State Rep. Ken Borton on Monday pledged to work with any staff member within the Department of Natural Resources who wants to speak out against their departmental leadership’s plans to clear-cut forests to further the green energy agenda. Borton said frustrated DNR staff could contact his office and voice their concerns.

“I imagine many frontline DNR employees have been put into impossible situations regarding these proposals,” said Borton, R-Gaylord. “Staff has been forced to choose between speaking out against the state mutilating public land for financial gain and keeping the jobs they rely on to pay for mortgages and support their families. Frontline workers at the DNR should feel confident that if they voice their frustrations with my office their anonymity will be protected. We need to keep getting the word out regarding these terrible plans. The public wants to hear from DNR officials who disagree, but those statements should not come at the expense of their jobs.”

Proof of DNR frustration was uncovered last week when MLive, the same publication that exposed a 420-acre deforestation effort near Gaylord, published another piece unearthing over 900 pages of DNR emails obtained through a FOIA request. Within the emails, many DNR staff exhibited frustration and outright opposition.

During the budgeting process last year, the governor attempted to remove language from the budget that prohibits departments from disciplining state employees for communicating with members of the legislature and their staffs. She failed, but Borton said the blatant attempt to censure state government workers likely still discourages staff from speaking out against government mismanagement. Because Gov. Whitmer continues to designate whistleblower protections as “unenforceable,” the safeguards are essentially neutered.

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