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Timeline of the Pigeon River
Hydrocarbon Development
April 1919 --Michigan designates 6,468 acres east of Vanderbilt in the northeast corner of Otsego County as
the Pigeon River State Forest.
Spring 1919 --Seven Rocky Mountain Elk are introduced in the forest to replace extinct native species.
Summer 1968 --The Department of Natural Resources offers 546,196 acres of public land for an oil and gas
lease sale, including 57,669 acres in the Pigeon River Country.The 10-year leases are auctioned for about $1
million.
May 1969 --Ford Kellum, DNR district wildlife biologist in the Pigeon River Country, witnesses a drilling
rig in the newly-cleared woods on Osmun Trail. Jerry Myers, a fisheries research technician who lives at the
Pigeon River Country headquarters complex, sees dozens of trucks a day coming out of Vanderbilt to conduct
seismic operations.
June 1969 --The oil industry confirms the existence of the Niagaran-Salina formation. It is a vast oil and gas
bearing reef located one mile underground, and running in a 20-mile-wide, 150-mile-long arc across the top of
the Lower Peninsula from Manistee to Rogers City.
February 1970 --The Pigeon River Audubon Club drafts a resolution to oppose any drilling on recreational
lands northeast of Gaylord. The resolution, supported by other Audubon chapters, is mailed around the state.
March 1970 --Anatural gas well being drilled near Chester Township, outside the Pigeon River Country,
ignites and burns out of control for 12 days, alerting residents of the inherent hazards of oil exploration and
development.
May 1970 -- Shell Oil Company applies for a drilling permit for a well in Charlton Township in the heart of
the Pigeon River Country.The well, known as Charlton 1-4, is adjacent to a trackless wild area of the Black
River Swamp and just off Houses' Lost Cabin Trail, a scenic two-track that winds through the forest.
May 1970 --Ford Kellum urges Warren Shapton, the deputy DNR director, not to allow drilling in the Pigeon
River Country.When Mr. Shapton notifies Mr. Kellum that he will approve Shell's drilling permit for the
Charlton 1-4 well, Mr. Kellum says he will retire and fight it.
May 15, 1970 --The DNR issues Shell Oil a permit to drill the Charlton 1-4 well.
May 27, 1970 --Drilling begins in Charlton Township.
June 28, 1970 --Shell strikes oil at the Charlton 1-4 site, in a well 5,270 feet deep.
July 3, 1970 --More than 700 people attend a DNR-sponsored public hearing in Petoskey.Among those
testifying in opposition to the drilling is Martha Reynolds, a United Auto Workers executive, who says the
UAWhas just built an executive retreat at the mouth of the Black River.
July and August, 1970 --Three more successful wells and two dry holes are drilled in close proximity to
the Charlton 1-4 well. Tanker trucks continuously transport raw oil to processing plants outside the forest,
traveling over new roads that have replaced the scenic and previously little-used forest trails.
August 1970 --Ford Kellum publicly proposes that the Pigeon River State Forest, together with more than
110 square miles of surrounding land, be set aside as a 120-square-mile semi-wilderness.
September 16, 1970 --In a letter to E.M. Laitala, chairman of the Natural Resources Commission,
Governor William G. Milliken calls for a moratorium on leasing in the Pigeon River State Forest until a thorough
review of leasing and drilling regulations is completed.
October 9, 1970 -- Prompted by Gov. Milliken's letter, the Natural Resources Commission declares a
moratorium on oil and gas drilling on state land in the Pigeon River State Forest.
October 1970 -- Michigan Attorney General Frank Kelley issues a formal finding that asserts the state can
not deny drilling permits in the region except under extreme circumstances.
April 26, 1971 -- Pan American Petroleum applies to drill an oil well in Corwith Township in Otsego County,
in an area of high environmental sensitivity about 2.5 miles northeast of the Charlton 1-4 well. Half of the
interest in the well, known as Corwith 1-22, is owned by the Northern Michigan Energy Company, a
subsidiary of the Consumers Power Company.
June 1971 --The DNR lifts the drilling moratorium. Energy exploration and development resumes. Even
with stricter measures imposed on oil companies, 19 test wells have been drilled and five productive wells
soon are put into operation around the original Charlton 1-4 well.
September 16, 1971 --The Pigeon River Audubon Club issues a resolution supporting Ford Kellum's
proposal to establish a 120-square-mile Pigeon River Country State Forest.
October11, 1971 -- In a startling turn of events, the application to drill the Corwith 1-22 well is denied by
Arthur E. Slaughter, the head of the DNR Geological Survey Division.
December11, 1971 --The Natural Resources Commission adopts changes in the leasing program for state oil
and gas bearing lands. Under the new policy, DNR staff is instructed to launch field studies to pinpoint areas
of "special wildlife significance" and "unusual natural value."
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