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LANSING—For months, it appeared that a magazine published by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was on its own endangered species list. Now the DNR has decided to suspend publicationeffectively ending a 68-year run.
Natural Resources magazine began as an internal newsletter in 1931 and expanded to a magazine format in 1949. In 1993, $600,000 in debt and in search of a lifeline, Natural Resources was leased out to Kolka & Robb, a Bingham Farms-based firm. The Engler administration had hoped that privatization would turn the venture around. But problems at Kolka & Robb, plus what appears to have been a case of poor contract monitoring, doomed the publication. The firm stopped making its annual payments to the DNR and reportedly left state taxpayers with a $1.4 million bill.
Environmentalists were quick to decry the magazine's demise. But a somewhat different sentiment was expressed by the Petoskey News-Review in a widely reprinted editorial. The editors stated that there are plenty of other magazines that serve those who want to stay on top of state conservation and environmental issues. "Some of those publications may not be as flashy, but they're not costing state taxpayers one dime," the News-Review editors wrote. "Those interested can either join an organization to receive some of the publications, or pay for a subscription to get others. Our point is that state government has no business publishing magazines when it can be done adequately by private business."
One of the publications the Petoskey News-Review may have been referring to is Woods-n-Water News, which bills itself as "Michigan's Premier Outdoor Publication." Woods-n-Water News is published monthly and covers virtually every topic of interest to the Michigan outdoorsman. Annual subscriptions are just $16.00. For more information, call 810-724-0254.
