50 years and counting: Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund’s golden record of elevating outdoor recreation, conservation

To date, the Trust Fund has provided nearly $1.4 billion for land improvements and acquisitions across Michigan’s 83 counties

• The award-winning Ocqueoc Falls Trailhead and Scenic Overlook in Presque Isle County, offering the first universally accessible waterfall in the U.S.
• Milliken State Park and Harbor, the Detroit Riverwalk and the Outdoor Adventure Center, a trio of dazzling destinations that annually draw millions of visitors to downtown Detroit.
• The manually propelled raft at Kitch-iti-kipi (“Big Spring”) at Palms Book State Park in Schoolcraft County, allowing visitors to cross and view the 200-foot-wide, 40-foot-deep natural spring and underlying limestone.

Those are a few marquee examples of the outdoor places and recreation spaces supported by grants from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund, which has been enshrined for permanent protection within Michigan’s Constitution. Established in 1976, the fund provides grants to state and local governments to purchase land for conservation or recreation, and for development of public outdoor recreation facilities.

The fund is financed through interest earnings on royalties from state-owned oil, gas and mineral leases and administered by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

In addition to those larger projects, the Trust Fund makes possible a variety of efforts to bring quality outdoor recreation opportunities to cities, townships and villages throughout Michigan: everything from pier harbor upgrades, shoreline beach expansion and trail connections to community skate parks, athletic fields and picnic pavilions.

“It’s an honor to serve as part of this board because we know the Trust Fund plays a massive role in helping communities create their vision for outdoor gathering spaces that support physical and mental health, anchor neighborhoods and help drive local economies and tourism,” said Chris MacInnes, chair of the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund Board. “Clean, safe, welcoming outdoor spaces enhance the image of Michigan and residents’ quality of life, and that’s an investment worth protecting.”

Celebration starts at mParks

The anniversary highlights get underway March 3-5 during the 2026 mParks Conference and Trade Show in Lansing. This year’s conference is built around the theme “Rethink. Reinvent. Reignite. Inspiring Parks. Empowering People.”

Tuesday’s opening session — Celebrating 50 Years of the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund and the mParks Awards — honors the Trust Fund’s legacy of conservation, partnership and investment that has transformed Michigan’s parks, trails and public spaces for generations, and will offer a series of panel discussions exploring the visionaries, projects and partnerships that have shaped Michigan’s outdoor heritage.

Looking ahead

Beyond the mParks conference this week, the year will bring other opportunities to learn more about the Trust Fund during meetings of the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund Board and associated partner events/activities. Currently, the schedule includes stops in:

• Flint (April 14-15)
• Detroit (June 9-10)
• Marquette (Aug. 11-12)
• Traverse City (Sept. 29-30)

Final events and activities in each city, and other potential opportunities to engage, are being finalized. Follow the Trust Fund webpage for updates.

More on the Trust Fund

This “Showcasing the DNR” story from 2016, at an earlier milestone of the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund, digs into the history and origins of the Trust Fund, as well as the creativity, tenacity and vision of the team that nurtured it from idea into existence.

To date, the Trust Fund has provided nearly $1.4 billion, across more than 3,000 allocations, to state and local units of government. Trust Fund-supported projects and lands can be found in each of Michigan’s 83 counties.

“When it comes to outdoor recreation, space to spread out and opportunities to connect with our state’s outdoor heritage, Michiganders know we’ve got something pretty special here,” said DNR Director Scott Bowen. “The brilliance of an idea like the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund is that it ensures that money generated from nonrenewable resources, like oil and gas, is invested into permanent, renewable public assets such as parks, trails and conservation areas.”

This brief anniversary video highlights the Trust Fund’s history, ingenuity and impact.

Visit Michigan.gov/MNRTF for more on the Trust Fund. Additional 50th-anniversary details and resources, including an interactive map highlighting locations and details of Trust Fund-supported projects, will be added throughout the year.

Accompanying photos of Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund-supported land acquisitions and development projects, as well as the 50th anniversary logo, are available below for download. Caption information follows.

• Rotary Island Park: The city of Sault Ste. Marie used a 2024 $275,400 Trust Fund grant to support its Rotary Island Park pavilion development project.
• Sparks Foundation County Park: A $300,000 Trust Fund grant in 2021 brought pickleball courts to this Jackson County park. 
• Michigan's Dragon at Hardy Dam: The Dragon, a 47-mile trail loop around Hardy Pond in Mecosta and Newaygo counties, was made possible with a $205,400 Trust Fund grant in 2019. 
• Brown Bridge Quiet Area: A 1992 Trust Fund grant of $228,500 helped Traverse City add 70 acres, with 2,500 feet of Boardman River frontage, to the Brown Bridge Quiet Area in Grand Traverse County.
• Historic Ottawa Beach waterfront improvements: A 2017 Trust Fund grant of $291,000 supported waterfront improvements at this historic beach in Ottawa County.
• Argo Nature Area: The city of Ann Arbor was able to incorporate universal access and site improvements at the Argo Nature Area, thanks to a 2020 Trust Fund grant of $300,000.
• Mattson Lower Harbor Park: A 2020 Trust Fund grant of $300,000 helped the city of Marquette build this playground area in Mattson Lower Harbor Park, Marquette County.  
• Ocqueoc Falls: This video highlights the planning and renovation of Ocqueoc Falls (located in Michigan's Lower Peninsula), known as the first waterfall in the nation to be fully, universally accessible. Completed and open to the public in 2012, the work was supported by grants from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund, the Recreation Improvement Fund and the Recreational Trails Program. 
• Milliken State Park and Harbor: Some $40 million in grants has helped purchase and develop Milliken State Park and Harbor, the Detroit Riverwalk and the Outdoor Adventure Center in downtown Detroit.
• Kitch-iti-kipi: A $150,000 Trust Fund grant in 2000 was used to build a manually propelled raft that allows visitors to cross and view the clear waters of the "Big Spring" at Palms Book State Park in Schoolcraft County.
• Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund 50th anniversary logo