Chestonia Township is leading the charge to round up other nearby townships in the effort for them to approve the use of ORV’s and ATV’s on the Jordan Valley roads within their respective Townships. Last Fall, Chestonia Township voted yes to approve the use of ORV’s. Star and Warner Townships may follow suit with their votes to approve the use of ORV’s in the Jordan Valley on roads within their townships this Spring.

Thankfully, Chestonia Township failed to follow the correct meeting protocol and was forced to meet again, at a later date, to vote a second time. This time the issue to allow ORV’s was voted down. From what we have heard, these Townships may decide to raise this same issue and vote again this May or sooner.

There is a reason the Jordan River was designated Michigan’s First Wild and Scenic River in 1972 under the state’s Natural Rivers Act. Those who live and visit here experience an uninterrupted, pristine, natural river environment – carved by the retreat of Ice Age glaciers ten millennia ago.

Friends of the Jordan River Watershed (FJR) retained an Environmental Attorney in Traverse City to help us fight against opening up the roads in the Jordan River Valley to ORV and ATV use for multiple safety issues for riders and concerns for the area’s natural habitat and the quiet area of the Jordan River Valley. We are expecting legal fees to exceed $60,000. FJR does not have the financial resources to do this alone. Therefore, if you do not want ORV’s on the Jordan Valley roads, please donate to our legal defense fund. We need to raise this money by the end of May 2025 to pay the attorney, in order to protect our watershed area.