Comments on: County Natural Areas Tax Up for Renewal

By: Cosmonican

Cosmonican — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 16:16:30 +0000

#10, Alan I disagree. The programs serve different, though similar, purposes. The greenbelt should be concentrated nearer Ann Arbor, not diluted by buying a swamp in Manchester; we have no business interfering with townships that far off. Renew both taxes, and let them do their job within the chosen mandates.

By: Alan Goldsmith

Alan Goldsmith — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:13:53 +0000

I agree, the county’s program, preserving areas people can actually enjoy and visit, is the model the City of Ann Arbor’s ‘greenbelt’ program should be using. I suggest we abolish the A2 tax and redirect 100% of it to the seemingly well run county efforts.

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 23:10:33 +0000

Dan Ezekiel makes a good point. While the City of Ann Arbor has focused on PDRs of agricultural land (a good objective in itself), the county’s program has actually preserved “wild ness” that we can all visit. It has had an excellent board and good technical follow-through so that generations from now, we’ll still have some of the unique plant and animal communities that are our heritage. It is hard to focus on the long view when you are having trouble paying tomorrow’s bills, but it must be done.

By: Bob Martel

Bob Martel — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 21:11:31 +0000

Re: [7], I fear that the window of relatively “cheap” land values in our fair county may last a bit longer than 3 years, but still no excuse not to push the pedal to the metal!

By: David Lewis

David Lewis — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 01:57:22 +0000

Like with the city’s greenbelt program, now is the time to buy. There is probably a 3 year”window” in which to pick up land on the cheap before the pressure to sprawl returns.

These programs will leave a legacy that lasts for generations. It is so much better to spend it on buying land and development rights instead of day-to-day expenses.

By: Dan Ezekiel

Dan Ezekiel — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 01:43:51 +0000

I couldn’t agree more. The county’s natural area program is a huge success. I know several of the commissioners, and they work passionately and sincerely to select and preserve the very best of the nominated parcels.
Two of my personal favorites among the county preserves are the Burns Stokes Preserve, where Zeeb Rd. crosses the Huron River, and the DeVine Preserve, on W. Liberty Rd.
The Burns Stokes property is the only place in Washtenaw County where I have seen the signs of beaver. So far, I’ve seen only the gnawed trees and the chips, never the creatures themselves.
The DeVine Property is a wonderful place to watch birds, in a very diverse habitat. On a May morning, you will see and hear lots of migrating warblers, and I have seen and heard the fairly unusual Sedge Wren far in the back of the property (in the wet field away from the road) every year for several years. :ast year, I also heard an Olive-Sided Flycatcher there, surely on its way to more northerly climes.
The county commission would do well to put this millage back on the ballot for renewal and allow the voters to judge its merits. The voters would then do well to approve it. As previous commenters have noted, now is the time to buy natural areas, while the prices are relatively low. They are a legacy we will leave to those who live in the county far into the future.

By: VelhoSorriso

VelhoSorriso — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:17:35 +0000

I agree with the sentiment: With property values low, now is a good time to use the funds in the NAPP to preserve land. Let’s do it! Wise move.

By: Suzie

Suzie — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 21:23:27 +0000

Looking at the map, I always thought the opposite, actually, that many of the NAPP dollars had been going to the more urban townships – Ann Arbor, Scio, & Superior especially. All in all, it’s a pretty good mix of townships. Since the program focuses on high-quality natural ecosystems, it could be that parcels in certain areas end up ranking more highly. And of course, all townships are eligible.

I encourage anyone who knows of property that’s a good fit for the program to see if the landowner will sign & submit the form to be considered – they don’t even have to fill out all the details, but they do need to give their permission to be considered.

(I know here at Legacy Land Conservancy, we’ve mailed the NAPP packet out to landowners if we thought they might consider it.)

Now’s the time to protect the most sensitive lands, not when we have to fight over it with developers.

By: Brian

Brian — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:22:45 +0000

My guess is that the NAPP renewal could be a hard sell to voters. Especially since many townships, even some of the more urban townships with many natural areas in need of protection, have not had any support from NAPP whatsoever. If these taxpayers have also been paying for NAPP over the past decade, they will want to see some benefit closer to home before they support it for another ten years.

It is a great concept, however, and has done a lot to help preserve sensitive lands throughout the county. These are lands that would otherwise have been sold for other uses (though not in this economy).

By: Suzie

Suzie — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:01:03 +0000

NAPP has protected some great properties, all of which are open to the public to visit. Here's a list: [Link] In map format: [Link] Leonard Preserve in Manchester is particularly neat, on the River Raisin (factoid: apparently the 'crookedest river' in the world!) For landowners who'd like their property to be considered for acquisition, there's a wealth of information and an application form on the County website: [Link]