Page 12 — Thursday, April 1, 2021 — The Hastings BannerDNR celebrates 100 years of conservation success
From restoration and recover y
to resiliency and relevancy
Michigan DNR
One hundred years ago this week, the
Michigan Department of Conservation – the
precursor to the Michigan Department of
Natural Resources – was created as part of a
state government reorganization effort by
then-Gov. Alex Groesbeck.
The legislation approved a March 30,
1921, combined numerous components of
state government into the departments of
agriculture, industrial and labor, and
conservation.
“That was a time when the conservation
movement and the fish and wildlife movement
across the country was just kind of getting
born,” said DNR Director Dan Eichinger.
In Michigan, those early Department of
Conservation efforts focused on restoration of
damaged landscapes and the recovery of
game species and the habitats they live within.
That work would characterize much of the
new department’s activities over its first 100
years.
Eichinger said the Department of
Conservation was created to be a hub where
several state functions could be housed,
managed and provided for. These activities
included Michigan’s state parks program,
game and fish law enforcement and the
nascent movement toward protecting and
conserving fish and wildlife and the places
upon which they depend.
“We’ve seen that mission expand and
grow over the intervening 100 years, from
just being state parks, just doing some wildlife
reintroductions, just doing fish stocking, to
now having a really expansive menu of areas
that we work in,” Eichinger said.
In 1968, the name of the Michigan
Department of Conservation was changed to
the Michigan Department of Natural
Resources to reflect widening responsibilities.
Over the decades, several key pieces of
legislation worked to aid the department in its
mission to remain “committed to the
conservation, protection, management, use
and enjoyment of the state’s natural and
cultural resources for current and future
generations.”
In a recent interview on the program
“Naturally Speaking” on WGVU-FM in
Grand Rapids, Eichinger discussed the
importance of significant wildlife species
recoveries achieved in Michigan.
Some of the species that have attained
recovered status include the Kirtland’s
warbler, wild turkey, bald eagle and gray
wolf.
“These are really important milestonesbecause it’s sort of proof-positive that when
you have the alignment of resources, the
alignment of talent and the alignment of
partnership, we can be successful in recovering
species that were critically endangered,”
Eichinger told program host Shelly Irwin.
“And that is not only providing a regulatory
framework to provide for their long-term
conservation, but actually doing the really
hard work on the ground, making sure that
those habitats are conserved and that they’re
restored.”
Eichinger said none those alignment
activities happen in a vacuum.
“That’s one of the remarkable things about
what we have here in this state, that the story
of the Department of Natural Resources is as
much a story about the citizen conservationists
across our state and throughout our history
who have supported our work, stood side-by-
side with us as we have worked to recover
species, help to identify places the department
needs to be pointing effort and pointing work
towards,” Eichinger said. “The species that
we have stewardship responsibility for are the
fortunate beneficiaries of that tremendous
partnership with state government, our
citizens, federal actors, the non-profitcommunity. It’s a fantastic and important part
of the story of conservation.”
The DNR’s mission is necessarily long-
term, he said, and makes the department
“think over the horizon.”
“That’s one of the things I think is really
gratifying about this work and I think why the
folks who work in this space are so passionate
about it – that the resources that we enjoy
today in the good condition that they’re in is
because of work that was done, 20, 30, 40, 50
years ago,” Eichinger said. “Folks who had
long-term vision to say, ‘I might not
necessarily see all the fruits of my efforts
today, but I know future generations will be
able to derive benefit from them.’”
Eichinger said that perspective is a
wonderful way to think about his work, and
he’s excited to “work in a space that necessarily
requires that sort of long-term thinking.”
Looking ahead, he said the next century
for the department will be about resiliency
and relevancy.
“We obviously are dealing with the
negative effects of climate change and how
that’s expressing itself on the landscapes that
we manage,” Eichinger said. “And so, we’re
going to need to start to pivot our management
approach just a bit to be thinking a little bit
more about how we create resiliency on thelandscape in the face of change through
climate change – invasive species, fish and
wildlife health, those kinds of things.”
