Manchester Township weighs in on Watkins Lake/ gravel mine situation

Location of proposed sand and gravel mine in relation to Watkins Lake State Park and County Preserve. From Levy-Norvell Project Exhibit 2. Site Plans.

by Sara Swanson

On November 17, 2025, American Aggregates of Michigan, Inc., applied to Norvell Township to build and operate a large aggregate sand and gravel mine that would border Watkins Lake State Park and County Preserve. Currently Norvell Township is engaged in a third-party review by experts and interested agencies of the submitted application.

While everyone waits for that to be completed so it can then be presented to their planning commission, Irish Hills Concerned Citizens, a group formed to oppose the gravel mine, has been gathering letters of opposition and concern from experts and government bodies. They have collected letters from Scott Brown, Executive Director of The Michigan Lake and Stream Association; Carol Mull the researcher who turned up much of the park’s connection to the Underground Railroad; Meghan Bonfiglio, director of Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission; and Diana Kern, executive director of Legacy Land Conservancy.

Joining this collection, Manchester Township passed a resolution on March 10 supporting careful and comprehensive review of environmental and community impacts related to the gravel mine proposals near Watkins Lake State Park & County Preserve. Read the resolution here. Though all of the proposed gravel mining would occur in Norvell Township, the park spans both Norvell Township and Manchester Township.

The Irish Hills Concerned Citizens (IHCC) released a statement on Friday thanking the Manchester Township board for their resolution. They stated, “The resolution, addressed to Norvell Township, outlines the value the township board places on the Park for the benefits provided to residents throughout the area. It also expresses serious concerns about potential impacts to the Park itself, as well as to visitors of the Park, and requests that Norvell Township do a comprehensive review of the application to address those concerns.”

The IHCC board also thanked the previous letter writers and requested that other local municipalities whose residents use the Park pass similar resolutions, as well as other nonprofit organizations and businesses whose customers frequent the Park.

Read the letters and more about the mine and fight to prevent the mine on IHCCinfo.org.

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and a founder of the Manchester Mirror.