Dozens and possibly hundreds of mature trees have been cut down earlier than planned at the site of an impending Lansing development, the Red Cedar Renaissance. The cutting was moved up to prevent endangered bats from nesting in them. We talk about the development with Ingham County Drain Commissioner Pat Lindemann.
Drive by the old Red Cedar golf course near the Lansing-East Lansing city limit and you’ll see several large piles of recently felled trees waiting to be hauled away. The trees were set to be removed to make room for the $276-million Red Cedar Renaissance development, but came down earlier than originally planned. That was to keep a pair of endangered bat species from nesting and raising young in them.
Questions have been raised over whether the city of Lansing, which owns the property, was sufficiently aware of the plan to remove the trees.We talk about the project with Ingham County Drain Commissioner Pat Lindemann.
Current State talks with Lindemann about his role in the infrastructure planning at the site.
This environmental segment of Current State is supported by Michigan State University's Knight Center for Environmental Journalism. For more news on the Great Lakes environment, you can check out GreatLakesEcho.org.