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live2fish
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- Joined
- Sep 9, 2006
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We aren’t the only one with money problems. Would have posted the link, but you would have to register to see it.
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- Dozens of parks will close, fish planting will be scaled back and fewer conservation officers will be on the job unless recreational licenses and fees are increased, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources said Tuesday.
The DNR released a memo outlining a series of cutbacks -- some beginning as early as Nov. 1 -- that will be ordered if the state budget being negotiated by legislators includes no additional revenue for the department.
None of the $1.3 billion in state tax increases approved earlier this month will go to the DNR, which draws less than 5 percent of its money from the general fund, the state's primary checkbook. More than 75 percent of the department's budget comes from licenses and fees for activities such as hunting, fishing and timber cutting.
The department is seeking a wide-ranging package of fee increases -- including the first boost in hunting and fishing license prices since 1996.
But prospects for approval aren't good, DNR spokeswoman Mary Detloff said. Lawmakers have sent the message there is "just no support for fee increases" on top of the higher taxes, she said.
Without the increases, funds that support game and fish programs, forest development and state parks will have deficits. That will require "drastic reductions" in programs and services, the DNR said.
Thirty-seven state parks, recreation areas and scenic sites would close Oct. 1, 2008. The department hasn't yet chosen which ones, Detloff said. Eight of the state's 10 interpretive centers also would close. A total of 253 park staff positions would be eliminated then.
Seventy-nine jobs in other programs would be eliminated Nov. 1, 2007. Program cutbacks that would take effect as early as next month include:
* Two state forest campgrounds would be closed, in addition to 20 scheduled for closure last summer. Some state pathways and cross-country ski trails would close.
* University research programs and monitoring for animal-borne diseases such as bovine tuberculosis, chronic wasting disease and avian influenza would be reduced.
* Two fish hatcheries and a research station would be closed.
* Fewer conservation officers would be available for tasks such as poaching investigations and responding to hunting and snowmobiling accidents. Conservation officers no longer would be dispatched to back up other law enforcement agencies for incidents such as car crashes.
* Nuisance bear and geese no longer would be removed.
* Some field offices would be closed and staff in others would be reduced.
Rep. Joel Sheltrown, chairman of the House Tourism, Outdoor Recreation and Natural Resources Committee, said the DNR appeared to be targeting popular programs to boost pressure on lawmakers.
"Often down here we look at cutting people in the field instead of cutting in Lansing," said Sheltrown, D-West Branch. "Hopefully we can avoid that. Generally, the people out in the field are the people doing the work."
Detloff said the DNR could not spare popular programs, having already cut spending more than $20 million since the 2005 fiscal year.
Sheltrown said he met recently with sporting groups in hopes of building support for fee increases but was told the Senate had ruled them out. But lawmakers are still talking about earmarking an additional $8 million from the general fund for the DNR, he said.
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- Dozens of parks will close, fish planting will be scaled back and fewer conservation officers will be on the job unless recreational licenses and fees are increased, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources said Tuesday.
The DNR released a memo outlining a series of cutbacks -- some beginning as early as Nov. 1 -- that will be ordered if the state budget being negotiated by legislators includes no additional revenue for the department.
None of the $1.3 billion in state tax increases approved earlier this month will go to the DNR, which draws less than 5 percent of its money from the general fund, the state's primary checkbook. More than 75 percent of the department's budget comes from licenses and fees for activities such as hunting, fishing and timber cutting.
The department is seeking a wide-ranging package of fee increases -- including the first boost in hunting and fishing license prices since 1996.
But prospects for approval aren't good, DNR spokeswoman Mary Detloff said. Lawmakers have sent the message there is "just no support for fee increases" on top of the higher taxes, she said.
Without the increases, funds that support game and fish programs, forest development and state parks will have deficits. That will require "drastic reductions" in programs and services, the DNR said.
Thirty-seven state parks, recreation areas and scenic sites would close Oct. 1, 2008. The department hasn't yet chosen which ones, Detloff said. Eight of the state's 10 interpretive centers also would close. A total of 253 park staff positions would be eliminated then.
Seventy-nine jobs in other programs would be eliminated Nov. 1, 2007. Program cutbacks that would take effect as early as next month include:
* Two state forest campgrounds would be closed, in addition to 20 scheduled for closure last summer. Some state pathways and cross-country ski trails would close.
* University research programs and monitoring for animal-borne diseases such as bovine tuberculosis, chronic wasting disease and avian influenza would be reduced.
* Two fish hatcheries and a research station would be closed.
* Fewer conservation officers would be available for tasks such as poaching investigations and responding to hunting and snowmobiling accidents. Conservation officers no longer would be dispatched to back up other law enforcement agencies for incidents such as car crashes.
* Nuisance bear and geese no longer would be removed.
* Some field offices would be closed and staff in others would be reduced.
Rep. Joel Sheltrown, chairman of the House Tourism, Outdoor Recreation and Natural Resources Committee, said the DNR appeared to be targeting popular programs to boost pressure on lawmakers.
"Often down here we look at cutting people in the field instead of cutting in Lansing," said Sheltrown, D-West Branch. "Hopefully we can avoid that. Generally, the people out in the field are the people doing the work."
Detloff said the DNR could not spare popular programs, having already cut spending more than $20 million since the 2005 fiscal year.
Sheltrown said he met recently with sporting groups in hopes of building support for fee increases but was told the Senate had ruled them out. But lawmakers are still talking about earmarking an additional $8 million from the general fund for the DNR, he said.
