NRC Action Postponed Until April

Written by Charlie Booher, MUCC Policy Intern

The Michigan Natural Resources Commission (NRC) will have a brief meeting Thursday, but will not be voting or hearing public comments. 

This decision comes in the midst of an outbreak of the COVID-19 virus in Michigan, leading the state and federal governments to make a number of new rules to help mitigate the spread of this disease. The NRC is required by state law to meet monthly, regardless of external situations. An updated agenda, posted March 17, said the following:

“In response to the COVID-19 emergency, all voting on March’s action agenda items will be postponed until the April NRC meeting. There will be no voting on any agenda items, there will be no presentations provided, the Wildlife and Fisheries Policy Committee will not be meeting, and we strongly encourage the public to submit any comment in writing instead of attending in-person. This is not only the best practice with regards to combating COVID-19, but will also ensure your comments can be shared with the other commissioners not in attendance. Thank you for your understanding and assistance as we do our best to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.”

Written comments for the NRC may be submitted via email to NRC@michigan.gov. MUCC will not be live streaming this meeting, but we will have someone in attendance to report on the day. This meeting will take place at the Michigan Library and Historical Center, not the Lansing Community College Gannon Building.

The NRC is scheduled to meet on April 16 and will likely discuss the issues and rules that had previously been scheduled for the March meeting. As always, we will continue to provide updates on the happenings of Michigan natural resource policy as possible during this time.