Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment
| Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1921 |
| Headquarters | Constitution Hall P.O. Box 30028 Lansing, Michigan 48909 |
| Employees | 1,400 Permanent 1,600 seasonal |
| Annual budget | $307.4 million (2010) |
| Department executive |
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| Child agencies | |
| Website | michigan.gov/dnr |
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the agency of the state of Michigan charged with maintaining natural resources such as state parks, state forests, and recreation areas. It is governed by a director appointed by the Governor and accepted by the Natural Resources Commission. Currently the Director is Keith Creagh. The DNR has about 1,400 permanent employees, and over 1,600 seasonal employees.
In 1921, the Michigan Legislature created the Department of Conservation and a Conservation Commission to manage the state's natural resources. The first director of the department was John Baird.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources was created in 1965 as a part of the constitution required reorganization of the executive branch via Executive Organization Act of 1965. Under Governor John Engler, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality was formed from the department's environmental regulation functions and the appointment of the Department's commission chair was transferred to the governor. Several DNR boards and commissions were also abolished with their powers transferred to the department director.
In 2009, Governor Jennifer Granholm moved to merge Department of Environmental Quality back into the department and appoint the reunited department's director instead of the Natural Resources Commission. The state merged the two agencies together to form the Department of Natural Resources and Environment. In 2010, however, Governor elect Rick Snyder has named Rodney Stokes as the new DNR director, and has chosen to divide the DNRE into the original designations of Natural Resource Commission and the DNR divisions. Rodney Stokes says his first priority is to reverse the decline of hunting in Michigan, by eliminating the extended seasons, reducing the amount of antlerless licenses in Northern Michigan, improving habitat and removing license requirements for coyote and wolf.
On January 4, 2011, Governor Rick Snyder issued Executive Order 2011-1, which eliminates the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) and creates the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
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