E-M:/ MUCC demands decision from MDEQ on Humbug Marsh

["Alex J. Sagady & Associates" <ajs@sagady.com>]

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Date: Wed, 16 Sep 1998 15:39:23 -0700
From: MUCC <mucc@voyager.net>
Reply-To: mucc@voyager.net
Organization: Michigan United Conservation Clu
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To: enviro-mich@great-lakes.net
Subject: MUCC demands decision from DEQ
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MUCC demands decision on Humbug Marsh from DEQ before November 1, 1998

Leaders of Michigan's largest conservation organization demanded Tuesday
night that the state Department of Environmental Quality decide by Nov.
1 whether it will allow developers to destroy a unique coastal wetland
along the Detroit River.

Sam Washington, Interim Executive Director of the Michigan United
Conservation Clubs, said voters should be shown before the general
election whether state officials intend to uphold a conservation
easement that has protected Humbug Marsh until now.

"The breaching of the easement specifically for development is a very
dangerous precedent that I don't believe the State wants to set,"
Washington said during a public hearing on the issue at Carlson High
School in Gibraltar.

"It is important for the voters of Michigan to know where this
administration stands on its conservation easements.  We simply can not
tolerate two arms of the same government out of sync, one granting
easements to protect farmland and the other modifying easements to
destroy valuable wetlands."

The high school auditorium was packed with people waiting to their
opinions about the proposed development of Humbug Marsh.  The DEQ held
the hearing to receive public comment on the developers' permit
application and whether to modify an existing easement on the property. 
Humbug Marsh is the last remnant of Great Lakes coastal marsh on the
Michigan mainland of the Detroit River.  Humbug Marsh abounds with a
variety of unique and valuable habitats for fish and wildlife.

Roughly three years ago, a deal was struck between the former owner of
the Marsh property and DEQ to mitigate for wetlands lost elsewhere in
Wayne County.  The wetlands in Humbug Marsh were to be saved "in
perpetuity" with a conservation easement held by the State of Michigan. 
Since the Fall of 1997, Made In Detroit (MinD), a Detroit-based
development company, has been working to bring their 460-acre golf
course/luxury home development to Humbug Marsh.  MinD has applied for
wetland fill permits from the DEQ and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers
(ACE) and is asking DEQ to modify the easement to allow the development.

MUCC has been a strong advocate and leader among groups and citizens to
convince DEQ and ACE to uphold the law and not allow the development to
occur.

"It is my opinion that the best government is the one that leads by
example - - not by mandate, MUCC President Bill Whippen said.  "This is
a rare opportunity for the Department of Environmental Quality, and the
Governor, to hold state government to a higher standard of responsible
land use than that which they expect from the public."

In comments made to the DEQ and ACE, Whippen stated, "This should not be
viewed as a dilemma for the Department of Environmental Quality as they
contemplate the request by Made In Detroit but rather as a rare
opportunity to show leadership to all Michigan citizens in responsible
wetlands protection."

For further information, please contact Holly Madill at mucc@mucc.org or
Phone 517-371-1041



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