The department also needs to focus on
remaining relevant and valued to not only a
core constituency, he said, but to those who
may not have yet begun to enjoy the outdoors
to the extent possible.
“It’s really important for us to make sure
that the work that we do is seen, it is valued,
is understood and is available and accessible
to all the people in the state of Michigan,”
Eichinger said. “That’s what’s going to make
our work relevant.”
Throughout 2021, the DNR is
commemorating and celebrating the 100-year
anniversary of the department. Plans for
in-person events have been scaled back
because of the coronavirus pandemic.
DNR staffers have created a webpage at
Michigan.gov/DNRCentennial to link the
public to several ways to participate in
exploration of the past century of the
department’s efforts. As part of this, the DNR
has produced 100 ways to celebrate the
centennial.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is issuing a
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Centennial Day proclamation.
The best way the department and everyone
else in Michigan can celebrate the shared
success of the past century of conservation
commitment is to get outdoors, he said.
“Find a way that you and your loved ones
can connect with nature, find a pathway that
you’ve never walked down, find your way or
make your way to one of our beautiful state
parks, one of the tremendous hidden places in
our state forest system – wherever it is that
you go, find a way and find a reason to get
outdoors and share that with special people inyour life,” Eichinger said. “There’s no better
way to celebrate the work that we’ve all been
able to accomplish than by simply getting
outdoors and enjoying what we have in this
beautiful state.”
More information on the many outdoor
recreation opportunities and natural resource
conservation activities for which the DNR is
responsible can be found at Michigan.gov/
DNR.Like many directors and conservation officers before him, Michigan Department of Natural Resources Director Dan Eichinger
enjoys being outdoors in his free time.Wild turkeys, a species that recovered
through conservation efforts, was featured
on the cover of the November-December
1965 issue of Michigan Conservation
magazine.The cover of the March-April 1972
issue of Michigan Natural Resources
magazine featured this photo and a story
on page 26, encouraging readers to “Wax
up” their cross-country skis.The name of the state’s bi-monthly publication was changed after 1968 to reflect
the renaming of the department from the Department of Conservation to the Michigan
Department of Natural Resources. The cover of the July-August 1970 issue of
Michigan Natural Resources magazine featured a bouquet of statement pins.COVID outbreaks jump 20 percent in
Michigan schools. More closures ahead?
J-Ad Graphics Staff and Bridge Magazine
Outbreaks of the coronavirus jumped 20
percent in one week in Michigan schools, and
officials worry about whether classrooms can
stay open if the surge continues.
Hastings Area Schools, Delton Kellogg
Schools and the Thornapple Kellogg High
School moved to virtual learning this week
due to a rise in COVID-19 cases.
TK Superintendent Dan Remenap
announced the move in an email sent out to
parents of high school students last Friday
afternoon. Remote instruction ran Monday
through Thursday, while spring break begins
this Friday.
In the email, Remenap wrote that the high
school “has experienced a sudden increase in
positive COVID-19 cases.”
More than 175 TKHS students were absent
from school Friday. Remenap noted that “not
all absences are COVID-related, but many
are.”
The move to virtual learning does not affect
elementary or middle school students.
Delton Kellogg Schools announced over
the weekend that the district would switch to
remote learning this week.
“Due to the number of students and staff
who will be in quarantine this upcoming
week, all grades at DKS will be virtual
Monday through Friday,” a message on the
district’s Facebook page said.
Superintendent Kyle Corlett said Monday
that a student tested positive for COVID-19.
In its weekly COVID-19 update last Friday,
Lakewood Public Schools announced five
new positive cases in the district.
“We’ve seen an uptick like everyone else,”
Superintendent Steven Skalka told The
Hastings Banner.
The district did not switch to remote learn-
ing, however, and will start spring break on
Friday.
Skalka said the district will closely monitor
staff and students after the return to spring
break to see if there is a further increase of
cases.
