Echo

Former Echo reporter recognized for environmental video production

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Matt Cimitile, the first reporter at Great Lakes Echo, recently won national recognition for a series of environmental videos. Matt is a 2009 graduate of the masters program at Michigan State University’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism.  He is now a writer and multimedia specialist for the United States Geological Survey. He writes, lectures and otherwise communicates about science and environmental issues researched at that agency’s Coastal and Marine Science Center in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Echo

Fall Photo Friday: A pile of beauty and a placid reflection

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The reds, yellows and oranges are fading to brown and falling off, so this will be our last installment of Fall Photo Fridays. A big thanks to all of our leafer-readers who submitted pictures. Next week we’ll return to our regularly scheduled Photo Fridays – so don’t let dying leaves discourage you, and keep those pictures coming!  

Echo

Michigan gets another park honor

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Michigan was recognized with another first place recently with the 2011 National Recreation and Park Association gold medal for top state park system in the nation. This honor comes after Lake Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Dunes was named the most beautiful place in America in August. The association considers long-range planning, resource management and addressing the needs of park visitors to make its decision. The other four finalist states are North Carolina, Florida and Missouri. Programs like the Recreation Passport, an optional $10 fee for Michigan drivers that renew their licenses that gives them access to all Michigan state parks, tipped the scales toward Michigan.