Contact: Jon LaBossiere 734-426-4913
Agency: Natural Resources

March 24, 2009

Pinckney Recreation Area is announcing its spring “GO-Get Oudoors” recreational stimulus package with a “Paddle to Hell” on Wednesday, April 1, beginning at 10 a.m. at the Bruin Lake boat launch.

Under the best conditions, this is an easy four-mile paddle through Hell, Michigan. However, this early in the season the water is cold and the weather is unpredictable. This is an all-weather event and will be cancelled only if there is still ice on the lakes.

The cost of the paddle trip is free, but donations are being accepted for picnic table and grill replacements. Participants will need to register at (734) 426-4913. This event is limited to 20 boats, so participants are urged to register soon.

The Bruin Lake boat launch is located at 21237 Kaiser Rd. near Gregory, which is near Hell, Michigan. For more information about the park, this event, accessibility, or persons needing accommodations to attend this event, contact the park supervisor at (734) 426-4913 (or TTY/TDD 711 Michigan Relay Center for the hearing impaired), or visit the Web site at www.michigan.gov/pinckney.

All motor vehicles entering a state park or recreation area must display a Motor Vehicle Permit, available for purchase at the park entrance. Cost is $24 for a resident annual and $6 for a resident daily. A nonresident annual is $29 and a nonresident daily is $8.

Join the DNR in celebrating the 90th anniversary of Michigan State Parks this year. Activities are planned throughout the year. For more information, visit www.michigan.gov/dnr.

The DNR is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural resources for current and future generations.

Great Lakes, Great Times, Great Outdoors

TRAVERSE CITY — The Michigan Department of Natural Resources will host a series of town hall meetings to discuss the state’s and agency’s conservation priorities.

DNR Director Rebecca Humphries will lead the sessions, while the public can ask questions and make comments.

Humphries is expected to speak about natural resource management, land management, recruitment of outdoor enthusiasts, priorities for the future and what citizens value most about outdoor activities in Michigan, among other topics.

One of the meetings will be on April 14 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the meeting room at the Grand Traverse County Civic Center, 1213 W. Civic Center Dr. in Traverse City.

Other meetings will be held in Grand Rapids, Midland, Marquette and Novi.

Those with disabilities who need special accommodations should call (517) 373-6919 at least five days in advance.

Associated Press
6:45 PM CST, February 19, 2009

LANSING, Mich. – Online gift cards soon will be available in Michigan to buy licenses for hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced the new program Thursday.

New hunting and fishing licenses go on sale March 1. License prices remain the same as in 2008.

Gift cards can be bought through the Department of Natural Resources Web site. They can be redeemed for hunting and fishing licenses or snowmobile and off-road vehicle trail stickers.

The e-cards are available in $15, $30 and $50 increments.

They can only be used to buy licenses online. They cannot be redeemed at retailers or DNR offices.

On the Net:

Gift cards will be available at http://www.michigan.gov/dnr

by Elizabeth Shaw | The Flint Journal
Wednesday February 04, 2009, 6:34 PM

Michigan’s annual Winter Free Fishing Weekend is Feb. 14-15. The annual celebration of the state’s ice fishing heritage includes free fishing clinics, contests and festivals at locations throughout the state, including many at state parks and fish hatcheries.

Anyone can fish without a license during the free fishing weekend. All other regulations apply.

For more information: www.michigan.gov/dnrfishing.

Virtual archery tournament

The state Department of Natural Resources is accepting registrations for its third annual State Virtual Archery Tournament, to be held Feb. 16 through March 20, with final scores submitted by March 23.

The tournament is for students enrolled at schools participating in the National Archery in the Schools Program.

Teams will be separated by grade level and must be made up of 16 to 24 students, with at least five members of the opposite sex. Schools unable to field a team will be allowed to register students to compete individually.

Winning teams and individual champions will be awarded trophies, medals and other prizes through donations of several archery manufacturers and the National Wild Turkey Federation.

Qualifying teams will go on to participate in the national event in May in Kentucky.

Details: (517) 241-9477 or emmonsm@michigan.gov. Or visit the DNR Web site at www.michigan.gov/dnrarchery.

Cross-country ski and snowshoe

Join a guided cross-country ski tour at 10 a.m. or a guided snowshoe hike at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge in Saginaw County.

Skiers will meet at the Woodland Trail parking lot at the corner of Center and Stroebel roads just south of Saginaw. The route is not groomed. Skiers must provide their own equipment. The tour will last about two hours. If there is not enough snow for skiing, the group will hike.

