Post 6: Congress Blocks Pollution Controls 

Michigan regulators in the early 1980′s pushed the state’s air pollution regulations forward to address growing evidence of acid rain and other pollution problems.  Meanwhile in Washington Michigan’s Congressional delegation was playing a central role in blocking efforts to strengthen the federal Clean Air Act provisions. 

If you ask who in Congress has the most extensive record of leadership on a range of natural resource and environmental issues, Congressman John Dingell, the dean of the Michigan delegation, is one of the top contenders.  

Michigan Congressional Representatives held back efforts to strengthen the Clean Air Act in the 1980's

 

 During his fifty-four years of service representing parts of southeastern Michigan in the US Congress, Mr. Dingell has been a lead in many of the country’s most important pieces of environmental, natural resource and energy legislation.  From funding for habitat management, to requiring the consideration of environmental impacts of federally funded projects, to protecting water quality and endangered species, by 1980 Congressman Dingell had played a major role in creating the legislative infrastructure that governs much of our nation’s environmental protection today. From 1981 until Republicans took over the House in 1995, as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Congressman Dingell became the most powerful member of Congress in shaping the fate of pollution legislation in our country. 

At the same time, Michigan became deeply mired in a single state recession. If the reemergence of the phrase “Jobs, Jobs, Jobs” this year rings a bell, it is likely because this was the mantra of Governor James Blanchard who was elected in 1982 as Michigan’s economy was tanking.  The Big Three auto companies’ failure to attend to the quality of their products, competition with the emerging Japanese auto manufacturers and competition from cheaper manufacturing locations put Michigan’s economy in a tailspin, and the state’s utter dependence on this industry came through all too clearly.  

As a new resident to Michigan in 1980, I was astonished at how car obsessed the state was and how Michiganders drove the larger, gas guzzling American cars that much of the nation was abandoning after the Oil Crisis of the late 1970′s.  As Michigan’s golden age of the automobile was beginning to pass, Michiganders continued to count on a return to glory that never fully came.  And Michigan’s political leaders were in the forefront of the political efforts to bring back this and other manufacturing industries, too often fighting stronger environmental controls as one way to save the state. 

Michigan’s declining economy put a number of environmental and conservation organization on the spot when it came to advocacy for stronger environmental laws.  Michigan’s Congressional Delegation included some of the strongest environmental leaders in both parties during the 1980′s. However, virtually none of them were willing to go up against Chairman Dingell in his own arena.  Michigan Sierra Club leader were told over and over again by the Democratic Congressional Representatives that they agreed with us on the need to address air and other pollution, but they could not vote against Mr. Dingell.  The influence of Congressman Dingell and the Michigan industries whose interests he advocated for didn’t stop there.  

Congressman Dingell’s position within the hunting and angling community gave him tremendous sway over conservation organizations such as Michigan United Conservation Club (MUCC).  Despite the clear evidence of direct harm to lakes in Michigan from acid rain, in the 1980′s MUCC decided to sit on the sidelines when it came to strengthening federal legislation regarding acid rain.  The willingness to deal on pollution issues in exchange for some hunting or fishing related policies now or in the future was an on-going theme which Congressman Dingell exploited to take MUCC out of the fight.  In addition, the United Auto Workers, long a strong advocate for a variety of environmental protections, aligned with the Big Three in opposing stronger air quality regulations in a new, strengthened Clean Air Act.  Michigan’s broad base of environmental support appeared to be weakening under the stress of the state’s economic decline. 

My first encounter with Mr. Dingell was around 1985 during a trip to Washington DC.  Sierra Club regularly sponsored workshops there for state level leaders with skills and issue trainings, and meetings with key officials both in Congress and the Administration.  Participants were asked to arrange meetings with their state’s US Senators and Members of Congress while in the Capitol, and we were told to expect that a number of those meetings would be just with staff members.  For my appointment with Congressman Dingell’s office, I was assured by our DC staff that I could not expect to meet with the powerful Chairman of the committee that oversaw virtually every pollution issue we worked on. 

So when I received a call from Congressman Dingell’s office the day before my scheduled meeting asking if the time could be adjusted because the Congressman was going to be attending a funeral, I scrambled to find our air quality specialist Blake Early and legislative director David Gardiner to adjust my preparation and plans.  It appeared I would be the first Sierra Club representative in at least a year to meet with the Chairman himself, and I would be there on my own.  The main thing we realized was that my role would be mostly to listen, since it was assumed that the meeting was coming about because I was a Michigander, not a national Sierra Club representative, and it was clear Congressman Dingell had something he wanted to discuss with us. 

As a fairly young activist with little lobbying experience, I was more than a bit nervous about this meeting, and the physical setting in the Congressman’s office didn’t help.  As one of the senior members of Congress serving as Chair of a powerful committee, Mr. Dingell’s office was large, particularly in comparison to Members of Congress with much shorter tenure.  The walls were decorated with many plaques and recognition of decades of service, but the dominant impression was the presence of mounted game animal heads all over the Congressman’s office.  

Congressman Dingell along with at least two of his top aides greeted me warmly and a pleasant conversation ensued.  In the end, it was clear Mr. Dingell’s concern was about Sierra Club’s relatively recent entry into candidates endorsements.  While there was no discussion, that I recall, about the substance of air quality or other pollution issues, it was apparent that Sierra Club’s entry into electoral politics was a concern.  Mr. Dingell urged us not to attack him in the elections, and the term “tail-pipe John” was particularly of concern. Frankly, I don’t remember the rest of that trip, but during that election year Sierra Club did restrain our electoral efforts regarding Mr. Dingell.  During the succeeding years our relationship with Congressman Dingell has varied between collaborative, including cheering his efforts to hold President Reagan’s US EPA officials accountable, and strained.  Throughout my entire career, Congressman John Dingell has loomed as a larger than life figure over environmental and resource issues. 

