New farm bill shakes up the way we pay for land conservation
The farm bill has about $57 billion for conservation.Director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition Todd Ambs says a lot of people don't realize the farm bill is where we find the largest...
View ArticleEnbridge has a new plan for dredging parts of the Kalamazoo River
Enbridge Energy is still cleaning up oil left over from its pipeline spill in the Kalamazoo River. The company has already recovered most of the oil, but it's still working to comply with an order...
View ArticleWhat all the snow and ice will mean for Great Lakes water levels
It might seem a little counterintuitive, but right now, a bunch of scientists are thinking about how high the water at Great Lakes beaches will be this summer.Early last year, the Lake Michigan-Lake...
View ArticleInvasive lampreys getting too comfortable in Michigan's Inland Waterway?
We spend about $21 million a year keeping invasive sea lampreys in check in the Great Lakes.But they’re resilient creatures. Even after we spend all that money, we still can’t get rid of...
View ArticlePresident's budget cuts Great Lakes programs
President Obama’s 2015 budget includes some cuts to Great Lakes programs.Obama is asking for $275 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. That would be $25 million less than the current...
View ArticleNeighbors express concerns about proposed sand and gravel mine near Chelsea
A Ready-Mix concrete company, McCoig Materials, wants to open up a mine on a site north of Chelsea. The two parcels of land they want to mine are in between the Waterloo and Pinckney Recreation areas....
View ArticleEnvironmental groups split over proposed tax break for oil recovery
The Michigan Legislature recently approved a package of bills that’s causing a split between environmental groups.The legislation would lower a tax on a certain kind of oil recovery.Jake Neher is the...
View ArticleFlu season hangs on in northern and central Michigan
Flu season is usually wrapping up at this time of year, but experts say it’s not quite over yet.The H1N1 flu virus reared its nasty little head again this year, and made some people very sick.Dr....
View ArticleThe extensive ice cover could delay fish migrations in the Great Lakes
The prolonged winter and the ice cover on the Great Lakes could lead to some lasting effects on wildlife.For one thing, scientists expect that a lot of the fish that people like to catch will be...
View ArticleThere could be bad news for Michigan fruit crops; grapevines might have...
Farmers are finally able to head out into their fields, orchards and vineyards to see how everything fared over the winter. Ken Nye is a commodities specialist with the Michigan Farm Bureau. He's...
View ArticleBiologists expect the worst for Michigan's bat population
Bats with white-nose syndrome have been found in Mackinac and Dickinson counties in the Upper Peninsula and Alpena County in northern lower Michigan.The fungal disease has killed more than six million...
View ArticleRestaurants and markets running low on a popular Great Lakes fish
Monahan’s Seafood Market in Ann Arbor carries soft-shell crabs from Maryland, Alaskan salmon, and Florida red snapper.But at the moment, they’re fresh out of Great Lakes whitefish.Bernie Fritzsch...
View ArticleExplore a century-old freighter, "dive" on a shipwreck at new Great Lakes museum
I thought I knew a lot about the Great Lakes, until I met Chris Gillcrist. He’s the kind of guy you want on your Trivial Pursuit team.This is the kind of fact I learned from him every few minutes:“The...
View ArticleMichigan cities graded on air pollution
The American Lung Association just released its annual report card on air quality, State of the Air.Detroit and Grand Rapids made the list of most polluted cities for their ozone levels (Detroit ranks...
View ArticleWolves barely hanging on, moose "on vacation" on Isle Royale
It’s the 56th year of the study of Isle Royale’s wolves and moose. Researchers at Michigan Tech have just finished this year’s Winter Study.Rolf Peterson is a research professor at Michigan Tech and he...
View ArticleLessons from a tiny, extremely destructive pest
The emerald ash borer is a little shiny green beetle that loves to feast on ash trees. The adult beetles only nibble on the leaves. It's the larvae you've got to watch out for. They munch on the inner...
View ArticleNew permits loosen standards for two of state's biggest polluters
This week, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality issued updated permits for two of Michigan’s biggest polluters.The Severstal steel plant in Dearborn and the Marathon oil refinery in...
View ArticlePiping plovers making slow, steady comeback
It’s piping plover nesting season along the dunes of the Great Lakes. The tiny birds were labeled endangered back in the mid-80s.Since then, they’ve steadily been making a comeback. But it takes a...
View ArticleBeekeepers report honey bee losses down, but problem remains
You can thank a bee for about one of every three bites of food we eat.Jeff Pettis is the research leader for the Bee Research Lab with the Agricultural Research Service at the U.S. Department of...
View ArticleWhat would you do if killer lampreys invaded your town?
Would you:A) run away screamingB) attack them with golf clubs, weed whackers and curling irons, orC) haplessly fall victim to them as you enjoy a quiet afternoon of fishing with your dog?The residents...
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