Opinion: DNR’s career bureaucrats must end decades of abuse

With growing allegations of abuse and mismanagement at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the Michigan House of Representatives is conducting hearings on the department’s practices. But with its back up against the wall, the DNR is doing whatever it can to dispel dissent and maintain its status quo.

This mindset built on weaponization is exactly why the DNR needs to be held accountable. The DNR is responsible for developing natural resources and leading conservation efforts. Instead, they hound honest farmers, clear-cut forests for solar and hunt for more tax dollars.

Recent hearings investigating DNR overreach have shed light on the “open fields doctrine,” which allows DNR officials to go almost anywhere on private land without a warrant — a practice dating back to the time w