A fight is brewing in the Michigan Legislature over management of state forest land, as Sen. Tom Casperson, an Escanaba Republican and the committee chairman, tries to derail a plan aimed mostly at nurturing a diverse mix of animal and plant life. Environmentalists think the bill would force the DNR to put economic interests ahead of other considerations while limiting the department's ability to base decisions on science as it manages 4.6 million acres of state-owned forestland.

For the full article, see "Lawmakers to Debate Forest Diversity Plan", Traverse City Record Eagle, February 14, 2013.