By Mary Drew at Pasty Central (Mdrew) on Friday, July 31, 2009 - 11:07 pm:
Russ Emmons emailed the following information to me and asked me to post it for him:
Dear Friends -
I would like to provide an update on recent actions by the Michigan
Audubon Society (MAS) to protect Whitefish Point - an important and
well-known migratory bird corridor in the U.P. Below is a motion that
was adopted by Michigan Audubon on July 22 to support a bill (S1378)
introduced by Senator Levin on June 25 and referred to the Senate
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources chaired by Jeff Bingaman
(D-NM). Michigan's Senator Debbie Stabenow is also a member of this
Committee.
Included below is a letter from MAS to Senator Levin that provides
background information on this issue including Senator Levin's
involvement in the 1996 property transfer (the letter's attachments
are not provided -- please email me if you would like a copy). MAS
hopes Senator Levin will consider our views as he works with
Representative Stupak to change the Great Lakes Shipw reck Historical
Society (GLSHS) land patent. The House has already passed a patent
change bill that does not include the Senate's protective measures.
MAS appreciates the initiative of its members and chapter affiliates
to bring this matter to the attention of birding community and our
elected representatives. Your efforts are making a difference -- keep
up the good work!
Joe Kaplan
Whitefish Point Joint Committee member
Michigan Audubon Society
_________________________________
Motion: Michigan Audubon supports S1378, a bill introduced by Senator
Levin on June 25, 2009, to change the patent language of the Great
Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society at Whitefish Point. Michigan
Audubon applauds the inclusion of Section 3 in S1378 titled
Development Limitations and Review as this language corrects a
long-standing mistake made during the 1996 legislative transfer. While
support of S1378 represents a change in Michigan Audubon’s official
position regarding the GLSHS land patent change, our organization
believes the value of public input and resource protection assured by
the specific language of Section 3 in S1378 is high enough to warrant
a compromise.
Adopted July 22, 2009
_________________________________
July 14, 2009
The Honorable Carl Levin
United States Senate
Dear Senator Levin,
As the Whitefish Point Joint Committee delegation of Michigan Audubon
Society, we will recommend that the Soc iety’s Board of Directors
support S1378, the bill you introduced in the Senate on June 25, 2009
to change language in the land patent of the Great Lakes Shipwreck
Historical Society (GLSHS). Though the last Audubon Board action
opposed such legislation, many of the concerns of the Board, our
chapter affiliates, and membership have been addressed in S1378,
specifically in Section 3: Development Limitations and Review.
Section 3 of S1378 corrects a mistake made during the original
Whitefish Point Lighthouse land conveyance in 1996 when important
report language to protect Whitefish Point from inappropriate
development was inadvertently omitted due to an administrative
oversight of the conference committee. Though at the time the
legislative transfer of the property at Whitefish Point was a
contentious public issue, you provided leadership and voiced concerns
about exempting GLSHS’s proposed development from review under
historic and environmental protective statutes. Attached are comments
you made in the Congressional Record (S11921-32; 30 September 1996); a
letter co-authored with Senator Abraham to the Senate Committee on
Commerce, Science and Transportation; and a letter to the President of
the Michigan Sierra Club; all send a consistent message that proposed
development at Whitefish Point should be subject to all applicable
Federal, State, and local laws, including the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHP A).
Thirteen years later, Section 3: Development Limitations and Review in
S1378, incorporates this missing language and we commend your efforts
to remedy this long-standing dispute and recognize the public’s
interest in protecting Whitefish Point. The process that produced the
Settlement Agreement and Management Plan in 2002 (part of the patent
change) is clearly no substitute for NEPA and NHPA review and we trust
that Section 3 of S1378 will remain a cornerstone of your legislation;
without this language Michigan Audubon Society cannot support the
GLSHS patent change. Furthermore, we would prefer the language in the
bill be strengthened by requiring proposed development at Whitefish
Point be subject to the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act
of 2000, a bill you successfully sponsored. This would further assure
that preservation measures specific to lighthouses owned by non-profit
organizations be followed by GLSHS.
The Michigan Audubon Society thanks you for taking our concerns
seriously and for producing a bill that will truly protect not just
the legitimate interests of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical
Society, Michigan Audubon Society, and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service,
but also the interests of the public the three stakeholders are
charged with serving. We look forward to working with you and your
staff to advance the protective measures contained in S1378. We
applaud your consistent efforts to preserve Michigan history safeguard its environment.
Sincerely,
Joseph Kaplan
Michael Sauer
Whitefish Point Joint Committee
Michigan Audubon Society
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