Journal-Courier Story: 05.31.08

focb May 31st, 2008

Friends of Bog, Purdue Reconcile

Journal and Courier, May 31, 2008
By Meranda Watling

Apologies about and solutions for the future of the Celery Bog were part of an hour long discussion held at Purdue University Friday afternoon.

The 100 or so people present included citizens who laid out their concerns about the recent cutting down of trees along the Celery Bog, as well as the Purdue administrators responsible for approving that move.

Though the sides disagreed on what plants should or shouldn’t be used to replenish that wildlife habitat, there was some consensus: The community should have been consulted before trees were removed — and they ought to be included in future decisions.

“The trees are gone; they’re not coming back,” said Catharine Scott-Moncrieff, who served as a spokeswoman for the Friends of the Celery Bog. “… But we really do need to prevent this from happening again, and really come up with a constructive plan to re-invigorate this area.”

Scott-Moncrieff’s group presented Purdue President France Córdova, who attended but did not speak, with a petition signed by more than 1,500 people. The group was formed and began circulating its petition earlier this year in response to the February clear-cutting of trees along the marsh area.

The petition stated the concerns — habitat destroyed, buffer removed between Purdue Kampen Golf Course and the Celery Bog Nature Area, and lack of community input about the impact on the wetland — and asked the university to create a group that would be included in those decisions in the future.

Pete Dye, who designed the golf course, discussed why the trees were removed and replaced with grasses. Dye said when the course was built the entire premise was to be as eco-friendly as possible.

He said when the water level of the bog was artificially raised several years ago, it negatively impacted both the course and the marsh, where nonnative trees that needed to be removed thrived.

West Lafayette resident Derek Davenport, whose yard backs into the marsh, was among the dozens who spoke up about the impact both on the environmental and aesthetic impact on the water and wildlife.

“This meeting has been precipitated by Purdue Golf Department and their Paul Bunyan moment,” Davenport said. “What I’ve noticed is there’s an awful lot of trash in the Celery Bog now and very few ducks.”

By the end of the hour, both sides agreed a group would be formed. Who will be on the committee and when it would begin work wasn’t set, but among those proposed were representatives of the city and county parks departments as well as experts within the university.

Purdue athletic director Morgan Burke apologized and took the blame for the decisions that resulted in the upset feelings.

“If I had it to do all over again, folks, we would have had a public forum, a meeting like this,” Burke said.

“We may not have agreed on everything but we would have had the opportunity to avoid the surprises and try to find a mutually acceptable solution.”