TRAVERSE CITY (AP) -- Patty Birkholz has resigned as director of Michigan's Office of the Great Lakes, and Gov. Rick Snyder appointed Jon Allan to succeed her.
Birkholz is a former state senator from Allegan County's Saugatuck Township who was appointed to the Great Lakes post in 2010. A spokesman said Tuesday she left to pursue other opportunities and spend more time with family.
Allan directs environmental policy and intergovernmental affairs for Consumers Energy Co. The governor's office says he'll serve in the state post as an "executive on loan" for at least a year.
Allan has co-chaired the Department of Environmental Quality's water use advisory panel and was involved in negotiations that produced the Great Lakes water compact. He's now co-chairman of the state's Blue Ribbon Parks Commission.
(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
