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Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore News Release

Release Date: November 13, 2024

Contact: Scott Tucker, scott_tucker@nps.gov, 231-326-4704

Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail Segment 9 Update

EMPIRE, MI – Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (National Lakeshore) is pausing the design of Segment 9 of the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail following ongoing consultations with the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. The existing design work will serve as a foundation for future planning efforts, with continued collaboration alongside the Grand Traverse Band and project partners. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore remains committed to enhancing non-motorized connectivity throughout the Lakeshore and looks forward to continued, strong collaboration in the future.

For more in-depth information about the National Lakeshore, please go to www.nps.gov/slbe. Also, check out their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/sbdnl, Twitter site at www.twitter.com/sleepingbearnps, and Instagram at www.instagram.com/sleepingbearnps.

www.nps.gov/slbe

About the National Park Service: More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 430+ national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more about the National Park Service at www.nps.gov, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nationalparkservice, Twitter at www.twitter.com/natlparkservice, and YouTube at www.youtube.com/nationalparkservice.

Kerry Kelly, recipient of the TART Trails 2024 Jim Mudgett Trail Pioneer Award, has dedicated his retirement to enhancing our community’s trails with leadership, passion, and an inspiring hands-on approach. Growing up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin, Kerry developed a love for the outdoors, especially the agricultural history of the Sleeping Bear Dunes area. This connection led him to volunteer tirelessly for the Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes, where his efforts have left an indelible mark on the trails we enjoy today.

After earning his BS in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin in 1974, Kerry embarked on a successful 30-year career at Dow Chemical. His roles as a chemist, nuclear reactor operator, research manager, and new business development director showcased his exceptional skills in leadership and organization. Upon retiring in 2004, Kerry moved to the Traverse City area, bringing his talents and dedication to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

Kerry has been instrumental in various trail projects, most notably as Chairman of the Board of Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes. Under his leadership, he has organized and oversees a team of volunteers who serve as Trail Ambassadors for the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail (SBHT). This role involves regular trail maintenance, clearing debris in the summer, and grooming the trail for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in the winter. Kerry’s leadership extends to managing large-scale projects such as the Kettles Trail, which boasts unique glacial topography.

Beyond building and maintaining trails, Kerry has encouraged and participated in the development of accessibility programs on the trails at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The track chair program was the first of its kind in the National Park System to allow people with disabilities to experience some of our hiking trails. The wheelchair bike program will be operational in 2025 and will provide a ride on the SBHT for those with mobility issues.

In addition to his hands-on work, Kerry has played a key role in fundraising efforts, serving on the Campaign Cabinet for Phase II of the SBHT. He has helped secure critical funding through grant writing, personal outreach, and generous donations, including his own financial contributions with his wife Kathy.

Kerry’s contributions go far beyond trail work. His leadership, organizational skills, and positive attitude have made him a beloved figure among the Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes and the broader community. Whether wielding a chainsaw or drafting a fundraising letter, Kerry’s dedication to improving and preserving our local trails has been unwavering. His humility and passion make him a deserving recipient of the Jim Mudgett Trail Pioneer Award, an honor that reflects his lifelong commitment to making our trails accessible and enjoyable for all.

For more than a decade, planning for the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail (SBHT) has been underway to complete the 27-mile non-motorized pathway through the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, offering people opportunities to explore the park in new ways along old roads and rail lines, road edges and social trails.

Meandering between the Village of Empire and Bohemian Road, the SBHT provides non-motorized access for all ages and abilities to enjoy the National Lakeshore and surrounding communities at a slower, more intentional pace.

The trail encourages visitors to pay closer attention to the world around them, allowing for a better understanding of the expansive history of the region and managed exploration of the National Lakeshore’s special resources.

The powerful combination of incredible recreation experiences, opportunities for education and a new mode of sustainable transportation excites us about the next leg of the trail — Pathway to Good Harbor, the 4-plus mile trail to the northern end of the lakeshore.

The Pathway to Good Harbor, also called Segment 9, will expand upon the experiences visitors love about the existing SBHT. Visitors will encounter an area rich with history spanning millennia with diverse ecosystems including wetlands, dunes, forests and former farmlands.

Since its inclusion in the National Lakeshore’s 2009 General Management Plan, SBHT planning efforts sought extensive public input, including facilitated community conversations in 2018 focused on Segment 9.

The 2018 community conversations informed the trail design currently being engineered, which includes an off-road trail separated from M22 and Traverse Lake Road, providing a safe and scenic route currently unavailable.

