GRAYLING – Anglers of the Au Sable is very engaged in the grassroots campaign to block the proposed addition of 231 square miles to the current footprint of Camp Grayling, doubling it, and the intrusion into public spaces that it represents.
We are coordinating our activities with outdoors groups including Michigan United Conservation Clubs, Trout Unlimited and the Michigan League of Conservation Voters.
Our members attended a candidate forum in Grayling, where it turned out most candidates for Congress and state Legislature who appeared said they knew little about the effort but appreciated the information. We will try to keep you apprised of their positions. One candidate who said he was opposed was Joel Sheltrown, Democratic candidate for the 36th Senate district. That may be useful information going forward. (If you are or know a candidate who has taken a position, please let us know at info@ausableanglers.org.)
And our members, on their own, have been joining other groups in visiting local township meetings to ask them to take a position. In opposition today are the Kalkaska County Board of Commissioners, Kalkaska County Road Commission, the Bear Lake, Albert and Lovells township boards and the Twin Lake Association. Others are in the works. If you live in, have property in, or have contacts with leaders from other townships, now is the time to reach out and make your voice heard.
Here is the Kalkaska County resolution. It recognizes the proposed expansion would involve the camp “further surrounding and encroaching on even more private property and residences without any adequate buffering thus interfering with the general quality of life and enjoyment of citizens and visitors…Increase the use within the watershed of the Manistee River…increasing the possibility of contaminants reaching the Manistee…have an adverse impact on the health and general welfare of the citizens of Kalkaska County.”
Anglers has sent comment to top officials at the DNR, National Guard, Legislature and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, opposing the matter because the DNR doesn’t have authority to lease this property to the Guard, and because of the potential impacts to the wildlife around the Au Sable and Manistee rivers and their headwaters – including trout and insects. If you haven’t offered your input into the proposed expansion, you can get more information on the matter and offer comment to the DNR here.
