Natural burial sounds really cool.

Skip the embalmer, forget the casket. Return to the Earth the all-natural way.

What’s not a great idea? Planting more than 1,000 bodies in wetlands that straddle a potential salmon-bearing stream.

But that’s just what the venerable Jefferson Land Trust wants to do. The nominal nonprofit plans a for-profit green cemetery in a 36-acre conservation easement on Marrowstone Island.

Details are thin, but the group says it needs money from the business to support its many good works.

Impact on the island and nearby homeowners appears a lesser concern.

The site has a high water table. The 2-mile-long stream that runs through it drains the center of the island and at least 22 acres of federally designated wetlands, including three on the site itself.

Industry groups say natural burial works best in sandy, loamy soils that break down and absorb decomposition byproducts.

Waterlogged or impervious soils like the island’s glacial till prevent conversion to harmless nutrients through microbial decomposition.

That means raw byproducts flowing into the stream and into Mystery Bay.

Those of us who live or own property near the site are not opposed to the concept of green burial. We just believe it should be done in a place where it won’t damage an established community and a fragile ecosystem.

James G. Wright

Nordland