A note: Donations are optional and go only to change.org to promote this and other online petitions. SavetheArb is an all-volunteer, grassroots effort and does not collect or receive donations. Please sign the petition and forward widely among your contacts, change.org/savethearb  Thank you. 

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Petition to: University of Michigan President Ono, University of Michigan Regents, Mayor Taylor, Ann Arbor City Council Members, and Ann Arbor City Administrator Dohoney

 The University of Michigan Campus Plan 2050 includes an automated transit system proposal which potentially routes an elevated monorail from North Campus through the Arb in the area of the Peony Garden and the historic Schoolgirls' Glen. If the project proceeds as shown on plans and illustrations that were released in September 2024 and updated on 10/04/2024, the route will fragment a heavily wooded habitat; cause erosion of steep, sandy soils; introduce noise, light and pathways for invasive species; and disrupt a healing space, long beloved in our community. 

Robert Grese, Professor Emeritus in the School of Environment and Sustainability and prior Director of Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum, provided historical, cultural and ecological context about the Arb in a letter to President Ono, UM Regents and Ann Arbor City Council members. He advised “The Arb should not be primarily a route for utilities or transportation to pass through; it should instead be something quite different.”

Professor Grese called out the forward thinking predecessors in the University who advocated for the Arb as a place for study of natural systems and botany, as well as an easily accessible place of respite. He urged President Ono, the UM Regents, and the Ann Arbor officials to seek an alternate route. We agree. 

Please respect the integrity of the Arb as an essential part of the nature of Ann Arbor. Once defaced and fragmented, Ann Arbor and the UM community will be robbed of an essential resource, needed more than ever as we experience the climate crisis.

We ask that you assure that the Arb remains intact. Retain the mature trees and understory. Avoid installation of overhead disturbances, changes to slopes and alterations of surface permeability that induce erosion. Protect the cherished sanctuary for people, wildlife and plants. Act to designate special protection for the entire Arb, for now and for the future.

Read Professor Grese's letter here. 

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Option: Write directly to decision-makers:  

UM President, Santa Ono presoff@umich.edu; UM Regents umregents@umich.edu; Ann Arbor City Council & Mayor citycouncil@a2gov.org; Ann Arbor City Administrator, Milton Dohoney mdohoney@a2gov.org