Local man wants to build campground
By Tom Gilchrist
Staff Writer
KINGSTON TWP. — Martin Skura hopes to create a campground catering to hunters on his 80 acres of land in the middle of the Deford State Game Area in Kingston Township.
“This state game area is 10,000 acres plus, and I abut it on all four sides,” said Skura, who plans to ask the township Planning Commission for a special use permit allowing him to open a campground for tents and recreational vehicles on his property along South Phillips Road south of Gilford Road.
The location is about two miles southwest of Deford.
Skura said he hopes to create up to about 50 campsites on his land, which bumps up against the state game area on the south, west and north. Campers need only cross South Phillips Road to access the state game area to the east.
“Every year I watch the hunters try to jam into those little parking lots in the state game area, and I feel if they had a place to park or camp, we could do a lot better for a 10,000-acre state game area that I’m connected to,” Skura told the board overseeing the Tuscola County Road Commission at a July meeting.
He said he attended a township Planning Commission meeting earlier this year to speak “informally” about his proposal. Skura said he plans to submit a written application for a special use permit, along with a site plan, to township officials prior to attending a November Planning Commission meeting.
He said he attended a Planning Commission meeting earlier this year to speak “informally” about his proposal. Kingston Township’s ordinance states that “for-profit recreational facilities,” such as a campground, “shall be located on a primary road or state highway.”
Kingston and Bevens roads, along with M-46, would constitute the only roads where campgrounds could be located, under the ordinance.
Skura proposes a campground with a source of potable water and portable toilets, and said he would obtain a state license to operate it.
“This is rustic,” he said, noting he doesn’t plan to provide electricity and water to the individual campsites.
Deer, turkeys, grouse and rabbits are the primary sources of game for hunters in the state game area, according to Skura.
“That’s essentially what I would be after would be the deer hunters, but there are turkey hunters out here, too,” he said.
A letter from Don Bonnette, a state Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist, states the DNR’s Wildlife Division “has no concerns over” the proposed campground and “supports the development of natural resources-based recreational opportunities at this location.”
“All I’m looking to do is provide a safe place for hunters to come and know that they can park their RV or pitch their tent,” Skura said.
When Skura attended the Road Board meeting in July, board members agreed to have the Road Commission send a letter to Skura, and Kingston Township, stating the county Road Commission doesn’t have any policy on what kind of road Skura’s campground would have to be located on. Skura said he plans to approach Tuscola County commissioners with his campground plan in the coming weeks.
Kingston Township Supervisor William “Jesse” Zimba said Skura’s proposal “sounds interesting,” but questioned whether demand is strong enough from deer hunters willing to pay to stay at a campground.
“I don’t know if he’s going to get enough support, personally, to tell you the truth,” Zimba said.