MLUI's Kelly Thayer possesses "energy, competence, and leadership in mobilizing citizen action to address critical transportation issues facing the residents of northern Michigan."
Environmentalist of the Year Award for Public Service, Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council

"an anti-sprawl crusader with both moxie and brains."
Traverse Magazine article profiling MLUI Executive Director Keith Schneider as one of Michigan's "ten players who are influencing the natural world."

The Great Lakes Bulletin is "having a real impact, and a constructive one, on the dialogue on 'smart growth' and sprawl in Michigan."
Environment Writer, a national newsletter

"Schneider's patient, consensus-building strategy appears to be paying off. The Michigan Land Use Institute, founded in 1995, is among the fastest-growing public policy organizations in the Midwest."
Crain's Nonprofit News

Distinguished Service Award for helping to preserve the historic farmsteads in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and organizing a new grassroots citizen group to carry out the project's goals.
Awarded by Keep Michigan Beautiful, a statewide group formed to preserve Michigan's scenic beauty