The delay in implementing stronger air pollution regulations did little to help Michigan’s economy in the long run and may in fact have hurt us.   Now as we debate climate change regulation, I find a sense of déjà vu with the affected industries’ goals to delay, delay, delay. There are big differences now, however.  Our state is much weaker today despite successful delays in requiring higher gas mileage standards in the 1980′s. The auto industry dug in, and ultimately today we see how ill-positioned they were to compete with foreign competitors.  During the 1980′s recession, Governor Blanchard pressed the idea of diversification of our economy, but the short term resurgence of SUV’s and trucks seemed to lull our business leaders and politicians into complacency in the 1990′s.  

Today, Michigan’s best bet depends on crafting a new economic future, with clean energy, tourism and sustainable use of our natural assets the touchstone for our future.  But again the affected industries, particularly utilities and their dirty sibling the coal industry, are working to thwart a better direction for our state by convincing too many politicians and other interests today that Michigan should cling to the shadow of its past glory rather than evolve.  

My next post will return to our forests, with discussion of the first National Forest Planning process in Michigan. 

25 People Who Have Made a Difference In Michigan’s Environment: Sometimes people outside our state are the ones we must thank for bringing critical changes. 

Blake Early 

 During the time I was writing this post, I was saddened to learn of the death of Sierra Club’s premier lobbyist on the Clean Air Act amendments of the 1980′s and 1990.  Blake Early played a role not only in the fight for clean air, but in many of the critical pollution laws passed in this country during the last 25 years or more.  Blake was also well aware of the importance of the grassroots in making Sierra Club the effective force it has been for its entire 118 years, tolerating the “dumb questions” of neophytes like me.  

Jane Elder has written a wonderful overview of Blake Early’s contributions to protection of the Great Lakes at Great Lake Echo, “Great Lakes hero moved legislation with passion, science and cormorants” .  Lobbying for good causes is one of the most important but most thankless jobs.  For Blake and others who have found themselves the only environmental advocate in a room with elected officials, their staff, and lobbyists for the polluting industries who are being paid orders of magnitude more to get their client’s goals met, it takes a level of determination, smarts and personal commitment that virtually no one else will understand.  Too often you lose, and sometimes getting the best that you can leaves the people you represent furious as well.   But almost every environmental law on the books had at least one environmental advocate, volunteer or paid, whose job it was to play the ‘inside’ role, to fight for words and phrases that to most of us are incomprehensible.  Many thanks to those, like Blake Early, who have taken the task on to argue, negotiate, and monitor every dot on every ‘i’ in the laws that we depend on to make environmental progress.

Post 5: Leading the Nation: Michigan Regulators Take Bold Steps

During the 1980′s one of the nation’s biggest environmental fights was over controlling acid rain.   Much like today’s efforts to address global warming emissions, this issue saw little disagreement among scientists.  The fossil fuel extracting and burning industries, including automobiles and electric utilities, however, fought tooth and nail to stop or delay acid rain and other air quality regulations.  The fight in Michigan showed the split personality of our state on this kind of issue: on one hand strong, sometimes innovative decision-making within the Department of Natural Resources through the Air Pollution Control Commission; and on the other federal legislative initiatives squelched through the political force brought by Michigan’s powerful members of Congress.

Control of acid rain precursors in coal plant emissions was a big issue in the 1980's

The perception that the automobile industry and electric utilities as well as other key industries depended on keeping pollution regulations weak drove enormous wedges between individuals and organizations that should have been on the same side.  Unholy alliances and political horse trading created serious tensions around this and other hot pollution issues in the 1980′s.  This fight contributed to significant disputes among conservationists and environmentalists, as well as with historic allies such as unions who had a long history of support for environmental protection.

What is acid rain?

Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emissions from fossil fuel combustion (coal fired power plants in particular) react in the atmosphere and produce precipitation substantially more acidic than naturally occurring fog, snow or rain.  During the 1970′s and 80′s documentation of the acidification of lakes, degradation of forest ecosystems and corrosion of statues and buildings caused by acid rain throughout the northeastern United States and eastern Canada pointed out the devastating impact of these emissions.  Scientific research on lakes in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula recorded the damage caused by acidification, and even the Capitol Building in downtown Lansing showed the tell-tale signs of acid rain caused damage.

Ironically, long distance transport of acid rain pollution came about as a result of efforts to address local effects of coal fired power plant pollution. Like many environmental issues, a “cure” can sometimes create a new set of unintended environmental problems.  To address the substantial impact on public health in communities surrounding coal plants, utilities built enormous, “tall stacks” reaching as high as 1,000 feet into the air.  Detroit Edison built its Monroe coal-fired power plant in the early 1970′s, one of the largest in the country, with two tall-stacks pegged at 800 feet tall each.  The thinking was simple; tall stacks would disperse the pollutants, and reduce or eliminate impacts on the immediate neighbors.  Instead, tall stacks put the acid rain precursors and other pollutants much higher in the atmosphere, allowing them to be transported hundreds of miles downwind. With a large concentration of coal plants in the Midwestern US, lakes and forests far downwind from the power generation facilities showed growing impacts.

Lakes in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, including Lake McNearny highlighted here, showed signs of acidification

In Michigan, the effort to address acid rain causing emissions from coal plants provides a good example of how Michigan’s citizen environmental commissions in the 1980′s played a major role in shaping an aggressive and forward looking environmental agenda for our state.  The agencies overseeing Michigan’s environment and natural resources have evolved dramatically, reflecting changes in law and policy, increased public awareness and concern, emerging scientific understanding and new technologies, and finally, politics.  Dave Dempsey’s excellent book “Ruin and Recovery: Michigan’s Rise as a Conservation Leader” gives an overview of these changes, showing the ebb and flow of agency independence and strength during the 20th century.  In the 1980′s an important factor in shaping implementation of the state’s environmental laws was that they were broadly written, allowing the independent commissions and professionals in the agencies, with input from the public, to address emerging issues without needing new legislation to address each new concern.

