Over the past 60 years, outdoorsmen have used more than 150 cabins (or camps, as they’re commonly called), each leased on one-acre lots along the Ontonagon River in the western Upper Peninsula, in what is now the Ottawa National Forest.[21] For many years, the area was owned by the Upper Peninsula Power Company, which had planned to develop the area to produce hydroelectric power. When the company decided to forego development, it signed the 25-year leases with residents. Each lease charged $366 annually, and the terms allowed leaseholders to build cabins in the area. Each year, the leases brought in $35,000 to townships in the area and nearly $10,000 in annual property taxes to Ontonagon and Gogebic counties.[22]
The cabins and the use of the forested area around them had become a local tradition, and two to three generations have used these cabins each year for recreation, hunting and relaxation. Owners treated their cabins as second homes, and some spent several months of the year in them.[23]
In 1992, the federal government acquired the land from the Upper Peninsula Power Company and the Trust for Public Land, adding over 30,000 acres to the Ottawa National Forest.[24] At the time, the Forest Service informed leaseholders that the agency would not renew leases when their current 25-year terms ended and leaseholders would have to vacate and remove or demolish their cabins. Federal officials reasserted those expectations in an April 2016 letter to all leaseholders.[25] In January 2017, the last of the signed leases expired and, under the terms of the lease, owners of the cabins were given an additional 90 days to remove their personal property from the area and vacate the cabins.[26]
Leaseholders petitioned the Forest Service to have the permits renewed, but Forest Service officials responded that the original leases were a legal agreement — a 25-year, nonrenewable lease. They also noted that during the initial transfer of the lands to federal ownership, the Forest Service had continued to honor the terms of those leases, but that it was not within the agency’s authority to sign additional leases on public property. Furthermore, the Forest Service argued that leases were restricting public access in nearby areas of the national forest.
Residents argued that given the remote nature of the area, only the most dedicated of outdoor enthusiasts would attempt the difficult trip to the area. Public use of the area was limited at best, so the notion that anyone was being kept from using the surrounding area was inaccurate. Furthermore, the owners noted, it was common practice to leave the cabins unlocked and open to occasional public use. In one example provided by cabin owners, inclement weather had forced a local Boy Scout troop to seek shelter in one of the cabins while on a camping trip in the area. This sort of use was normal and expected.[27]
In response to the Forest Service’s refusal to renew the leases and to allow these residents to continue their use of the area and cabins, the Michigan Senate — led by Sen. Casperson — passed a nonbinding resolution asking the Forest Service to offer current leaseholders special-use permits under the auspices of the federal Recreation Residence Program. The resolution looked to build on the Forest Service’s expectation of ensuring federal lands were open to public use.[28]
Forest Service representatives have noted that while thousands of Recreation Residence Program permits exist across the nation — some even within Michigan’s federally owned forests — the program was not actively soliciting new permit locations. They argued that attempting to apply the program to this area would, in their opinion, unnecessarily encumber public lands.[29]
As of February 2018, the Forest Service had not renewed the leases, and discussions with Forest Service employees indicate that about half the cabins had already been removed or destroyed.[30] Cabins still remaining in the area have been posted with signs declaring the cabins are now “Property of the United States” and that “All persons are prohibited under penalty of the law from committing trespass.”[31] The signs also refer to federal legislation prohibiting entry to certain government-owned structures and threaten trespassers with “a fine of up to $5,000 and or 6 months imprisonment.”[32] Public comments on social media platforms offered representative commentary on the issue: “The United States Forest Service evicted hundreds of camp owners, only to put up No Trespassing signs? Does not seem to be opening up the land for recreational use!”[33]