Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission

A countywide ballot issue will be decided next Tuesday, and it deals with land preservation.  A 10-year, quarter-mill tax renewal would sustain the Natural Areas Preservation Program (NAPP) for another 10 years.  For this week's "Issues of the Environment,"WEMU's David Fair talks with Washtenaw County's park planning and NAPP supervisor, Ginny Trocchio, about what the preservation program has meant to the county in its first 20 years, and what lies ahead--pass or fail--on Tuesday. 

Throughout the pandemic, more people are utilizing the outdoors for a sense of balance and peace.  On "Issues of the Environment" this week, WEMU’s David Fair caught up with Park Planner and Landscape Architect Peter Sanderson for a look at how the Border-to-Border Trail in Washtenaw County is expanding, improving and, creating even more accessibility to hiking and biking. 

This week on “In The Public Interest,” our bi-weekly conversation with the League of Women Voters of the Ann Arbor Area, 89.1 WEMU’s Lisa Barry talks with Washtenaw County parks official Ginny Trocchio about the county’s Natural Area Preservation Program.  

She is the Superintendent of Park Planning and Natural Areas for the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission.  The interview is the second in our series about getting to know your Washtenaw County government.

Preserving natural parks has been a part of Washtenaw County's environmental mission, and a tax millage has made that possible.  In this week's "Issues of the Environment," WEMU's David Fair speaks to James D’Amour, Executive Committee Vice Chair for the Sierra Club of Huron Valley's Michigan Chapter, about how the funding model for the program could change. 

Every Monday morning, the executive director of the CivCity Initiative joins WEMU's David Fair  for a conversation on topics pertinent to Washtenaw County and the city of Ann Arbor. Mary Morgan will provide news, analysis, commentary and explain the various ways residents can become more engaged. 

The Eastside Recreation Center was the topic of a community meeting last night in Ypsilanti.

Work on a proposed Washtenaw County recreation facility on Ypsilanti's Water Street property is rolling along. WEMU's Bob Eccles has the story.