In the 1980′s the Michigan Air Pollution Control Commission (APCC), housed in the Department of Natural Resources, decided state regulations and permits under state air pollution laws.  State air quality must be at least as strong as required by the federal Clean Air Act, but states are free to enact stronger regulations.  The APCC members were appointed by the Governor, and included experts in air pollution issues, concerned citizens and agency representatives.  The APCC and it’s sister Water Resources Commission were decision making bodies, not merely advisory panels to state employees.  As a result these became forums in which scientific evidence, substantive considerations, and the public’s insights, information and concerns were weighed, and decisions which shaped Michigan’s future health, environmental quality, and sometimes the future of industries were routinely made.  Other appointive bodies including the Michigan Environmental Review Board and the Toxic Substances Control Commission, played important roles as well, but the two largest areas of environmental decision making, air and water pollution, were literally in the hands of citizen boards.

Michigan Leads the Nation

The fight over acid rain in Michigan in the early 1980′s focused on whether Michigan’s fleet of coal fired power plants would be required to control emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2), with a particular focus on the Detroit Edison Monroe plant as the largest both in the state and one of the largest in the nation.  Michigan’s top environmental advocate and organizer, the American Lung Association of Michigan’s Alex Sagady, brought his extraordinary organizing, technical skills and personal commitment to this fight.  Alex used the technology of the times, in particular direct mail, phone calls and group presentations, to educate the public and news media, and to give a sense of the urgency of these matters.  Alex’s organizing skill turned out an enormous presence at hearings regarding the question of whether Detroit Edison should be required to change the mixture of coal burned in the plant to substantially reduce sulfur dioxide emissions from this plant.  This decision would also lead to statewide regulations moving coal fired facilities in the same direction.

One story from the hearing held in 1982 by the APCC on the Monroe plant provides a potent example of the kind of leadership within the state on environmental protection at that time.   While I did not witness this, I recall the profound admiration expressed by environmental leaders for then Director of the Department of Natural Resources Howard Tanner, who joined the public to testify before the APCC.  In this extraordinary situation, Tanner called on the commissioners to take the steps needed to require substantial reductions in acid rain causing emissions.  In the end, the APCC acted to require Detroit Edison to make the needed changes, and Michigan found itself in the lead in the nation in requiring its coal fired power plants to move toward controlling acid rain.

But as the state moved forward, the US Congress punted the improved Clean Air Act for several more years, largely because of Michigan’s top members of Congress.  My next post will discuss the “bad and ugly” roles played by Michigan in tackling acid rain.

*****************************************************************************************

25 People Who Have Made a Difference In Michigan’s Environment: When progress is made in pollution issues in particular, a combination of accurate scientific information and exceptional grassroots and political organizing are often at the heart of the success.  My next person has been a trail blazer on both counts and has probably done more to build the effectiveness of the environmental community in Michigan over the past forty years than anyone else.

Alex Sagady

One of Michigan's most effective and important environmental advocates, Alex Sagady

When Alex Sagady is working on an issue, whether it is emissions from incinerators or animal factory water pollution, pollution from power plants or refineries, or the dozens of other issues he has tackled over his decades of engagement in environmental protection in Michigan and elsewhere, you can count on several things: Alex will work harder than anyone else involved in the issue; Alex will assure that the interests of the public are accounted for and represented well; and Alex will bring integrity to his efforts even if his conclusions put him at odds with his colleagues.  These traits have permeated Alex’s extraordinary role in shaping Michigan’s environmental history since the early 1970s.

At an Environmental Summit sometime in the early 1980′s Dave Dempsey introduced Alex to the assembled crowd as “the Godfather of the Michigan Environmental Movement”, a phrase that has stuck with me ever since.   Never one to shy from controversy when it comes to environmental protection, Alex blended the art of organizing and citizen engagement with the technical skills and adherence to scientific accuracy that has earned him admiration even from some who have been the target of his efforts.  In my early days with Sierra Club, Alex who has been both a supporter and a volunteer for the Michigan Chapter along with his many other hats, helped to provide counsel and guidance on everything from how to put together an effective alert, get it properly prepared for the post office, write the press release, and prepare the testimony and technical comments on an issue.  Alex was always among the most effective presenters at training sessions designed for citizen activists, and there are hundreds if not thousands of people throughout Michigan who have benefited from his work both through the American Lung Association of Michigan (ALAM) and as a consultant (visit Alex’s site to sample the range of his work).

One particularly important role Alex played was dragging the environmental community kicking and screaming into the internet era, putting our state ahead of virtually every other state in the nation.  It is hard to envision in an era where we stay connected every minute of the day through dozens of different on-line forums, but in the late 1990′s the idea of creating a forum for open discussion about environmental issues was a sort of scary new idea.  Alex came to the Michigan Chapter leadership in 1996 or 1997 with an idea for an open listserve for discussion and information sharing about environmental and natural resource issues affecting our state.  After a fair amount of debate about this brand new and untested concept, and a lot of debate about what it should be called, Alex created and launched Enviro-Mich on behalf of the Michigan Chapter.  Enviro-Mich was not only quickly a hit with environmental activists of all stripes, it became a place where agency staff, reporters and industry representatives could announce, explain, argue and ask the diverse array of other subscribers about the current issues affecting our state.   And because of that discourse, Enviro-Mich, hosted by the Great Lakes Information Network over the past dozen years, provides a unique archive for tracking the history of this state’s environmental issues, big and small — something Alex also made sure was set up so that this extraordinary resource would be available to catalogue this period in our state’s environmental history.

It is impossible to calculate how much we all owe Alex Sagady for his leadership, his persistence, and his incredible dedication to making Michigan a great place to live.  I offer my thanks as well for his friendship over the years, and look forward to his continuing efforts.

