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MUCC Policy Action Report for July 23, 2007This edition:
The Conservation Title of the Federal Farm BillIn the last edition of Michigan Out-of-Doors we discussed the Conservation Title of the federal Farm Bill and its importance to wildlife habitat and conservation in the state of Michigan. This is such a critical issue to Michigan’s sportsmen and women that we decided that we needed to talk about it again. Programming in the Farm Bill provides funding through grants to convert low quality farmland into high quality wildlife habitat, build buffer strips along lakes and streams to protect them from agricultural run-off, restore critical wetlands habitat and to keep farmland from succumbing to the pressures of development.Remember that wildlife does not understand property boundaries. It goes where the habitat is, whether it is public or private land. Because the vast majority of our undeveloped lands are in the hands of private land owners, we need programs like those offered in the Farm Bill to ensure that some of these lands stay undeveloped. This will help ensure that we have enough habitats for healthy and abundant wildlife populations. Michigan has some pretty scary growth statistics. Land development in Michigan is occurring eight times faster than the population grows. Michigan ranks 9th in the nation for loss of farmland due to development. The state has lost 76% of its farmland, and averages an estimated loss of 40,000 acres per year from development and fragmentation. These numbers don’t lie. Michigan’s natural lands are being eaten up by development and without incentives like those provided in the Farm Bill, Michigan’s wildlife and Michigan’s sportsmen and women will suffer the consequences. In 2005 alone the Farm Bill provided Michigan with over $41.9 million dollars to restore, protect and enhance wildlife habitat. By comparison, the Game and Fish Fund in 2006 received 72 million in license revenue of which 29 million funded the Wildlife Division activities. That’s a lot of money that in the end, benefits all of Michigan’s hunters and anglers. Nationwide the numbers get even bigger. In 2005 over $2.8 BILLION was spent on conservation with money allocated by the federal Farm Bill. Michigan has a strong champion of the Farm Bill in Senator Debbie Stabenow who holds a key seat on the Senate Agriculture Committee. She was very involved in the 2001 Farm Bill authorization and continues to work to ensure that the Conservation Title is fully funded. On top of full funding for the conservation provisions, Senator Stabenow would also like to increase the eligibility of forest lands for these grants. This could be very beneficial to Michigan which ranks 11th nationwide in amount of forested land, most of which in the hands of private land owners. Congressman Tim Walberg has a seat of the House of Representatives Agricultural Committee, he also has expressed support for the conservation provisions of the farm bill. When you get a spare minute, think about the importance of healthy and abundant habitat to Michigan’s wildlife and think about how important that wildlife is to your favorite sport. While you’re thinking about that, call your Congressman and Senator and tell them why the Conservation Title of the Farm Bill is important to you and why they should make sure to provide full funding! The Congressional Switch Board can connect you to your members of Congress: (202-224-3121) Here’s another way to think about it: Without the Farm Bill Conservation Title we would have:
New Invasive Insect Confirmed in Michigan: Sirex WoodwaspThe Michigan departments of Agriculture (MDA) and Natural Resources (DNR), along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the confirmation of Sirex Woodwasp in Macomb County. A single specimen was collected from a trap on July 6 and later identified by the USDA.Sirex Woodwasp is a wood-boring insect native to Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa and is a potentially serious pest of commercially produced pine trees. It was first detected in North America in Oswego, N.Y. in 2004, and has since been found throughout central New York, northern Pennsylvania, and southern Ontario. The larvae of this exotic pest are responsible for damaging the tree. It severs the trees’ conductive tissues, interrupting the transport of water and nutrients. Adult females lay their eggs in two- and three-needled pine trees, including: Austrian, jack, red, and Scotch pines. Sirex Woodwasp is not expected to significantly impact healthy landscape pine trees in the state. Its impact on vigorous, well managed pine plantations in Michigan, while not yet fully defined, is likewise not anticipated to be severe. New Policy Specialist joins MUCC. Welcome Amy Spray!Amy Spray joined Michigan United Conservation Clubs this month as a Resource Policy Specialist. At MUCC, Amy’s main focus will be to drive the implementation of Michigan’s Wildlife Action Plan (WAP) through the creation of a state-wide, broad based coalition of organizations combined with an outreach program geared toward the general public and involving hand-on habitat projects. If you are interested in becoming involved in this coalition, please email her at aspray@mucc.org or call 517-371-1041.She will work with the rest of the staff to advance the organization’s policy agenda; her main areas of policy interest are issues related to wildlife habitat, protecting Michigan’s sportsmen’s heritage, land use policy and conservation practices, land resource-based industries (agriculture, tourism, and forestry), Brownfield revitalization, and recycling and solid waste management. Prior to joining MUCC, Amy was a Consultant for Natural Resources at Public Sector Consultants, a non-partisan public policy research firm in Lansing, from 2003-2007. She conducted research for the firm and its clients, edited and maintained three project based websites, and assisted in developing proposals and writing reports related to many environmental issues including land use, recycling, brownfield redevelopment, urban revitalization, and biofuels. As assistant manager for People and Land (PAL), she oversaw its daily operations and provided grant-management services. She has assisted in staffing many state level coalitions, including the Michigan Economic and Environmental Roundtable (MEER), the Michigan Land Use Leadership Council, the Lt. Governor’s Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth, the Part 201 Review, and the Michigan Renewable Fuels Commission. Amy has volunteered for Ducks Unlimited for the last six years and currently sits on the Michigan Board of Directors as the State Webmaster and serves as the Membership Coordinator for the Red Cedar Chapter of Ducks Unlimited (East Lansing area). Welcome Amy! Experience the Rouge on August 10thCome join us on August 10th for a day to remember! Start off the day with a tour of the Ford Rouge River Plant and experience the innovations of this one-of-a-kind facility. Next you get a chance to view the Rouge River, one of the most accessible rivers in the nation! We will have lunch at Ford Field Park and have the opportunity to discuss some of the issues impacting the Rouge River with a special guest speaker.
Date: August 10, 2007 Have a blast supporting conservation! Don’t miss your chance to get involved with MUCC!Sporting Clays Fun Shoot, August 18th in Metamora, MICome join MUCC’s staff and the crew of Michigan Out-of-Doors TV and magazine for this non-competitive event that will feature a round of 50 clays and lunch. Optional bird dog training seminars are available. Tickets are $75 per person. See www.mucc.org for more details and call 517-346-6463 MUCC 2007 Muskie Tournament, August 24th at the Detroit Yacht Club Join us for this annual fundraiser where you will experience a day of world-class muskie fishing courtesy of the Detroit Yacht Club. This event includes dinner and an address by Richard Mode, the 2007 Budweiser Conservationist of the Year. Tickets are$150 per person. Call 517-346-6463 for reservations. First Ever MUCC Shoot Out Pro-Am & Scramble Golf Event, September 9th in Lansing, MI We anticipate a great day of golf and camaraderie, but more than that, this will be a unique event to celebrate the outdoor heritage we all cherish. The full day event will be topped off with a fantastic steak dinner banquet. Tickets for the Pro-Am Scramble are $200 per person and tickets for the Amateur Scramble are $150 per person. Contact 517-346-6496 to register. |
MUCC Policy Action Report
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