A decade after the death of bestselling author and conservationist, Sigurd F. Olson, his son found some of his loose-leaf journals in an unplugged refrigerator. The journals have since been turned into a book that will be published in June.
Echo
Study raises health concerns for sand and gravel workers
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A new study by Michigan State University shows an increase in doctor visits for shortness of breath among long-term sand and gravel mine workers in Michigan, compared to the rate for production workers in other industries. The state has more than 3,500 surface miners, 1,207 of whom voluntarily participated in the study.
Echo
Conservation program partnership targets farms in three Michigan watersheds
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The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) was reinstated earlier this year and reimburses farmers for following proper conservation practices. To be eligible for the program, land must have a cropping history, or planting history, of four out of six years between 2012-17 and have been owned at least one year prior to applying.
Echo
Urban ecology is in the hands of Minnesota citizens
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Since 2019, just over a dozen inner-city families in the heart of Minneapolis have cared for small prairies full of native plants in the boulevard strips adjacent to their homes. The project is aimed at increasing urban biodiversity. It is called City Backyard Science and is funded by the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment.
Art
Spooky lakes and beach trash: How a Wisconsin teacher and artist gained 1.3 million TikTok followers
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Geo Rutherford is a self-described Great Lakes enthusiast that built a large following—the same number that the Washington Post has—by making educational TikTok videos about the Great Lakes and other lakes around the world.
Agriculture
Tribes work to restore wild rice in areas contaminated by mining
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Dangerous metals such as arsenic and mercury have been found in wild rice beds located on the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community reservation and surrounding areas, according to research from Michigan Technological University scientists and their associates.
Echo
Emerald ash borer turns forest into wetlands
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The invasive emerald ash borer has the potential to destroy over 3 million acres of black ash wetlands across the region, according to a recent study published in the journal Ecological Applications.
Echo
Great Lakes Echo is now on TikTok
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Great Lakes Echo reporters are utilizing TikTok as a new platform for storytelling. Our first video discusses the impacts of climate change on wine grape production in Michigan.
Echo
Cedarville: The little town that upholds Michigan’s marine industry
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At the northwest corner of Lake Huron, in Michigan’s eastern Upper Peninsula, is an 80 square-mile town of 240 people, one phone booth – and one boat building school. That school is growing explosively, bringing the entire community along with it. Experts estimate that a planned expansion of the Great Lakes Boat Building School could bring an additional $2.5 million to residents of Cedarville.
Echo
Pandemic shows need for more local meat processors
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As supply chain problems continue rippling from the COVID-19 pandemic, industries are learning ways to adapt. The meat market is no exception.
Agriculture
Michigan wheat farmers can’t make up for crops lost in Ukraine
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Michigan farmers can’t plant more wheat this year to make up for Ukrainian and Russian production that’s been lost to the ongoing war. A fixed supply and consistent demand for wheat leaves one thing open to change: price.