Demand Pure Michigan Candidates
Sitting at home on a wet, rainy Saturday afternoon trying to decompress from an incredibly busy week, I pick up the North Woods Call. It's a publication I respect deeply because I know that Glen Sheppard and his team are some of the most dedicated conservationists in Michigan. This afternoon, I find Shep describing the political nightmare that is the office of DNRE Director Becky Humphries.
Director Humphries, a natural resources leader with broad-based support from the hunting, fishing AND environmental community, is in a position that no one can envy. She heads the state's work to protect our most treasured places and the animals that live there, as well as communities that suffer from the pressures of industry pollution, which include rural areas plagued by the likes of large scale factory farms.
Director Humphries does this without adequate state funding to make it all work, but with the expectation from our state's citizens that we will protect and defend what we treasure ... the very essence of what defines "Pure Michigan": our amazing waters, our pristine forests, our open space, and our (sometimes) thriving urban spaces.
Shep contends that neither Virg Bernero nor Rick Snyder have conservation credentials, and that the odds are that they will select a "political powerhouse" to head the DNRE rather than a true and legitimate conservation leader, like Humphries.
He may be right. I sure hope not.
One thing we can do to pressure both candidates to do the right thing --- in choosing an appropriate head for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment and in leading on conservation/environment in general --- is to ask them: What are their plans to protect Michigan's incredible places?
Both Bernero and Synder have outlined a few things related to conservation/environment, which we've tracked on our website. But, there remain a number of items that they have no track record or comment on (see our 8 questions here). It's important to ask the candidates these questions. Let's make sure all our friends have these in hand and that the candidates, no matter where they go, are asked for their plans.
We can't just expect a "Pure Michigan" candidate; it is our responsibility to demand one.
--- Posted by Lisa Wozniak, Executive Director
--- Photo Credit: Kramer
