Grand Traverse Band, other local groups oppose Sleeping Bear trail extension

There is growing opposition to the extension of a paved, multi-use trail through Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

A local township, national nonprofit and now the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians have voiced opposition to the extension.

The 4.5-mile trail extension, known as Segment 9, was first conceived and approved in 2009 after a lengthy environmental assessment with public input.

The actual route of Segment 9 – which will wind through wetlands, forest and dunes within the boundaries of the National Lakeshore – was OK’d a decade later in 2019.

But as the project gets closer to actually breaking ground, there’s growing concern.

Groups of local residents have opposed Segment 9 for years, at one point even suing the National Park for violating environmental regulations. (The court sided with the National Park Service.)

Now, though, the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians has weighed in against the project.

“Our opposition is grounded in serious concerns regarding the potential impacts on wetlands, tree removal, and the treaty gathering rights of our Tribal members,” wrote Tribal Chairwoman Sandra Witherspoon in the letter addressed to U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), U.S. Secretary of the Interior Debra Haaland and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Superintendent Scott Tucker.

The tribe joins the National Parks Conservation Association, a national nonprofit, in opposing the trail extension. And earlier this month, Cleveland Township, where the trail will be located, rescinded its former support of Segment 9’s route.

There’s overarching worry about the environmental impact of the trail as it weaves through woods, wetlands and dunes, plus a push to see alternative routes reconsidered.

Critics say the 2009 environmental assessment doesn’t account for newer considerations like climate change and recently-arrived invasive species.

A local group that opposes the trail segment called Sleeping Bear Naturally has commissioned several reports from experts. Those reports estimate things like the number of trees that would need to be removed during construction and the height of retaining walls.

But Scott Tucker, the superintendent of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, says none of those details are determined yet and he’s still waiting to see the trail design.

“Right now I’m committed, and the Park Service is committed, to seeing the design to completion,” Tucker said. “We have policies, standards, regulations … and if a design cannot meet all of those pieces, then there is no trail.”

Tucker says the National Park is in talks with the Grand Traverse Band “at a government-to-government level with our treaty obligated conversations and morally obligated conversations.”

Tucker says the design is about 60% complete; he hopes to see an initial draft sometime this winter. It’s being drawn up by a construction firm contracted by the Michigan Department of Transportation, which will lead engineering.

He said that design will be shared with tribal leadership as soon as it’s available.

Tucker said nothing will move forward if the design can’t meet current federal and state environmental regulations. He said that includes policies more stringent than they were in 2009 regarding climate change adaptation and invasive species.

Construction of the trail segment is estimated to cost around $11 million, which will come from a mixture of grants, federal money and private donations fundraised by TART Trails, or the Traverse Area Recreation and Transportation Trails.