Muskegon County Environmental Coordinating Council

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The 2007 Award Winners are...

Agriculture:
Ted and Cheryl Stein - The Steins have been implementing conservation practices on their farm for many years in Muskegon County. They have installed grassed waterways and ﬁlter strips and have annually planted trees for windbreaks and wildlife habitat. The Steins also completed a Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan for their operation which ensures that nutrients are applied to ﬁelds at rates needed by the crops based on the crop and soil tests which ensures that nutrients are not leaving the ﬁelds and entering groundwater or surface waters. The farm also became MAEAP (Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program) certiﬁed in all three MAEAP systems of livestock, farmstead, and cropping. Crockery Creek Farms was one of the ﬁrst farms in the State and the ﬁrst in the West Michigan Area to become MAEAP veriﬁed in all three systems. The farm has llamas, emus, reindeer and fallow deer and is in close proximity to the Village of Ravenna. The Stein’s decided that they did not want to have any manure stored on their farm, so they built a building three miles outside of Ravenna to store the manure in until it could be land applied when needed. The building went above and beyond what the farm needed to do, but they wanted to make sure there was never any runoff or any chance of odors or affecting the environment and the farm spent thousands of dollars to do this. There are many residential neighbors close to their farm, and due to the cleanliness and good housekeeping and environmental practices, people don’t even know the Steins have livestock on their property.

Business & Industry:
Campbell Grinder Company - Campbell Grinder, a locally owned company formed over 40 years ago, manufactures world class high precision grinding equipment for the aerospace, bearing, land based turbine, defense and medical prosthetic industries among others. The managers and staff have worked for years to make environmental and energy conservation a priority in all aspects of their business. The focus starts with the design of their industrial machine products, which are speciﬁed to minimize hazardous substance use and reduce energy and pollution. The marketplace and environment continue to beneﬁt as their customers put these efﬁcient machines to use. Other recent examples of their efforts include maximizing recycling, minimizing water use, and the implementation of a four day work week which reduces energy consumption at their plant and in their employee’s commutes. As a result, Campbell Grinder remains a market leader and their work beneﬁts both Muskegon’s environment and that of the global community.

Education:
Sara Busken - Mona Shores High School Ecology Teacher, Sara Busken’s love of science and the environment continually inspires her students to get involved in local environmental efforts. With Sara’s encouragement her students have captured all stormwater runoff from the school’s front parking lot by installing a rain garden and convinced administration to go phosphorus-free on all the school lawns. Sara’s efforts are also the inspiration for this year’s media award to Ma Darn Chin Productions (a group of Sara’s former students) for their water quality educational video worthy of Muskegon Film Festival submission. Her students are now raising salmon for release into Black Creek. If every school had a teacher like Sara, the world would be a better place!

Government:
Muskegon City Commission - In February of 2004, when a permit was approved by an Administrative Law Judge for Nugent Sand to build a pipeline through shoreline dunes for discharge of treated wastewater into Lake Michigan, the City of Muskegon Commission took action. Although the actual discharge area was in the City of Norton Shores, the Muskegon City Commission was well aware that any beach and dune destruction could affect the entire shoreline, including Muskegon. On January 13, 2004, the City Commission passed a resolution voicing “strong opposition to the construction of the pipeline through the barrier dune to Lake Michigan.” Even more importantly, the Commission authorized the City Manager to work with attorneys to intervene in the Nugent Sand MDEQ administrative rehearing, allowing City Staff and Attorneys to attend and testify. Over $70,000 was spent by the City of Muskegon on the case. In a decision by the MDEQ Director, supported by the Ingham County Circuit Court, Nugent Sand’s permit was ultimately denied in August of 2006. Nugent Sand Company did not appeal. The Muskegon City Commission took a courageous stand on the Nugent Sand issue by providing leadership, staff, and ﬁnancial resources to protect our greatest assets in Muskegon – our dunes and Lake Michigan shoreline.

Individual:
Annoesjka Steinman - Annoesjka moved to Muskegon in 2001 from Florida where she worked for the South Florida Water Management District as a water quality analyst. Since her arrival in Muskegon, she has put her knowledge and commitment to the environment to work by volunteering for and spearheading a number of projects throughout Muskegon, with particular focus in the Mona Lake Watershed. Passionate about nature and the environment, Annoesjka has played a major role in the evolution of what was once a small volunteer group into the current Mona Lake Watershed Council. As Council Director, she has overseen numerous projects that target both remediation and protection of the area’s natural resources including the investigation of contaminated sediments in Little Black Creek; defeating an ordinance that would have exempted Marathon Oil from cleaning contaminated groundwater; obtaining grants to build rain gardens; working with students to clean up Johnny O’Harris Park; spearheading the recent passage of a phosphorus containing fertilizer ban in Muskegon County; and is currently working with Muskegon County to design and build a ﬂow-through marsh near the Muskegon County Wastewater Management System property. In addition to her duties with Mona Lake Watershed Council and a variety of other community activities, she is also a councilwoman for the City of Norton Shores. Throughout her term, she has raised environmental awareness among fellow Council members, which has thus far resulted in the passage of a sustainability initiative for the City; new ordinances to ensure the use of low impact design in new developments; and the use of new design standards for ponds in subdivisions.

Media:
Ma Darn Chin Productions - Five Mona Shores High School students (aka Ma Darn Chin Productions) developed a two-minute educational video regarding stormwater run-off issues in the environment as an independent study project for their ecology class taught by Sara Busken, this year’s Education Award recipient. The video was shown as part of the “Morning News” broadcast at Mona Shores High School in an effort to educate the other students. The video received rave reviews when it was shown at the Mona Lake Watershed Council’s annual meeting. As a result, the video is now planned for use as part of the state-wide educational campaigns by the Alliance for the Great Lakes to promote the use of phosphorus free lawn fertilizers. The names of the students are: Alex Boukamp, Andrew Clark, Albert Spiwak, Steven Spiwak, and Ryan Walker.

Natural Resources:
Mona Lake Watershed Council - Served by a seven member volunteer executive board and director, the MLWC’s aim is to restore, protect, and maintain the Mona Lake Watershed as a viable natural resource. In keeping with its mission, the Council has spearheaded a number of environmental awareness and protection projects throughout the watershed and surrounding region. In coordination with area partners, the MLWC has developed a watershed management plan, increasing the awareness of nonpoint source water pollution; implemented restoration projects and encouraged behavior changes, leading to improved water quality; and increased public awareness of groundwater and sedimentation, which has secured further activities and redevelopment. One of MLWC’s most recent victories is the passage of the county-wide ban on lawn fertilizer that contains phosphorus. In order to encourage passage of the ordinance, MLWC worked with local cities, townships, and the County Commission to help them understand the hazards associated with the product. The County Ordinance passed unanimously in June of 2006. The ban on fertilizers containing phosphorus went into effect in January of 2007.

Commendation:
Jeff Knowlton - Jeff Knowlton, Stonegate Golf Club Superintendent, is making a conscious effort to use best management practices as they establish their footprint within wildlife habitats. Jeff is a Michigan State University graduate and understands the importance this. The golf course, constructed in 2002, has a fertilizer policy of zero to only low phosphorus as test needed, thus there is no problem adapting to the new Muskegon County phosphorus regulations. Herbicides and insecticides are restricted to bare minimum by targeting speciﬁc problems. This costs more labor hours, but is much better than mechanical broadcast of the whole course. Some of the labor cost is offset by the lower chemical cost.