Michigan Natural Areas Council.

The Michigan Natural Areas Council was independently established on October 27, 1951, having operated as a group within the Southeastern Chapter of the Michigan Botanical Club since the mid-1940s. Composed of representatives from leading conservation and educational groups, the MNAC's purpose was to ensure natural areas' preservation and to provide guidelines for their protection.

Early in the MNAC's development, the late Percy J. Hoffmaster, then-director of the Michigan Department of Conservation, noted that State Parks and other state-owned units had incorporated many outstanding natural features but that the Conservation Department had neither the funds nor the trained personnel to make detailed studies of these areas. As the MNAC had members with ecological and scientific training fully qualified to carry out this work, Hoffmaster urged the MNAC to survey areas, incorporate their findings into reports, and make recommendations to the Conservation Commission for their dedication and preservation. The MNAC adopted this program; consequently, preservation of natural areas within state parks constituted a considerable portion of the Council's activities.

The newly formed Council incorporated into its constitution procedures for the study and dedication of natural areas. Once an area had been selected for consideration, a Reconnaissance Committee was appointed. This group made a thorough survey of the tract under consideration, noting its natural features, topography, geology, plant and animal communities, and scenic features. These findings served as a basis for a report, including recommendations for preservation, submitted to the Council. If accepted, the Council selected a Site Committee, which typically included members of the Reconnaissance Committee and at least two representatives of the agency that administers the land. This committee reviewed the findings of the Reconnaissance Committee, considered any necessary boundary adjustments, attempted to anticipate and eliminate any conflicting land-uses, and then made a final report to the Council. Upon acceptance, the MNAC submitted recommendations for dedication of the area to the administering agency.

The MNAC promoted natural areas as "outdoor museums" serving many purposes. Natural areas were important not only for the public's recreation and education but also for scientific research -- as controls for gauging the effects of land management policies (e.g. the use of insecticides) and to "study long-range changes in vegetative patterns and climate, collect data on plant success and distribution, and study the life cycles of the animals." Given this, the MNAC recognized six different categories of natural areas:

Since the Council's first land dedication in 1951, it has helped to preserve over 100,000 acres of land in Michigan, 80% in the Upper Peninsula. Among its earliest were lands at Wilderness State Park, Haven Hill, and Tahquamenon Falls. Later work preserved portions of the Porcupine Mountains, South Manitou Island, Sleeping Bear Dunes, and Warren Dunes State Park. MNAC's efforts have protected bogs, swamps, woodland, ridges, lakes, and streams, all with a variety of plant and animal life and geological features.. Its members have also worked closely with private citizens and schools to preserve private land.

As James R. Wells notes in his brief history of the MNAC, "Though it owns no land, and is a relatively small body of persons with slender financial background, the MNAC does constitute a vital force for Michigan's natural area preservation in this state -- its record attests to that."

From the guide to the Michigan Natural Areas Council Records, 1938-2003, 1952-1990, (Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan)