The Michigan Department of Natural Resources today announced it will offer surplus public land for sale by sealed-bid auction between Jan. 12 and Feb. 10, 2016. The auction will feature 22 parcels located in counties mainly in the eastern Upper Peninsula and in northern lower Michigan, including Alpena, Arenac, Cheboygan, Chippewa, Crawford, Gladwin, Mackinac, and St. Clair.

Properties range in size from less than an acre to 240 acres. These lands are isolated from other DNR-managed land, are difficult to manage and provide limited public recreation benefit. Several of the parcels are forested and have riverside or lake frontage and are better suited for private ownership. In particular, this auction is highlighting six parcels amounting to more than 680 acres in Adams Township, Arenac County.

Information on the auction, including the minimum bid price, property descriptions and conditions of sale is available at www.michigan.gov/landforsale. Property listings will not be available for bid until the auction start date (Jan. 12). At that time, instructions for submitting a bid and printable bid forms will be provided at www.michigan.gov/landforsale. Sealed bids must be postmarked by midnight Feb. 10 and will be opened Feb. 22. Read more

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WASHINGTON –On Friday, the American Farm Bureau Federation and a coalition of agricultural and builder groups asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower court ruling that allows the Environmental Protection Agency to micromanage local land use and development decisions under the guise of implementing the federal Clean Water Act. The lower court’s ruling, according to the petition, “opens the door for a dramatic expansion of federal power” and must be overturned.

Download a copy of the petition filed by AFBF here. http://www.fb.org/tmp/uploads/ChesapeakeBayTMDLcertpetition.pdf

The lawsuit arose in the context of EPA’s so-called “blueprint” for restoring the Chesapeake Bay, but Farm Bureau points out that the issue at stake is national in scope.

“It’s about whether EPA has the power to override local decisions on what land can be farmed, where homes can be built, and where schools, hospitals, roads and communities can be developed,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman. “This is nothing less than federal super-zoning authority. As much as we all support the goal of achieving a healthy Chesapeake Bay, we have to fight this particular process for getting there.” Read more

Technical difficulties beyond my understanding had put Thinking Afield out of commission for a few days, but we’re back strong as ever.  Hopefully, the nightmare is over.