Published on February 1st, 2022 by - Blog Posts, News

A global aquatic resource under threat from drainage, filling, and development is the focus of World Wetlands Day, which is observed annually on Wednesday, February 2. Michigan has a special stake in preventing wetland destruction and promoting wetland restoration.

Michigan was a national leader when the state legislature approved the Wetland Protection Act in 1979. This visionary statute requires a state permit before most wetlands can be altered. It has dramatically slowed, but not stopped Michigan wetland loss.

Dubbed “Earth’s kidneys” because of their valuable role in filtering pollutants, wetlands make other important contributions to ecology and society. They reduce flooding by storing high water and provide critical habitat for fish and waterfowl. The United Nations Ecological, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Ramsar Convention on Wetlands has estimated that wetlands provide trillions of dollars in annual health and ecological benefits worldwide. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notes that Great Lakes coastal wetlands are a key ingredient in recreational activities that feed a sector worth more than $50 billion annually in economic activity in the Great Lakes region.

Wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems in the world, comparable to rain forests and coral reefs. Yet a 2014 science journal article estimated that the world has lost as much as 87% of its wetlands since the year 1700. They are often sacrificed for everything from housing and business development to road construction and drained for agriculture.

Wetlands photo courtesy, Michigan Department of Natural Resources

The theme of the worldwide observance on Feb. 2 is a call to take action on behalf of wetlands. Michigan has been a leader in wetlands protection, yet continues to face challenges in their conservation.

Michigan was a national leader when the state legislature approved the Wetlands Protection Act in 1979. This visionary statute requires a state permit before most wetlands can be altered. It has dramatically slowed, but not stopped, Michigan wetland loss.

Before the 1979 law, Michigan had lost 4.2 million acres of its original wetlands endowment of 10.7 million acres, approximately 39%. The counties that had lost the greatest percentage of wetlands were Monroe (93%), Wayne (90%), and Saginaw (87%).

Wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems in the world, comparable to rain forests and coral reefs. Yet a 2014 science journal article estimated that the world has lost as much as 87% of its wetlands since the year 1700. They are often sacrificed for everything from housing and business development to road construction and drained for agriculture.

Since the passage of the state’s wetlands protection law, the rate of wetland loss has declined dramatically, according to a 2014 state report. The total decline of wetland between 1978 and 2005 is estimated at 41,000 acres, with the rate of decline slowing between the periods 1978 to 1998 (loss of approximately 1,642 acres per year) and 1998 to 2005 (loss of approximately 1,157 acres per year).

Slowing wetlands destruction is not enough. Wetland restoration will be critical to Michigan’s future water quality, fish and wildlife habitat, recreation, and quality of life.

How can you get involved in protecting nature’s kidneys?

  • Organize your friends and neighbors, and connect with local watershed groups, to seek passage of local wetlands ordinances. Unlike the state, local governments can regulate destruction or development of most isolated wetlands smaller than 5 acres. Only about 40 of Michigan’s approximately 1,850 local units of government have enacted such ordinances. 
  • Educate the community, including owners of properties containing wetlands, about wetlands values.
  • Remain vigilant about legislative threats to Michigan’s wetlands protection law. Special interests and allied lawmakers frequently favor development and destruction of wetlands instead of conservation for current and future generations.