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No additional “beach clean-up” in Huron-Kinloss Lakeshore area property owners wanting more of the township’s fragile beaches and dunes “cleaned” will have to pitch in themseves and break out a rake. After complaints from some residents last year that the algae was among other things, smelly and messy, council agreed to spend thousands of dollars to hire a local farmer to clean up the blooms, 16-feet along the water’s edge, with a tractor and an “algae harvester.” Some lakeshore area property owners however wanted more. At a June 16, 2008 meeting in Ripley, council heard from Sam Snobelen, the man hired by the township to harvest the algae. He told council that several residents spoke to him about raking the whole beach in front of their cottages. That’s a no-no to those concerned and educated about the beach, dune structure and the environment. The algae was to be harvested along the shoreline where it is somewhat safer to gather with less fear of damaging plants. The township did not intend driving it over dunes and plants. Parks and Recreation’s Mike Fair said that raking 16-feet is based on the beach management guide. (The guide is put out by environmental experts, meant to keep our beaches safe and healthy.) He said the reason for the 16-foot limit from the water’s edge is to prevent the equipment from disturbing the sand dunes. He recommended manual raking only. Mayor Mitch Twolan said that some residents have complained that the beach is now a bigger mess than it was before the beach raking started. He also echoed the opinion of many Huron-Kinloss residents that the township does not need any more equipment on the beach. Council agreed to keep the environment the number one concern and not allow the “beach clean-up” equipment to harvest any further that 16-feet from the water's edge. |
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