The snowshoe hike will begin at the Green Point Environmental Learning Center, 3010 Maple St. in Saginaw, and will last about two hours. The center has a limited number of snowshoes available for use, so participants are asked to call (989) 759-1669 by Friday to reserve a pair. Insulated winter boots fit best in the bindings.

Details: www.fws.gov/midwest/shiawassee.

Nature hike

Learn about butterflies in winter from Kathy Huxford of Michigan Monarchs during a special winter program at 2 p.m. Sunday at Seven Ponds Nature Center, 3854 Crawford Road, Dryden.

Cost is $3 for adults, $1 for children and free to Seven Ponds members.

Birding

The 12th annual Great Backyard Bird Count takes place Feb. 13-16. Amateur birders of all ages can enjoy the fun and help by counting birds for at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the event.

Details: citizenscience@audubon.org. Or contact the Genesee Audubon Society at geneseeaudubon@yahoo.com.

The Department of Natural Resources could improve the way it monitors the use of both general fund and Natural Resources Trust Fund money, but the findings of the financial audit released Wednesday didn’t find the deficiencies resulted in a material weakness.

The report by Auditor General Thomas McTavish, which covered the period of October 1, 2005 to September 30, 2007, said DNR overestimated the cost of fighting the Sleeper Lake fire by $1.5 million. While vendor costs associated to aircraft expenditures came in at $640,000, the department did not change its accounts payable to reflect that and kept the total at $2.1 million.

DNR said it didn’t believe that to be the last vendor bill, but the audit criticized the department for not following up to see why there was a difference in what the cost was expected to be and what it actually was.

In its response, the department said it believes forgiving the liability as revenue in the subsequent fiscal year was appropriate.

The audit also found that $1.8 million in trust fund costs were recorded for the 2005-06 fiscal year, but weren’t actually expended by that year’s end. As a result, the 2005-06 cost was overstated, while the 2006-07 was understated, the audit found. The DNR agreed with the audit’s finding and recommendation.

The audit also recommended the department tighten up its internal monitoring of employee time cards and its oversight of dollars passed through DNR to other entities. In those cases, the department indicated it had taken corrective action where needed by the end of 2008.

Contact: Paul Koszegi 231-627-2811
Agency: Natural Resources

Jan. 26, 2009

Cheboygan State Park will hold a “GO-Get Outdoors” lantern lit cross-country ski evening on Saturday, Feb. 14, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. From the park trailhead off Suffern Road, skiers will find approximately one and a half miles of groomed and track-set trails lit by lantern approximately every 50 feet.

“If a person has not skied by lanterns, they will experience a new adventure being on the trail with the woods aglow from the lantern light,” said Paul Koszegi, the park supervisor. “And the lantern lit trail gives a unique way to celebrate Valentine’s Day with someone special.”

Visitors can enjoy a bonfire at the trailhead before they start out and then they will find another bonfire, snacks and hot chocolate at 14 Foot Shoals cabin located at the halfway point on the trail. Snowshoers are also welcome, but are asked to keep to one side of the groomed ski tracks.

The park is open throughout the winter for skiing. This event will be held weather permitting, and interested participants should call ahead to confirm there is adequate snowfall at the park.

Cheboygan State Park also offers several rustic cabins for winter lodging. Each cabin sleeps eight people. Reservations can be made by calling 800-447-2757 or online at www.midnrreservations.com. Cheboygan State Park is located at 4490 Beach Rd., just two miles southeast of Cheboygan on US-23.

For more information about this event, accessibility, or persons needing accommodations to attend this event, contact the park supervisor at (231) 627-2811 (or TTY/TDD 711 Michigan Relay Center for the hearing impaired) at least seven days prior to the weekend, or view information about accessibility details at www.michigan.gov/dnr, under “Recreation, Camping & Boating.”

All motor vehicles entering a state park or recreation area must display a Motor Vehicle Permit, available for purchase at the park headquarters or at the trail head. Cost is $24 for a resident annual and $6 for a resident daily. A nonresident annual is $29 and a nonresident daily is $8.

The DNR is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural resources for current and future generations.

Are you looking for something to keep you busy this summer without spending a lot of money?

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is offering free camping for outdoor lovers who volunteer as campground hosts at Michigan state parks or forest campgrounds.

There are only a few stipulations.

You have to be at least 18 years old, be available to provide services 5 days a week for a total of 30 hours a week, serve a minimum of 4 consecutive weeks, and supply your own camping equipment.

Campground hosts are needed to answer visitor questions, arrange activates, and help with light maintenance.

