Delta, Kent, Livingston, Menominee, Montcalm, Oakland, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Saginaw and Tuscola – if you spend time hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, birding or otherwise enjoying the outdoors on public lands in any of these counties, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources wants your attention.
The DNR has completed review of this fifth group of counties as part of the department’s multiyear state land review process and is determining which parcels best meet its goal of delivering broad public access to quality outdoor recreation opportunities, while also protecting natural and cultural resources on those lands.
The public is invited to participate in virtual meetings June 15 and 16 to share their input on the outcomes of that review.
“We set out to carefully evaluate the more than 20,000 acres set for review in these 10 counties, and then either retain them as being important to the DNR mission, protect them through conservation partners, trade to consolidate state ownership or make them available for sale to the public through auction,” said Scott Whitcomb, director of the DNR’s Office of Public Lands.
It’s a long-term, detailed process that Whitcomb said helps ensure the DNR is focused on the lands with the greatest conservation, recreation and resource management potential on behalf of Michigan residents.
“We are now at a point in the review of the fifth group of counties where the next important step is to hear from the public – the people who know these local areas and use them in a variety of ways – about their ideas on the initial recommendations,” Whitcomb said. “We got a great response from earlier public reviews and, using local knowledge of the areas, made several corrections to our maps and ownership records, underscoring how important it is to have this input.”
The classification label for each
