Echo
Gas company scraps drilling plans near Au Sable River
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A nine-year battle over natural gas drilling near a state-designated wilderness along Michigan’s Au Sable River recently ended when Savoy Energy withdrew its permit request. In a Sept. 6 letter to the federal Bureau of Land Management, the Traverse City, Mich.-based oil and gas exploration company declared it was no longer interested in drilling near a section of the river famed for trout fishing and old growth forest. The Michigan Chapter of the Sierra Club and Anglers of the Au Sable had sued to halt the proposal. “I was pretty happy to hear the news,” said Marvin Roberson, the Sierra Club’s forest policy specialist.