GAYLORD -- Hundreds of outdoor denizens are expected to gather at a rally in Gaylord to demand better accountability from state government for natural resources and the environment.
Bureaucratic waste and misdirected spending will top the list of complaints expected to be voiced at a weekend event in Gaylord, the second in a series of what some call anti-Department of Natural Resources rallies.
Organizers say it's not meant to be a bash session against the state DNR and Department of Environmental Quality, but an opportunity to discuss needed change.
But officials from those state agencies likely won't be there to listen.
"People need to voice their opinions and people don't seem to have a forum to do that," said Mike Meriwether of Central Lake, a forester with the Antrim Conservation District, who organized the rally and invited state officials.
"Many have concerns over ... how our conservation dollars are being spent and the way our environmental law is being enforced or not enforced," he said.
Meriwether will moderate the "open mic" event, to which neither the DNR nor the DEQ will send representatives, although some members could attend on their own, officials said.
The rally may just be an attempt to make the state look bad, said Mary Dettloff, DNR spokeswoman.
"If people have concerns they want to air, that's their right to do," she said.
The DNR is trying to be more responsive to the public, posting monthly budget reports online and prioritizing the replacement of retired conservation and fire officers. However, the best way to encourage policy change with the DNR is to attend public meetings, send e-mails or write letters to officials, Dettloff said.
It's the same with the DEQ, which also encourages public input, spokesman Bob McCann said.
A popular opinion at last month's rally, where 400 turned up in Marquette, is that more emphasis and money should be invested in the field and less in Lansing.
"We want a change in the management philosophy of the DNR and DEQ to service the people and to service the resources, not build a bureaucracy," said Rory Mattson from the Delta Conservation District in the Upper Peninsula, a scheduled speaker.
A major concern among natural resource users is last year's threat of increased state hunting and fishing license fees, followed in December by the DNR's acknowledgment that it had a $10 million surplus in the game and fish fund that made the proposed hikes unnecessary.
"They didn't just, whoops, turn that money up," Mattson said.
Michigan United Conservation Clubs agrees it was extremely upsetting when they supported the proposed license fee increases and then learned it wasn't needed. And while state budget and funding issues must be discussed in the future, "firing pot shots at the DNR isn't going to solve problems," said Donna Stine, the agency's deputy policy director.
The rally will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Knights of Columbus Hall on Wilkinson Road in Gaylord. Call (231) 533-8363 for more information.
Organizers say another rally may soon be planned in Lansing.
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