A Bi-Weekly Publication  Friday August 26, 2005           In This Issue: ·         LANDFILL PLANS EXPANSION INTO WETLANDS ·         ENJOY THE TREASURE TROVE     CONSERVATION EASEMENT LOOPHOLE THREATENS WETLANDS The owners of a landfill in Wayne County have an option to buy 445 acres of endangered coastal wetlands currently under private ownership along stunning Lake St. Clair marsh, but that’s not the whole story.    Woodland Meadows Landfill Waste Management Inc. in Wayne County is offering to purchase and protect the privately owned 445 acre coastal marsh along Anchor Bay if the state compensates them by allowing them to fill 31 acres of wetlands that are supposed to be protected under a conservation easement.  Apparently, the conservation easement includes a clause that allows for expansion if there is “a compelling public need.”  What actually constitutes a “compelling need” is not clarified within the easement.    If approved, the traded acreage would add to the state-owned St. John’s Marsh along the coast of northern St. Clair, a habitat rich in wetlands that filters pollutants from water flowing into the lake and controls flooding in nearby communities.   While the deal would benefit St. Clair county, it would not only damage the Rouge River, but Wayne County residents would also lose vital wetlands within their watershed and in return, get more trash piling up in their community.   A similar plan to expand the landfill into the wetlands, without the trade, generated significant public opposition in 2003 before Waste Management withdrew the request.   While we certainly want the 445 acres of coastal wetland to be protected, by allowing a conservation agreement to be voided we might be headed down a dangerous slope.    A public hearing on the plan is scheduled for 7 p.m. on August 30 in the Van Buren Township Hall.   TAKE TIME TO ENJOY THE TREASURES OF WETLANDS Be…a reluctant enthusiast . . . a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it's still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive. Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire    Thanks for being engaged and committed to protecting our magnificent wetlands; don’t forget to take time and enjoy the very resources you work so hard to protect. Sit by a wetland, dance with mosquitos, find peace and meaning, and remember why you are involved.               Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council 426 Bay Street , Petoskey, Michigan 49770 Phone: (231) 347-1181 x 114 Fax: (231) 347-5928 Email: mailto:grenetta@watershedcouncil.org  Web: http://www.michiganwetlands.org/