To the editor:
I live on Little Traverse Lake adjacent to the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore. I can’t wait for the completion of the last part of the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail, Segment 9.
The Little Traverse Lake POA authorized, pursuant to a NPS permit, a tree survey to understand the impact of Segment 9 on the tree canopy. Unsurprisingly, the study showed building a bike trail through the woods requires trees to be removed. The study estimates about 7,300 trees — about one per yard of the 4-mile segment — will be affected.
The study showed 80% of the trees, about 5,900, are saplings or small adults with trunk diameters less than 10”. Few of these will survive to become large, mature trees. In addition, 20% of the trees of all sizes are beeches, a species being wiped out by beech bark disease. Removing these 1,500 trees before they die, fall, and become fire hazards is a good thing.
I am confident that the trail designers will work to avoid the 284 largest trees, and restore the forest as has been done along the existing Trail. There is every reason to believe that Segment 9 will be built and maintained with the same care and sensitivity to the local environment that is apparent along the existing trail sections.
On balance, completing the Trail will create a wonderful asset for those who live nearby and those who visit each year.
Michael Grover Cedar
