State Reps. Ken Borton and Mike Hoadley and State Sen. Michele Hoitenga on Thursday called for mass firings within the Department of Natural Resources after recent reporting exposed a DNR plot to destroy more than 400 acres of forest, located just west of Gaylord, to clear the way for solar farms. The legislators said that any person involved in this decision should be fired, arguing that this proposal was made in complete contrast to the DNR’s responsibility to protect Michigan’s wildlife and forests.

“Mind-numbing decisions like this are absolute proof that the DNR is completely rotten to its core,” said Borton, R-Gaylord. “This deforestation will destroy habitats and effectively kill wildlife. Let me make that clear, the DNR is choosing to kill wildlife so they can build solar panels.

“We’ve all read the Lorax. If he thought like the DNR, he’d only be speaking for trees for as long as it took to fill his chainsaw with gas after the solar industry waved a fat wad of cash in his face.”

The legislators questioned whether the DNR even had the authority to lease public land for private use, especially when that decision leads to the destruction of wildlife and forests.

“The people who made this absurd decision signed up for a job to protect our natural resources. Their department is supposed to stand up for outdoor enthusiasts; instead, they sold us out,” said Hoitenga, R-Manton.

“Just as the state rightfully holds citizens accountable for their use of unethical conservation actions—likewise, people are demanding accountability from the government for their unethical conservation management practices.”

In fall 2023, legislative Democrats rammed through radical green energy legislation mandating 100% “clean” energy by 2040, closing reliable natural gas plants and increasing dependence on less reliable wind and solar power. An expert analysis projects that average monthly electric bills could nearly double because of the new laws.

The plan also gave the Michigan Public Service Commission, a three-member panel of state bureaucrats, authority to approve green energy projects, taking away local communities’ discretion over the placement of wind turbines and solar farms.

“It was clear that Democrat-backed laws enacted during the most recent term would strip local control and lessen local input when it came to these decisions,” said Hoadley, R-Au Gres. “Unfortunately, we are seeing the results of that with this project that’s being forced onto northern Michigan. Rural areas were always going to bear the brunt of this government overreach, even when a lot of rural areas don’t want these projects and their elected officials voted against bills that pushed them. What good is so-called green energy when we’re cutting down hundreds of acres of trees to put in the infrastructure that will support it?”

###