Detroit Free Press – Neighbors Question Tree Clear-Cutting
The Detroit Free Press says Residents on the Ecorse River received notices earlier this year from the Wayne County Drain Commissioner’s Office of upcoming work along the riverbanks. “Work may include tree removal …” the notices, signed by county Drain Commissioner Elmeka Steele, stated.
What came next startled many residents: the clear-cutting of all trees in 15-foot swaths along both the river’s banks.
“A lot of what they are cutting are huge trees, 40- to 60-foot trees; I would say in the hundreds already,” said Harry Wiume, who lives on Demean Street in Melvindale a stone’s throw from the Ecorse River. “They met with some of the property owners, but the property owners weren’t advised it was going to be a clear-cut.”
The work began at Council Point Park in Lincoln Park in May and has continued past Pepper Park in Ecorse. Similar work as part of the “North Branch Ecorse Creek Drain maintenance project” is expected to occur along the length of the river — also known interchangeably as Ecorse Creek due to its narrower flows in spots — about 16 miles north to Dearborn Heights. The hope is to alleviate chronic problems with flooding in the Dearborn Heights area by improving flows in the river, which acts as a drainage into the Detroit River for a number of communities in the area.