Across Michigan people concerned with protecting forests, streams, and rivers from military encroachment breathed a little easier. The Department of Natural Resources rejected the effort by Military and Veterans Affairs to take an additional 162,000 acres for military training purposes. This proposed expansion of Camp Grayling, already the largest national guard training center in the country, would have more than doubled the amount of public land dedicated to military use.

For nearly a year people have been voicing opposition to this expansion. In Northern Michigan more than 60 local and county government boards passed resolutions against the taking of public land by the military. Several statewide conservation groups organized opposition, including the Sierra Club, Trout Unlimited, Michigan United Conservation Clubs, and the AuSable Anglers. Thousands of individuals wrote letters and organized informational meetings.

The opposition brought together a concern for the protection of public lands with the fact that the military has not been a good neighbor.  The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) announced its opposition to the expansion in December based on the failure of Camp Grayling to act to remediate pollution of waters with PFAS.

The ecological concerns were expanded by opposition to the vision of a new military-business-research base. Behind the vast land grab was the image of a National All Domain Warfighting Center that would help businesses develop new methods of killing and control. The expansion of Grayling was cast as an opportunity to encourage private sector research, development, and testing of new military weapons. There was a special emphasis on technologies and technologically disruptive tactics as well as talk of improving capacities for urban warfare. In response, peace groups, religious organizations, civil rights organizations, and communities concerned with expanding military might, joined in opposition.

Beginning in early February, it was clear that the DNR was looking for some kind of compromise position. This week they announced the compromise.

Acting DNR Director Shannon Lott said, “We appreciate the many comments we received on this proposal and the commitment people have to public lands. Public concerns and feedback from Tribal governments, coupled with our own review of the proposal, led us to decide against a 20-year lease on such a significant portion of state-managed land.”

In an email to MLive outlining the DNR reasoning, a spokesperson said, “The DNR has said all along that the 162,000 acres proposed by the Guard could be reduced, depending on the criteria applied in reviewing those acres.” Along with reducing the size of the proposal, the DNR sought to limit the amount of time and access. “The director also talked about understanding the time the military needed for training to reduce that time as much as possible. She reiterated that public access would continue all the public land under discussion regardless of military activities.”

The rejection of giving more than 250 square miles of public land to the military came with a commitment to enable the Guard to use 52,000 acres via a permitting process. Under a Memorandum of Understanding between the DNR and the DMVA, the DMVA will be able to apply for limited land use permits to conduct exercises. The permits would allow “low-impact training” on specified areas of land, which would remain open to the public and Tribal members at all times. The MOU also provides that the permits will not allow military training to take place in any protected or sensitive habitat areas or within a certain distance of inland lakes and designated trout streams.

This action by the DNR is a victory reflecting the power of people to organize on values that uphold the protection of lands and waters. But the military is not going away. Nor are the business interests that see war as a source of profit. It is this vision that we have yet to replace with a deeper understanding of building a world that affirms life. There is much yet to be done beyond this moment of compromise.