Mirsnews.com Mail - Keith J. Charters Traverse City State Park... https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ed2e7260d0&view=pt...
Rita LaMoreaux
Keith J. Charters Traverse City State Park Renamed for Longtime NRC Member, Ardent Conservationist 1 message
Warner, Casey (DNRE)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 21, 2011
Contact: Mary Dettloff, 517-335-3014
Keith J. Charters Traverse City State Park Renamed for Longtime NRC Member, Ardent Conservationist
Traverse City State Park today was renamed in honor of the longtime chair of the Michigan Natural Resources Commission (NRC), ardent conservationist and Traverse City resident, Keith J. Charters. The park will now be known as the Keith J. Charters Traverse City State Park.
“It is a true honor to rename this park after Keith Charters,” said DNR Director Rodney Stokes. “Keith has given so much to the cause of conserving, protecting and managing our state’s natural resources, encouraging better public land growth and management policies and recruiting and retaining hunters and anglers in our state.”
Charters was appointed to the NRC by then-Governor John Engler in 1994 and was reappointed in 1999, 2002 and 2006. Charters was appointed chair of the NRC in 1996, and served in that role until he retired from the commission in 2010.
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“From the far-most northern tip of the Upper Peninsula to the farthest southern border of the Lower Peninsula and from shoreline to shoreline, no one person has been more dedicated or committed to maintaining and preserving Michigan's natural resources than Keith J. Charters,” said current NRC Chair Tim Nichols of Fowlerville. “Renaming the Traverse City State Park the Keith J. Charters Traverse City State Park is a very fitting tribute for all Keith's efforts.”
“Throughout the years, Keith did many things for the Department of Natural Resources that no one will ever know about. That is the difference between a leader and a commissioner,” said current NRC Commission John Madigan of Munising. “Renaming the state park in his honor is a perfect way to acknowledge his dedication to Michigan's outdoors.”
A longtime conservationist, hunter, angler and steward of the land, Charters currently serves on the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund Board. He was first appointed in 1992 and served until he resigned in 2003. He was then again appointed to board in June 2006 then resigned September 2006, served for the last few years as the NRC representative to the board, and was eventually reappointed by the Governor in 2010. He was chair of the board February 1995 through December 1995. During Charters’ tenure on the Trust Fund Board, it has awarded more than $563 million in grants to communities across the state for public recreation development and acquisition projects.
Keith J. Charters Traverse City State Park is a 47-acre park located two miles from downtown Traverse City on Grand Traverse Bay. It includes 343 campsites, a rental cottage, a teepee and mini-cabins. The day use area of the park includes a quarter-mile of shoreline on Grand Traverse Bay, paved recreational trails, a beach house and playground. For more information on the park, go to www.michigan.gov/traversecity.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr.
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