GOLDEN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — The Chicago family that lost already lost one cottage to the shifting sands at Silver Lake in Oceana County is now on the verge of losing a second house to the dunes.
As the sand inches closer, the Dressler family is working to move as much of it off their property as possible.
“The dune is beautiful, but when I’m standing on this side of the house looking that way, I don’t know, a little bit of a heartache,” owner Sue Dressler told 24 Hour News 8 Thursday.
She has been through this before.
“The sand’s pretty much always been much been an issue,” she said.
She and her family lost a smaller cottage a few months ago to the 80-foot dune. Now they are making every effort to not only save their second cottage, but also the line of homes behind theirs in the path of the monstrous dune.
“You live through this, think it’ll never happen to me. It won’t. We’ll just keep digging ourselves out,” Dressler said.
Her father-in-law purchased both properties more than 25 years ago. In 2005, Dressler and her husband took over managing them. She says it wasn’t cheap, costing roughly $10,000 per year to have a company come in and push back the sand.
Recently, the wind and mild winters have made that task exceedingly more difficult.
“Last three winters were so harsh that it really made a difference in not having a break during those winter months. I mean, it’s wonderful when it’s not blowing and the sand, just holding it in place,” Dressler said.
“It could be below 32 degrees, but if there’s no moisture in the sand, it’s still not going to freeze solid. It still will blow and move at 10 degrees below zero. If it’s dry, it’s going to blow,” Michigan Department of Natural Resources Silver Lake State Park Manager Jody Johnston explained.
He said that every year, moving sand becomes more of an issue, traveling anywhere from two to six feet.
“In the 20 years I’ve been involved in this park as an employee, I have seen the dunes moves closer and closer to our infrastructure. So it’s just part of Mother Nature in this area with an open dune system,” Johnston said.
He said the dunes are also pushing toward DNR property including a parking lot, bathroom facility and the area where park rangers keep off-road vehicles, but that it won’t be a big problem for about 20 years.
For now, Johnston said, the DNR and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality are working with the Dressler family to find a solution to the imminent danger.
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