Keweenaw Report Your Source for Local News and Sports
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is now soliciting applications for open volunteer positions on the Eastern and Western Upper Peninsula Citizens’ Advisory Councils.
The councils are designed to advise the DNR on regional programs and policies, identify areas in which the department can be more effective and responsive, and offer insight and guidance from members’ own experiences and from the public at large.
The deadline to submit an application is Friday, Dec. 16. There are currently two vacancies available on each of the councils.
Each council meets every other month. Meeting agenda items addressed at council meetings are set by the council members, and council recommendations are forwarded to the DNR for consideration in policy-formation and decision-making processes.
“The councils are a great opportunity for members and the public to learn about, and have input into, DNR issues, programs and process,” said John Pepin, DNR deputy public information officer. “Since their creation, the two U.P. councils have drafted 70 recommendations, on a wide range of topics, which have been sent to the DNR for consideration, the wide majority of which have been approved.”
Council members, who are required to have their primary residence located in the U.P., represent a wide variety of natural resource and recreation interest groups or the public at large. They are selected for the councils based on a variety of factors.
The eastern U.P. council includes roughly 20 members, each of whom reside within Alger, Chippewa, Luce, Mackinac or Schoolcraft counties. The western council includes essentially the same number of members who are drawn from the U.P.’s remaining 10 counties lying west of Federal Forest Highway 13.
Application forms and more information about the Upper Peninsula citizens’ advisory councils are available online at www.michigan.gov/upcac or by calling the DNR’s Marquette customer service center at 906-226-1331.
Completed applications may be faxed to 906-228-9441, emailed to dahlstromk@michigan.gov, or mailed to DNR (Attn: CAC), 1990 U.S. 41 South, Marquette, MI 49855.
For more information, contact DNR Upper Peninsula Regional Coordinator Stacy Welling Haughey at 906-226-1331.
