Bart Stupak: “Mr. Speaker, H.R. 408 would accomplish the goal of allowing the National Park Service to acquire nearly 105 acres of…”

“Mr. Speaker, H.R. 408 would accomplish the goal of allowing the National Park Service to acquire nearly 105 acres of land along the Crystal River adjacent to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. This legislation would facilitate the preservation of this rare and valuable land by allowing the National Park Service to add this property to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, and, at the same time, would fairly compensate Bayberry Mills, Inc., a company affiliated with The Homestead, a large, well-known resort, for their property. I have a particular interest in and a high degree of familiarity with the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and Bayberry Mills' property because for the last 10 years, it was located in my congressional district. It is a land of majestic beauty, and is a valuable environmental contribution to the area which lies along the pristine Crystal River. For more than 17 years, there has been controversy about development along the Crystal River.”