Alpena resident Matt McCormack owns about 80 acres of land. Like many property owners in northern Michigan, his property was torn up by March’s historic ice storm.
“I’ve had a chainsaw, rake, and wheelbarrow in my hands since the storm,” he said.
During the storm, people struggled to get power and communication lines back up. The new challenge is how to manage the debris and some counties are managing better than others.
In Alpena and Presque Isle counties, there was a high demand for debris drop-off sites after the storm, but officials say it has slowed down. Counties have either closed or are preparing to close their sites down.
“The nice thing is you see the community coming together and you see individuals not only cleaning up their own yards but bringing their neighbors' debris and stuff in as well,” Alpena County Administrator Jesse Osmer said. “We've been managing pretty well so far. We found a small parcel of land that the county owned near our airport, and we've had no issues at all.”
However, in Montmorency County, the need for sites is still significant and people are struggling to find appropriate spots. Montmorency County Controller Aprille Williamson said they have been working to open back up the county’s three approved debris sites.
“We had to close them up because…the Road Commission was going to start crushing gravel at our two county sites, and then we got a little full at our Briley site, which (was) volunteered by a private landowner,” Williamson said.
The county has been waiting to get its Briley site cleared, but woodchippers and landscapers have been in high demand, making it hard to get debris sites cleared quickly.
One suggestion from Williamson and David Kowalski, the superintendent for the Presque Isle Road Commission, was to get more assistance from the state when it comes to contracting workers to help mulch and clean debris or using state-owned land for more sites.
“I don't see the State of Michigan or the (Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR)) opening up any of their gravel pits to help us out,” Kowalski said. “Why is it that the road commissions are the only ones that are willing to help out anybody?”
Kerry Heckman, a DNR public information officer for storm response, said that the DNR is limited to only working on state land and does not have the capacity to take on debris from private landowners.
“We have to focus on the land that we're responsible for managing,” Heckman said. “It's going to take us a long time to get that cleaned up. We don't have the ability to go beyond our scope and our focus and try and address issues on privately owned lands.”
Around a quarter of all state land (919,500 acres) was destroyed during the storm, according to Heckman.
She said there are a few things property owners can do to manage their debris:
“Obviously chipping, again that's not something that the (DNR)can help with, but if you have a neighborhood or a number of people that you could work with together to pay for a chipper to come out,” she said. “Also, burn it. Make sure that there's a permit in place, and that permits are being issued so that we're not in a situation that might result in a wildfire, because that's obviously something nobody wants.”
Heckman also suggested breaking debris down and piling it up for campfires or for a wood stove later in the year.
While the DNR can’t directly help with private land, Heckman said that the DNR is working with the U.S. Forest Service to help connect private landowners to the Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP).
She said that they are still in the works of completing the program for Michiganders who are struggling to restore their woods.
“That resource can help pay for I believe 75% of the cost for restoring private forest land that was impacted by the storm,” Heckman said. “That's something that's underway and we're trying to assist with.”
More information about the DNR’s response to the ice storm can be found on their website.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is a financial supporter of WCMU. We report on them as we do with any other organization.
This story was produced by the Michigan News Group Internship Program, a collaboration between WCMU Public Media and local newspapers in central and northern Michigan. The program’s mission is to train the next generation of journalists and combat the rise of rural news deserts.