Maple Valley is currently on spring break.
Several superintendents in metro Detroit
said they worry there could be more outbreaks
after students return from spring break, which
in Michigan schools is staggered over several
weeks in March and April.
Officials urged students and families to not
let their guard down, warning that in-person
learning is again at risk.
“It feels like you’re walking on a tightrope
over the Grand Canyon and you don’t want to
take the wrong step,” said George Heitsch,
interim superintendent of Birmingham Public
Schools. “You worry about it every day.”
As of March 25, there were 241 new or
ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks tied to K-
schools and preschools, according to data
released by the state Monday. The previous
week, there were 201.
The number of confirmed cases among
students and staff tied to those outbreaks
jumped 16 percent, from 1,599 to 1,859.By comparison, when Gov. Gretchen
Whitmer ordered middle and high schools to
go fully remote for three weeks in November,
there were 777 cases tied to school outbreaks.
Last week, a spokesperson for the Michigan
Department of Health and Human Services
said there were no plans for another statewide
school building closure order.
On Monday, Whitmer told Bridge Michigan
she didn’t anticipate more restrictions in the
state, while acknowledging the importance of
maintaining vigilance.
“You look at a map and you know that it’s
young people that are spreading it right now
in Michigan,” Whitmer said. “We just can’t
drop all of these efforts to keep people safe
right now.”
But some school districts have closed
buildings on their own because of outbreaks.
“One of our greatest fears is the continuing
spread of COVID in the community could
force us to (go back to fully remote),” said
Mark Greathead, superintendent of
Woodhaven-Brownstown School District in
Wayne County.
“That’s the potential path we’re on if thesetrends continue,” Greathead said. “It’s critical
that we maintain vigilance, because we are
very much still in the midst of a global pan-
demic.”
As of Monday, Michigan has the highest
coronavirus positive test rate in the country, as
12 percent of the past week’s tests were posi-
tive, including 15.6 percent of those reported
Sunday.
Michigan has the second-highest rate of
new cases, trailing only New Jersey, accord-
ing to a Bridge Michigan analysis of data
compiled daily by the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
The surge has hospitalized 2,300 people in
Michigan as of Monday, up from 1,940 on
Friday. In the past three weeks, infections
among 10 to 19-year-olds have jumped 117
percent, surpassed only by their parents’
demographic (40 to 49 year-olds), which rose
117 percent.
The coronavirus surge comes after parent
groups, high school sports teams and GOP
leaders urged Whitmer to pressure schools to
reopen, saying classrooms are comparatively
safe from the coronavirus.
In January, Whitmer asked all schools to
offer an in-person learning option by March 1,
a deadline 97 percent of traditional public
school districts met.
Despite mitigation efforts, such as manda-
tory face masks and social distancing, schools
often experience outbreaks increase when
cases rise in their communities, said Amy
Conway, superintendent of Gibraltar Public
Schools in Wayne County. Keeping class-
rooms open through the end of the school year
depends on blunting the rapid rise of COVID
cases in the neighborhoods surrounding
schools.
“Having in-person school is extremely
important to our students and community,”
Conway said. “Everyone has been working so
hard (to keep classrooms open).. With the
higher community spread, we need everyone
to pitch in to stay masked so we can have
school.”
Gary Niehaus, superintendent at Grosse
Pointe Public School System, begged students
and parents to be vigilant before students
return to the district next week from spring
break.
“People have to help us and make sure they
come back healthy so we can have those end-
of-year (events),” Niehaus said. “We’re
talking about graduation and prom and senior
celebrations.
“It’s very important to understand what we
have to do to get through this together.”As of Monday, Michigan
has the highest coronavirus
positive test rate in the coun-
try, as 12 percent of the past
week’s tests were positive,
including 15.6 percent of
those reported Sunday.Michigan has the sec-
ond-highest rate of new
cases, trailing only New
Jersey, according to a Bridge
Michigan analysis of data
compiled daily by the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.