Legislature is Hearing the Conservation Community’s Voice in Lansing

December 13th, 2011 by MUCC Staff.

Michigan sportsmen and women delivered another victory for conservation this past week by taking action to delay a vote on Senate Bill 248 in the House Natural Resources Committee that would have capped the amount of public land available in the state of Michigan.

Your hundreds of calls and e-mails to members of the committee asking them to take a closer look at the legislation did not go unnoticed, nor unanswered.

Word is that due to the negative feedback received, mainly from members of the sportsman and conservation community statewide, a vote on SB 248 has been postponed indefinitely until after the New Year, and after a closer look is taken at the effects of the proposed legislation.

MUCC and its members were concerned that the bill was set to make sweeping public land policy for the entire state without addressing the concerns raised in issuing the bill, nor the concerns of the conservaiton community.

Issues such as the disparity between access to amounts of public land in different regions of the state, more input from local units of government, and creating a transparent and accountable strategy for future public land purchases and sales should be considered in any new discussions by the Michigan legislature.

Kudos to all those sportsmen and women who contacted their Representatives. Your hard work is paying off!