Post 4: Michigan Wilderness Heritage Act, part 3 

Congressman Dale Kildee was, without question, the Congressional champion for Michigan National Forest wilderness.  After inheriting the issue when Congressman Carr lost his seat, Congressman Kildee introduced Michigan wilderness legislation each term until the law was enacted, and made sure the same number, HR 148, was assigned to the bill.  Kildee’s bill included 11 proposed wildernesses, with Government Island in the Les Cheneaux Islands added to the list which ultimately passed.  While not an outdoorsman, Congressman Kildee whole-heartedly embraced the importance of protecting these pieces of land as they “had come from the hand of God.”  He even purchased and donned blue jeans to visit the areas with Forest Service personnel and others. 

Nate Woiwode in Sturgeon River Gorge Wilderness, Ottawa National Forest,1985

 

With Congressman Kildee’s commitment, our  next challenge was to convince as many members of the Michigan Congressional Delegation as possible to co-sponsor the legislation. As had been the case throughout the legislative process, key media outlets, particularly Detroit Free Press columnist Hugh McDiarmid, Sr. and editorial writer Barbara Stanton, helped to clearly explain the issues and press Michigan’s Congressional Delegation to get on board.  People throughout Michigan asked their Congressional representatives to add their names to the legislation, and by 1986 the bill had drawn a strong bi-partisan set of co-sponsors.  Republican Congressmen Carl Pursell and Paul Henry, and Democrats Howard Wolpe, William Ford, Bob Traxler, Bob Carr, John Conyers, Dennis Hertel, David Bonior and Sander Levin were cosponsors when the bill passed the House of Representatives the first time in the fall of 1985. 

Governor James Blanchard also endorsed the legislation in 1985 at the Michigan Chapter Annual Banquet in Ann Arbor.  As a former member of Congress, Governor Blanchard was familiar with the issue, but there can be no doubt that growing public support coupled with the advice from his environmental advisor, Dave Dempsey, encouraged the Governor to take a bold stand on an issue that split his party.  Dave’s connection with the wilderness bill extended back to his time working for Congressman Bob Carr, who introduced the original bill.  He also had been an officer in the Michigan Chapter, and had served as the first Executive Director of the Michigan Environmental Council before joining Blanchard’s administration. 

But Michigan’s US Senators posed a more challenging dilemma.  Under Congressional rules, a bill needed to be introduced into the Senate for the superior house to take up the matter, and tradition held that the wilderness bill sponsor needed to be a Michigander.  Senator Riegle’s very public about face meant his colleague Senator Carl Levin was on the spot.  After the House passed HR 148 in the fall of 1985, Senator Levin introduced his own bill with nine areas included (Delirium and Government Island were left out).   However, because Levin and Riegle were both Democrats, we knew that for the bill to pass the Senate, it was necessary for Senator Riegle not to actively oppose the legislation.  So our grassroots efforts continued to require attention to both Michigan Senators. 

One gauge we used for determining the level of impact of the growing public demand for wilderness was to monitor the letters sent in response to the constituents’ letters.  For many passionate wilderness advocates, the precipitous decision by Senator Riegle to drop his support for wilderness protection was infuriating.  As they received the first generation of “robo-letters,” automatically generated, canned responses to topics, these constituents became incensed that their Senator was not giving them a straight answer about why he changed him mind.  Quite a few letter writers wrote back repeatedly, challenging the pat and often wrong claims in the robo-letters, demanding a real response.  By the time the laws passed in 1987, Senator Riegle’s letters had gone from a short one page letter to more than three pages attempting to justify his position. 

Some positive developments helped support the wilderness cause.  One particularly welcome development was when the Michigan Forest Products Industry Development Council voted 14 to 1 in April 1985 to endorse HR 148, Congressman Kildee’s 11 wilderness area bill.  The Council, made up predominantly of forest products industry representatives, was appointed by Governor Blanchard to advise him on issues of concern to the industry. After consideration, they had concluded that the wilderness areas proposed did not pose a threat to the availability of timber resources in the state, and that resolving the wilderness issue would actually help move the forest planning process along.  While not representing the entire forest products industry, this unprecedented support for a wilderness bill by industry representatives created a buzz and made it harder for opponents to argue against this legislation. 

Another positive development was that the US Forest Service had begun the develop to first National Forest Plans for Michigan, which included discussion about which RARE 2 areas deserved to be classified as “potential wilderness” in these plans.  The planning process for Michigan’s three National Forests opened up dialogue among many state level interests concerned with the wilderness issue as the Hiawatha National Forest staff took the unusual step of holding a stakeholder meeting to bring all the interests into the same room.  Further details on the National Forest planning process will be discussed in a future blog, but the dialogue opened the possibility that disputes over the zoning and management issues arising on these lands, like wilderness, might be resolved through discussion. 

But as the debate dragged it, new issues and concerns emerged so it was never as simple as voting “yes or no” on a set of 11 proposed wildernesses.  A proposal for oil and gas development by private mineral rights owners under the Nordhouse Dunes area was beginning to surface as a potential spoiler in the efforts to protect the only proposed wilderness in the lower peninsula. While wilderness designation for parcels in Michigan would not limit mineral rights development for resources under the areas, this issue was raised by the US Forest Service Washington Office as the Senate was beginning to consider the Michigan Wilderness Heritage Act. 

Senator Carl Levin has never been one who could be pushed into taking a particular position.  His introduction of the wilderness bill into the 99th Congress (1985-1986) was a major step forward, but wilderness supporters became concerned that the bill was not moving, and that we might have to start over again in 1987.  There was a strong perception the Senator Levin was working behind the scene with Senator Riegle to gain at least his quiet acquiescence to passage of the bill before moving it forward. In late summer 1986, the bill began to move in the Senate, but an unwelcome surprise came at the last minute as the US Forest Service testified that they would oppose designation of the Nordhouse Dunes area as wilderness.  Senator Levin was extremely unhappy with this last minute maneuver by the Reagan Administration, and took a clear and emphatic stance that he would not back down from Nordhouse Dunes.  The bill died and in 1987 with a new session of Congress, the legislative process had to begin all over again. 

