Michigan’s conservation districts are raising concerns as they face increasing financial challenges and potential cuts in federal funding. 

Officials from the Michigan Association of Conservation Districts are asking lawmakers in Lansing to boost state funding to help support the many environmental programs managed by these local groups. 

“The main goal of conservation districts is to provide locally led efforts to protect and manage natural resources in each community,” said Rivka Hodgkinson, director of the Michigan Association of Conservation Districts. “One of the strengths of these districts is that they can respond to the specific needs of their local areas.”

Michigan has 75 conservation districts that work to connect private landowners with state and federal resources. Their work covers urban areas, farmland, forests, and shoreline environments. Since more than half of Michigan’s forests are privately owned, educating and supporting landowners is very important.

For example, in the Herman Vogler Conservation Area along Lake Huron, forester Jacob Grochowski helps landowners manage their land responsibly. Grochowski says most of his time is spent talking with landowners.

“My main job involves visiting their land, discussing their goals, and exploring management options,” he said. “I then put together reports to help guide their decisions.” 

He also assists landowners in qualifying for programs like Michigan’s Qualified Forest Program, which offers tax benefits to landowners who manage their privately-owned forests in sustainable ways.

“This program gives a tax break and exemption from certain school taxes to encourage active management of their forests,” Grochowski said. “The idea is to make it more affordable for people to keep their land as forests rather than developing it.”

However, conservation districts often don’t have enough staff to do all the work they need. 

“I have my full-time job helping landowners with forest management, but I also try to handle other district tasks to keep services running,” Grochowski said.

Currently, districts get about $40,000 a year from the state to operate, but Hodgkinson says that’s not enough.

“Our biggest challenge is that we have a lot of work to do across the state, but not enough funding to do it,” she said. “We’re required to do this work, but there’s no guarantee we’ll get the money to cover it.”

There is also concern about funding cuts at the federal level, specifically from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). 

“Reducing staff at NRCS and USDA offices doesn’t reduce the need for conservation efforts in those communities,” Hodgkinson said. “Unless they receive more money to support their work, they’ll be asked to do more with less.”

In Lansing, Hodgkinson is pushing for an additional $10 million in state funding. 

“Having stable staffing in key positions would make conservation efforts more consistent and effective throughout the state,” she said. 

She warns that if support isn’t increased, there could be long-term problems. 

“If we don’t take early steps now to conserve resources voluntarily, we’ll face bigger costs in the future,” she said. “It’s cheaper to prevent problems now than to fix them later.”

This story is part of WDET’s ongoing series, The Detroit Tree Canopy Project.