For more information on becoming a campground host at state park recreation areas contact Maia Stephens at 1-517-373-8378.

For more information on becoming a campground host at a state forest recreation area contact Ada Takacs at 1-989-275-5151 Ext. 2049.

TRAVERSE CITY — Michigan’s state parks soon may become greener than ever.

A new draft strategic plan for the Parks and Recreation Division of the state Department of Natural Resources includes a laundry list of “green initiatives” to be adopted by all state parks. Local state parks will expand recycling programs, use energy-saving light fixtures and bulbs, plus explore potential wind and solar power generation, officials said.

“It’s to do the right thing and set a good example,” said Ron Olson, DNR parks and recreation chief. “We want to set some strong visionary goals.”

Statewide plans call for energy conservation, use of non-caustic cleaning products, promotion of recycling efforts, research into renewable energy, use of biofuels and low-flow plumbing, among other concepts.

“Some of these things have been going on and we’re going to do more,” said Tim Schreiner, state park supervisor in Traverse City and Northport.

Fluorescent light bulbs are on the way out at Traverse City, Leelanau and Interlochen state parks, where they are to be replaced in 2009 with smaller wattage fixtures expected to annually save thousands of dollars in energy costs, he said.

Energy-efficient water heaters will be installed, motion-detection sensors will be used in all buildings and waterless urinals will save thousands of gallons of water. State officials also will explore whether wind or solar power generation can be implemented at the rustic Leelanau State Park and the bustling Traverse City State Park, Schreiner said.

Leelanau State Park is a rustic campground near Northport and a small windmill possibly could generate enough electricity to power park offices, since camp sites do not have electrical service, he said.

“Maybe Leelanau State Park could be a positive electrical producer, generating more electricity that we use,” Schreiner said.

Some environmentalists believe more details are needed with the new “green initiatives.”

“This is a plan for a plan. It’s not a plan,” said Marvin Roberson, forest ecologist with the Michigan Chapter of the Sierra Club. “We certainly agree with most of these principles. That’s the unfortunate thing: They are principles and not plans.”

Roberson wants more developed ideas to better detail exactly how these general environmental principles will be implemented, he said.

The DNR wants public comments on the full draft strategic plan for 2009 to 2019, posted online at www.michigan.gov/prdstrategicplans. The deadline for comments is Jan. 30 and they can be e-mailed to DNR-RecreationFeedback@michigan.gov, or mailed to: Paul Curtis, DNR-Parks and Recreation Division, P.O. Box 30257, Lansing, MI 48909-7757.

LANSING, Mich. – Michigan wildlife managers have scheduled an extra elk hunt this month to limit the animal’s spread outside its traditional range in the state.

The hunt will be from Jan. 14-18. The Department of Natural Resources has selected 40 hunters from applicants who missed out on the regular hunts last year.

Michigan typically has elk hunts in August, September and December.

The DNR tries to limit the herd to a winter population of 800-900 animals and to keep them within four counties: Montmorency, Cheboygan, Presque Isle and Otsego.

Recently, the herd has been expanding to neighboring counties.

The January hunt will be the third in the 25 years since elk hunting began in Michigan.

By Mark Spencley
Cheboygan Daily Tribune

Cheboygan, Mich. – After years of meeting with the public to discuss the future management of Michigan’s natural resources, the DNR has come up with a draft of the 2009-2019 Strategic Plan for its Parks and Recreation Division.

Now they are asking for input one more time.

“This plan represents the culmination of two and one-half years of extensive outreach effort to the public and other stakeholders who helped define the goals, objectives, and actions identified in the draft plan,” explained DNR Press Secretary Mary Dettloff.

Now that a draft is completed, public comment is once again needed.

The draft contains information on parks and recreation management from every aspect, including a list of specific goals that will guide the Parks and Recreation Department through the next 10 years.
Goals include expanding education and natural resources opportunities, as well as better fiscal management and facilities improvement.

Everyone who enjoys the outdoors will be affected by this plan in some way. From hunters to fisherman, from campers to snowmobilers, this plan will influence the outdoor lifestyle enjoyed by nearly every Northern Michigan resident.

The full draft of the plan is available at the DNR Web site, www.michigan.gov/prdstrategicplans. Comments will be accepted until 5 p.m. Jan. 30.

Comments may be submitted to DNR-RecreationFeedback@michigan.gov via e-mail, or in writing to: Paul N. Curtis, Park Management Plan Administrator, DNR-Parks and Recreation Division, P.O. Box 30257, Lansing, MI 48909-7757.