Graham Jaehnig/Daily Mining Gazette Keweenaw Heartlands Project Manager Julia Petersen discussed the impact pending state legislation could have on local governance of the Heartlands properties in Keweenaw County.

ALLOUEZ TOWNSHIP – Last month, the Michigan House passed a three-bill package that would permit a single county to form its own recreational authority. If the package passes the Senate, it would have a significant impact on future governance of the Keweenaw Heartlands Project.

At a Project update meeting in Allouez Tuesday, Julia Peterson, Keweenaw Heartlands project manager, said the Blueprint for the Keweenaw Heartlands, published in 2023, outlines some sort of community-based governance.

The Heartlands Community Advisory Committee has been working to determine what a community-based governance means. “And really what they designed is a local public governance and management model via local public forest authority with five publicly elected representatives from Keweenaw County, informed by two advisory committees,” Petersen said. “One advisory committee is more of what I would think of as like an interest group community-based committee, and the other advisory committee is a government relations advisory committee. And that’s really representatives from local governments, the townships, the county, the Road Commission, the Sheriff’s Office, etcetera.”

Petersen said forming a local governance requires state law, and the Keweenaw Heartland’s Community Advisory Committeee studied multiple types of legislation that might be able to enable the formation, and the one that came closest was the Michigan Recreational Authorities Act. It requires some amendments, she said. “The amendments that are in front of the state legislature right now would enable the Recreation and Natural Resources Authority, Petersen said. “And as part of that, one of the permissible purposes would be a public forest and natural resources area.”

House Bill 4798, introduced by Rep. Greg Markkanen, amends the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act to include “recreational authorities” in the definition of a “local unit of government or public authority.” This change allows recreational authorities to engage in activities related to the act, such as accessing state park and recreation areas. The bill passed the House with a large majority and was then referred to the Senate Committee on Local Government. The bill is tied to another piece of legislation (House Bill 4694) and will only take effect if that companion bill is also enacted into law. The change expands the types of local government entities that can potentially participate in or benefit from provisions related to natural resources and public recreation.

The bill passed the House 96-2, and has moved to the Senate. “It adds a purpose within the Michigan Recreational Authorities Act and balances recreation and working forest,” Petersen said.