Heidi Shaffer
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Heidi Shaffer has been the Soil Erosion Control Officer for Antrim County for the last 12 years. Heidi has an engineering degree from Michigan State and has augmented that degree with extensive classes in agriculture and natural resource management. During her tenure at the Antrim Conservation District, Heidi has taken continuing education classes in wetland identification, soil erosion control and natural shoreline management.
Heidi’s primary responsibility is to administer the soil erosion control program where she issues permits to anyone doing earth work within 500’ of a river, lake or stream, or disturbs more than an acre of soil. Encouraging people to use functional landscaping: berms, swales, dry river beds, recessed planting beds – to capture and slow runoff water so that it can be filtered by the ground before it reaches the lake, is a method to control erosion and protect water quality. People usually landscape their lake front properties. Planning ahead and using functional landscaping doesn’t cost more and can really make a positive impact on our surface waters. Heidi’s passion is maintaining the “up-north” aesthetic of the region using native plants landscaping and natural shoreline management. In her job she sees a lot of urbanization of the properties along our lakes. Teaching people the beauty and functionality of the natural landscape is an uphill battle that comes naturally to Heidi. Her grandparents, Harry and Eloise Lund, wrote and published the popular wildflower identification field guide: Michigan Wildflowers in Color. With her family she has been traipsing around the wilds of Michigan identifying and appreciating the wonders nature has to offer. |
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