A proposal to lease 420 acres of state land near Gaylord for a solar energy development is on shaky ground after attracting criticism from lawmakers, including calls for “mass firings” of state employees involved in the plan… In Michigan, legislation passed last year requiring utilities to achieve 100% clean energy by 2040. To meet that mandate, Michigan may need to devote another 209,000 acres to wind and solar energy… In turn, state officials have been evaluating state land for renewable development… But developing state forests for clean energy comes with climate tradeoffs. Trees are a known carbon sink, and logging them to install solar panels can sometimes cancel out the climate gains… Lawmakers also object to solar farms on state land because they are viewed as more destructive to habitat and public access. “This is going to permanently, for many, many years, destroy that property’s ability to be enjoyed by sportsmen, by wildlife”.