To the Journal editor:

I was mountain biking on the South Trails last weekend when I saw that one of my favorite trails, Two Stroke, was closed.

I hoped that this was just a temporary closure, but, sadly, the trail is to be permanently closed. The forest that the trail once ran through is to be cleared for development off M-553.

I mourn the trail and the forest that is no longer there. I am pro-development but anti-sprawl. The development along the highway is sprawl.

The community master plan lists cherishing our natural assets as a guiding principal, but it is hard to reconcile this goal with losing forest within the city limits.

I hear many people lament development downtown and within the developed core of Marquette.

I would like to point out that if Marquette is to grow, the alternative to this denser sort of development is destruction of intact forest.

I would prefer that no more forest or trails are lost.