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Dozens of parks will close, fish planting will be scaled back
and fewer conservation officers will be on the job unless
recreational licenses and fees are increased, the Michigan
Department of Natural Resources said Tuesday. http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/news-47/1193173773205260.xml&storylist=newsmichigan The DNR released a memo outlining a series of cutbacks — some beginning as early as Nov. 1 — that will be ordered if the state budget being negotiated by legislators includes no additional revenue for the department. None of the $1.3 billion in state tax increases approved earlier this month will go to the DNR, which draws less than 5 percent of its money from the general fund, the state's primary checkbook. More than 75 percent of the department's budget comes from licenses and fees for activities such as hunting, fishing and timber cutting. |