So true

Quoting Matt Yglesias: "This is hardly a policy issue of earth-shattering importance, but David Alpert’s right that it sure would be nice if the District of Columbia put all the official review filings pertaining to new developments online. And, of course, much the same applies to other states and municipalities. In this day and age, really anything that any government agency makes available to people who show up at an office and ask to see a paper copy of ought to be made available online. It’s just common sense that information available to the public should be made available to the public in the most convenient way."

Conservancy steps up

More and more Leelanau properties are being preserved through conservation agreements. This Record-Eagle article tells how four properties in the County are being preserved through agreements with the Leelanau Conservancy. Just think what could be accomplished if we had a county-wide program like the one voted down last year!

Leelanau's historic railroads

locomotive.jpg One thing associated with Christmas time since the 20th Century is finding an electric model train chugging around the Christmas tree on December 25, complete with railroad crossing signals, crossing gates and other layouts. These things became possible after railroads became a major means of transportation during the 19th Century, including the three main railroads that reached Leelanau County during the same time.

First known as the Empire Lumber Co. RR, the Empire & Southeastern Railroad was used as a logging line, but also was used as a passenger train as well. Beginning at Pearl Lake in northern Benzie County, it ran to Empire, with stops in between at East Empire, High Top (Main Top), which became a watering stop for the train, and Jacktown. If passengers from Empire wanted to travel to Traverse City, they would change cars at East Empire, then again at Platte River Junction (Benzie Co.), proceeding via Solon and Hatches Crossing. The Empire Lumber Co. harvested most of the trees by 1915, and its sawmill caught fire in 1916. The E. & SE. RR continued to carry passengers until 1920.

The Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad arrived up North in November 1872. When the first train pulled into Traverse City, people really felt they were no longer isolated, the only other modes of transportation until then being lake shipping, Indian trails, and stagecoach lines. Carrying passengers and freight, it reached its peak in the early 1900's, but when freight orders declined, the G.R. & I. RR built the Traverse City, Leelanau & Manistique Railroad in 1903, from Traverse City to Northport, with depots at Greilickville, Hatches Crossing, Bingham, Keswick, Suttons Bay, and Omena. At Northport, a railroad car ferry operated from Northport to Manistique, hoping to recuperate lost revenues, but the ferries went out of business in 1908. Passenger service continued on the line to Northport, and during the 1930's and 1940's, a steam locomotive ran on the line that was known affectionately as "Maud," a name given to it by Will Solle of Solle's Bookshop in Omena. Passenger service stopped in 1948, but continued to carry freight. The railroad tracks from Suttons Bay to Northport were abandoned in the 1960's, and from Traverse City to Suttons Bay in 1979. The tracks saw a revival in the late 1980's when some railroad buffs ran a tourist train from Traverse City to Suttons Bay, calling it The Leelanau Scenic Railroad. That train stopped in the mid 1990's, and the tracks were removed to build the Leelanau County Trail in its place.

The Manistee & Northeastern Railroad was the third major line to serve Leelanau County. Reaching Traverse City and Leelanau County in June 1892, it ran from Traverse City to Cedar, with stops in Hatches Crossing, Carp Lake (Fouch), and Solon. In 1903, the line was extended to Provemont (now Lake Leelanau), via depots in Bodus, Schomberg, and Elton. As with other railroads, the M. & NE. RR did a thriving business in logging and passengers. Passenger service reached its peak in 1915, and when the timber ran out, it was hoped that farm produce would take up the slack, but in some places, the soil that once contained trees was depleted after 2 or 3 farm crop seasons, causing depletion of farm freight. In 1932, the Pere Marquette Railroad took over the M. & NE. RR, but abandoned the line from Kaleva (Manistee County) to Solon in 1934. The Provemont branch continued to operate, but with automobiles and commercial vehicles so commonplace, that line was abandoned in April 1944.

In addition to the mainline railroads, there were logging railroads that operated by lumber companies, and Leelanau County had three notable ones. Two of them were in the Glen Lake region, the first one being operated by D.H. Day. The track was built in a loop from the northwest tip of Glen Lake to Glen Haven, the location of Day's loading dock. The Glen Arbor Lumber Co. ran a logging railroad from Glen Lake to its loading dock in Glen Arbor. The third logging railroad was located on North Manitou Island. In 1908, a tract of hardwood timber was purchased by W. Cary Hull (son of Henry Hull, founder of Traverse City's Oval Wood Dish Co.) and Frank Smith, forming the Smith & Hull Lumber Co. They built a sawmill at Cresent, the island's village on its west side, and 5 miles of logging railroad, the Manitou Limited, using a second-hand Shay Locomotive for hauling the cars loaded with logs. In Autumn 1909, 3 more miles of track were built, and a new "sidewinder" train engine was transported to the island. The railroad and its mill ran until 1917 when the timber ran out. During that time, Cresent grew from a handful of people to a population of about 300.

