To the editor:
Is the Palmer Woods Expansion Area an appropriate property tor mountain biking? The conservancy rigorously defends mountain biking, but many, local residents disagree. The Cleveland Township Board ignores their concerns regarding a planned . parking lot.
The new trail construction continues the Conservancy’s push to populate Palmer Woods with more trails that has seriously denigrated its beauty over the last five years. The Conservancy does not view this property with beautiful ridges as pristine, but rather a managed forest that can be developed to expand membership and to grow its donor base.
The new trail building in the Expansion Area appears unchecked. Have Board members walked the new trails? Has the Conservancy’s obsession with mountain biking distorted their view of true conservation?
The new expansion property includes two kettles, a unique physical feature of the land. One trail terminates in the central kettle with a turnaround in its soft, peaty soil. Another spans a second kettle to the north that is sharedwiththeFederalPark. Is this trail construction consistent with the design that the Township Planning Commission approved as conservation-minded? What is the impact on School lake to the east?
The existing parking lot is a mountain biker’s dream with manyamenities. However,ithas attracted campers and bikers who overnight in the lot. Who will monitor this increasing activity?
One has to seriously question if the physical damage to this beautiful property justifies biker adrenaline.
Jack Fox Kalamazoo and Elmwood Township
