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“BEACH
GROOMING” STRIKES AGAIN!
The
past weekend, Cherry Tree Inn, located along Grand
Traverse Bay, was busy with what they consider to be
“beach grooming” activities.
Bulldozers were working on the shoreline and in the near-shore
waters moving large quantities of sand and muck soils around. Despite the claims from the hotel
that the activity was just “manicuring the beach”, the work conducted
can in no way be considered “beach grooming or beach
maintenance.” According to
state law, grooming is defined as raking, dragging, pushing, or
pulling metal teeth through the top 4 inches of soil without
disturbance or destruction to plant roots for the purpose of removing
debris. The recent bulldozing
of the shoreline at Cherry Tree Inn does not meet the definition of
“beach grooming” and should be viewed as what it really was which is
the complete destruction of a Great Lakes coastal wetland (see the
photos below).
This
activity for the Cherry Tree Inn is not a new phenomenon. They have received notice of
violations in the past for similar activities. This was a blatant violation of
state and federal law and should be treated as such with full
enforcement. As a result of
the activity, the Department of Environmental Quality and U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers were on site on Tuesday to further investigate.
Not
only was this activity against state and federal laws, as the Cherry
Tree Inn did not have valid permits to engage in the work, the work
done on the shoreline can have significant adverse impacts upon the
Great Lakes. Great Lakes coastal wetlands
are considered to be some of the most valuable ecological areas in
the Great Lakes and are critical to the Great
Lakes ecosystem as a whole. They provide critical habitat for
fish and wildlife, prevent erosion, filter pollutants, and protect
property from storms and flood damage. Having lost approximately 70%
of Great Lakes coastal wetlands,
remaining coastal wetlands are ecologically indispensable.
This is just one more example of why we
need to improve and strengthen shoreline management policy in the
state. Permitted grooming and,
especially violations and the lack of enforcement for violations by
the DEQ, have significant impact upon the health of the Great Lakes.
We need to reevaluate and improve the current law. If not, we will continue to see destruction
and degradation of our Great Lakes
coastal wetlands.
 
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