Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund

Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund. History. , Since 1976, the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund, using revenue from the development of state-owned mineral resources, has helped the people of Michigan acquire and develop more that 46,000 acres of high quality recreational lands or preserve lands that are environmentally sensitive or special in nature., History , Some resources, such as wildlife, fish and forests are renewable resources that can be replenished and enhanced constantly. Other resources, such as oil and gas, are not renewable. Once taken, they are gone forever., In the early 1970s, the discovery of oil in the popular Pigeon River Country State Forest prompted several oil companies to apply for rights to drill in this pristine wilderness, which is home to Michigan's elk herd. This touched off a heated debate between those concerned with the environmental impact of drilling on public lands and those who felt that drilling could occur with minimal impact. Eventually, a compromise was reached which allowed drilling in the forest provided that sufficient environmental protection was ensured and that lease revenues and royalties would be used for the purchase of new recreational lands for public use., When the original Land Trust Fund was established with the passage of the Kammer Recreational Land Acquisition Trust Fund Act of 1976, it was hailed by environmentalists, conservationists and recreation groups as an investment in Michigan's future., In effect, the Trust Fund would allow the people of Michigan to trade two valuable nonrenewable resources, oil and gas, for another nonrenewable resource, land., Though originally a land acquisition program, Michigan voters approved a constitutional amendment in 1984, creating a new Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund that could be used to both purchase land for resource protection and public outddor recreation and develop outdoor recreational facilities., During the first 25 years of its existence, the Trust Fund has provided more than $540 million for state and local land acquisition and natural resource development projects in every county in Michigan. These projects have included some very special tracts of land, places such as the Pigeon River Country State Forest and St. John's Marsh; hundreds of miles of frontage on the Au Sable, Manistee and other significant inland rivers and hundreds of acres of precious Great Lakes shoreline., The Trust Fund is the single most important tool available to state government to deal with preserving public lands for future generations. It will help ensure our children's children will have the opportunity to walk the sandy beaches of Lake Michigan, to hunt pheasants over a good dog, to view a delicate natural area, to catch walleye in the Saginaw River or to see and hear Michigan's majestic elk.