GRAYRING, Michigan — Plans to expand Camp Grayling National Guard base are not well supported among elected leaders in northern Michigan.

The base spans parts of Crawford, Kalkaska, and Ossego counties, each of which formally opposes the Guard’s proposed 162,000-acre expansion.

Neighboring Roscommon County also opposes the expansion, as do several county road commissions and about 30 different townships within the four county areas.

Conservation groups, which lead organized opposition, are increasingly hostile to the local government’s proposal. They see this as a clear sign that expansion is unpopular, and say it would be a slap in the face for residents living around the base if the Michigan Department of Natural Resources approves the proposal.

“I don’t know how often that will happen, if the government agrees on how to do it in this situation,” said Joe Hemming, president of Anglers of the O Sable. “Hopefully Lansing will take notice.”

“This is incredibly unpopular in northern Michigan.”

DNR closed for public comment this Wednesday. say it On February 2, it said it had already received “thousands of comments” since June last year and was evaluating the input.

A government agency, at the request of the National Guard, is deciding whether to lease land in the adjacent state more than twice the size of Camp Graying free of charge for 20 years.

The proposed expansion of the base, which coincides with expansion of military airspace in northern Michigan, will allow jets to fly as low as 300 feet in some locations. The National Guard says it needs additional land for drone, space, cyber and electronic warfare training and expanded airspace for modern fighter operations.

Ossego County Commissioner Jonathan Turnbull said the radio silence of the DNR and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer about the proposal has raised anxiety and concern among local voters.

There is a perception that the base expansion will primarily benefit defense contractors, said Turnbull, a retired U.S. Army major at Gaylord. blind person When an ISIS suicide bomber attacked a school in Syria in 2019.

It was fueled by remarks made by the state’s National Guard leader DBusiness Magazine article last Julyoutlined the role of Camp Grayling and the larger military footprint in Michigan in helping the private sector win contracts.

2020the Michigan National Guard began a new focus on “all domains” operations that integrate sea, air, land, space, and cyber warfare. State bases rebranded as National All Area Warfare Centers (NADWC).

Possibility of state “all domains” training Used as a selling point Whitmer and state legislative delegations proposed to persuade the Pentagon to replace the aging A-10 squadron at Selfridge Air National Guard Base with a long-term F-35 fighter squadron.

NADWC was “a way of bringing all the separate entities together under one brand and presenting them to the Michigan and domestic markets as a harvestable resource,” said Rear Admiral Paul Rogers. Michigan’s lieutenant general told his DBusiness.

Camp Grayling’s commanding officer, Colonel Scott Myers, told the magazine, “We’ve had calls coming in from private companies looking to get into this space.”

Turnbull and other local officials in northern Michigan say this kind of talk, which came out shortly after the Camp Grayling expansion plans were dropped, was unacceptable to the base’s neighbors.

“They’re asking, ‘What does it do for us?'” Turnbull says. The point is “big risk, small reward”.

The Pentagon already has weapons testing facilities at the Aberdeen and Yuma proving grounds in Maryland and Arizona, he said.

“Rather than turn our beautiful North into a proving ground, why can’t they do it there?”

The proposed expansion is widely opposed by local government legislative bodies, but not all directors and members of those committees think alike.

Republican Crawford County Highway Commissioner Ron Larson, who supports the expansion, characterized the opposition as “political revenge” funded by conservation groups.

“Armed men and women deserve the opportunity to train with the necessary equipment in conditions comparable to those in Eastern Europe,” Larson said.

Crawford County Commissioner Laurie Jamison was the only person to vote against the resolution formally against the expansion at the Jan. 26 meeting.

Jamison, however, personally opposed the expansion, saying she only voted against the resolution because voters in her district, including the city of Grayling, did not express strong opposition to the expansion to city hall.

The resolution listed the reasons for its opposition to the concerns of members, the potential for increased traffic, the impact on roads, the environment, and natural resources, and the county’s “health and general well-being of citizens and valuable natural resources.” negative impact of

Before the vote, Jamison said she received “threatening” emails from people who promised to oust her from office if she didn’t support the resolution.

“This was a very controversial topic,” she said.

Jamison says he shares many of the same concerns raised by expansion supporters, particularly regarding Camp Grayling’s efforts to clean up toxic PFAS chemicals around the base and its airfield north of town. Stated.

The National Guard’s handling of PFAS is often cited by expansion opponents who are upset that the base’s toxic materials are intruding into the Au Sable and Manistee river systems. Concerns that Gard is not adequately addressing pollution were highlighted in December by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) local supervisor, who told him in December that unless Gard improved its cleanup, the DNR would be forced to expand. asked not to approve.

Jim Knight, trustee of Bear Lake Township in Kalkaska County, said pollution was a major concern, raising questions about how the Guard would handle the additional land.

“They have already trained 230 square miles,” says Knight. “They don’t really understand why they need so much land.”

In an email to MLive, the Michigan National Guard characterized itself as an “additional user” of state land under the proposed expansion.

“This request for Camp Grayling to access DNR land as an additional user is a reminder to servicemen who risk their lives to support U.S. national security that they are doing the best they can to maintain their safety and success.” training opportunities, and has always been,” said Capt. Andrew Layton.

The DNR has said it has not reached a deadline to make a decision “beyond ensuring it takes the time to complete a thorough analysis of the proposal,” spokesperson Ed Golder said. .

Golder said public comment, including comments from local governments, is an important part of the evaluation. “We will also consider applicable laws and regulations and the potential impact of the proposed activity,” he said.

“It’s all taken into consideration.”

Lansing’s local government lobbying group has not stepped into the matter. The Michigan City League, Michigan Township Association and Michigan County Association (MAC) have not taken official positions.

MAC spokesperson Derek Melot said the organization does not have a stance on the issue, but has received feedback from counties in northern Michigan.

“We are hearing considerable opposition to expansion from members in the north based on surrounding land rights and economic development and other extenuating requirements to accommodate expansion,” Merot said.

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