Presque Isle County native honored posthumously by MUCC Conservation Hall of Fame
Sportsmen and women from all over the state gathered this past Saturday to honor Harry Huntington Whiteley posthumously as he was inducted into the Michigan Conservation Hall of Fame at Michigan United Conservation Clubs? (MUCC) 2009 Annual Convention.
His nephew Harry Whiteley of Rogers City, who also was at the MUCC Awards luncheon, continued the family tradition and also served on the NRC from 1961 to 1985. The late Mr. Whiteley, born in 1882 in Gaylord, began his career as a publisher for several Presque Isle County newspapers and the Dowagiac Daily News, where he is known for modernizing and reforming the newspaper business with a first-in-the-state United Press wire service and honest, responsible reporting in an era where the tabloid, ?scandal sheet? type of reporting prevailed.
In 1927, after service as both a state representative and state senator, Whiteley was named to the newly formed Michigan Conservation Commission, a forerunner to what is now the Michigan Natural Resources Commission. As a member and eventual chair of the commission, Whiteley served under nine different governors, and was known for being a strong advocate of taking conservation out of politics.
?The citizens of Michigan are fortunate to have had such a fine public servant as Harry H. Whiteley working on our behalf during what may have been the most exciting, critical and formative time in Michigan?s conservation history,? said MUCC Executive Director Dennis Muchmore. ?On the year where we celebrate the 90th Anniversary of the State Park system Mr. Whiteley helped to build, MUCC is honored to present his long-deserved recognition in the Conservation Hall of Fame.?
Before passing away in 1957, Mr. Whiteley passionately worked throughout his prestigious career to implement what would become Michigan?s underlying conservation principles: apolitical, science-based manag
Among Whiteley’s accomplishments was leading the rehabilitation of the millions of acres of tax reverted, cutover timberland and protecting the interest of the Michigan people when oil was discovered on those lands. He helped foster the state park system and was instrumental in establishment of two parks – the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park and Warren Dunes State Park.
Whiteley was known as an advocate for land use during his time on the commission. He also was an early leader on the development of the state’s petroleum resources, helping create a regulatory program at the time that became a model for many other states.