Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve: Road work near Mulligan Creek not meeting permit requirement

Posted by Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve on
July 10, 2014
Reprinted in part with permission

According to the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve, Plum Creek Timber Company has been involved in road construction that does not meet stated permit conditions. Trees have been pushed directly into the wetlands near Mulligan Creek. (Photo courtesy Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve. Reprinted with permission.)

NORTHERN MARQUETTE COUNTY, Mich. -- During the week of June 23, 2014, a reconnaissance survey of forest and wetland conditions on the Snowmobile Trail 5 route by the Yellow Dog RIVERKEEPER ® led to a discovery of road construction by Plum Creek Timber Company that did not meet with stated permit conditions.

The company’s permit allowed for construction at the Mulligan Creek Bridge and included additional fill and trenching for ditches on either side of the snowmobile trail. Upon visit by the RIVERKEEPER, no permit was posted on site, no silt fencing was in place, and other sedimentation protection best management practices were absent next to this high-quality wetland and cold water trout stream. Past surveys by the RIVERKEEPER show that this wetland was habitat for the endangered Narrow Leaved Gentian, an extremely rare wetland plant.

The Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve (YDWP) is investigating whether the company received approval to impact this plant’s habitat, as is required under Michigan’s Natural Resources Environmental Protection Act....

Click here to read the rest of this article on the Yellowdog Watershed Preserve Web site.