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It is snowing outside and Kathy is out of town, so I’m just passing the time by reading the State of Michigan’s stimulus funding request list.  Almost every municipality and state department issued a wish list of possible projects for funding via the recently passed federal stimulus bill.  It is difficult to envision most of these projects actually seeing the light of day.  Michigan’s list is roughly $49 billion in size.  Given that the entire federal bill is about $800 billion, it is likely that less than third of these projects will actually occur.

But the wish list can be viewed as something of a long-range planning document.  Like a master plan, the list demonstrates what managers at a variety of government levels view as important.  And that has impact on trail and outdoors planning for our region.

As I read through the document, I’ll post a few that seem noteworthy.  And I’ll start with the listing of fencing at the Saline State Fish Hatchery.  The facility is a collection of diked ponds along the banks of the Saline River in which DNR staff raise fish for a variety of research and stocking efforts.

The stimulus bill includes a request for $45,000 for security fencing at the hatchery.  It can be found on P.485 of the state master list.  This fence would be a dramatic change from the current open layout.  And the fence would have potentially great impact on the routing of pedestrian pathways in and near the City of Saline.  Saline has a very nice system of parks, sidewalks and trails.  A grand loop could be created by routing through the fish hatchery.  After all, it is state land already.  The Saline River provides a nice natural setting.  And the hatchery itself is a natural resource that adds value to a walk.

I do not know any details about this fencing plan.  If implemented correctly, it could create a useable corridor between the actual river and the fishery facilities.  Of course, if completed improperly, it could completely end any possible pedestrian routing through the fishery property.  The fencing will definitely have aesthetic impact on the general area.

I have previously posted a hike report that includes information about the Saline trail system:

http://www.blogsmonroe.com/expatriate/?s=saline+fish+hatcher&submit=Go

Here’s a City of Saline pedestrian pathway planning map:

http://city-saline.org/parks/mapofparks_pdf

This is a link to the 1300+ page Michigan stimulus request list:

http://documents.scribd.com/docs/9tnpfb5z457royuzxd8.pdf

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