LANSING – Governor Rick Snyder on Wednesday vetoed four bills that would have dissolved the state foresters registry, despite that it was a recommendation from the Office of Regulatory Reform, saying he disagreed with its total elimination.

“Michigan has over 4 million acres of public forest land and professional foresters are an important part of our state’s forest economy. Their expertise helps guide decisions regarding harvest, proper management and pest control,” Snyder said in a statement.

In his veto letter, Mr. Snyder continued: “Without certification to ensure appropriate education and training, the objectives of both public and private programs would be compromised.”

The bills (SB 481 , SB 484 , HB 4379 and HB 4380 ) represented what the ORR, a division of the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, had said in a February 2012 report recommending the deregulations of certain occupations and the restructuring of the statutes for several occupations.

Snyder encouraged the Legislature to resubmit the bills after working with the Department of Natural Resources to develop a system that modernizes and elevates the state’s regulatory system for professional forestry.

Snyder, in his veto letter, said the recommendation from the ORR on the foresters concluded the regulation was little more than a registration system and had little statutory authority to protect the public.

But upon further review, “I have concluded that a clear, concise and rigorous licensing program for foresters in Michigan can help achieve long-term goals for capitalizing on the enormous public and private forest resources in our state,” Snyder said.

Sen. Mark Jansen (R-Gaines Township), the lead sponsor for the Senate bills, said he is in some ways glad that the governor vetoed the legislation and forced people back to the table to talk because the final product was perhaps not so final.

“There was still unhappiness by a number of folks,” he said of final discussions with various groups. “When we ended up passing the legislation, there was almost an unwillingness to find world peace together.”

Still, the legislation had to be moved to almost force groups together, Mr. Jansen said. He said his concern remains that three different departments are working with foresters of some kind, and “that’s inappropriate.”

He also said the governor’s office had been very aware of the whole process, and “I think people just got a little bit noisier in the other two departments.

I thought we tried to do everything possible,” he said. “We were close to finding what people needed, but hopefully the governor has got someone saying we will (lead) on this.”

Jansen said he expects to continue work on the legislation in the fall and hopefully have it finished before his term ends at the end of December this year.

The vetoes now bring to 20 the total number of vetoes Snyder has issued in his term.

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