Plans for the company’s third Wisconsin layout—joining Blackwolf Run and Whistling Straits—took a hit when Judge Mark F. Kaiser said the Department of Natural Resources failed to follow state requirements for projects involving wetlands loss, and that the steps that would be taken by Kohler to assuage the losses would be inadequate.
A Wisconsin administrative law judge has rejected a decision by the state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to approve a key environmental permit for a new luxury golf course project funded by the Kohler Co. on the shore of Lake Michigan in Sheboygan County, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
Kohler Co. is proposing to build the new golf course on land currently not open to public use, the Journal Sentinel reported. The parcel along Lake Michigan lies just north of Kohler-Andrae State Park.
The latest decision about the project, issued on March 15, was seen as a blow to Executive Chairman Herbert V. Kohler Jr. and his plans to develop the company’s latest shoreline course as an addition to the portfolio that includes Whistling Straits and Blackwolf Run, the Journal Sentinel reported. At the same time, it was seen as a win for a grassroots group that has questioned the ecological impact of the Sheboygan County project from the start.
The Friends of the Black River Forest had challenged a 2018 DNR decision that found the loss of just under four acres of sensitive wetlands and shoreline forest was acceptable under state law, if protective steps were taken, the Journal Sentinel reported.
C&RB reported on the initial ruling in January 2018, as well as when plans were put on hold in March 2018. As late as November, plans were approved despite environmental concerns.
But in his latest ruling, Administrative Law Judge Mark F. Kaiser said the DNR failed to follow proper steps and state requirements for projects involving wetlands loss, and that the steps that would be taken by Kohler to assuage the losses would be inadequate, the Journal Sentinel reported. The judge also found that in some cases the DNR lacked adequate information involving hydrology and pesticides to grant the permit on the 247-acre parcel.
A lawyer for the Friends of the Black River Forest applauded the decision, the Journal Sentinel reported. “The golf course would be a major development on an extraordinarily sensitive site,” Christa Westerberg said in a statement. “The evidence simply did not support granting a permit in this case.”
A spokesman for Kohler said the company disagreed with the decision and plans to appeal, the Journal Sentinel reported.
“We believe the facts and the law show that the wetland permit should have been upheld,” Dirk Willis, Director of Golf in the hospitality and real estate group of Kohler, said in a statement. “The DNR staff put a lot of scrutiny into our wetland application, including nearly three years of analysis, many public meetings, extensive public commentary, and a detailed and comprehensive environmental impact review of our project.”
The case has been closely watched, with opponents claiming political pressure was at play in the DNR when it was under the management of Republican Gov. Scott Walker, the Journal Sentinel reported. During a five-day hearing, Pat Trochlell, a wetlands expert who worked on the project before retiring, testified that Kohler’s project would have the most significant harmful impact of any she reviewed in 37 years at the DNR.
Trochlell also told the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Reporting in a story published in November that superiors at the agency said the permit had to be approved. DNR officials told the Journal Sentinel at the time that no such pressure was applied.
DNR spokesman Andrew Savagian said in a statement that technical and legal staff were reviewing the latest ruling, the Journal Sentinel reported. “We will abide by [Judge Kaiser’s] decision,” Savagian said. “Other parties will likely evaluate their legal options.”
In his ruling, Kaiser did not address issues of political influence and instead focused on where the agency’s approval fell short, and the impact the course would have on wetlands, waterways and forestland just north of Kohler-Andrae State Park, the Journal Sentinel reported. Examples that were cited included that rare ridge and swale wetlands along the shoreline would be filled and that roughly half the forest on the property, which has not been logged in 150 years, would be cut down.
“The [DNR] may be confident that Kohler’s management plans will ultimately be sufficient to protect the wetlands,” Kaiser said in his ruling. “However, the department should be making its determinations based on completed plans, not trusting that management plans that will be prepared will adequately protect groundwater and wetlands.
“Once the golf course is constructed, the adverse impacts will be permanent and irreversible,” Kaiser added.
Tell Us What You Think!
You must be logged in to post a comment.