A who’s who of organizations and citizens devoted to protecting our region’s most important resources will assemble Friday at the Cass County COA building in Cassopolis to discuss how they can work together to continue conserving the environment — and their budgets.

In a special brainstorming session conducted at the Lowe Center later this week, representatives with various conservation-focused organizations will sit down and try to hammer out ways they can work cooperatively for the betterment of Cass County’s natural resources. These entities range from departments in the county government like the parks and recreation, to local agencies like the Southwest Michigan Planning Commission, to businesses like Midwest Energy.

Brought together by County Commissioners Bernie Williamson and Dixie Ann File, these entities could find out what goals they share in common and began talks on how best to share resources, labor and knowledge to accomplish these tasks in unison.

With the area’s lakes, farmland and forests being some of Cass County’s greatest assets, we are pleased to see so many entities committed to enhancing our local natural resources willing to all share the same table and find ways of working cooperatively. With each organization bringing something different to the table, surely these talks can help leaders combine their strengths to bring new projects to life or push stalled ones further down the path to fruition.

As Cass County doesn’t have excess funds to throw around, it makes sound financial sense for local agencies to work together.

With plenty of grant opportunities afforded to cooperative efforts, more doors will open for projects that could not have been completed otherwise.

We hope the meeting on Friday is a success, and that our county’s residents will reap the benefits of increased cooperation between these environmental agencies.

 

Opinins expressed are those of the editorial board consisting of Publisher Michael Caldwell and editors Ambrosia Neldon, Craig Haupert, Ted Yoakum and Scott Novak.