Nature Conservancy presents Michigan programs, Keweenaw parcel plan and request for local recreation authority

Rich Bowman, director of external affairs for The Nature Conservancy in Michigan, told the House Committee on Natural Resources and Tourism that the national conservation organization operates in all 50 states and about 80 countries and that the Michigan unit focuses on freshwater, Great Lakes coastal systems, resilient forests and climate. Bowman gave the committee multiple program and budget figures, described ongoing fisheries and forest work, and outlined a 2022 purchase in the Keweenaw Peninsula that The Nature Conservancy is holding as a temporary owner while it works with the Department of Natural Resources and local officials to create a local recreation and forest authority.

Bowman told the committee the Michigan unit operates on a budget of about $8 million a year and has "a little less than 50 staff." He said The Nature Conservancy has protected about "436,000 acres" in Michigan and owns and manages land in multiple nature preserves; he also said the organization paid "just a little over $325,000" in local property taxes in Michigan last year. Bowman described the organization’s use of science-driven conservation work, saying The Nature Conservancy employs about 400 terminal-degree scientists globally.

On forestry and the Keweenaw parcel, Bowman said much commercial forest land in Michigan has changed hands in recent decades and that many tracts that were once held by timber companies are now owned by private-equity and institutional investors. He said The Nature Conservancy purchased a parcel in the Keweenaw Peninsula in 2022 as a temporary bridge owner and is working with the DNR and local community to create what he called a recreation and forest authority to manage that land. Bowman said Representative Markkanen is likely to introduce a bill to tweak the Michigan Recreational Authorities Act so the authority can handle forest management; Bowman said the authority would have five elected board members.

Bowman described several field projects. He said the Conservancy is restoring spawning reefs near Elk Rapids in Grand Traverse Bay to support whitefish, and that the group is working with the DNR, tribal partners including the Little Traverse Bay Band, and universities to map historic reefs and, in some tributaries, to plant fish eggs; Bowman said the long-term success of those efforts will be measurable in several years. He also described agricultural programs that use pay-for-performance premiums — citing a sustainable wheat program tied to Star of the West Milling — and partnership work with county drain commissioners and Michigan Milk Producers to reduce farm emissions and runoff.

Bowman addressed solar siting and forestland use, saying the Nature Conservancy supports using some degraded or marginal lands for solar but that solar should not be sited in intact forests without added environmental protections (for example, cover crops under arrays and decommissioning agreements). He urged legislative and leasing transparency where public land is concerned and said the Conservancy pays attention to public-access provisions of the Commercial Forest (CF) tax program.

Bowman fielded committee questions about regenerative farming, tile drainage and the impacts of moving water faster across agricultural landscapes; about cover crops under solar arrays; and about the balance between trees and solar development. He said some of the work discussed would require follow-up off the record and expressed willingness to provide more details to committee members.

The presentation did not result in a committee vote or directive recorded in the provided transcript excerpt; Bowman’s remarks were recorded as testimony and followed by committee questions.