In closing, it is interesting to note that Leelanau County, being so rural, never had any railroad crossing signals or crossing gates at any of its crossings, these being relegated to model trains circling around the bottom of Christmas Trees in some of the homes in the county on the morning of December 25.

~Thomas Baird

Locomotive photo by freefotouk on Flickr, used under Creative Commons license

The State Theatre a symbol of downtown revitalization

state.jpg There's a good article in New York Times today by Keith Schneider of Michigan Land Use Institute about the revival of the State Theater in downtown Traverse City, as well as about other theaters in other communities also being restored to their former glory. It's something for our community to be proud of.

Panel rules against Meijer SLAPP suit

slap.jpg A SLAPP (strategic litigation against public participation) suit by local behemoth Meijer against an Acme public official has been slapped down by a mediation panel . Meijer hoped to intimidate Acme Treasurer William Boltres into dropping his opposition to their application to build a giant store on M-72 in Acme by filing a SLAPP suit against him. SLAPP suits are an inexpensive way for big players like Meijers to try to stifle public opposition to a project they want to jam through. Private citizens or public officials who oppose the project are hit with lawsuits that can cost many thousands of dollars to defend. Often, rather than take a chance on bankruptcy, the opponents fold. It's a pattern of behavior that Meijer has engaged in more than 30 cases in 4 states. On this occasion, Traverse City attorney Grant Parsons stepped in to help Boltres defend himself, and Meijer has lost the first round. Not surprisingly, they intend to contest the panel's recommendation, according to this article in the Record-Eagle . It's convenient to shop at Meijers, no doubt. But does a store that tries to bully local governments in this way really deserve our patronage?

Neighbors challenge Wolverine project

substation.jpg Neighbors in Elmwood Township are mobilizing to try to stop a giant electric sub-station slated for construction next door to their homes. Property owners in Elmwood Township have petitioned the Elmwood Township Zoning Board of Appeals to interpret language in its zoning ordinance as it applies to the provision of "essential services" in response to construction that began on a rural site in the township earlier in November. Wolverine Power Cooperative plans to build a massive super-sized electric sub-station on the site, but as construction began the public in Elmwood was unaware that the utility was building in the township. Wolverine Power Cooperative is a not-for-profit, member-owned generation and transmission electric cooperative based in Cadillac, Michigan and provides wholesale electricity to Cherryland Electric Cooperative and four other electricity co-ops in Michigan.

Adjacent property owners Mason and Lisa Argue filed one of the petitions. They had no knowledge of the proposal to build a massive electric "Super Sub-station" next to their property before construction equipment moved onto the site and started work. Without their knowledge, approval for the project had been granted as early as last July through the signature of a single Elmwood employee without the benefit of review by any township board or commission and without public notice or public hearing.

"Wolverine found a way to get this in through the back door", observed Mason Argue in regard to the approval process as it was addressed by the Township. "Anyone down there (township hall) who looked at the news papers knew there had been a huge storm over this thing across the highway in Garfield Township last spring. They should have known this thing was big and ugly and dangerous, and they should have let us know it was being planned."

Based on statements made by Elmwood officials to date, it is difficult to determine which offices had complete information on the project, or how the determination was made that Wolverine was clear to proceed. Once construction equipment was on the property and the phones began to ring at the Township Hall the board quickly voted to authorize its attorney to make a determination as to whether a complete review as required had been carried out. Abstaining from the vote was Trustee Terry Lautner.

In addition to serving as Trustee on the Elmwood Township Board, Lautner holds a seat on the Cherryland Electric Co-op Board (an elected position), and has held a seat on the Wolverine Board in the past. The 10 acre lot where the 750 foot long and 80 foot tall super substation has been proposed is owned by Lautner and is being purchased by Wolverine. Lautner spoke on behalf of the project before excusing himself from voting on the matter. He indicated that the project was one he'd been working to see to completion over a period of years. Elmwood Zoning Administrator Don Witkoski retired and left the area shortly after signing off on the project.

Wolverine abandoned a process it had undertaken to locate the station a short distance away in Garfield Township earlier in the year. The utility had argued that its then proposed location was the best possible site for the facility. Facing stiff public resistance Wolverine let the matter drop. Explaining its decision to relocate the project in Elmwood a Wolverine spokesman indicated that the choice had been made in light of their understanding that no public hearing would be required in Elmwood.

"Before this all happened I would have said that it was a good thing to have someone from the Township Board sit on the Electric co-op board", said Argue. "I would have thought an arrangement like that would have given the public a better picture as to how infrastructure was going to be developed in our community. But I guess you have to be careful. If you have people that want to do things in secret they'll do as they please whether they've been elected to uphold the public trust or not".

The question of interpretation raised by the neighbors will likely be taken up by the Elmwood Zoning Board of Appeals at its regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, December 19 at the township hall.

