Michigan History assistant editor Carolyn Damstra sat down with Dave Dempsey, policy advisor for the Michigan Environmental Council and author of Ruin and Recovery. The book is the first comprehensive look at Michigan's environmental history, documenting how the people, policies and places of Michigan have impacted each other over the last century. Ruin and Recovery is available at local bookstores and from The University of Michigan Press, 839 Greene Street, P.O. Box 1104, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1104, (734) 764-4388.

Q. Tell me a little about your background and how you first become interested in environmental issues.

I have lived in Michigan all my life, except for one year. I spent most of my life enjoying our natural resources. But, like a lot of people that I profile in the book, my interest grew in my childhood. My family spent a lot of time in northern Michigan. My grandmother was from the Upper Peninsula, so we'd go there almost every year. You can't even drive through that part of the state without getting caught up in the beauty.

I was an English major at Western Michigan University. I wanted to be an investigative reporter for the New York Times, but somehow it didn't turn out that way. After a couple of years in journalism I decided that I wasn't going to make the difference that I wanted to. I always had an interest in the environment, so I began to volunteer for environmental groups in the early eighties and started to build a web of friends in the environmental community. That turned into a job as an environmental advocate. I did go back and finish my master's in Resource Development this year at Michigan State. Writing really is my first love and writing about the environment is a perfect marriage of my interests.

Q. Do you have plans to write any more books?

I'm working on one right now about the future of the Great Lakes ecosystem, looking at the changes that are coming in this current century--the climate change to habitat loss and trying to identify reasons for hope.

Q. The subtitle of your book is "Michigan's Rise as a Conservation Leader." What are the most important policies that put Michigan ahead of other states on a national level?

I think we were the first state to recognize and deal with both wildlife loss and forest loss. It's really inspiring to look at the track record. As my book says, we had two turning points in our environmental history—the1890s and the 1960s-70s. Both times it was really the popular will that marked a turnaround. We also had elected officials who were supportive. Setting aside forest preserves was one of the first things. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the first setting aside of state forest lands. It was on a strip of land between Higgins and Houghton lakes.

Later on I'd say the most significant milestones were attacking the problem of water pollution in the 1960s and a rash of environmental issues in the 1970s: the Bottle Bill, the Wetland Protection Act, the Environmental Protection Act. They were really tangible things, not some policies that sounded nice but didn't make a difference. People could see the difference. When the Bottle Bill passed you could see a difference in the roadsides and lakes and streams.

Q. What inspired you to write Ruin & Recovery?

When I first got active in environmental issues there was tremendous oral history about conservation. There were stories from a lot of people who had been around for thirty or forty years, but I'd never really seen them written down before. History is important to preserve for a lot of reasons, but one of them is that it can inspire pride and motivate people. There are certainly a lot of blemishes in our environmental history that are expressed in the book, but by and large the story is one of hope and pride. I thought the book had value as a historical record. I also hope that it would inspire a sense of place. We need to recognize that Michigan is not just a political establishment, but also a community of people and other living things. I hope the book conveys that spirit of community.

Q. What are the main environmental threats facing the state today?

I think the most important and urgent one is what's happening to our land base, especially in southern Michigan. Although it's happening in little pieces all over the state—you may have heard about controversies over development on the Keweenaw Peninsula. Protecting the character of Michigan is the most important issue we have. We can't do that if we continue to see our cities emptying out into the countryside in a checkerboard fashion.

What is happening with our land base is that we're putting the future at risk. The conservation pioneers of a hundred years ago were not going to see most of the results of their policies in their lifetime. They were worried about their descendants. Would they have forests that would produce timber and provide opportunities for recreation and spiritual renewal? Similarly, our job is to look at generations to come. It's not impossible that they won't have enough agricultural land to grow food on, wetlands that provide natural benefits like water quality and flood control. So agricultural land loss, loss of our native landscapes, our wetlands and forests are the most important issues.

Q. Do you see Michigan continuing to be an environmental leader into the future?

Yes I do, and that is based on public sentiment. The greatest reason for hope about Michigan's environmental future is that we have a populace that cares about our environmental future. Even residents who spend one hundred percent of their time in a concrete, urban setting can respond to environmental values in this state because of a sense of place—that Michigan is special.

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