The old sheep barn before it was destroyed by winds
On Thursday, November 12th, a variety of interested citizens met to review the proposed master plan changes for Highland State Recreation area. Interested citizens included equestrians, conservancy members, hikers, bikers, DNR officials, members of the Oakland County Planning Department, Highland township officials and area residents. We reviewed a master map of the park and most everyone in attendance agreed with the overall plan while making some recommendations. These included possibly moving the equestrian campgrounds to an area adjacent to more trails, expanding the current camping area, extending bike trails to connect up (and eventually meet) with the new Milford trail, and creating additional equestrian and hiking/biking trails to provide better access to the park. The overall goal is to protect the natural beauty of this unique area rather than change it into a high-impact, heavy-use type park.
Don't make the same mistake Milford made. They had many inexperienced people, anxious to put in a paved path, and they needlessly destroyed natural areas and trees by making the trail MUCH wider than needed.
I suggest anyone involved in this Highland project take a trip to MN to see how they fit trails into the environment, and use hard packed slag stone rather then pavement to protect waterways from storm water run off pollution and to preserve rural character. Milford's trail system resembled a highway when it was implemented. And the last thing the beautiful Highland State Rec. Area needs is a suburban paved trail. Make it slag.
Posted by: Kirt Manecke | January 23, 2010 at 08:01 AM