What do a boardwalk in an Alger County township park, a marsh in St. Clair County, a beach restoration in the city of Frankfort and a state park on the Detroit River have in common?
All were at least partially paid for by Michigan’s Natural Resources Trust Fund.
Established in 1976 (albeit, with a different name) the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF) this year celebrates 35 years of strategically acquiring property and improving recreational facilities for the benefit and enjoyment of Michigan’s residents and visitors.
The MNRTF was established, following a spirited debate, after oil was discovered in the Pigeon River Country State Forest in the northeastern Lower Peninsula, a pristine wilderness that serves as the home range of Michigan’s elk herd. At the time of the discovery, some people believed that Pigeon River Country was too important a resource to jeopardize by allowing energy development. Others thought the oil was too valuable an asset to sit underground unutilized.
The MNRTF was the result of the compromise agreed upon by both sides: it allowed the development of energy resources, but dedicated the revenues and royalties derived from mineral development to the acquisition of additional land to compensate the public for the disruption energy development caused.
And it embodied an important principle for the management of Michigan’s non-renewable natural resources: The resources belonged to all generations of Michigan residents – not just those who were around when the minerals were exploited. So instead of just funneling the money into the general fund, as had long been the practice, the Kammer Recreational Land Acquisition Fund (named for then Sen. Kerry Kammer, Oakland County) was established.
By 1978, the Trust Fund, which was set up with a $100 million cap to generate interest, was funding the acquisition of public land, not just for ownership by the state of Michigan, but for other governmental bodies as well: cities, townships, counties. The Trust Fund was so successful that it became a target for legislators who sought to use some of the money it brought in to solve Michigan’s other financial problems. By 1983, more than $100 million had been diverted to other purposes.
Then in 1984, the voters of Michigan approved a constitutional amendment that created the MNRTF, increased the cap to $200 million and protected the fund from raids. In addition, it allowed for up to one-third of the revenue to be used to purchase land for environment protection and recreation and the development of recreation facilities. But there was also a provision that allowed the diversion of $20 million annually to the state’s economic development fund – something that many believed was not in the spirit of the fund’s original intent.
So a decade later, the question was brought before the voters once again. The public overwhelmingly approved Proposal P, which removed the diversion provision, raised the cap to $400 million and created the State Parks Endowment Fund, which receives $10 million annually for the maintenance and capital improvement of state parks.
But the public wasn’t finished improving the MNRTF. In 2002, the voters raised the cap to $500 million, which was reached earlier this year, and where it remains today. Since the cap has been reached, oil and gas revenues now go to the Parks Endowment Fund to pay for a portion of the numerous, much-needed infrastructure repairs at Michigan’s state parks and recreation areas.
Since its inception, the Trust Fund has granted more than $900 million to local units of governments and the Department of Natural Resources to acquire land and develop recreational facilities. Roughly 80 percent of those grants has been spent on land acquisition, the rest on recreational project development. The spending has been split almost 50-50 between projects nominated by local governmental bodies and DNR initiatives.
“The Natural Resources Trust Fund has, without question, improved the lives of Michigan’s citizens,” said Steve DeBrabander, who oversees the DNR’s Grants Management section. “I believe you would be hard pressed to find a Michigan citizen who has not enjoyed a park or trail that was acquired or developed by this fund.”
Projects funded range from small (restroom improvements at a local park, for instance) to grand, such as the purchase of development rights of Kamehameha Schools lands – $16 million spent on a conservation easement that allows timbering and public access to nearly a quarter-million acres of Upper Peninsula land spread across several counties.
Projects have been funded in every county of the state, from launch ramps on local lakes to expansions of state wildlife areas.
The Trust Fund is overseen by a five-member board, which includes the DNR director or a member of the Natural Resources Commission and four state residents appointed by the governor to four-year terms.
The Grants Management section of the DNR administers the fund. It accepts and scores applications for grants and passes them along to the MNRTF board for its consideration. Specific criteria,ranging from the resource protection and recreational opportunities a project affords to where the project is located (urban area recreational opportunities get a priority) to the availability of matching funds for a particular project, help guide the review process. The board makes recommendations for funding to the Legislature, which approves all expenditures.
Currently, the board is chaired by Bob Garner of Cadillac, who, interestingly enough, was a legislative aide in the 1970s (to Sen. Kerry Kammer) and attended the first meeting to develop the Trust Fund.
Playground equipment at Keith J. Charters Traverse City State Park was purchased with Natural Resources Trust Fund money.
“None of us from back then can even believe how wildly successful the Trust Fund has been,” Garner said. “We’re just in awe of it. Think about this: The Trust Fund has provided more money for land acquisition than the federal duck stamp program and that’s been around since 1937.”
Periodically, the board identifies priorities. Current priorities include trails and greenways, wildlife corridors and deer wintering yards, and projects in urban areas.
Development grants range from $15,000 to $300,000. There is no limit to acquisition grants.
DNR Director Rodney Stokes said he believes the MNRTF program is “one of the most important pieces of natural resources legislation of the last 35 years.
“Citizens all over the state, as well as our many visitors, have benefited from this amazing program.”
To learn more about the Natural Resources Trust Fund, visit www.michigan.gov/dnr-grants.
