Lansing, Mich. – As the official
end of Michigan’s summer tourism season
approaches, citizens gathered on the steps of the Capitol to call for
protection of Michigan’s
most pristine wild places.
Environment Michigan joined with local citizens to deliver
Our Favorite Wild Places: A Citizen’s
Call to Action to Governor Granholm today.
The book compiles 140 stories from Michiganders about the need to
protect their favorite natural areas on state owned land. Environment Michigan also delivered 5,570 postcards
calling on the Governor to use her authority to fully enact the Wilderness and
Natural Areas Act and begin to preserve these special places before it is too
late.
In talking with over 42,000
citizens this summer about public lands protection, the response to Environment
Michigan was overwhelming; Michiganders are clearly concerned about our 4.5
million acres of majestic and valuable state land and waterways.
“Ever since I was a child I
have been inspired and in awe when visiting and hiking in Michigan’s forests. The natural quiet beauty of the forest and
the additional pleasure of viewing the wildlife and listening to the birds that
live there is a soothing spiritual experience,” said Susan Anderson of Grand
Ledge, a contributor to the book of stories.
“We must protect these places for future generations.”
The idea for the book of
stories began this past spring when Russ Harding, the former Department of
Environmental Quality Director now with the Mackinac Center
for Public Policy, called for selling 14 of our 97 state parks. This conflicts with Environment Michigan’s campaign
to protect our State parks and other natural areas from being privatized or
ravaged by special interests like developers, mining companies, energy prospectors,
and logging companies.
Most of the favorite places
mentioned in the book are not permanently protected from harmful
activities. For example, Tahquamenon
Falls – a place many
citizens are concerned about – has yet to see full protection under the
Wilderness and Natural Areas Act. In
fact, the Act has not been used in over 18 years despite the fact that 20 sites
totaling over 45,000 acres have been nominated for protection.
“We need to use the
Wilderness and Natural Areas Act to its full potential by protecting up to 10%
of our state lands, beginning with the areas citizens highlight in the book and
the areas that are awaiting protection decisions,” said Abby Rubley, field
organizer with Environment Michigan. “We
look forward to continuing to work with the Granholm Administration to
implement this important law.”
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Environment Michigan - a statewide, citizen-based
environmental advocacy organization - is the new home of PIRGIM’s environmental
work. www.environmentmichigan.org
