Pettalia works to keep state campgrounds open
by Angie Asam, Staff Writer
Working with the northern coalition and the natural resources committee, 106th District State Representative Peter Pettalia is working on a way to keep 35 state forest campgrounds open to the public. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced the closure of 23 parks earlier this month and previously closed 12 parks in 2009. Pettalia said that about seven weeks ago the chair of the natural resources committee asked him to investigate ways local units of government or friends groups could take over abandoned property. ?During a committee meeting I brought up a little bit of information and told them the direction I was heading. The DNR was present testifying on the issue of the day, a different issue, and told me that they had no intention of closing any of these parks,? said Pettalia.
With the Legislature on session break the DNR announced the closure of the parks. Pettalia said the DNR said that one park in particular cost them $12,000 to run and they only took in $360. The DNR was counting just the money put in the deposit box at the rustic campground. ?We already own the parks, people are buying the sticker and traveling there. Just because they only collected $360 doesn?t mean that is all the park generated,? said Pettalia.
SINCE THEN a letter has been compiled which will be sent out to local units of government to see if they are willing to take over the parks. Pettalia said that the group might then contact friends groups as well, asking them the same thing. ?My drive is to have them own it. The DNR seems OK with that so far, at least in the early stages of the conversation. They could purchase the property for a dollar so it is legal and then run the park and possibly generate their own income on it, or they can choose not to run it but keep it open,? said Pettalia.
Although none of the parks are in Presque Isle County they are in the surrounding area and have likely been visited by residents of the county. Some of those affected in the area include the Black Lake Trail Camp in Cheboygan County, the Little Wolf Lake camp in Montmorency County, Black River State Forest Campground in Mackinac County as well as many other parks in the area. In 2009 the Thunder Bay River park in Alpena County as well as the Twin Lakes park in Cheboygan county were also closed. ?I don?t know all of these parks specifically, I certainly haven?t been to all of them. But the local units of government and the friends/potential friends groups do. I just think giving them the opportunity to take them over at no cost seems right. They can either run them or not run them, they can abandon them or make them their own. It just makes sense not to let them go back wild,? said Pettalia.
The DNR was prepared to just abandon the property, removing fire rings and any other infrastructure there and letting the property go back wild. Pettalia believes that giving local governments and citizens the chance to take them over is the direction to go. ?Sometimes these parks are the heart of the community,? he said. State forest campgrounds offer a more rustic camping e
?I applaud the DNR for realizing that they are surplus properties,? said Pettalia, agreeing with the DNR?s reasoning for stepping away from the parks. Pettalia simply doesn?t want to see the parks abandoned if there are people out there willing to keep them going. The DNR can?t feasibly do it but he and his northern coalition members are hoping some local governments and citizens can have the opportunity to keep the parks running if they choose.
The closure of the campgrounds is set to occur on May 19 and the legislators are hoping to hear from local governments by April 22 in order to get everything in order to have property transferred. The group may also approach some counties asking them if they would be interested in the parks.