I received this letter earlier this month as did any other leaseholder who contacted Congressman Dan Benishek's office. I wanted to throw it in our fireplace. It is disheartening. Benishek gave up. That doesn't mean we have to.
I have run into very few people who disagree with the camps being in the Ottawa National Forest. If they do disagree, they hold their tongues. Everyone who has seen my film agrees that these camps hurt nothing and they are a benefit to the area.
When Benishek's letter states "I also hope that you continue to enjoy the land for the remaining time and take joy in the fact that now many others will be afforded the same opportunity" is completely wrong. After the camps are gone, the trails to these secluded parts of the rivers and woods will be inaccessible. I'm sure the USFS has no desire to maintain these trails or allow a majority of them to be used by ATV. The removal will close this land off. The only ones who will see it are those young and fit enough to hike miles into the woods. No one will be able to hunt those areas as they are too far to hike in the winter (remember we got over 2 feet of snow last deer season!) or drag a deer out from. The DNR and other agencies also use these trails to access parts of the river for studies, fish stocking, etc. I'm sure they would like these areas accessible as well.
Now that the film is complete I can focus more on being an activist than a filmmaker. If anyone has any ideas of our next step please let me know. I'm open to suggestion. This is a new arena for me. I'm going to try to push the petition more online and get as many signatures as possible.
With the help of Senator Casperson and his staff the State Senate passed a resolution urging the U.S.F.S to allow the camps to stay. This is a federal issue though. What it does though is raise exposure on the issue and encourage them to change their policy to work with property owners. It’s the best that can be done on the state legislative level.
I hope to hear back from Senator Gary Peters local office soon to see what they plan to do to help these camps. They were given the green light from Peter's D.C. office to look into it.
So right now all I can think of is to continue to raise exposure about these camps and make everyone aware of our situation.
Here are a few other contacts if you would like to write letters expressing your thoughts on why these camps should be allowed to remain in the Ottawa National Forest.
U.S.F.S. Forest Chief Thomas Tidwell
ttidwell@fs.fed.us
U.S.F.S. Eastern Region – Regional Forester Kathleen Atkinson
katkinson@fs.fed.us
Senator Debbie Stabenow, United States Senate
Jeremy_hosking@stabenow.senate.gov
Linda Jackson, Forest Supervisor, Ottawa National Forest
lljackson@fs.fed.us
Senator Debbie Stabenow
Jeremy_hosking@stabenow.senate.gov
Linda Jackson, Forest Supervisor, Ottawa National Forest
lljackson@fs.fed.us
Congressman Dan Benishek, United States Congress
mholland@fs.fed.us
State Representative Scott Dianda
http://housedems.com/contact-rep-dianda
Senator Gary Peters, United States Senate
https://www.peters.senate.gov/contact/email-gary
I have run into very few people who disagree with the camps being in the Ottawa National Forest. If they do disagree, they hold their tongues. Everyone who has seen my film agrees that these camps hurt nothing and they are a benefit to the area.
When Benishek's letter states "I also hope that you continue to enjoy the land for the remaining time and take joy in the fact that now many others will be afforded the same opportunity" is completely wrong. After the camps are gone, the trails to these secluded parts of the rivers and woods will be inaccessible. I'm sure the USFS has no desire to maintain these trails or allow a majority of them to be used by ATV. The removal will close this land off. The only ones who will see it are those young and fit enough to hike miles into the woods. No one will be able to hunt those areas as they are too far to hike in the winter (remember we got over 2 feet of snow last deer season!) or drag a deer out from. The DNR and other agencies also use these trails to access parts of the river for studies, fish stocking, etc. I'm sure they would like these areas accessible as well.
Now that the film is complete I can focus more on being an activist than a filmmaker. If anyone has any ideas of our next step please let me know. I'm open to suggestion. This is a new arena for me. I'm going to try to push the petition more online and get as many signatures as possible.
With the help of Senator Casperson and his staff the State Senate passed a resolution urging the U.S.F.S to allow the camps to stay. This is a federal issue though. What it does though is raise exposure on the issue and encourage them to change their policy to work with property owners. It’s the best that can be done on the state legislative level.
I hope to hear back from Senator Gary Peters local office soon to see what they plan to do to help these camps. They were given the green light from Peter's D.C. office to look into it.
So right now all I can think of is to continue to raise exposure about these camps and make everyone aware of our situation.
Here are a few other contacts if you would like to write letters expressing your thoughts on why these camps should be allowed to remain in the Ottawa National Forest.
U.S.F.S. Forest Chief Thomas Tidwell
ttidwell@fs.fed.us
U.S.F.S. Eastern Region – Regional Forester Kathleen Atkinson
katkinson@fs.fed.us
Senator Debbie Stabenow, United States Senate
Jeremy_hosking@stabenow.senate.gov
Linda Jackson, Forest Supervisor, Ottawa National Forest
lljackson@fs.fed.us
Senator Debbie Stabenow
Jeremy_hosking@stabenow.senate.gov
Linda Jackson, Forest Supervisor, Ottawa National Forest
lljackson@fs.fed.us
Congressman Dan Benishek, United States Congress
mholland@fs.fed.us
State Representative Scott Dianda
http://housedems.com/contact-rep-dianda
Senator Gary Peters, United States Senate
https://www.peters.senate.gov/contact/email-gary
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