WE PETITION THE LEGISLATURE TO WORK IN THE BEHALF OF THE CITIZENS TO ENSURE BEAUTIFUL SCENERY ALONG MICHIGAN’S WOODED ROADS AND TO PROMOTE MORE AREAS OF OLD GROWTH FOREST AND TO ENACT LAWS WHICH PROVIDE THE DNR WITH GUIDELINES TO MANAGE THE FOREST. These laws will give the DNR a ’tool’ to use when pressured to sell our woods. Letter supporting the petition Michigan’s forests and lakes are her wealth, beauty and heritage. Request Action to pass legislation to: Ban clear cutting of state forests within 200 yards of a roadway, residence, lake, stream, or wetland. *The process of removing all the trees from an area is called clear cutting. It is the most economical way to ‘harvest’ trees. However, it looks unsightly for years and has lasting environmental consequences. • Would you like to drive through areas where acres of trees had been cut along the roadway? • Did the state consider how clear cutting would affect property values of the tax payers? The aesthetics? The watershed? The increased fire hazard from baked earth and debris? The loss of habitat for woodland animals? The loss of woodland birds & wildflowers—some of which are endangered. • Do you know why there are miles of young trees covered with unsightly bagworms? Bagworm/ tent caterpillar population is epidemic. One of their hosts, choke cherry, abounds after clear cutting (with other fast-growing, short-lived, weed-like trees- like aspen.) • Do you know the cost to repair roads damaged by the transportation of tons of logs? Local taxpayers must face disfigured landscape and pay for county road repair/erosion problems. Many people feel the state is more interested in timber sales to foreign and domestic markets, than in managing the forestland to the benefit of its citizens. The state’s stewardship has not protected our forests from the clear cut logging practices reminiscent of the 1800s. In August 2009, the Detroit Free Press published these facts; “in 2008 the state earned $12 billion from the sale of forest products”, “Michigan has the largest forest system in the nation.” BANNING CLEAR CUTTING WITHIN 200 YARDS OF ROADS, HOMES, STREAMS, LAKES & WETLANDS WOULD: A. Hide the ugly scars of clear cutting from view. B. Discourage deer from foraging along our roads. (Preventing car/deer accidents) C. Cause the trees to form canopies of foliage over the roads—enhancing the beauty of Michigan. D. Ensure our home investments are not at risk because of deforestation. E. Protect the watersheds from the ravages of clear cutting. Surface and nutrient erosion are not the only threats from clear cutting. Ground water is easily contaminated without tree roots to filter the water while holding fragile soils in place. F. Diminish the risk of forest fire due to sun baked, compacted earth, and debris from logging. G. Halt the population decline of some woodland wildlife. For instance, there are 43 bird species on conservation watch in northern MI because of habitat loss and forest fragmentation. H. Help eliminate the continual formation of single age forests, prone to disease, insects, and fire.

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