ESCANABA — The Delta County Board of Commissioners discussed a controversial easement change that could force the county to pay back grant funds used to purchase the county forest Tuesday, but what, if anything, could be done about the new easement terms is still unknown.

The easement at the heart of the issue crosses land owned by Delta Conservation District Manager Rory Mattson. At the Aug. 15 Delta County Board of Commissioners meeting, the commissioners granted a request by Mattson to modify the terms of the easement that allowed access to the county forest through his property, restricting access to only fire suppression and timber harvesting uses.

Mattson has maintained the easement originally granted by Weyerhaeuser prior to his purchase of the land was not intended to allow public access to the forest. That claim has been disputed by Conservation District Board Chair Joe Kaplan.

Kaplan has also criticized Mattson for negotiating the purchase of the county forest property and then buying land adjacent to the forest, both as an individual and as a part-owner of a separate parcel with two other people, one of whom was a former conservation district chair.

“Under conservation district law we’re allowed to request services, legal services, from the attorney general and that’s exactly what we did,” Kaplan told the county board Tuesday. “And I can say from reading the amendment to the easement agreement (and) also Mr. Mattson’s testimony at the last meeting, there are things in this amendment to the easement agreement, and also his testimony, that are quite concerning to the district and anyone who has any familiarity with this project.”

For the county, the primary concern is that the change in easement may violate terms of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund Grant used to purchase the 1,400 acres of forest in 2017. There is some disagreement about the exact value of the amount that could be at risk — likely due to changes in purchase prices or the influence of matching fund dollars — but County Board Chair Dave Moyle puts the value of the trust fund’s contribution to the forest purchase around $825,000.

Concerns about modifying the easement were initially raised on Aug. 11 by County Administrator Ashleigh Young, who emailed Jon Mayes, program manager for the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund, asking if the changes would violate the county’s existing agreement with the state.

“We have had a request for an easement modification on the Cornell forest land. I know this was purchased with trust fund monies and wanted to make sure the approval of the modification won’t affect the grant agreement,” wrote Young.

Mayes responded on Aug. 17, two days after the county board approved the amendment, stating that “reducing the easements rights held by the county is not compatible with the conditions outlined in the project agreement between Delta County and the State of Michigan.” He advised the county not to move forward with any changes that would “diminish the rights of the public for the current or future access or to the use of the Cornell Forest property” and “would almost certainly represent a breach of the project agreement.”

Mayes went on to indicate there were a number of possible remedies for breaches of the agreement, including the repayment of funds.

Following Tuesday’s Delta County Board of Commissioner’s meeting, Mattson reached out to the Daily Press. He said the original email from Young was too vague and did not properly explain the modification he sought to Mayes. It is Mattson’s belief that the amendment is not in violation of the grant’s terms.

“I’ve always had the county at heart, so I can tell you this much: I’m not going to screw the county. I’m just not, because that’s not Rory Mattson,” he said, noting he, like the county, was awaiting the trust fund’s review of the easement amendment.

“We asked for some assistance in settling this issue, and I think we should wait until we hear back from Mr. Mayes because it’s all going to be speculation until then,” Moyle told the commissioner’s Tuesday.

The possibility of the county being on the hook for the funds, however, prompted Commissioner John Malnar to add rescinding the amendment to Tuesday’s county board meeting agenda.

“That easement was signed that night and it was recorded the next morning, so the rescinding was — we can’t get it done,” said Malnar, who said he had been told by the Michigan Association of Counties that the change could be rescinded if the document was not signed and filed.

Moyle has confirmed the amendment was signed that night, consistent with the county’s policies. However, the document was not filed with the county’s register of deeds until Aug. 21, according to both the county’s publicly available land records database and reports made at conservation district meetings by both Kaplan and Commissioner Bob Barron, the county board’s liaison to the district.

Regardless of when the amendment to the easement was filed, the fact it was filed with the register of deeds means the change is legally binding. According to Moyle, the county is expecting the trust fund to finish reviewing the amendment and make a determination about its compatibility with the grant in about a week.