Detroit Free Press
ST. HELEN, Mich. (AP) -- The state's policy of clear-cutting trees in some state forests has been drawing criticism from officials and residents of two counties in the northern Lower Peninsula.
"People in this town are pretty upset," said Roscommon County Commissioner Jim Smolarz, who lives in St. Helen, about 60 miles northwest of Bay City. "It looks like a nuclear holocaust. It is everywhere around here."
The county commission voted unanimously at a recent meeting to approve Smolarz' proposal that they send a letter to Gov. Jennifer Granholm calling for an end to clear-cutting, which Smolarz called "the raping of the earth."
The Ogemaw County Commissioners unanimously passed a similar motion in August.
Smolarz said clear-cutting has lowered property values, decreased wildlife and hurt tourism.
"Restaurants and bait shops are dying in this town. This is devastating our economy," he told The Bay City Times.
Last summer, the state Department of Natural Resources clear-cut about 100 acres of oak, maple and aspen across the road from the Rose City-area home of Rick Benjamin. A year earlier, it cut down 40 acres bordering his property.
"They absolutely ruined the forest across the road. It makes me just sick," Benjamin said. "I only hope I can keep someone else from having to go through this."
About 75 people attended a public meeting in St. Helen on Thursday to discuss clear-cutting and other forest issues. State Rep. Joel Sheltrown, D-West Branch, sponsored the meeting. DNR officials spoke and answered questions.
"We have done our part to make the process accessible to the public," said Keith Charters, chairman of the Michigan Natural Resources Commission. "Now what we need is for the public to be proactive."
Ogemaw and Roscommon counties contain the Ogemaw and Houghton Lake state forests and have 270,000 acres of state forest.
The state inventories about 10 percent of that forest land yearly to determine the age, type, vigor and species, said area DNR manager Steve Anderson. He said the DNR uses the data to decide how much to harvest, which can range from 1,900 acres to 4,000 acres a year.
The loss of wildlife is a short-term problem, said DNR biologist Mark Boersen. He said the clear-cutting increases the biodiversity within a few years.