SUGAR ISLAND TOWNSHIP, MI— A Sugar Island Township man has been court-ordered to restore wetlands after he illegally developed land in the Eastern U.P.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, on behalf of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, sued Boyd Rhodes after he refused to restore more than five acres and a stream on three separate properties on Sugar Island.
Rhodes allegedly dredged and placed fill material in approximately 5.8 acres of regulated wetlands, rerouted 430 feet of stream, created an 11-acre lake, and constructed a pond within 500 feet of an existing lake, all without necessary permits.
On November 3, Chippewa County 50th Circuit Court ordered Rhodes to restore the environmentally sensitive wetlands and pay $150,000 in fines.
