I am very disappointed to learn that the Department of Natural Resources intends to destroy more than 400 acres of state forest land west of Gaylord to clear the way for solar farms.

This plot was made in complete contrast to the DNR’s responsibility to protect Michigan’s wildlife and forests. Simply put, any person involved in this decision should be fired. Clearing forests in the name of climate action isn’t just misguided – it’s downright delusional.

In fall 2023, legislative Democrats rammed through radical green energy legislation mandating 100% “clean” energy by 2040, closing reliable natural gas plants and increasing dependence on less reliable wind and solar power. An expert analysis projects that average monthly electric bills could nearly double because of the new laws.

The plan also gave the Michigan Public Service Commission, a three-member panel of unelected bureaucrats, authority to approve green energy projects, taking away local communities’ discretion over the placement of wind turbines and solar farms.

Rural areas like many of the communities I represent will bear the brunt of this government overreach, despite many rural areas opposing such projects and local elected officials voting against bills that pushed them.

Rumors have surfaced that the DNR intends to clear cut another 1,000 acres to replace with solar fields. I am committed to doing everything I can to shed light on this issue and halt the misguided deforestation of state land, as are my Republican colleagues in the Legislature.