Congressman Kildee and Senator Levin both moved quickly to introduce their respective bills in the first months of 1987, not willing to face the kind of last minute tricks played by the Forest Service the year before.  Both bills worked their way through hearings and the Forest Service continued to oppose designation of Nordhouse Dunes despite reassurances on mineral rights issues.  This time, however, the Michigan delegation was not going to let this stand in the way.  The House bill was passed early in the year, and Senator Levin’s bill passed out of Committee in mid-October, with no controversy.  Discussions between Senator Levin and Congressman Kildee led to an agreement to substitute the House version, with 10 wilderness, on the floor of the Senate to avoid any additional steps, and the Senate acted quickly.  On December 8, 1987, President Reagan signed the Michigan Wilderness Heritage Act into law, declaring forever wild 91,535 acres of National Forest lands in our state. 

Forever Wild!

 

In an eloquent piece in the Chapter’s MACKINAC Newsletter in February 1988, Jane Elder described the fight and captured the resonant nature of this grassroots victory: 

Together, we have done no small thing.  As long as our democracy persists, these fragments of wilderness will remain wild.  The loons will call at Sylvania, Lake Michigan will wash against an unspoiled shore at the foot of Nordhouse Dunes, and every spring, the waters will thunder over the falls on the Yellow Dog at McCormick.  This is our wilderness to enjoy, to cherish and to learn from, and it will be our children’s and their children’s. Thank you all for making a dream come true for all of us.  

My next blog will come next week, with a shift of focus to pollution issues. 

*********************************************************************************** 

25 People Who Have Made a Difference In Michigan’s Environment: Editorial writers and columnists can add dimensions that allow the public to really understand the issues.  My next choice is a person who played a major role in introducing the wilderness debate to Michiganders and keeping the story of the politics in front of the public. 

Hugh McDiarmid, Sr. 

The Michigan public came to know the wilderness fight through the pages of the Detroit Free Press, with excellent reporting and editorial writers like Barbara Stanton providing lyrical insights and advocacy for protection of the wilderness areas.  Free Press political columnist Hugh McDiarmid, Sr., brought his incomparable wit and story telling to this fight, as well as to most of the major environmental issues of the time.  He publicized the outrageous opposition to wilderness by UP legislators, in particular Senator Joe Mack, often using their own words demonstrate how off-base they were.  When Sierra Club Michigan Chapter left Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) after several years of unsuccessfully working to reverse their opposition to wilderness protection, Hugh used his column to highlight the split and why it happened.     

As a dedicated environmentalist (a trait he passed along to his son, Hugh McDiarmid, Jr., of the Michigan Environmental Council), Hugh also held environmentalists accountable for our shortcomings.  It was sometimes painful to open the paper and take our medicine, but there was never any doubt that Hugh was trying to advance environmental and natural resource protection in this state.  One memorable column covered the ballot proposal to give constitutional protection to the Natural Resources Trust Fund, after the Governor and Legislature had diverted funds from this land acquisition fund into the General Funds for several years.  Never shy about expressing his opinion, Hugh took aim at the editorial board of the Detroit Free Press, which he characterized as the only group in Michigan that was opposing the proposed protection of the Trust Fund.   

As a brand new staffer, I was particularly fortunate to have great conversations with Hugh that ranged well beyond the current issues, including one walking tour  and lecture about the architecture of downtown Lansing.  Like many of the best reporters in Michigan, Hugh took time to really understand the issues and to insist that you back up your position.  Excellent reporters, editorial writers and columnists are essential components of all successful environmental fights in Michigan.  Michigan has been home to many exceptional environmental reporters, and still is today, although sadly many have now left reporting.  Hugh McDiarmid, Sr, made a substantial mark in our state, played a particular role in securing protection of Michigan’s national Forest wilderness areas, and taught me a lot about how to be clear about what really matters in environmental fights.

Post 3: Michigan Wilderness Heritage Act, part 2

Despite the daunting opposition, Sierra Club leaders were determined to gain permanent wilderness designation for the Michigan National Forest RARE 2 areas.  In 1984 twenty-one state wilderness bills were passed and signed into law as conservationists nationwide pressed Congress and President Ronald Reagan to act. There was concern that the Michigan wilderness fight had fallen behind at the beginning of 1985, but a determined and growing team of volunteers and staff stepped up the campaign to protect Michigan’s special areas, ramping up the pressure on Congress.

Mackinac Wilderness, Hiawatha National Forest, from MACKINAC newsletter, 1988

It is hard to get people to take action to protect places they don’t know and may never see.  Some unfamiliar with the areas questioned if these places were on par with Isle Royale National Park’s 132,000 acres of wilderness, or the larger, more remote wildernesses in the western US.  The largest National Forest wilderness study area, Sylvania, located in the Ottawa National Forest, was just over 18,000 acres, while the smallest RARE 2 sites, both in the Hiawatha National Forest, were Government Island and Round Island, each just a few hundred acres.  Because most of the sites were in the UP, there was an additional challenge of connecting the Trolls (people from below the Mackinac Bridge) to this fight so that they would convince their members of Congress to join the fight.

Even those who supported keeping chainsaws and roads out of these areas were concerned that wilderness designation would put a bulls-eye on these places of solitude and natural beauty.  Some scientists and Forest Service staff had concerns about potential overuse, particularly in the areas with fragile biological features.  Questions were raised about whether wilderness recreation was compatible with scientific study and protection.  But during the Reagan Administration, few could realistically argue that rare old growth forests, undeveloped sand dunes, or undisturbed wetlands on National Forest lands would be safe from exploitation without some additional protection.

