Sierra Club and Anglers of Au Sable Win
Nine-Year Battle
For the
first time in nearly a decade, a rare, truly wild stretch of the Au Sable River
is free from the threat of a proposed oil and gas drilling project that would
have endangered the state’s premier trout stream and one of its most
spectacular old growth forests.
In 2003, a
Traverse City oil and gas exploration company sought a permit to place a
drilling pad in an old growth area of Huron-Manistee National Forest next to the
Mason Tract, a wild piece of land hugging the Au Sable River. This week that
company, Savoy Energy, told the US Forest Service (USFS) that it is abandoning
its nine-year effort to drill in the so-called South Branch area.
“This is a
victory for everyone— the environment, Michigan and the people who enjoy and
appreciate the beauty of the Au Sable River,” said Anne Woiwode, Michigan
Chapter director. “It’s also a victory
for the Sierra Club and Anglers of the Au Sable which remained vigilant about
this ill-advised proposal and the federal approval process all these years.”
The Mason Tract
was designated “Forever Wild” by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources
fifty years ago and boasts spectacular fishing, hunting, canoeing,
cross-country skiing and hiking. The
drilling pad would have been located near the Mason Chapel, an open-air,
non-denominational space beloved by fisherman and other river users.
The reason for
Savoy Energy’s application withdrawal isn’t clear, but the involvement of the
Sierra Club and the Anglers of the Au Sable in opposing the proposal no doubt
played a significant role, said Woiwode.
Nine years ago,
Nancy Shiffler, a long-time Sierra Club member and volunteer, first noticed
that the proposed well was on national forest land designated as old growth in
1986, and adjacent to the Mason Tract.
She alerted the Michigan Chapter’s forest policy specialist, Marvin
Roberson, who tracked the project to determine if correct procedures for approval
of an application to the USFS were followed.
They weren’t, and
the Sierra Club with the Anglers of the Au Sable actively fought the proposal,
using tactics that included a successful lawsuit against the Huron-Manistee
National Forest after the USFS failed to adequately assess all viable
alternatives to the proposed siting of the well pad. The Sierra Club had submitted a suggestion
for another location to the USFS that would have kept the Mason Tract safe from
the impacts of drilling, according to Roberson, but that alternative was
rejected.
Ultimately, a
federal judge agreed with the conservation groups and remanded the case to the
USFS, requiring a full Environmental Impact Statement be conducted, a year-long
process the agency was finishing up when it received the withdrawal letter from
Savoy earlier this week.
“This is a
perfect example of why the Sierra Club has been around for 45 years in Michigan
and 120 years in the nation,” said Roberson.
“We have a vast network of dedicated, vigilant volunteers and
knowledgeable staff who know what to do and have the willingness to stay in the
fight until it’s won.”
Woiwode agrees.
“The Sierra Club is the only organization in Michigan with the policy expertise
in matters like this to have made this happen. Marvin is among the very few
people who understands how the sometimes complicated federal and state approval
process works,” she said.
Parts of the
Mason Tract were originally owned by Bill Durant, the
founder of General Motors, who built a grand home dubbed Durant’s Castle in the
1930s that burned down before he could live in it. Soon after, George Mason,
the president of American Motors, purchased the rest of the properties on
either side of the south section of the Au Sable River. He willed the piece to the state when he
died, and it became the largest wild stretch of river in Michigan’s lower
peninsula.
“The combination
of Sierra Club’s policy expertise coupled with the extensive on-the-ground
knowledge of Anglers of the Au Sable made for a terrific partnership,” Roberson
said. “The Mason Tract is safe for now but we have to stay vigilant and hope
that this sets a precedent so other companies won’t try to drill foolishly near
our few remaining precious pieces of wilderness.”
For an in-depth look at the story behind the protection of the Mason Tract and Au Sable River, click here.
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