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The new Michigan Legislature is having a field day in trying to figure where it should cut programs to balance the budget. Some proposals are asking for concessions by labor forces paid with public funds. Others are restricting programs which will eliminate some former participants from continuing.

One thing being heard in some political circles is how the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) is claiming to be generally poor, yet they sit on top of mountains of money. Can they both be correct?

By a vote of the people in the State of Michigan, the accounts holding revenue from payer sources (the license and permit buying general public who use the outdoors for business and recreation), are restricted from use outside of their original intent.

Prior to that, these same funds, while restricted by policy, could have been transferred or even pirated to other uses by the legislature. At least one attempt was made just a few years ago to divert funds derived in forestry to other outside uses.

The vote changed policy to make the accounts constitutionally protected. Their respective solvency is where mis-understanding of the system, by some, is now occurring.

It doesn’t take too long to understand that this money cannot be lumped into one account and used for any given purpose outside of its original intent. Those of us who manage a home or business lump all income into savings and checking to be used at our discretion, often times prioritized by need. The restricted funds cannot be overlapped for other uses. Some have tried and mixed actual use with ulterior intent, but the Natural Resources Commission put all divisions of the MDNR on notice that any variances will not be tolerated.

When we voted for restricting these funds, I wish we would have gone one step further and incorporated the Natural Resources Trust Fund into the package.

In 1976, the Michigan Legislature created the Kammer Recreational Land Trust Fund to provide a source of funding for the public acquisition of recreation lands. The source of the funds was the sale of oil, gas, and mineral leases and royalties from their extraction on state lands.

Today, the fund exists as the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF). With this source of funding, state and local units of government are able to acquire land for public recreation and for protection of land for its environmental importance or scenic beauty. A limited amount of funds may be used for the development of public outdoor recreation facilities.

Bills introduced in this legislature, if adopted, will impact the distribution of money in the MNRTF.

House Bill 4021 (HB4021), for instance, would only leave about 20% of the original total for the projects mentioned above. The rest would go to Transportation (60%) and Aeronautics (20%). To accomplish this, a strategy needs to be set to make it seem like the right thing to do, even though it is contrary to the original intent.

The first thing to do is create the perception that the money is handled in a loose irresponsible manner. You need to imply there is no accountability and that disbursements are done from within the “Good ‘Ol Boys Club”.

The next thing to do is take expenditures out of context, highlighting big ticket items without explanation for the high price paid and thus achieve a sticker shock value.

In time, the public will refer to the MNRTF as a flowing well of money that should be spent otherwise and that’s when the elected official sets the hook and reels in the votes.

The truth is, before an application is approved for funding by the MNRTF Board, there are a number of steps that before you can begin a project, and they are as follows:

> The appropriation of funds must pass the legislature.

> Recommendation of the approval of the grants must come from the Administrative Board within the Department of Management and Budget.

> There must be execution of a formal Project Agreement between the Department and the grantee.

The other criteria specified within the MNRTF application guidelines is so complex that most communities applying either have an appointed grants person on staff, or hire consultants from outside sources who specialize in the process to compete for an allocation. There is also a requirement that public hearings take place to provide input on certain projects.

While there is no single mold in which to model projects, it is clear that no one can slip through an application without close scrutiny which is built in to protect the integrity of the account.

The Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund money comes from the sale of non-renewable natural resources and, like all other restricted funds, should remain for projects related to public land and recreation, protected from raiding for ulterior motives.