Using all the grassroots organizing tools available to us at the time, with insight and guidance from Jane Elder and other national Sierra Club staff, we increased our efforts to inform Michiganders about these wonderful areas.  Try to imagine the process of generating hundreds of letters to members of Congress in a time predating PCs and the internet.  Our best tools were bulk mail alerts, meetings, newsletter articles, and occasionally phone calls. One tool we developed to keep our advocates up to date was a simple typewritten newsletter called ‘Michigan Wilderness Countdown’ that provided regular updates on the progress of the campaign, and urged our volunteers to write to or meet with their members of Congress. Fortunately, members of Congress and their staff actually read and responded to letters from constituents at that time, and we learned that even a small number of concerned constituents can sway an elected official’s vote. Slide shows, presentations at local Group meetings, planning meetings, and outing trips to the proposed wilderness areas fleshed out the organizing tools for our far-flung activists.

One the greatest gifts to this campaign was a set of fantastic black and white photographs of many of the areas taken by C.J. Elfont which he donated for Sierra Club’s use.  These compelling photographs, used in leaflets describing the issue, allowed us to get beyond debates about numbers and definitions by making these places real.   Another powerful tool was visits to the wilderness areas arranged for Congressman Kildee and Senator Levin by  the Forest Service and the Congressional staff.  We had worked hard to encourage these trips based on our knowledge of how important it was to experience the areas.  Jane Elder was allowed to join the trip for Congressman Kildee, which included an overflight of some of the areas. That perspective helped to show that the Delirium area, an almost inaccessible swamp with a road and dam in the center, was a remarkable, lush area that stood out from the surrounding landscape.

Sierra Club leaders knew that other supporters were also essential to win the fight, particularly those from the UP.  The Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition (UPEC), a terrific grassroots environmental organization founded in the mid-1970′s, became one of our most important allies.  UPEC members, including Jon Saari and Bill Robinson, took time to carefully consider their position before publicly supporting the wilderness proposals. UPEC leaders, including scientists, business people and academics, contributed enormous amounts of time and energy to the fight.  At a time when many in the UP endorsed Senator Mack’s anti-environmental sentiments, these local advocates were extraordinarily important in injecting facts and reason into the discussion.

As the grassroots demand grew, with help in particular from key reporters and editorial writers, the campaign continued to build.  In 1985, as hearings on the House bill, HR 148, were being planned by committees, Sierra Club decided it was critical to bring supporters to the halls of Congress.  In an unprecedented move for Michigan Sierra Club, about fifteen volunteer activists were flown to Washington, DC, where they testified and lobbied members of Congress about the importance of this legislation.  Among them were long time Sierra Club activists John and Kathy Mitchell, as well as people who had never testified in front of a legislative body before.

One wonderful citizen lobbyist was a gentleman from the UP whose name I have unfortunately forgotten.  A retiree with a hip replacement, this gentleman quietly argued with the claims that wilderness designation was an elitist effort to shut average people out of these areas and keep them just for backpackers who gave nothing to the UP.  His counterpoint was simple and direct: while he was no longer able to hike into these areas the way he had in his youth, he supported making them wilderness areas so that his grandchildren and all future generations could enjoy these places as they were today.   Others brought scientific information and explained that wilderness designation was designed as protecting sensitive areas as well, not just to provide primitive recreation. The testimony was quite moving, and the presence of so many Michiganders from different walks of life who had taken days out of their busy lives to come to Washington and advocate for these areas left a deep impression.

With our grassroots efforts fully engaged, the ball was now in the court of the Michigan Congressional Delegation to decide whether to move this protection or not.  My next post will cover the action in Congress.

******************************************************************************************************

25 People Who Have Made a Difference in Michigan’s Environment: My third and fourth choices are a duo who represent the absolute best of volunteerism that makes the difference in environmental fights:

John Mitchell and Kathy Mitchell (now Kaczynski)

There are few people in Michigan who did more to move the environmental agenda of the Sierra Club in the 1980′s and early 1990′s than John Mitchell and Kathy Kacyzynski.  Their love for Michigan wilderness and willingness to help the cause included taking my predecessor, Sue Pemberton, on a camping tour of all the proposed sites, as well as regularly visiting these areas on their vacations.  Whatever was requested of them, they took on, including traveling to the US Capitol to testify in favor of protection.

But even more importantly, John and Kathy’s understanding of the importance of keeping the Sierra Club functioning was an amazing gift that helped a staff person like me get through many difficult times.  They were both mentors and colleagues, always available to provide sound guidance, to argue the points, to bring humor into the discussion, and to get the work done.  John served as the Michigan Chapter Treasurer for more than a decade, and Kathy took on the jobs of MACKINAC newsletter editor, Chapter Secretary, and whatever else was needed.  They spent countless hours preparing membership lists for fundraising, arranging and hosting meetings (including one memorable pot luck at which somehow we ended up with four kinds of potato salad, a six-pack of beer and ice cream), working on awards, volunteering to help with the Chapter banquets and retreats, and as well as keeping up with the issues, writing letters to legislators and the newspapers, all in all making a huge difference.

John and Kathy both not only deserve our deep thanks, but they stand as well for the hundreds of people who “get it” that to be effective an organization or a cause must have people willing to do the back-breaking and mind-numbing work that moves the agenda forward.  Michigan is fortunate that they both continue to be actively engaged in worthy causes, and I offer them both my long overdue thanks for being such inspirations and support for many years.

Post 2: Michigan Wilderness Heritage Act, part 1 

One of the biggest stories for the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter during the past twenty-five years is the enactment of the Michigan Wilderness Heritage Act by the US Congress.  Ten parcels totaling 90,000 acres of National Forest lands were permanently protected under federal wilderness law in 1987, following a ten-year battle during which this goal was the top priority of the Michigan Chapter (Big Island Lake, Delirium, Horseshoe Bay, Mackinac, McCormick, Nordhouse Dunes, Rock River Canyon, Round Island, Sturgeon River Gorge, and Sylvania). 

