Post by hartman756 on Feb 17, 2014 13:39:25 GMT -5
Jim Sweeny sends out a brief rundown on each NRC meeting. Here is his rundown of the Feb meeting
WCO#2, the wildlife conservation order which aligns previous harvest options with the current license structure was presented as a director’s action item.
A Quicksummary of the sturgeon season, there was a successful season which lasted 90 minutes, the quota of 6 fish were caught before the season was closed.
Brent Rudolph presented a Winter Wildlife update. He didn't really give much current information, simply outlined how the department evaluates winter impact and stated that the policy was not to intervene, regardless of the degree of weather. Commissioner Schlaybaugh asked in several different ways whether the Department would do anything pro-actively for Deer and voiced concern over public reaction to a passive approach by the Department should there be a high degree of winter kill but Brent indicated that the only response would be to adjust antlerless license quotas in areas that are hard hit.
Dr. Dan O’Brien gave a presentation about the CWD response plan that was revised last year. Commissioner Matonich had requested that update. Dan outlined that Michigan’s current approach to CWD was passive surveillance; no formal testing is being done unless a hunter brings in a suspect animal or if somebody reports a living suspect animal to the DNR. Federal funding for CWD testing expired in 2011 and since then Michigan has stopped doing routine testing. Dan also described the current situation in Wisconsin, how CWD is continuing to expand there and he mentioned research that shows the role that rivers can play in facilitating the spread. He also talked about the sharpshooting program that is being done in Illinois, how it is limiting the overall prevalence rate but not having much impact on slowing the geographic spread of the disease. In response to a question from one of the Commissioners, he gave the opinion that it was likely that CWD would come to Michigan from either Wisconsin or Via Illinois at some point in the future.
There was a detailed presentation on the proposed DNR budget for fiscal 2014 which included some significant spending increases, resulting from increase revenue from the new license package.
Line items discussed included;
$6 M for a new invasive species initiative, including focus on weed management.
$2.5 M for hiring 25 new CO’s (in addition to the 23 that were hired last year) which should bring the level of CO staffing back up to close to what it was in 2001. Levels had gone from 243 CO’s in 01’ to 170 in 2010. The goal is to be up to 240 by 2015.
$1 M to replace the great lakes research vessel “Chinook”, this is paired with $1 M in matching funds that has been raised through private contributions. The Chinook is 67 years old.
$4 M to expand forest product related economies in rural areas.
$3.5 M to fund a youth and veteran employment initiative.
$2.5 M to fund a “trails to Communities” plan including the creation of a “Governors showcase trail” stretching from Ironwood in the UP all the way to Belle Isle.
$12.5 M in State Parks infrastructure improvements.
Those were the specific line item projects discussed in the budget presentation, whether those items will be fully funded depends on whether the budget is approved.
There was an update on the “Graymont” project in the UP. For those of you who don’t know what that is, a Canadian mining company wants to purchase about 10,000 acres of state land, to create an underground limestone mine and two above ground pit mines and a processing facility in the Central UP. They would purchase the land from the state and in addition pay a royalty to the state for each ton of Limestone produced. It’s a controversial project as there are concerns about impacts on watersheds in that area of the UP and the loss of public access that would occur from the sale. Commissioner Schlaybaugh questioned why the DNR is considering selling the public land, instead of simply a long term mineral lease, which is standard and also why they would consider selling the land using a no-bid process, instead of the established land auction process. This initiative will be the focus of a lot of debate in the coming year, there were 3 or 4 people commenting on it during the public comment portion.
The DNR forest division, in response to the tough winter conditions, is granting emergency fuel wood permits that allow people to cut up to 5 cords of firewood (with restrictions) prior to April 1st. These emergency permits will not preclude individuals from obtaining normal firewood permits which run from April to December annually.
Nothing too exciting during the legislative update other then House Bill 5225 was mentioned, this is a bill that was recently introduced in committee that would cap NRC commissioner terms at two and require minimum qualifications for individuals considered for the NRC.
One of the more interesting presentations was made by Dr. Tammy Newcomb, a DNR fisheries specialist, regarding the Bighead and Asian Carp problem in the Chicago waterways and the threat they pose to the Great Lakes fisheries. It was a very detailed report which discussed the results of two different studies that addressed the creation of barriers which would prevent the spread of these species into the Great Lakes. While there was some variation in the cost estimates between the two reports, what is clear is that the costs involved are truly staggering (anywhere from $10 Billion to $20 Billion) and the complexity of the problem is immense. It also made it clear that the current barriers are totally insufficient and do little to prevent those species from migrating into the Great Lakes.
That’s about all that happened, I spoke about CWD during the public comment portion, as a follow up to what Dan O’Brien presented, my remarks and the material that I provided to the Commission are attached.
The file with Jim's remarks is too big to attach here on the forum. So those interested in them will have to PM me their email address ( If I don't already have it )and I can send them
Jim Sweeney
The Concerned Sportsmen of Michigan