The Michigan Department of Natural Resources plans to clear 420 acres of state forest near Gaylord to lease the area for solar development, selling out sportsmen for a project officials acknowledge could increase the state’s carbon footprint.

“Mind-numbing decisions like this are absolute proof that the DNR is completely rotten to its core,” state Rep. Ken Borton, R-Gaylord, said in a statement. “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.”

Scot Whitcomb, the DNR’s director of public lands, confirmed to MLive the department will soon solicit bids to lease 420 acres in Otsego County’s Hayes Township for solar development following an analysis of 1,200 acres near a major power transmission line and adjacent 200-megawatt solar farm on private land.

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The decision, he said, is part of a broader plan to lease 4,000 acres of public land across the state to address two pressing issues: dwindling DNR revenues from hunting and fishing license sales, and Democrats’ goal of forcing 100% “clean energy” by 2040.

“Not incredibly popular with everyone,” Whitcomb said of the project. “I will be frank about that.”

MLive submitted a public information request to the DNR for details on the plan and is still awaiting a response.

Whitcomb described the property as “less than pristine,” featuring areas that were previously clear cut and replanted with red pine, as well as areas that are forested, with oil and gas well heads.

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An existing high-voltage power line nearby would minimize the need for additional connecting powerlines, he said.

“I would rather make the development a little bigger here and avoid creating new development elsewhere that has those same impacts,” Whitcomb told MLive.

Research from Harvard University and Mass Audubon highlights how clear cutting forest land for solar development results in a net increase in carbon by eliminating the only feasible means of removing the element from the atmosphere.

The clear cutting approach also devastates wildlife by fragmenting habitat, impacting biodiversity and climate resilience.

While Whitcomb acknowledged to MLive the Michigan Healthy Climate Plan, approved by Democrats and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2023, directs officials to “avoid land-use conversion that causes a net increase in emissions and prioritize land uses that reduce emissions.” He argued the state could buy other land with its solar proceeds to offset the negative impacts near Gaylord.

Borton and other Republicans in Lansing are questioning whether the DNR has the authority to lease public land for private use. The vast majority of public land in Michigan was purchased with revenues from the state’s hunters and anglers, with use restrictions that are supposed to prioritize their interests and wildlife management.

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

She continued: “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.”

Republicans who will take control of the Michigan House next week note the illogical plan for solar development in state forests is only one of the many consequences of Democrats’ plan to close reliable natural gas plants and replace it with less reliable wind and solar.

They point to predictions monthly electric bills could nearly double, as well as other aspects of the plan that shifted siting authority for “green energy” projects from local governments to the Michigan Public Service Commission, which is comprised of three bureaucrats appointed by Whitmer.

“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,” state Rep. Mike Hoadley, R-Au Gres, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, we are seeing the results of that with this project that’s being forced into northern Michigan.”

Hoadley noted that cutting down trees in the name of “green energy” is counterintuitive.

“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,” he said. “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?”