FROM  THE  DIRECTOR

REFLECTIONS...Tom Bailey

Last year, I wrote in this space about the need to thwart an effort that was being made to divert monies in the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund away from land acquisition and into development. I am pleased to report that not only was the ill-advised effort about which I wrote turned back quite handily, but a new proposal emerged that will be of great value to the Trust Fund and Michigan conservation.

The beloved Sturgeon Bay dunes will be protected forever, thanks to Trust Fund dollars.

The Trust Fund was created in the 1970s. Monies from minerals on state lands (primarily oil and gas) go into the fund, and create income which is used to purchase environmentally significant and recreational land. This is the first state fund of its kind in the nation. It it is a perfect means for capturing the revenue generated by non-renewable resources and using it to purchase an enduring resource for the public: land.

Proposal 2 on the August 6 primary ballot is known as the “Funds for the Future” proposal. If approved by Michigan voters, it will:

• Allow the State Treasurer to invest Natural Resources Trust Fund revenues in a greater variety of investments, as is currently provided in the Public Employees Retirement System Investment Act. This will mean better returns on Trust Fund monies and more funding available for land conservation and recreation.

• Raise the cap on the Trust Fund from $400 million to $500 million. The additional $100 million in principal will come from mineral revenues on state-owned land. No tax dollars are involved. By raising the Trust Fund Cap to $500 million, the fund will be able to earn more income, which will be available for land conservation and recreational land purchases.

• Remove the provision that when the principal of the Trust Fund reaches $200 million, the state may no longer expend one third of annual mineral revenues on land conservation and recreational land purchases. This will maintain the current revenue stream until the cap is reached and income from the fund’s earnings can take over.

• Allow the State Treasurer investment flexibility, along the lines of the Public Employees Retirement System Investment Act, for other state funds including the State Parks Endowment Fund, the Game and Fish Protection Fund, the Nongame Fish and Wildlife Fund, the Michigan Civilian Conservation Corps Endowment Fund, and the Veterans Trust Fund.

As an old earth day activist who was around when the Trust Fund was conceived and who has watched attempts to raid the Trust Fund come and go, I am a hundred percent behind this proposal. It is good for conservation and good for Michigan. Not only have I worked through the Conservancy on a number of important Trust Fund projects, I am also a past contributor to the Public Employees Retirement System. My wife participates in it as well. My father was part of that system through his 37-year career as a wildlife biologist, and his investment now supports my mother. We’ve been happy with the returns the system provides, and I believe that the kinds of investments that support the Retirement Fund will add value and income to the Trust Fund, too.

Without the Trust Fund, there would be no Colonial Point Forest near Burt Lake with its towering, majestic oaks. There would be no Headlands park near Mackinaw City with its beautiful 2 ½ miles of shoreline on the Straits of Mackinac. There would be no public land at either end of Bay Harbor, no Camp Petosega, and no park at the confluence of the Indian River and the Little Sturgeon, right where the recreational trail passes through. Numerous other conservation and recreation projects across the North would not exist without the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund.

The Trust Fund supports conservation, and now it is time for us to support the Trust Fund. I will be voting for Proposal 2 on the August 6 primary ballot, and I urge all Michigan voters to do the same.