LANSING, MI— State Senator Ed McBroom is opposing a Senate resolution urging Congress to designate four more wilderness areas in the Ottawa National Forest.
Affected would be Ehlco Area, the Trap Hills, the Norwich Plains, and a 2,000-acre expansion of the Sturgeon River Gorge Wilderness.
Sponsors of the resolution say it would protect the region from environmental loss or destruction, maintain habitats for wildlife and threatened species, and preserve watersheds.
McBroom says the designation would have a negative impact on the region’s economy and hurt tourism by limiting certain forms of outdoor recreation. He adds it would end management of the forests, making those tracts more susceptible to fire, disease and invasive species.