Photo by tilaneseven. Used under a Creative Commons license thru http://flickr.com/photos/tilaneseven/255407796/

County Board to explore possible Open Meetings Act Violation

The Leelanau County Board of Commissioners will be considering whether or not they may have violated the state Open Meetings Act when they elected to go into closed session at several of their meetings last year, according to this Leelanau Enterprise story. The possible violations were pointed out by Alan Campbell, publisher of the Enterprise.

Black Star farms expands

Black Star Farms, which operates a winery and inn just south of Suttons Bay, is expanding their operations. In addition to a second winery now underway on Old Mission peninsula, Black Star is in the process of building out a tasting room at Grand Travers Commons on the grounds of the old State Hospital. The facility will highlight Black Star's brandies and desert wines.

Birds of Leelanau: The Clay-Colored Sparrow

Clay-colored.jpg In presettlement times, because of extensive dense forest throughout most of the state, Clay-colored Sparrows may not have existed in Michigan, though some habitat, created by periodic fires, probably was present. Clay-colored Sparrows have a brown crown with black streaks and a distinct buffy or whitish central stripe. It has a broad, whitish eyebrow and a brown cheek outlined by dark postocular and submustachial stripes. It has a gray/clayish colored breast and a more light grey to whitish belly. It has a gray nape and buffy brown back and scapulars with dark streaks. The rump does not contrast with the rest of the back as is the case in many other sparrows. A hundred years ago this species was viewed by many Michigan birding aficionados as an anomaly, a vagrant, or transient. By the 1950s, likely as a result of lumbering activities, it was viewed as a regular summer resident in select parts of northern Michigan. This population increase and broader distribution trend continues into the present. Reversion of marginal farm lands to brushy habitat, planting of Christmas tree farms, intensive forest management, and more drought may change the present relatively uncommon status of this species in Michigan. The first time I encountered the Clay-colored Sparrow, initially, I thought I was hearing a Golden-winged Warbler. I was somewhat dumbfounded because I was biking through a very dry, sandy portion of the Fife Lake Forest in Grand Traverse County that had been lumbered and then replanted with scotch and red pines about 5-7 years previous instead of a more brush/scrub riverine or creek/stream like environment which I was wont to associate with Golden-winged Warblers. The song of this sparrow is a very pronounced and distinctive Bzzzz, bzzz bzzzz bzzz. The tone quality of this bzzz tends to be very consistent however the rhythm and number of bzzzes in succession is not, which distinguishes it from the Golden-winged Warbler. Leonard Graf, in BIRDS OF LEELANAU COUNTY AND SLEEPEING BEAR DUNES NATIONAL LAKESHORE indicates that Clay-colored Sparrows, though confirmed breeders in Leelanau County, are rare summer residents, and very uncommon transients. “This species is primarily a bird of prairie states and provinces however its breeding range has expanded eastward. In our area, they are seen in shrub-scrub habitats and young conifer plantations. Early arrival date is 4/14. late departure is 10/2 “ The last publication of The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Michigan shows observation of this species at just one location in Leelanau County just east of Good Harbor Bay. A Clay-colored Sparrow was observed in Leelanau County this summer, singing in a shrub/scrub area in Section 23 of Centerville Township, along the east side of Sharnowski Rd. This sparrow is found from across the Great Plains eastward into Minnesota, Michigan, Ontario, and rarely, New York. In Michigan it is found mostly in the UP and in the dry, sandy barrens of the Northern LP. In the LP they occur particularly in Kirtland’s Warbler habitat. It is a ground gleaner, feeding on insects and seeds. It also feeds on catkins and deciduous tree buds in the spring.. They arrive in Michigan in late April or early May with numbers peaking in the second and third weeks of May. Males arrive on breeding grounds shortly before females staking out territories that are less than an acre. These territories are vigorously defended by the males which reportedly exclude also song sparrows and chipping sparrows. The breeding season for this species commences in late May and often lasts into August with second broods. Nests with eggs have been found as early as June 1 and as late as August 1. This species tends to select one type of nest site within a local population. Its nest, a compact grass cup with a lining of fine materials, is placed above the ground in a grass tuft or at the base of a shrub, or in a low shrub or small tree where it is well hidden. Nests in dense, tall vegetation and those made later in the season tend to be higher above the ground. Usually there are 3-4 eggs… occassionally as many as five. Both sexes incubate the eggs from10-12 days. The female, however, does most of the brooding with the male occasionally feeding the female. Both sexes tend the young for 8-9 days, This species is a common cowbird host; parasitized nests are occasionally deserted. Immature Clay-colored Sparrow resemble Chipping Sparrows. In the fall they often flock together. Departure from the state occurs in September and the first part of October. This species forms small post breeding migration flocks. It sometimes joins winter flocks of Brewer’s Sparrows and White-crowned Sparrows in open weedy or brushy habitats. It winters in the southern tip of Texas, Mexico, and further south. ~bob c. .

More trouble at Bay View

Troubles continue to mount for the Bay View development in Suttons Bay, according to Leelanau Enterprise article. The project's developer is now being sued for various misrepresentations made to buyers and potential buyers, in addition to the numerous construction liens already files against the project.