Michigan Trout Unlimited Members,

As many of you know, = the Governor recently issued an Executive Order to merge the Departments of Natural Resources and Environmental Quality. Although we support= the recombination of the Departments, Michigan Trout Unlimited is grea= tly concerned with several elements of Executive Order 45. Several items proposed in the Executive Order are not good for natural resources management. Unless pressure is put on the Governor by the legislatu= re to fix it, sound science based natural resources management will be set b= ack decades. The Senate has already passed Senate Concurrent Resolution= 32 to reject the executive order; however, both chambers must formally reject the Executive Order by resolution. = The House needs to pass House Concurrent Resolution 32 by December 7, 2009 for Executive Order 45 to be rejected. Due to the partisan nature of this issue it is most important to contact Democratic Representatives,= the Speaker of the House, the Majority Floor Leader, and the Speaker Pro Temp= ore.

Below you will find information about the negative aspects of the Executive Order. The problems and corresponding bull= et points can be used as “talking points” when you call your legislators. For more detailed information about the Executive Order and MITU’s position please visit http://www.michiga= ntu.org/.

Why overturn Execu= tive Order 45

1) The Governor will now appoint the Director inst= ead of the Natural Resources Commission (NRC)

a. This increases the political natur= e of the position

= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; = ; = i. Science based management is critical to our natural resources, a Director appointed by the Governor may not have a strong nat= ural resources background.

= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; = ; ii. Having a Director appointed by the Governor could cause significant changes in Natural Resource Management w= ith the election of each new Governor, it is important to have continuity and consistency in management.

b. Decreases transparency in the hiring of the Director<= o:p>

= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; = ; = i. When the director is hired by the bi-partisan, citizen represented Natural Resources Commission a wide search for candidates is conducted and information about the candidates is made public.=

= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; = ; ii. If a Director is appointed by the Governor information about possible candidates will not be available and = the candidate will not have to move through the Natural Resource Commission f= or approval.

2) The Water Resources Conservation Advisory Council (WR= CAC) is abolished

a. The WRCAC is responsible for addre= ssing shortcomings in Michigan’s water withdrawal law and making recommendation on them to the legislature, without this council our water law will quickly become outdated and ridden with glitches. Having the best water withdrawal law possible is cru= cial to the health of Michigan’s coldwater streams.

b. Abolishing the WRCAC does not save money from the sta= te budget, all representatives on the council volunteer their time and expen= ses.

3) The department name should remain Department of Natur= al Resources (DNR) rather than being changed to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE)

a. Changing DNR to DNRE on every deca= l, patch, sign, webpage, and stationary that currently exists will waste a l= arge amount of time and a very large amount of money.

b. This simple alteration in name (keeping it as the Department of Natural Resources) is prudent in these hard economic times.=

What to Do - Conta= ct the Speaker of the House and your state Representative!=

Telephone calls to Representatives encouraging them to vote in favor of House Concurrent Resolution 32 are best, but emails are great too. Call your represe= ntative and tell them, using the points above, why you want House Concurrent Resolution 32 voted on and passed. Tell your representative you = are a sportsman or woman and you want Executive order 45 rejected.

Please contact the Sp= eaker of the House, the Majority Floor Leader, and the Speaker Pro Tempore dire= ctly to encourage them to bring House Concurrent Resolution 32 to vote. Call or email Andy Dillon at: 888-737-3455= or andydillon@house.m= i.gov. Call or email Majority Floor Leader Kathy Angerer at 517-373-1792 or kathyangerer@house= .mi.gov. Call or email Speaker Pro Tempore Pam Byrnes at 517-373-0828 or pambyrnes@house.mi= .gov.

Click here to find y= our state Representative. <= /span>

It is very easy to ca= ll your representative and they really listen to feedback from their constituents. It is very important we let our representatives know = we do not support Executive Order 45 as it is written and want House Concurrent Resolution 32 voted on and passed. Forward this emai= l to any sportsmen and women you know as well as anyone you know that cares ab= out Michigan’s natural resources management, encourage them to at least send a quick email to their representative sta= ting that Executive Order 45 is not supported by those who care about natural resources in Michigan!

Kristin Thomas

Aquatic Ecologis= t

Michigan Trout Unlimited=

P.O. Box 442

DeWitt<= /st1:City>, MI 48820

616-460-0477