The design ensures much of the tree canopy along Traverse Lake Road remains and the trail can curve around healthy, larger trees and stay outside the designated wilderness area of the lakeshore.

The reported removal of 7,300 trees, 81.6% of which are classified as saplings or small trees, lacks an engineering basis as the report was contracted by the Little Traverse Lake Association. Just as Michigan Department of Transportation and National Park Service built the 20-plus miles of trail enjoyed today, we are confident the trail’s engineering and construction will adhere to the rigorous environmental standards of the NPS and other regulatory agencies.

The Pathway to Good Harbor will bring people to a popular destination at the north end of the park and provides important access to neighbors all around the region. It will foster physical and emotional connections. It will meet the community’s desire for safe and comfortable recreation experiences while providing important non-motorized connections between visitors, residents, neighbors and treasured recreation areas along the length of the lakeshore, and one day, the county.

Like the rest of the SBHT and the lakeshore itself, the new trail will support improved health and wellness for our residents and visitors and provide access to time and space to connect with nature.

As partners on the Pathway to Good Harbor, we’re excited to help cultivate these connections, which we believe will continue to benefit and inspire individuals for generations ahead.

Read through June Thaden’s most recent piece in the Northern Express. She shares her perspective on the history of trails in the region and how the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail is a crucial component of our region’s trail future!

https://www.northernexpress.com/news/opinion/a-trailblazers-tale-and-the-heritage-trail/

From the Traverse City Record Eagle | Get Outdoors | July 4, 2024

TART Trails has intentionally decided not to engage with a small but vocal group of homeowners on Little Traverse Lake who have been outspoken in dissent of the pathway to Good Harbor, known as Segment 9, of the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail.

Recent events, conversations, and the publishing of “studies” they commissioned, some of which have been reported on by major mainstream media sources, led to our desire to set the record straight. We hope to illuminate the nearly two decades of ongoing work to bring this community project to life that aims to give more people non-motorized access to the national lakeshore.

The pathway to Good Harbor is roughly 4.5 miles of trail that connects Bohemian Road (CR-669) and CR-651, providing non-motorized access to the northern end of the lakeshore. The origins of the Heritage Trail were conceived of by those wishing to experience the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore outside the confines of a car, something much more difficult before the first segments of trail were constructed. The Heritage Trail welcomes visitors of all ages and abilities to venture beyond the highway and parking lot. Recreators experience the environment at a human-scale, noticing the ecosystems changing along the trail, discovering perfect patches of wildflowers, and sensing Lake Michigan just around the corner.

We believe that the outdoor adventurers of today have the potential to be the fiercest defenders of wild places tomorrow. The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health published a study that concluded “time spent in nature leads to increased perceived value for connectedness to nature and, subsequently, greater pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors.” The balance of accessibility, experience, and conservation makes the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail an invaluable asset to the community and the long term protection of the environment.

This project will make this a one-of-a-kind National Lakeshore where people can access the entire park on foot or by bike. This trail is an investment extending beyond our lifetime and fits into the long-term vision of a more connected Leelanau County in future generations.

With any development, there will be environmental impacts surrounding the trail. These impacts have not and will not occur without thought and care. From the outset of planning the entire 27-mile trail, there has been a clear focus on routing through existing road beds, old rail line, and in the right of way of M-22, all priorly disrupted ecosystems.

We are fortunate to have our partners at the Lakeshore, our nation’s experts in management of natural areas, who bring with them clear and prescriptive regulations and policies that inform design and engineering processes. Each milestone of engineering has been met with peer review from the National Park Service, ensuring we meet their appropriate guidelines. Trail design and engineering will go through required permitting processes through the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE). The Pathway to Good Harbor will continue to go through rigorous review at both a state and federal level until a constructible, and ecologically sensitive design is permitted.

To be direct, there will be trees cut down in order to build this pathway. We have heard loud and clear from folks that this is a particular area of concern, and we share in that. Project partners will continue working to protect the tree canopy and forest. We have the ability to maneuver around the healthy and mature trees, as seen on existing parts of the Heritage Trail that meander through wooded areas — and this will be done wherever possible.

By maintaining and expanding the Heritage Trail, we can foster the next generation of environmentalists and outdoor enthusiasts who understand and prioritize the protection of and access to natural, conserved spaces. We can provide a safe place for exploration and recreation for our families. We can change the way that we get around our public lands, our communities, our region. Together, and responsibly, we can shape a better tomorrow. We hope to see you on the trail.