A nonprofit environmental organization in northern Lower Michigan has sued the U.S. Air Force and National Guard in U.S. District Court, alleging that plans to expand low-altitude flight training in the eastern Lower Peninsula — with military aircraft flying as low as 500 feet or even lower in some areas — will harm prized waterways, natural areas and the quality of life in the region.
Anglers of the Au Sable filed its complaint in U.S. District Court’s Eastern District in Detroit on March 13. The group claims the Air Force and National Guard’s plans to expand air training violate the National Environmental Policy Act, and their evaluation that the expanded training would cause no significant environmental impact was flawed.
“The (expanded air training) project is incompatible with recreational values, the outdoor economy and real estate values of these areas,” the anglers group argues in its lawsuit…