Public Lands In the News

OTSEGO COUNTY - Not even a forest lasts forever.  But it could, if Environment Michigan's Million Acres Project succeeds in protecting a million acres of public land from industry and development.

The environmental advocacy group wants the state Department of Natural Resources to set aside up to 10 percent of its public land - or about 450,000 acres - as areas open to hunting, fishing and recreational use, but off-limits to logging, drilling, road building and other such activities.

The long-term vision calls for another half-million acres to be protected with sustainable management practices.

"The need to protect larger areas of state-owned land is long overdue and really imperative now that private land is being so rapidly developed," said Mike Shriberg, director of Environment Michigan. "State land that used to be surrounded by privately owned wilderness is being fragmented into smaller and more vulnerable pieces."

The state DNR has agreed to review 45,669 acres at 20 sites in some of the state's most popular recreation and hunting areas for possible protection under the 1972 Wilderness and Natural Areas Act.

One high-profile site is the Pigeon River Country Forest near Vanderbilt. I recently went there to see for myself why 1,000 of its acres should be counted among the state's most worthwhile to protect.

What I found were rolling fields and white pine forests carpeted in lush ferns, home to the largest free-roaming elk herd in the eastern U.S.

If Ernest Hemingway were still alive, he'd find his precious brook, brown and rainbow trout still where he last fished them, in the ripples of the Black, Sturgeon and Pigeon rivers.

Backpackers freely wander miles of looping trails. Paddlers drop in their kayaks and canoes at quiet bridges. Hunters and wildlife watchers find the varied, high-quality habitat vital to bald eagles, bobcats, bears and countless other species.

It's a mountain biker's mecca, too, where the High Country Pathway was named an Epic Ride for 2006 by the International Mountain Bicycling Association.

"There's a need for building and development, but it has to be controlled so we don't lose places like this," said Boy Scout Troop 367 leader Andy Bowman of Grand Rapids, who came to see the elk with a small band of boys and men on a backpacking trip.

"You can't blame everybody for wanting to be there, but you can't without ruining it. We have to live where we can and keep nature nearby."

Like most forests, Pigeon River Country has been at risk numerous times throughout the years.

Aggressive logging stripped its pine and hardwoods at the turn of the century, and polluted its lakes and streams. The remaining slashed and brush-choked forests were scourged repeatedly by massive wildfires. Surrounding towns and farms were mostly abandoned due to the resulting economic hardship.

The state eventually reclaimed much of the area due to unpaid taxes. In 1919, the state forest was established, and the long years of healing began with reforestation and wildlife habitat restoration.

Then oil was discovered at the Black River swamp in 1970, sparking a whole new clash between the forces of industry and conservation.

"This is a relatively pristine area that's beloved for a reason. We can't let it die for no reason," said Carol Cummings, a Gaylord senior who volunteers her weekends to help staff the Pigeon River ranger station. "So many areas are no longer available to people. We have to keep what's left."

But not everyone agrees with Environment Michigan's hands-off approach.

"I'd support protecting it, but not if it involves mineral rights," said Vicki Barnard of Sanford, who was there with husband Donald trying out a new camper. "Developing our oil and gas reserves is too important. We need to get independent from foreign oil. We can't do that if we keep setting aside property that can't be touched."

Initial exploration and drilling was completed in 1988, yielding 22 productive wells out of 58 drilled. But the controversy has flared back up this year, with a proposal to drill 19 new gas wells on another 2,500 acres.

That has put Pigeon River near the top of Environment Michigan's wish list for immediate protection.

"Without a doubt, a huge problem in this state is that we're almost completely dependent on imported energy sources. But we can't drill our way out of this problem," said Shriberg.

"What we have to do is use less energy and power ourselves with renewable sources."

Such conflicts are a familiar struggle to Pigeon River unit manager Joe Jarecki.

"It's all about compromise and balance. We can't do everything that everybody wants," said Jarecki. "That's the biggest challenge of resource management."

Similar threats face the other 19 areas proposed for protection.

Proposed nickel and sulfide mining in the Upper Peninsula earned the Salmon Trout River a spot among the country's top ten endangered rivers on the 2006 American Rivers Report.

The time to act is running out, warned Shriberg. Statewide, millions of forested acres are being bought by private developers, while the timber industry pushes for legislation that would undermine sustainable forestry management on state park land.

Can the Million Acres Project succeed?

Currently, the Wilderness and Natural Areas Act protects 48,000 acres at 17 sites, most in the Porcupine Mountains in the Upper Peninsula. It's been nearly 20 years since any new lands have been dedicated. The last was Saugatuck Dunes Natural Area in 1988.

"These are the types of areas we 100 percent have to get off the table for industry and development. That still leaves 3.5 million acres that can be used in other ways to serve the public interest," said Shriberg. "What we're asking is a reasonable thing to ask."

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