This is a very brief note to inform the Daily Kos community that the majority republicans in the Michigan Legislature have enacted SB 78, a bill to prevent Michigan from advancing biodiversity and scientific management on state-owned lands.
The bill is on Governor Rick Snyder's desk and the Michigan environmental and conservation community is calling on all Michigan citizens to write and contact Snyder asking him to veto the bill. [(517) 373-3400; (517) 335-6863 (fax); P.O. Box 30013
Lansing, Michigan 48909 There is also this "share your opinion with the governor" site.
If you want to get creative, here is the Twitter feed of Dennis Muchmore, Snyder's chief of staff, to use to communicate veto requests in that indirect manner. Muchmore used to work for Michigan United Conservation Clubs, the NWF affiliate in Michigan.
SB 78 was introduced by Sen. Tom Casperson (R-Escanaba), who also just got the Michigan Legislature to enact a bill to interfere with EPA wood stove emission regulations. If memory serves me correctly, Casperson is also an ALEC member and has a history of LGBT-bashing & hate speech.
Below is the news release of the Michigan Environmental Council denouncing the legislative enactment of SB 78.
[I'll be a little delayed in responding to comments as I'll be away from my terminal for a bunch of errands I have to run]
-------------------------------------------------------------------
December 18, 2014
Contact: Brad Garmon: 517-487-9539; Andy McGlashen: 517-420-1908
Michigan Environmental Council Blasts Legislature's Passage of Anti-Biodiversity Bill;
133 Scientists Warn of SB 78's Dire Consequences for Natural Resources
The Michigan Environmental Council today condemned the Legislature's passage of a bill that prohibits state agencies from managing any acre of public land specifically for the purpose of sustaining biological diversity, and undermines foundational scientific principles that guide state land management.
SB 78, approved by the House today after clearing the Senate in 2013, amends the definition of "conservation" in the state's 1994 Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, removing key provisions regarding restoration, distribution and the "continued existence" of native species and communities. It also removes the conservation of biodiversity from the forest management duties of the Department of Natural Resources and requires the department to balance its management activities with economic values.
"It is stunning that Michigan is on the brink of prohibiting our state's resource professionals from actively identifying and protecting diverse, healthy ecosystems and native plants and animals," said Brad Garmon, MEC's director of conservation and emerging issues. "It's an anti-science bill that sends exactly the wrong message about our state's priorities and values, and threatens Michigan's reputation as a state that promotes and protects our forests, wildlife and outdoor recreation."
Also opposed were 133 Ph.D.-level scientists from 13 Michigan universities who in 2013 signed a letter urging Snyder to veto the bill.
"SB78 ignores a large body of scientific evidence that has shown conservation of biological diversity is crucial for maintaining healthy, sustainable ecosystems," the letter reads. "Ecosystems with a greater variety of species are generally more efficient and productive, are better able to resist invasions and outbreaks by economically damaging pests and disease, and are more stable in the face of environmental change."
The scientists also noted that SB 78 imperils Michigan's dual certifications for sustainable forestry, which require biodiversity conservation to be part of the state's forest management. Those certifications have enabled the state to secure Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grants, along with funding from the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture and other federal sources.
Sen. Tom Casperson, the Escanaba Republican who introduced SB 78, has said repeatedly that the bill's intent is to stop a specific program: the Living Legacies initiative, which would have created a network of Biodiversity Stewardship Areas to protect the diversity of Michigan's flora and fauna. However, the DNR has said publicly it has already abandoned plans for the program, and the bill never even mentions Living Legacies or BSAs.
Instead, its sweeping language bars the DNR and other agencies from promulgating or enforcing any rule or order that designates or classifies an area of land specifically for the purpose of achieving or maintaining biological diversity. It also eliminates a requirement that the DNR manage forests in a way that promotes restoration, and deletes language saying human activity is the chief cause of most biodiversity loss.
As written, SB 78 would strip the state's authority to implement Endangered Species Act protections, and would make it far more difficult for the DNR to control the spread of invasive species, said Chris Kolb, MEC president.
"This bill's impact would be far broader than its sponsors would have us believe," Kolb said. "It conflicts directly with established science, with longstanding environmental protections and with the wide majority of Michiganders, who see rich, thriving ecosystems not as liabilities but as treasures to preserve for future generations. It's bad public policy, and we will call on the governor to stand up for Michigan's natural resources by exercising his veto power."
###
Andy McGlashen
Communications Director
Michigan Environmental Council
Office: (517) 999-0425
Cell: (517) 420-1908
9:57 AM PT: Here is complete information on SB 78, including legislative analysis and text in all of its versions from the Michigan Legislature web site:
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/...
10:32 AM PT: Michigan republicans these days are trying to purge Milliken-ism....that is getting rid of accomplishments, governing philosophies and environmental protection achievements that came from William Milliken and George Romney, when republicans once had some respectability a long, long time ago.