Pigeon River & Beyond - Back Country Horsemen, Michigan

“This is a government by the people and for the people;

if we don’t get involved, changes won’t be made.”

April 5, 2008 / Weekly Choice / By Mike Dunn

GAYLORD – Several hundred people packed the Knights of Columbus Hall in Gaylord on Saturday to express frustration about the direction they see the state government taking. The people who attended the rally were mostly part of “user groups” affected by recent regulations implemented by the Department of Natural Resources or the Department of Environmental Quality, or both state agencies.
Mike Meriwether of the Antrim Conservation District was the moderator of the meeting. He said the purpose of the rally wasn’t to bash the DNR or the DEQ, but to provide a forum for people to express their frustrations and to be a catalyst for user groups to have their voices heard in Lansing.

“The goal is to apply some pressure legislatively,” Meriwether, a Central Lake forester, said after the two-and-a-half hour rally ended. “We had a number of state representatives here. They’re very well aware of the frustrations that the user groups are facing and they’re very supportive of our efforts.”

Casperson addressed the crowd briefly, encouraging them to “stand arm in arm” in their effort to make the government more accountable to the people.
“Sticking together is the way to get things done,” Casperson told those in attendance, drawing cheers.

Heidi Lang, a soil erosion officer with the Antrim Conservation District, seemed to speak for many in the crowd when she said change was needed at the state level.
Lang expressed personal frustration in dealing with what she termed government bureaucracy. It used to be that Lang could work directly with DNR and DEQ field personnel to fix problems relating to soil conversation and other environmental issues in Antrim County.
Because of recent changes “at the top level,” Lang is no longer able to work directly with field personnel. The result has been a negative impact on natural resources.

Lang cited a situation where a shoreline property suffered irreparable erosion because it took the state more than two years to act on a permit request to implement a bio-engineering solution for arresting the erosion.

“In the end, there was two feet of shoreline lost,” she said. “We could have had the right fix in a timely manner and it didn’t happen.”
Lang said that “common sense, science and a commitment to natural resources” must be employed to repair the present disconnect between people and the state government.
There were several issues brought up at the meeting by people representing various user groups. The issue of the transporting of waste from Bay Harbor to a deep injection well east of Alba was among the top button topics brought up by several people at the rally.
A topical issue of concern for people in Otsego County is a proposal by the DNR to limit horseback riders to certain trails within the Pigeon River State Forest.

The DNR has proposed limiting horses to the so-called “blue trails” within the 118,000-acre forest and that has a number of trail riders up in arms. Other sources of frustration for many are the closing of three campgrounds within the state forest and an increase in the fee to use the remaining campgrounds to $22 per night.
Elizabeth Edwards, a member of the Michigan Trail Riders Association, spoke emotionally about some of the changes that have taken place in the state forest. She related tales of taking her children and grandchildren on horseback through the trails since the 1970s and seeing things like a fawn being born or coming upon bull elk in a clearing.
“If the trails are restricted, these are things the kids won’t see,” said Edwards, who was visibly crying.

Carol Hyzer, a retired state employee and an MTRA member who resides in Grayling, noted that the MTRA spent more than $200,000 to build campsite at locations within the state forest that were chosen by the DNR. Hyzer said she personally helped to build many of the campgrounds along with fellow trail riders. Now the DNR is closing some of those sites.
Hyzer said the decision by the DNR will be costly in terms of tourism dollars.
“We have people who come from Missouri, Kentucky and other states every year to use these trails,” she told reporters after the meeting. “If they restrict the use of the trails and reduce the number of campgrounds, the people will stop coming. They have a number of alternatives. They don’t have to come here and spend their money.”

Steve Tomaski of Johannesburg, a member of the Farm Bureau equine advisory council, said that it’s not the presence of horses on the trails of the state forest that is impacting the movement of elk herds. Rather, it’s “the mismanagement of food sources for a non-native species.”

Tomaski added that “restricting the use of natural resources has served a select few at the expense of many,” drawing an enthusiastic response from the crowd.
One dissenting voice at Saturday’s rally was that Mike Brown of Gaylord. Though Brown is not a member of the Pigeon River Advisory Council, he attends their meetings and has kept himself abreast of the current developments.
Brown told those at Saturday’s meeting that the proposals by the DNR were not made without research and input. The proposed changes have been the result of a process that has taken nearly three years. During that time, there have been a number of different committees formed and the DNR has sought feedback from the public, including trail riders. An MTRA member from Alpena is a part of the advisory council, Brown added, and she was asked to “spread the word and find out what the people think.”
Brown also noted that from the beginning there been regulations in place governing the use of trails within the Pigeon River, even if those regulations have not always been enforced.
Rory Mattson of the Delta Conservation District in the Upper Peninsula was one of the featured speakers at Saturday’s rally. Mattson was a driving force behind a similar rally that was held in Marquette where 400 people were in attendance.