ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – For the Delta Conservation District, January 1st brings an end to its management contract with the county, as well as the retirement of District Manager Rory Mattson. As the new year approaches, the Conservation District Board is making efforts to get closure on several ongoing issues.
For months, the board has been focused on a potential “conflict of interest” involving Mattson and part of the Cornell Forest purchased by the county through the DNR Trust Fund. According to Conservation District Board Chair Joe Kaplan, Mattson limited public access to the land by purchasing property adjacent to the forest and asking the Delta County Board of Commissioners to modify an easement agreement.
In August, the Conservation District reached out to the Department of the Attorney General about providing legal services in the matter. At the board’s meeting on Wednesday, December 13, Kaplan provided the latest update.
“I spoke with the Attorney General and in writing, they are willing to review Rory’s employment contract to find out what our obligations may or may not be on that,” he said. “I will be sending that in.”
With the forest entering the county’s management, Kaplan says the issue is now largely in the County Commission’s hands. The DNR has given the Board of Commissioners until December 22 to answer questions regarding complaints the DNR received about a lack of access to the Cornell Forest. However, the Board of Commissioners is seeking a 90-day extension.
Now, the Conservation District’s major concern involves ponds Kaplan says were dug last year.
“The county didn’t authorize it, but they paid for it,” he told WZMQ 19.
Kaplan brought the issue to the County Board of Commissioners on December 5, saying, “They’re not wildlife ponds. They weren’t constructed as wildlife ponds. They were put in as a barrier.”
Kaplan wants to ensure the Conservation District would not be held liable if someone were to get injured.
“If really the intent was to enhance those ponds for wildlife, why is there a sign that says, ‘Danger, wildlife ponds, deep water, stay away’?” he said. “There’s probably not another sign like that on a lake or a river or a wildlife pond in the state of Michigan. That’s something that you put around a sewage pond that you put up barbed wire fencing. We do not want to carry forward a liability for something that we put in place under our watch.”
Looking forward, Kaplan says the Conservation District is preparing for a new year focused on Delta County’s natural resources.
“I know there’s been a lot of distraction over these parks and how they’re managed, but we’re washing our hands of that and we’re going to provide high-quality conservation to this community,” he said. “We really need to start looking at a future of replanting and getting core healthy forests, early intervention on invasive species, preventing hemlock woolly adelgid from getting a foothold into Delta County. Our core is agricultural assistance, conservation, and forestry.”
The Delta Conservation District will begin interviewing candidates for the district manager position this week.
