In Support of our State Parks
During the November 12th Senate session, Senator Patty Birkholz spoke of the critical importance of our state parks. Here is her speech as recorded in the Senate Journal:
This summer in June, our Michigan Department of Natural Resources celebrated an important milestone—the 90th anniversary of the Michigan State Park Commission. This 10-person commission was created by the Michigan Legislature in 1919 to begin to forge the foundation of our state park system.
You know, today wherever you are in Michigan, you are never more than a one-hour drive from a state park. Many state parks are recreation areas and are open all year long offering four seasons of recreation from snowshoeing and hiking to skiing and kiteboarding. Twenty-two million annual visitors visit our state parks, generating $650 million in economic benefit to our local communities.
State parks provide low-cost, high-quality recreational opportunities for all Michigan citizens, especially in these tough times. It is important that we maintain these opportunities because all is not well with our state parks system on this 90th anniversary.
Earlier, I outlined the collapsing buildings, the collapsing bridges, the outdated and, in some cases, illegal infrastructure systems, and the lack of care for our natural resources. But this morning, I would like to thank you for helping to save our citizens 60 percent of the cost of their entry into a state park and for helping to reform something we have all been talking about—our state parks operations in this state.
We now have recreational opportunities for our constituents to continue once these bills pass the House and final passage in the Senate. I would like to congratulate you in supporting and maintaining a healthy, vibrant park system for another 90 years. May we all keep in mind that the natural resources of this state and the citizens’ access to these resources are our responsibility as legislators to protect.
With the passage of this important bipartisan package of bills, we can maintain our strong commitment to our irreplaceable natural resources that fuel both our souls and provide opportunity for recreation while supporting our local economies.
Tags: funding, Senator Birkholz
Get news updates (RSS)