Western Michigan

West Michigan Strategic Alliance

Adding 500 miles of new connector trails and greenways, targeting 18,000 acres for preservation, and encouraging "green roofs" and rain gardens in building codes are among the recommendations of the Green Infrastructure Task Force, a group of 30 local leaders and experts convened by the West Michigan Strategic Alliance.

The group of government, business, educational and nonprofit leaders developed a 25-year vision that strategically considers West Michigan's green infrastructure in six categories: critical areas of biodiversity; trails and greenways; regional watersheds; shorelines and dunes; urban green areas; and farmland.

"We use the term green infrastructure the same way we speak of an infrastructure of roads, sewers, and other community needs," explains Julie Stoneman, Executive Director of the Land Conservancy of West Michigan and one of the task force participants. "Environmental assets also need to be planned and paid for."

Task force participants chose the term green infrastructure because it stresses environmental assets that are necessary, not just nice to have. The report lists numerous benefits of green infrastructure, including enhanced property values and economic development, agricultural production, and pollution control.

Specific recommendations in the Task Force report include:

• Targeting 18,000 acres of priority ecosystems in West Michigan and working with local governments to identify other crucial open space for preservation, over the next 25 years;
  
• Develop a 25-year plan to add 500 miles of trails and greenways at a cost of $90 million;
  
• Promote governmental units working together to plan land use on a watershed basis, versus by political boundaries alone;
  
• Create a Shoreline Community Alliance to coordinate dune and shoreline protection in the region;
  
• Ensure that park access is available in urban neighborhoods and provide incentives for integrating green space into development projects;
  
• Support state-level policy changes to promote farmland preservation.

The West Michigan Strategic Alliance was launched in 2000 to be a catalyst for regional collaboration among the businesses, institutions and governmental units of the greater Grand Rapids, Muskegon and Holland areas. The Alliance works to encourage a regional mindset, which will foster collaboration on critical issues that impact how we live, work and play.

For more information about the West Michigan Strategic Alliance, see Related Links at bottom right of page.