1 No divisions of wetland shall be allowed unless each resulting parcel has an upland building site.

2. Land divisions for the purpose of waterfront access shall have a minimum of two hundred feet (200') of frontage on the water body

Section 5-500 PROPERTY USES - The following provisions shall apply to all wetlands. Section 5-501 Primary Uses Allowed by Right

1. Fishing, trapping, or hunting.

2. Swimming and boating.

3. Hiking.

4. Grazing of animals.

5. Farming, horticulture, silvaculture, lumbering, and ranching activities, including plowing, irrigation, irrigation ditching, seeding, cultivation, minor drainage, harvesting for the production of food, fiber, and forest products, or upland soil and water conservation practices.

6. Maintenance or operation of serviceable structures in existence on October 1, 1980.

7. Construction or maintenance of farm or stock ponds.

8. Maintenance, operation, or improvement which includes straightening, widening, or deepening of the following which is necessary for the production or harvesting of agricultural products:

a. An existing private agricultural drain.

b. That portion of a drain legally established pursuant to Act No. 40 of the Public Acts of 1956, as amended, being sections 280.1 to 280.630 of the Michigan Compiled Laws, which has been constructed or improved for drainage purposes.

c. A drain constructed pursuant to other provisions of P.A 451 of 1994 as amended.

9. Construction or maintenance of farm roads, forest roads, or temporary roads for moving mining or forestry equipment, if the roads are constructed and maintained in a manner to assure that any adverse effect on the wetland will be minimized.

10. Drainage necessary for the production and harvesting of agricultural products if the wetland is owned by a person who is engaged in commercial farming and the land is to be used for the production and harvesting of agricultural products. Except as otherwise provided in P A. 451 of 1994, land improved after October 1, 1980 shall not be used for non-farming purposes without a permit.

11. Maintenance or improvement of public streets, highways, or roads, within the right-of-way and in such a manner to assure that any adverse effect on the wetland will be minimized. Maintenance or improvement does not include adding extra lanes; increasing the right-of-way, or deviating from the existing location of the street, highway, or road.

12. Maintenance, repair, or operation of gas or oil pipelines and construction of gas or oil pipelines having a diameter of 6 inches or less, if the pipelines are constructed, maintained, or repaired in a manner to assure that any adverse effect on the wetland will be minimized.

13. Maintenance, repair, or operation of electric transmission and distribution power lines and construction of distribution power lines, if the distribution lines are constructed, maintained, or repaired in a manner to assure that any adverse effect on the wetland will be minimized.

14. Operation or maintenance, including reconstruction of recently damaged parts, of serviceable dikes and levees in existence by October 1, 1980.

Section 5-502 Secondary Uses Requiring a Wetlands Permit

Section 5-503 It shall be unlawful for any person, business, partnership, or corporation to conduct any of the following without obtaining a wetlands permit from the Planning Commission and/or the Department of Environmental Quality:

1. Deposit or permit to be deposited, fill material or structures into, within or upon any wetlands.

2. Dredge, remove or permit to be removed, any material (including soils or tree stumps) from any wetland.

3. To physically alter the ground (grade) in a wetland. (Note: The inclusion of this activity is based on current interpretation of dredging and filling activities the DNR's administration of the Goemaere-Anderson Wetland Act. A letter from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to the Michigan Air National Guard

Section 5-604
Section 5-605
providing guidance on this interpretation is part of the minutes of the Forest Home Township Board meeting of August 4, 1994.

4. Construct, place, enlarge, extend, operate, or maintain any use or development in a wetland

5. Drain, or cause to be drained, any water from a wetland.

Section 5-504 Any wetland which is contiguous to a lake or stream, or to a tributary of a lake or stream, or to a wetland which the DEQ or Forest Home Township has determined by clear and convincing evidence to be a wetland which is necessary to be preserved for the public interest must have a Wetlands Permit.