Early WMEAC Victory Named a Michigan Legal Milestone
One of the West Michigan Environmental Action Council’s earliest actions was a lengthy campaign to fight oil exploration in the Pigeon River Country State Forest led by then Executive Director Roger Conner. The resulting lawsuit between the WMEAC and the Natural Resources Commission lasted nearly a decade. Last week, the State Bar of Michigan recognized “Elk, Oil and the Environment” as its 35th legal milestone.
A dedication ceremony was held at noon on Wednesday, June 9 at Treetops Resort Wilderness Cabin just east of Gaylord. The bronze plaque will be permanently installed outside the Otsego County Courthouse located at 225 W. Main St. in Gaylord.
The 91,000-acre forest—home to a substantial elk herd and sitting on huge reserves of oil and natural gas—was the scene of one of the longest, most controversial environmental battles in Michigan history. Oil companies and environmental groups engaged in a series of lawsuits, consent orders, legislation, and compromises.
A 1979 landmark Michigan Supreme Court case (West Michigan Environmental Action Council, Inc. v. Natural Resources Commission) eventually led to an extraordinary agreement between state government, the oil industry, and environmental groups. It allowed tightly regulated drilling in the southern one-third of the forest, which decades later has yielded valuable gas and oil reserves while the elk herd has continued to grow.
“The Pigeon River dispute and ultimate resolution is just as relevant today as it was 30 years ago,” said State Bar President Charles Toy, who will share master of ceremony duties with State Bar Executive Director Janet Welch. “It not only set standards for oil drilling in Michigan, but it became a national and international model for resource management.”
Speakers at the ceremony included: · Roger L. Conner, former executive director of the West Michigan Environmental Action Council; · Webb A. Smith, senior attorney for Foster, Swift, Collins and Smith of Lansing, who represented Shell Oil Co.; · Thomas L. Brown, former Ingham County Circuit Court judge, and · Ken Glasser, chair of the Pigeon River Advisory Council.
The State Bar’s Michigan Legal Milestone program was developed in 1986 to authenticate and recognize historical landmarks in Michigan’s legal history. The program is overseen by the Bar’s Michigan Legal Milestones Subcommittee, chaired by Michael Ellis, which is part of the Bar’s Law-Related Education and Public Outreach Committee, chaired by Jeffrey Paulsen.
