Rouge Project Comments: Reply from the Army Corps of Engineers

I've discovered "The Agency Tone" of written voice. Very polite! Possibly because I submitted comments over a month ago (several agencies dealing with the National Environmental Protection Act [NEPA] are obligated to give response within the month of communications from the public).  Having spoken to EPA employees, the EPA has legal obligation to respond to any citizen communications--probably within a month timeframe too.  

The Army Corps of Engineers  (ACE--what a fine acronym to have!) was supposed to respond with 30 days (I'm no longer sure, but I suspect it's a direct stipulation from NEPA), but I had to prod them earlier in December to see if there'd be any follow-up.

This is about as exciting as I'd imagine getting a personal letter from an elected official. For those who can't really see what's here--it's a personal letter from the DOD's Army Corps of Engineers in response to my questions--stamped and signed too! 

In reply to my procedural and project comments to the Army Corps of Engineers from November, Detroit district sent a personal letter with detailed replies to both comment sets I submitted.

One of my primary concerns involved the poor degree of outreach--had it not been for friends who major in environmental studies/science and work with the Friends of the Rouge, I might not have known about the proposal at all!

It turns out (as you'll see in their reply letter) the Army Corps of Engineers did what they could and needed to inform local governments and organizations. From what I read, the ACE's response to one of my questions (about watershed outreach plans) means that promotion/marketing/pr is more of an issue than having the right community stakeholders and closer coordination between federal and local government.

I suspect poor infrastructure for communication and outreach is an endemic issue for our beloved but under-budgeted/staffed local governments and not-for-profit organizations alike.

Also, I learned county government plays a more significant role in the project than previously thought.

I believe PR organizations/institutions and colleges (with education and marketing programs or willing interns from any discipline) can better help coordinate and promote the outreach in the future.

Page 1 (click the image[s] to read)
I'll let you decide what happened with
the date that they entered--by the looks of things
I submitted my comments in the future!
Also, I couldn't resist blacking out my address
on a government document,
it now looks even more official than the original.

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4  Hand signed with a real person's signature!

A random remark: this post has a lot of meta text--I wrote (and you read) about photos of writing--how odd!


And my follow-up e-mail (from Dec. 8th):
To whom it may concern,

I submitted a procedural recommendation on Monday Nov. 7th and (according to my e-mail) comments on Nov. 8th at 12:00 AM and would like to know about the status of the project. I did not receive any message of acknowledgement or reply within the 30 day timeframe and therefore am writing to request for follow up.

I hope the procedural recommendation merits a reply since it was submitted within the comment deadline.

Thank you...

Plants to know and a cup of joe...our second science cafe!

Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
is a native Michigan plant.
Its roots can grow to 8 feet!
Image compilation by Ian Tran,
coffee cup credit to Flickr user BallistikCoffeeBoy

Join us for a cup of bird-friendly coffee and discussion about the role of native plants in our communities!  


Ethical and legal concerns about landscaping? 


Find out from an individual who navigated them and made it happen in Dearborn Heights!

Curious about what plants can make a great habitat for many to enjoy? 


Let's further the dialog!


Thursday, August 25th 
6:00 pm
in room 116
UM-Dearborn Environmental Interpretive Center 
4901 Evergreen Road Dearborn, MI 48128

You're invited to join us for this informal discussion on native plants, landscaping, and our connection to it all to make a more vibrant ecosystemic and human community in the Southeast Michigan area via the landscapes we live with.

This science cafe features special guests, among them Steve Ray of the Dearborn Heights Watershed Commission, Martha Gruelle of the Stewardship Network, and of course: YOU!  Dearborn's Sustainability Coordinator and esteemed alum of UM-Dearborn David Norwood will also be joining us.

Also, we're hoping to serve Bird Friendly Coffee again, and will have fresh UM-Dearborn made honey.

Please RSVP to the Student Environmental Association at The University of Michigan-Dearborn here on our facebook event or at greenwolverines (at) ymail (dot) com so we can better plan the event.

Walkability: The Saturn Ion commercial revisited

WHOA!  "Walkpooling" for school children was suggested for Dearborn's comprehensive sustainability plan by a regional activist who frequents our campus, and this great idea reminded me about the early Saturn Ion commercial where all the kids and a bus driver (in addition to all other vehicular traffic) were walking on the street sans the bus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_oWmY_mkCA

Watching it again with a new paradigm for walkability in cities, a better understanding of infrastructure and sustainability, I can't help but think that it's a bit ironic and hope that it's also prophetic about how we approach the way we travel and where we go to do the things that make up our lives.

This commercial captures an intrinsic truth about human travel so well that years later we can look at the commercial as an opportunity to rethink the status quo of transportation, why we drive so much, and reevaluate its necessity in the context of other needs for a balanced local community and global ecosystem.  In other words, it's a great clip for prompting discussions on walkability and livable communities even though the car company was trying  is no longer in existence.

That's beautiful communication--art if you will-- to me. It maintains its integrity as a piece for what it was meant to be (a commercial advertising the values of a human run car company), but it communicates profound things about the way we perceive and interact with the world around us, the things we do, and inspires us (or at least me) to wonder about what it all means and why we do it.

Some people wouldn't consider things built by humans as positive environmental issues, but they really are, and this commercial makes for an interesting connection to the built environment.  What's our impact?  Consider emissions (soot, fossil fuel consumption for gas/battery charges, carbon dioxide, etc.) accidents, and the time and space it takes to commute in congested traffic.

(Thanks Daniel for sharing this picture, sourced from http://consumerist.com/2010/06/how-much-street-space-car-vs-bus-vs-bicycle.html ; SEMCOG or EPA has a similar picture somewhere too)

In case you were wondering, this is one of those rare "blew my mind with a new paradigm" moments for me.  I guess some people get a similar experience when they discover that they've matured as well.  Anyhow, onward into the weekend! 

Coincidentally, the Green Cruise takes place in Ferndale this Saturday.  I'll see if I can go, but it's a bit of a drive to get there...