A rendering of the FishPass project in Traverse City. Image: Great Lakes Fisheries Commission
By Max Copeland
The fate of Traverse City, Michigan’s FishPass project, will be decided in court. That was after the city commissioners decided in November not to put the question to the electorate.
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Instead, the city will try to resolve the issue in the Michigan appeals court.
“It is more than a question of whether there will be a FishPass or a dam replacement,” says Commissioner Roger Putman. “It’s a question of what constitutes parkland – not just for the city of Traverse City, but of course for every community in the state of Michigan.”
Just before the project was due to begin in January, Traverse City resident Rick Buckhalter filed a lawsuit. Part of his concern was the number of trees that should be felled for the construction of the new building. He argued that the area is urban parkland and therefore requires a resident vote to change it.
In April, the Thomas Power District Court judge agreed, ruling that Traverse City must let voters decide on FishPass.
Commissioner Putman disagrees.
“It’s not just a decision on whether or not to move forward with this particular project,” says Putman. “It’s about whether or not an urban plot of land can be claimed as parkland, even though it is not officially identified as such in any of the charter or city files.”
Buckhalter’s attorney Jay Zelenock says the failure to get the issue on the ballot showed him that the city thought it was losing.
“I think the city’s decision not to put it on the ballot says something about its own opinion of the local sentiment,” he says. “Mr Buckhalter is certainly not the only one who opposes this proposal.”
Now the FishPass project could be stuck in an appeals court for months. If the lower court ruling is overturned, FishPass will begin without a vote.
Union Street Dam is the last remaining dam in the Boardman River system. It’s the only thing that stands between the river and Lake Michigan.
“The existing dam is old and leaking,” says Marc Gaden, communications director for the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission. “This dam also lets sea lamprey by.”
Sea lamprey are parasitic fish that attach to other fish, drain their blood, and often kill them.
FishPass is a nearly $ 20 million project that would replace Union Street Dam. It is a unique initiative aimed at preventing invasive species from swimming up the Boardman River while allowing native fish to pass by.
More information about FishPass can be found here
This story is part of a collaboration between the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism and Interlochen Public Radio.
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