U.P. NRC meeting delayed
By JOHN PEPIN Journal Munising BureauMARQUETTE – A Michigan Natural Resources sub-committee meeting scheduled for March 8 in Marquette has been postponed at the request of one of the commissioners.
Commissioner John Madigan of Munising, one of two Upper Peninsula representatives on the NRC, has suggested rather than having one meeting in Marquette, that others should also be scheduled in different parts of the U.P.
The NRC is the seven-member panel that is the rulemaking body for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Madigan and Commissioner J.R. Richardson of Ontonagon recently attended a sportsmen’s rally in Marquette, where frustrated outdoorsmen said they wanted more opportunity to offer local input into the workings of the DNR and NRC.
Mary Dettloff, a DNR spokeswoman in Lansing, said there will now likely be a meeting in Marquette and two others, one in the eastern U.P. and one in the western U.P.. The first meeting will probably occur sometime in April.
The meeting topics will likely be open, but often focus in the U.P. — primarily on issues of hunting, fishing and forestry.
Madigan said some of the issues U.P. residents are concerned about are specific to their particular areas and more meetings would allow greater local focus of issues.
In addition to some members of the NRC, the upcoming meetings will also include some DNR division chiefs and local DNR officials.