The proof that this effort had been worthwhile was when our son Pete came back from a camping trip with college friends and was reveling in the beauty of a spectacular, wild area between Ludington and Manistee on Lake Michigan.  My ears pricked up a bit, and when he asked if I’d ever heard of Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness I broke into a big grin.  We can ask for nothing better than to have our children enjoy the fruits of our labors without even knowing the fight that went on to protect such a place. 

Michigan's Federal Wilderness areas. Green represents National Forest areas designated under the Michigan Wilderness Heritage Act of 1987

 

Today, people are surprised that wilderness designation for less than 1% of Michigan’s 3 million acres of federal forest lands would be so controversial that it split the conservation community and was considered a political hot potato. I joined the fray after much work had been done, with prior Michigan Chapter staff people Jane Elder and Sue Pemberton and volunteers like John and Kathy Mitchell dedicating enormous energy and passion to this fight.  Jane continued to lead the fight even after she moved to the Sierra Club Regional Office in Madison, WI. 

In 1977 the Forest Service kicked off the Roadless Area Review and Evaluation 2 (RARE 2), a process for identifying and proposing qualifying areas for potential wilderness designation on National Forests nationwide.  Federal wilderness law is some of the most poetic on the books, and captures clearly the spirit as well as the intent of protecting a part of our landscape as it is for future generations: 

“A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.” 

In Michigan teams of Sierra Club volunteers visited all the areas under consideration during RARE 2, recording their observations on a comprehensive checklist used to rate the potential areas. The volunteers hiked and canoed into these remarkable areas, some with rare virgin forests and others with outstanding ecological and recreational value.  In an era of typewriters and mimeograph machines, Jane, Sue and key volunteers were the point people on organizing the information and the activists to push for passage of wilderness protection for the 14 areas identified. The effort in Michigan echoed efforts throughout the nation. 

But the politics got complicated early on.  By 1980, Congressman Bob Carr and Senator Donald Riegle had sponsored Michigan wilderness bills in the US House and Senate respectively.  Soon, however, Congressman Carr lost his seat, and Senator Riegle, confronted by wilderness opponents at a townhall meeting in the western Upper Peninsula, reversed his support for the legislation on the spot and spent the years to come opposing wilderness legislation.  With federal wilderness legislation, the rule of thumb is that support from most of the state Congressional delegation where wilderness is proposed is needed to get passage, except in places of national significance like Alaska.  We were very fortunate to have Congressman Dale Kildee take up the banner in the House and steward the Michigan Wilderness Heritage Act through passage. However Senator Riegle’s knee jerk about-face posed a major roadblock. 

Back at home in Lansing, opposition to wilderness designation was particularly strong among UP legislators. One of the most vocal wilderness opponents was Senator Joe Mack, an almost cartoonish figure from the western Upper Peninsula.  Mack, a Democrat whose loud sports jackets and sharp tongue were his trademark, served as chair of the key environmental committee in the Senate despite his disdain for environmental protection.  Mack was convinced that only the extractive industries of logging and mining would help the UP’s economy, and famously said that backpackers came to the UP with a five dollar bill and a pair of underpants, and didn’t change either while there.  While legislative approval was not needed for Congress to pass wilderness legislation, the vehement opposition from Mack and other UP officials put some pressure on Democratic members of Congress as well as Governor James Blanchard. 

In addition, Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) adopted a position opposing federal wilderness designation for these parcels.  The decision by the MUCC Board came at a convention where a resolution to support wilderness was on the agenda and many of the member organizations of MUCC had signed on.  The story told by witnesses is that the wilderness resolution came up before the Board, and the vote counters expected it would pass despite some opposition.  A break was called for by a Board member who also was a Forest Service employee working in the UP.  The entirely male membership of the Board was ushered into the men’s restroom, and when they came out the resolution was voted down.  Jane Elder has said that if she had a chance to replay this scene, she would not let the men’s room door stop her in the future. 

The arguments given by wilderness opponents were the same as those across the country — wilderness and old growth have no value, you can’t do wildlife (read early successional game species) management, there may be valuable timber in there that should be cut, and probably most common was the complaint that you could not drive your vehicle or speed boat into the wilderness areas. 

What was ignored was that as multiple use lands, the National Forests were intended to provide for the full range of uses, and that wilderness areas were in fact part of that range.  Hunting and fishing are allowed in National Forest wildernesses, and many hunters enjoy the solitude and challenge.  More than anything, though, in a state where the three National Forests are crisscrossed with over 10,000 miles of roads, finding areas where you can go under your own power to escape from cars and clearcuts is an experience a large number of forest users relish. 

As I moved into the Sierra Club’s office as a staff person in January 1985, the wilderness fight was the Michigan Chapter’s top priority, and so became my primary job.  Check my next post for details on the fight at the grassroots level and in Congress. 

**************************************************************** 

25 People Who Have Made a Difference in Michigan’s Environment: My second choice for a person who helped shape Michigan’s environmental future also helped shape my approach to advocacy, both through her passion and her guidance: 

Jane Elder 

As a student in the 1970′s, Jane Elder’s passion for protecting the environment took hold, and she joined the campaign to create Michigan’s bottle bill.  Jane became the first staff person for the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter as other Chapter leaders recognized just what an amazing skill she brought to the movement.  She moved to the Midwest Regional Office of Sierra Club in Madison, Wisconsin, and eventually became the Regional Director.  Jane’s deep commitment to protection of wilderness areas in her home state has been a driving force for her throughout her career, and she walked the halls of Congress and hiked the wilderness trails to win this fight.  Her passion also helped to bring converts into the cause, including Dave Dempsey, then a staff person for Congressman Bob Carr, who Jane introduced to the wilds of the UP. 

