Conservation Tippets

by Dr. Bryan Burroughs, Michigan TU Executive Director

NRC Commissioner Appointments

In early January, the governor made two new appointments to the Natural Resources Commission. M. David Anthony of Bark River is currently retired after owning and operating the Northern Sun Winery and serving as the director of community development and government affairs for the Hannahville Indian Community and as a state representative for the 108th House District. He holds Bachelor of Science degrees in political science and history from Northern Michigan University. Mr. Anthony is appointed to represent Democrats for a term commencing January 7, 2022, and expiring December 31, 2025. He succeeds JR Richardson, whose term expired December 31, 2021.

Leslie Love of Detroit is the group director of ES and Sustainability for the Piston Group and a former state representative for the 10th House District. She was formerly a co-chair of the Michigan Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Siena Heights University and a Master of Fine Arts from Wayne State University. Ms. Love is appointed to represent Democrats for a term commencing January 7, 2022, and expiring December 31, 2023. She succeeds the late Michael Lashbrook, a TU member who passed away in 2021.

Ms. Love and Mr. Anthony are joined by fellow commissioners Carol Rose, David Nyberg, Keith Creagh, Tom Baird, and David Cozad.

Asian Carp Prevention

Plans have been developed for preventative measures to keep Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes. These plans received support for funding from Congress but needed 20% cost-sharing from state sources. To increase the certainty and timeline of these measures being implemented, Congress is asked to waive the state costshare and fully fund the preventative measures swiftly. It’s now been about 15 years since this threat was first clearly identified, and we hope for swift implementation of control measures. Advocacy alerts were sent out through various TU channels. and improve the dam safety act and create new provisions to improve the management of dams in the state. Many of the bills’ components follow recommendations developed by the State Dam Safety Taskforce in 2021. Among the many new provisions proposed by the bills, there are provisions for increased frequency of safety inspections, new requirements for assessing design floods, providing financial assurances, and information sharing between agencies. The bills also contemplate increased funding for dams. One new tool would involve the creation of a state revolving loan program for dam repairs. Increased funding for dam removals is also contemplated. One concerning provision considered is the creation of grant programs to fund the restoration of dams. With the number of dams, and their increasing age, these state grant funds are unlikely to go far and will not stop perpetual new needs for repairs in the future; this is likely to slow the pace of certain dams that would be removed if not for the funding.

Appropriations for Ground Water Science and Management

At this time, bills for appropriations of funds to various programs are still in development. However, the Senatepassed bill included robust new funding to advance groundwater data and science needed to manage better water use in Michigan, including large quantity water withdrawals. This realm has been highly under-invested over the last dozen years or so, and the needs for strides in this space have become more urgent. The State Water Use Advisory Council makes biannual reports recommending the requirements for this program. At this time, there seems to be good recognition of the needs within the Legislature. The appropriations bill still needs to work through the House (at the time of writing this).

Budget for the DNR

The governor recently released a proposed budget for the next fiscal year and recommended encouraging investments for the Department of Natural Resources. Those include addressing a large backlog of capital improvements at state parks and within the DNR hatchery system, as well as various other needs.