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Bergman voices opposition to Camp Grayling expansion

Michigan's first district congressman Jack Bergman.
Rick Brewer
/
WCMU File
Congressman Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet, represents Michigan first congressional district, which includes the entire upper peninsula and northern Michigan.

Michigan Congressman Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet, says he opposes state plans to double the size of Camp Grayling. The facility is the nation’s largest National Guard training facility located in Crawford County.

The retired Marine Lieutenant General called Camp Grayling’s proposed 162,000 expansion “drastic” in a recent op-ed to the Petoskey News-Review. Bergman also cited his record of support for Camp Grayling throughout his time in Congress.

But community organizations and agencies ranging from conservation groups to county commissioners in northern Michigan have opposed the expansion for months.

Bergman wrote the level of agreement between these elected officials that oppose the expansion is nearly impossible to find in today’s political environment.

He wrote “we don’t have to look very far to see government entities—many with good intentions that have expanded beyond their intended scope of operation.”

Rick Brewer has been news director at WCMU since February 2024.