Mowed dunes unexplained
Appearing light brown near the left side of the frame is a five-foot-wide trail inexplicably mowed through the fragile landscape of Aronson Island. To the right of the mowed area, in the center of the frame, is a path where a two-track vehicle had climbed the dunes. Motorized vehicles are not allowed in the area. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press)
Dead beach grass, cut without authorization on Aronson Island, lies at the side of a trail that has been traversed by off-road vehicles, despite being off-limits to motorized vehicles. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press)
The narrow sandy trail heading from the parking lot to the beach is meant to allow pedestrian access. However, the much wider mowed trail that crosses it perpindicularly is one of many unsanctioned routes that conservationists say threaten the ecosystem. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press)
Appearing light brown near the left side of the frame is a five-foot-wide trail inexplicably mowed through the fragile landscape of Aronson Island. To the right of the mowed area, in the center of the frame, is a path where a two-track vehicle had climbed the dunes. Motorized vehicles are not allowed in the area. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press)
Dead beach grass, cut without authorization on Aronson Island, lies at the side of a trail that has been traversed by off-road vehicles, despite being off-limits to motorized vehicles. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press)
The narrow sandy trail heading from the parking lot to the beach is meant to allow pedestrian access. However, the much wider mowed trail that crosses it perpindicularly is one of many unsanctioned routes that conservationists say threaten the ecosystem. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press)
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ESCANABA -- Unauthorized destructive activity on the sand dunes at Aronson Island in Escanaba remain unexplained to officials, but efforts will be taken to mitigate them, said authorities for the City of Escanaba.
In late summer, daytime beachgoers visiting Aronson Island were surprised to find new trails mowed across the dunes. The beach grass had been cut short along a network of interconnected paths, seemingly to allow for off-road vehicles.
Motorized vehicles are not supposed to be in the area.
In addition to the Ludington Park Pathway System, there have long been a couple of short paths to allow visitors to walk between the parking lot near the boat launch and the beach near the northern end of the island -- but the trails that appeared in late July or early August were something different. Very deliberate efforts had been made to remove the shoulder-high beach grasses.
A walk through the area to examine the scene in mid-September showed that there were also two-track trails up the dunes in places not mowed.
When the freshly-cut trails were brought to the attention of the Daily Press at the beginning of August, the Press directed queries to the City of Escanaba Recreation Department, the Department of Public Works, the interim city manager, and the Delta Conservation District to ask if the mowing served some utilitarian purpose and was city-sanctioned.
All parties said they were unaware of the trails.
“I’m surprised they’re not paying attention to what’s going on out there,” said a local resident, referring to city departments.
Some of the flora on Aronson Island was planted as part of the Escanaba Migratory Bird Enhancement Initiative (EMBEI) “with the goal of increasing the availability of food and cover available to migratory birds,” according to Escanaba Downtown.
“Migratory birds congregate in close vicinity of the Great Lakes where large insect hatches occur. In addition, birds flying over the Great Lakes at dawn orient themselves to the nearest landmass, which often includes prominent peninsulas, islands, and even small patches of natural habitat contained within the urban environment. Given the importance of these stopover areas for bird conservation, it is critical to identify sites and promote management plans to increase their value to migratory birds,” wrote EMBEI founder Joe Kaplan in a past article. Aronson Island was one of several sites EMBEI focused on.
When EMBEI was first formed, downtown businesses and city staff were reportedly excited by the idea that providing a habitat for migratory birds could also draw birdwatchers, who may support the local economy.
Though manmade and not a State-designated Critical Dune Area, Aronson Island hosts an important ecosystem, said one member of the Delta Conservation District. Roots of the dune grass serve as stabilizers that provide structural integrity to the sandy slopes, and on high-water years the landscape turns to wetlands.
One Escanaba resident and nature lover who wished to remain nameless expressed his frustration and disappointment with the rogue beach-mowing parties as well as lack of enforcement or education by the city.
He believes people are bringing ATVs down to the area at night to tear around on the dunes. Pointing out areas of cut and trampled beach grass:
“When they get in with an ATV, what do they do? They go here, they drive up there; all of a sudden, you’re destroying (the environment).
“Even though these are small dunes, they’re sensitive to wind blow,” the resident said, adding that a good example of blowout following dune damage could be seen at Gillnet Haven on the Garden Peninsula. “At Gillnet, the trucks are on the lake now, and they raised so much hell they just destroyed the vegetation going up into the hardwoods.”
Off-road vehicles frequenting trails designated non-motorized has also been a problem at West Side Recreation Area and atop the bluff in Gladstone. Activities have been somewhat curbed in Gladstone by the installation of new signs and increased monitoring.
In Escanaba, that’s the plan as well, said Department of Public Safety Director Darren Smith.
“I was advised that there has been traffic in that area, and we saw the trails,” Smith said. “We will be getting some signs up and we have had officers watching to see if we can figure out what is going on the trails.”
While mowing other parts of city land is the responsibility of the Department of Public Works, Director Kent Dubord said that the dune grass cutting was not the work of any city employee.
“We are waiting for signs to come in, and we are waiting for a camera that oversees the area nearby to get fixed,” Dubord said, “so we can reinstall the camera and hopefully get to the bottom of this issue.”
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Writer R. R. Branstrom can be reached at rbranstrom@dailypress.net.