July 18, 2006

Governor, DNR Commemorate 30th Anniversary of Natural Resources Trust Fund

LANSING – Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today announced the state will work with the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund to link Michigan’s trail system by building new trails and upgrading existing trails throughout the state.  The Governor made the announcement at the trust fund’s 30th anniversary celebration in Traverse City’s Hull Park. 

Granholm joined Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Director Rebecca Humphries and other state officials at the event to speak of the outdoor recreation and natural resources legacy that the trust fund has created in Michigan.
 
“The Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund has made it possible for our state to protect and acquire some of the most scenic lands and unique natural areas of this great state,” Granholm said.  “As Michigan looks to what the trust fund has accomplished over the last 30 years, we need to also plan for the future.  The future I see for Michigan is one where access to trails and recreation is available to everyone.”
 
The Governor’s plan to link Michigan trails would involve support from the trust fund, local units of government, private donors, and foundations and would be completed by 2009.

The DNR currently manages over 12,300 miles of trails in Michigan.  This doesn’t include the thousands of miles of local trails also in the state. 

The Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund was established in 1976 under legislation signed by former Governor William Milliken.  It set aside the oil, gas and mineral lease payments and royalties paid to the state for exploration on public lands and placed them in the trust fund. The fund provides matching grants to local units of government and state agencies for land acquisition, public outdoor recreation projects, and recreation facility development projects.
 
“The trust fund creates a level of partnership between local units of government and the state that is the envy of the nation,” said Humphries.  “By helping local organizations protect the places that encompass what makes Michigan special and by supporting local and regional recreational opportunity efforts, the trust fund serves as a catalyst for partnerships that ultimately help the state protect and manage our state’s natural resources.”

Since its inception, the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund has provided over $650 million in grants to acquire lands for public outdoor recreation and resource protection and to develop facilities for public outdoor recreation.  Among the most significant projects the grants have funded are:

• Tip of the Keweenaw acquisition – grant to the DNR of $12.5 million to acquire approximately 6,000 acres in the west end of the Keweenaw Peninsula – part of the state forest holdings;

• Purchase of a working forest easement in the central Upper Peninsula of approximately 400,000 acres – grant to the DNR of almost $16 million;

• Peninsula Township, Grand Traverse County – grant to Peninsula Township of $1 million to acquire key rights in land to protect important scenic views of Traverse Bay;

• Maple Bay Natural Area, Grand Traverse County – grant to Grand Traverse County of nearly $7 million to acquire 400 acres and more than 2,500 feet of Traverse Bay shoreline;

• Hull Park, city of Traverse City – grant to Traverse City to develop public recreation facilities, including important water access opportunities, in the city’s Hull Park on Boardman Lake (site of July 18th celebration);

• Millennium Park, city of Grand Rapids – 3 grants to Grand Rapids, totaling over $5 million to acquire and develop an important new park on the Grand River;

• Tri-centennial State Park – Detroit – nearly $1 million in development projects for Tri-centennial Park and Marina;

• Spicer Estate Acquisition, Farmington Hills – now Heritage Park (site of August 8th  MNRTF celebration); grant to city of Farmington Hills of $1.2 million to acquire 211 acres within city;

• Oakland County – grant of more than $2.6 million for acquisition of Lyon Oaks Park;

• Silver Beach Park – grant to Berrien County for $3.2 million to acquire Lake Michigan frontage in downtown St. Joseph;

• Bay City – over $1 million in grants to Bay City for acquisition of land for a regional trail system and development along the Saginaw River in both Wenonah and Veteran’s Park;

The trust fund board is comprised of five members.  Currently serving are Sam Washington, chair; Bob Garner; Lana B. Pollack; Frank Torre; and Keith J. Charters.

“The trust fund board members, past and present, have supported projects that bring people into the great outdoors to enjoy the places and activities that make the quality of life in Michigan spectacular,” Granholm said.