But Jane’s contribution to protection of Michigan’s environment goes well beyond wilderness.  She founded the Great Lakes Program of the Sierra Club, and was one of the earliest people to work to raise  national awareness and concern about this unparalleled resource.  Jane was a visionary leader in converting the complex science of toxic air pollutants and deposition into policies that eventually became law, a critical phase in reversing degradation of our waters and protecting public health.  And she founded The Biodiversity Project, a non-profit organization dedicated “to protect, restore and conserve North America’s land and water resources .. through strategic, targeted, research-based communications.” 

Jane’s skill and steady hand and voice on the phone from the other side of Lake Michigan helped me to learn how to be an effective organizer, lobbyist and advocate.  Michigan and the Great Lakes region are much richer because of her vision and hard work, as am I.

Post 1: January 15, 1985 to January 15, 2010

Twenty-five years ago I became the newest, and only, employee of the Sierra Club Mackinac (now Michigan) Chapter.  Looking back it is hard to envision having taken any other course.  By January 1985 I was hooked as a volunteer leader at the Chapter, and eager to do even more.  Working for Sierra Club has meant that I can go home at the end of each day and feel proud to tell my family what I worked on, such as protecting our forests, cleaning up air and water pollution, and encouraging citizen engagement. There are few other jobs that offer that perk.

To mark this quarter century, I will be posting 25 recollections, stories and thoughts over the coming weeks and highlighting one of the people who has played an instrumental role in Sierra Club and the environmental movement in Michigan in each post.  I invite you to return regularly and share your experiences as well.

Sierra Club is a venerable, old organization that adapts and evolves with the times.  As a result, this quarter century has never been about staying in one place.  Despite the periodic heartaches, frustration, and insomnia, I’ve had a fantastic career within the Club.

Becoming a Sierra Club volunteer, the gateway to this career, was somewhat of a surprise in retrospect.  My husband Tom and I moved  to Michigan in June 1980  with our 2 month old son Nate as Tom took on his new job as the Director of The Nature Conservancy Michigan Chapter.  While Tom grew up in Michigan, I had been here just a few times visiting relatives, but the  adventure of parenthood and Tom’s new job offered an exciting opportunity to get to know this state.

After a few months of  being a stay at home mom and trying to fit in to a new community, I was eager to re-engage in the issues and causes that we cared about.   To be honest, when Tom suggested that we attend the Conservation Committee meeting of the new Central Michigan Group of the Sierra Club, I was more than a bit skeptical.  My picture was of a hiking group that didn’t take on the kinds of challenges I was looking for.  But we showed up at the meeting in the basement of the downtown Lansing Library to find out more.  My ignorance was pretty darned high — I asked one fellow before the meeting started which committee dealt with environmental issues.  Although I got a puzzled look in response, he politely explained that we were in the right place.

I can’t even remember how exactly the web of Sierra Club got me entangled.  There were calls and requests to attend meetings, and like hundreds of thousands of Sierra Club volunteers I said yes. We hosted Central Michigan Group Conservation Committee meetings at our house, and attended meetings and programs arranged by the Group volunteers.

My first meeting of the Mackinac Chapter Executive Committee was with a handful of others to protest plans to cut the sole, part-time employee at the Chapter.  Like good Sierra Club leaders everywhere, that confrontation apparently encouraged the Chapter leaders to invite me to become active at the Chapter level. Traveling to Washington as a volunteer for a week-long training and lobbying event and serving as Chapter Council Delegate to the national organization helped cement my excitement about the kinds of work this organization could do. In January 1983, with our second son Pete just 2 months old, I became the Mackinac Chapter Chair.

What you don’t realize until you’re part of Sierra Club is that while environmental issues drive our engagement, it is the people of Sierra Club who make a home for the activists, outings leaders, educators and others that populate this amazing organization.  One personal example gives a picture of those relationships.  In the summer of 1983 we experienced a house fire while on vacation up north. With our two small children we headed home dreading the prospect of dealing with this personal disaster.  Within days, however, the Central Michigan Group members, organized by Sue Pemberton, Helen and Al LeBlanc, Dave Dempsey and others, showed up to help us move damaged furniture out of the house.  While common cause brings us together,  personal relationships are at the heart of this massive grassroots organization.

My conversion from volunteer to the Mackinac Chapter’s fourth staff person had a clearly pragmatic aspect to it.  With an extra paycheck we could afford childcare, and I would have an office with a desk, phone, typewriter and the ability to hold complete conversations without wonderful little voices raised to compete for attention.  But there was also a downside: as a volunteer run organization, making the choice to become a staff person meant giving up the opportunities and adventures available to Sierra Club volunteer leaders.  It was the right choice for me, however, and I am fortunate to have been given that chance.

********************************************************

25 People Who Have Made a Difference in Michigan’s Environment: Join me in celebrating some of the remarkable people past and present who have left a positive impact on Michigan’s environment.  Today, I recognize a remarkable man:

Tom Woiwode

If you’re lucky, you can have a partner who not only shares your family life, but is a counselor, an advocate, a shoulder to cry on and a visionary who helps you grow and supports your work unquestioningly.  Tom Woiwode’s passion for protecting Michigan’s environment has played out in an unparalleled career. To recount just a couple of his roles, starting in 1980, Tom built The Nature Conservancy in Michigan from scratch into one of the top Chapters in the nation. Tom founded, supported and continues to work with EarthShare of Michigan, the workplace giving program for environmental and conservation organizations in Michigan.  And during the past nine years, Tom created, built and guided the groundbreaking Southeastern Michigan Greenways Initiative through the Community Foundation of Southeastern Michigan.  My twenty-five years as a Sierra Club employee would have been entirely impossible without Tom’s support. I am extraordinarily grateful to him for that and so much more.