Bill Will Propose New Park Entrance Funding

basic facts received from Dr. Chuck Nelson, Dept. Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies, Michigan State University

On Thursday March 12 at 10:30, in Rooms 402-3 of the Capitol (Lansing), a bill will be introduced to eliminate the requirements for residents to have state park and state boating access motor vehicle permits in exchange for a $10 fee on vehicle registration.

Nelson states that this proposal is great for trails as it will help fund state park rail trails, Michigan state forest pathways, trails within the traditional state park system and double available grant money each year for local park renovation and development.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. In one respect it will be great to not have to purchase a state park sticker as long as you have a Michigan license plate. On the other hand it will probably be argued that all trails funded should be multi-use since the money came from an indiscriminate public pool. My personal view, known to many of my readers, is that some trails should be multi-use, but that there is a real need for some trails to be designed for particular user groups.

At any rate, there is sure to be some good debate.

See Proposal would eliminate entrance fees for Michigan parks, increase vehicle registration by $10 and take a poll as to whether you like the idea or not.

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