New Walking Trail (4.3 miles round trip) -- column from S.Bend Tribune

By COLUMNIST Lou Mumford (published in Friday Sept. 10, 2010 online edition)

NILES — Give folks an inch and they'll take a mile. Or two and a quarter miles, for those who go the distance on the recently extended Niles recreation trail.  A check late Thursday morning with walkers using the trail between Bond and Fort streets resulted in only positive feedback, seemingly justifying the project's $340,000 cost and making up for the headaches endured by Niles Public Works Director Neil Coulston as he struggled to overcome such hurdles as an endangered plant.  Coulston said he, too, has traipsed the trail, south of Bond Street, and has been impressed by the landscape.  “It's a beautiful walk. ... People have been very complimentary,” he said. “Some say it's the best thing Niles has ever done.”
Best thing or not, it's certainly a welcome addition to a town that, like many in Michigan, hasn't had a whole lot of good news of late. Among the walkers taking in the wildlife that periodically presented itself - in one area, an inquisitive turkey just off the path scratched the ground beneath a fallen tree - was Larry Patterson, 45, of Niles.“It gets you out of traffic. It's nice, and you have a lovely view,” he said, adding he's seen ducks but not the deer reported by other walkers.  He hits the trail, said Patterson, who lives near the trail's south end, mainly for exercise but also to get from one end of town to the other.  “I like doing it because it's new and it's different and it's pretty,” he said.
Walking briskly just behind him was David Jackson, 77, of Niles. A trail user four or five times a week, he said a round trip is about 4.3 miles, providing him with a more than adequate workout.  “I love the longer distance,” he said.
Several walkers commented like Patterson that they were pleased the extended trail allows them to continue their walks without crossing onto Bond Street, as was their habit previously. Although Bond isn't heavily traveled, it's a gravel road and unsuited for foot travel, said Alda Milner, 69, a Niles resident who walked the trail with daughter Laurie Wise, 40, also of Niles.  “When cars are buzzing by, you're eating a lot of dust,” she said.
New to the new trail were Amber Horvath, 20, of Niles, and her girlfriend, Brooke Ford, 19, of Dowagiac. Horvath said the two attend Southwestern Michigan College and began hitting the trail on Wednesday for exercise. That's also the reason Brenda Moreaux, 47, and her husband, Richard, 44, said they use the trail.
“I've had a lot of extensive surgeries. I'd say we go a good four miles,” Brenda said.
Coulston said the trail is all but finished, with a few yet to be installed benches the only loose end. Looking back at the project, the cost of which was split between the city and a state grant, he agreed there was more frustration than with most other projects because of the endangered plant —prairie trillium - issue and the grant's two-year window.
After the first year went by the boards because of project modifications and delays obtaining an easement, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment notified Niles in January of the possible presence of the trillium along the trail's projected southern route. The 138 plants discovered in the spring prompted the city to request and obtain agreement from the DNRE that they be transplanted but when volunteers arrived to dig them up, only two could be found.
“There were two theories. Either they became dormant and wilted away or ... deer ate them,” Coulston said.
Thinking that the DNRE's next directive would be to wait until next spring for the trillium to bloom once again, Coulston was more than a little surprised when it allowed the project to proceed as planned.
The upshot? Paving was completed late last month, providing a pleasant setting for low-cost - free - exercise. Deer, too, have access but are more apt to be found just off the beaten path.
Maybe next spring, walkers will spot them munching on trillium.