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PUBLIC COMMENTS NEEDED TO STRENGTHEN “BEACH
GROOMING” PERMITS
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality have public noticed new
permits to address shoreline management activities, infamously known
“beach grooming” activities.
Click here to access to the ACOE
Regional Permit.
The Corps
proposed Regional Permit for shoreline management activities does not
meet the criteria for a Regional Permit. The loss of any amount of
coastal wetlands has adverse environmental impacts from the increased
potential for erosion; the loss of important habitat for waterfowl,
fish, and other wildlife; reduced water quality; and, an increased
likelihood of invasive species taking hold. Taken cumulatively, it is
unreasonable to characterize a loss of such important ecological
functions as having only a minimal adverse environmental impact.
However, reasonable
modifications can be made to the proposed Regional Permit for Minor
Work, Structures and Discharges of Dredged and Fill Material In
Michigan that will serve to meet the goals of the Corps and shoreline
property owners, while also protecting the public interest. Primary recommendations include:
- Clarify language to
ensure activities take place in areas free of vegetation
- Clarify area in
which work is authorized (activities should not be authorized in
areas exposed by temporary low water periods such as storm surges
and seiches)
- Limit the number
times per season grooming is allowed on areas not designated as
a public swimming area
- Limit the amount of
sand to be relocated by leveling to 25 cubic yards (maximum) per
lot
- Limit the amount of
fill for construction of a path to 25 cubic yards of material
for a path 6 feet in bottom width and 50 cubic yards for a path
12 feet in bottom width
Please take a moment to provide comments
to the Corps so we can strengthen the proposed permit to protect our
coastal wetlands. The deadline
for comments for the regional permit (File No. 90-200-005-0) is March 8, 2007. Comments can be mailed to:
U. S. Army Corps of Engineers
Regulatory Office - Room 603
477 Michigan Avenue
Detroit MI 48226-2518
or
FAX Number: (313)
226-6763
We will also be submitting a sign-on
letter in support of reasonable modifications to the proposed
regional permit to ensure our coastal wetlands are adequately
protected from “beach grooming.”
The sign-on letter is included as an attachment. To sign-on to the letter, please
email Jennifer McKay (jenniferm@watershedcouncil.org)
with your organization's name as well as the name and title of the
signatory. The deadline for signing on is Wednesday, March 7, 2007.
The public comment period for the DEQ proposed new General
Permit for Limited Great Lakes Shoreline Management Activities ends May 6, 2007. Look for more information on the
DEQ proposed general permit in the next MWAC newsletter, including how
to take action to improve protections for our coastal wetlands.
Click here to view the MDEQ
proposed new General Permit for Limited Great Lakes Shoreline
Management Activities.
CRITICAL CONSERVATION PROGRAM UNDER FIRE
The future of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)
is in jeopardy and needs your help!
A recent proposal by the USDA would eliminate enrollments into
CRP for the next two years.
This comes at a time when over 4 million acres of CRP will be
expiring. This program has
been vital to conserving waterfowl breeding grounds in the Prairie
Pothole Region of the Dakotas, Iowa,
Montana, and Minnesota by allowing farmers to
convert marginal cropland into grasslands vital as nesting habitat in
return for rental payments. In
addition to the removal of the CRP enrollment option for landowners,
rental rates being offered to landowners on current CRP lands have
not kept pace with the market values of their lands.
CRP is a conservation tool that
has been proven effective over the past 20 years, and should not be subject
to elimination of enrollments.
Eliminating CRP enrollments would remove a stable source of
income for farmers, one that is not affected by drought or poor
market conditions. Further,
without CRP, farmers would be forced to continue farming marginal,
highly erodible cropland, further impacting the soil, air, and water
quality on their lands and in areas downstream.
Click here for more information on the Conservation
Reserve Program
Click here to take ACTION
STILL UPDATING THE MWAC MEMBER LIST
We
are still updating the Michigan Wetland Action Coalition directory. If
you have not done so already, please reply to this email with the
requested information below or email jenniferm@watershedcouncil.org in
order to ensure that we have your most up-to-date and accurate
information.
Again, please feel free to pass this on
to anyone who you think may be interested in receiving the bi-weekly
MWAC E-newsletter. Your assistance is very
much appreciated!
Name:
Affiliation:
E-mail:
Address:
Phone:
Fax:
Any additional
information you may have:
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