GRAND RAPIDS, MI – A statewide conservation group gave Gov. Rick Snyder a red mark on its environmental scorecard after the state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) issued a permit to build a road across the Singapore Dunes along Lake Michigan north of Saugatuck.
The Michigan League of Conservation Voters (MLCV) called last Friday’s decision to approve a permit for a two-mile paved road “inexcusable” and gave Snyder a failing grade on its “How Green is Your Governor?” environmental scorecard.
The road will provide access to 18 building sites and a condominium and marina project that Singapore Dunes LLC has planned for land north of the Kalamazoo River channel that leads to Lake Michigan.
“The Michigan DEQ’s decision paves the way for irreversible damage to one of Michigan’s most naturally beautiful stretches of shoreline,” the group said in a news release issued Tuesday, April 1.
Singapore Dunes LLC is owned by Oklahoma oilman Aubrey McClendon, who paid $39.5 million in 2006 for 412 acres in Saugatuck Township known as the Denison. McClendon has since sold part of the property and has listed the 18 lakefront lots for between $1.5 million and $2.75 million each.
Stephen Neumer, a spokesman for Singapore Dunes, said they hope to begin construction on the road this spring. The new road will follow a historic wagon trail that led to the lumber mills of Singapore, a village that became a ghost town after it was buried beneath the shifting sands of the dunes.
“Michigan’s critical sand dunes are a completely unacceptable location for miles of pavement and multi-million dollar homes,” said Patty Birkholz, West Michigan Director for Michigan LCV.
“These dunes represent exactly what ‘Pure Michigan’ expresses. The Michigan DEQ’s decision to approve this permit is a disservice to our state’s natural resources, our tourism economy, and our way of life in the Great Lakes State,” Birkholz said.
“More than 1 million people visit the Saugatuck Dunes every year, and they do not go to enjoy housing developments and pavement,” the group said in its news release.
“Michigan’s critical sand dunes are prime examples of vulnerable landscapes that warrant only the utmost of protections,” Birkholz said.
“The Michigan DEQ’s decision approves permanent damage to pristine shoreline, and a driver of Michigan’s tourism economy. We cannot afford to let this reckless decision set a tragic precedent for the beaches and dunes we want to be here for our children and their grandchildren to enjoy and appreciate.”
The Saugatuck Dunes Alliance, which fought the permit application, is appealing the DEQ’s decision to grant the permit.
“Scientists who have spent 40 years studying the globally imperiled inter-dunal wetlands system connected to the McClendon property have voiced concern over the severe effects of bisecting this dunes system with the proposed plans for roads and houses,” said David Swan, the group’s spokesman.
“Despite the unusually fragile and valuable nature of the dunes system, the DEQ granted Singapore Dunes a variance from the usually applicable Critical Dunes Act restrictions,” Swan said in a statement.
“This is a mistake. The critical dunes, inter-dunal wetlands, historic sites, and endangered habitat of the McClendon property legally require a lighter footprint than what is being proposed by Mr. McClendon’s lawyers.”
Jim Harger covers business for MLive/Grand Rapids Press. Email him at jharger@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter or Facebook or Google+.
Environmentalists slam Gov. Rick Snyder for road permit across Singapore Dunes
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