Great Lakes Echo (https://greatlakesecho.org/author/capital-news-service/page/33/)
Capital News Service is a wire service at Michigan State University covering state government - issues and personalities.
Feral pigs are an increasing environmental problem in the Great Lakes region. They can dig up ground a foot or more deep, destroy crops and carry diseases that infect domestic livestock.
Michigan officials are crafting an environmental justice policy to give minority and low-income communities a greater voice in environmental decisions.
The Environmental Protection Agency encouraged the state to create the plan in the wake of two unsuccessful lawsuits. The public has until April 9 to comment on the plan.
In 2009, Michigan produced the most maple syrup in more than 60 years, but this spring farmers are tapping out sooner than they had hoped. An early warm spell made it a poor season, syrupers say.
Ideal conditions require below-freezing temperatures at night and above-freezing temperatures during the day.
Last year the state produced 115,000 gallons of syrup ranking it fifth in the nation. A typical year is 60,000 to 70,000 gallons.
A new federal grant program to raise the competitiveness of specialty crops may give apple growers a boost.
It supports conservation, innovation and promotion. That includes marketing, research and ways to promote sustainability.
LANSING, Mich. — Hunting may soon have new guidance if the state Department of Natural Reseources and Environment approves its draft deer management plan.
The plan to manage 1.8 million deer goes to the agency director, Rebecca Humphries, on April 8.
Final approval would come on May 6; the agency would begin implementing parts of the plan immediately.
Michigan will hire 1,200 workers for 98 state parks and recreation areas this summer. The summertime experience can turn into a career.
Competition for the slots is heating up because of the poor economy.
A recent report rates Michigan’s progress in lowering the risk of eating fish as poor.
Officials blame the failure to reduce the atmospheric deposition of mercury and on PCB contaminants. And stormwater runoff and sewage overflows are an increasing concern.
Cash-strapped government officials have struck a deal with a state workers union to allow volunteers to groom Michigan ski trails.
In December the agency announced that only eight state forest ski trails would be groomed, and mostly by volunteer organizations.
Grooming involves removing debris, adding or removing snow and creating a level amount of snow, to improve skiing.
A bill in response to a 2004 death aims to make snowmobiling and other trail hobbies safer in Michigan by requiring that chains, ropes and wires that block entry to any property be hunter orange in color and no more than 30 inches high.
Three ecologists explore the history and future of two vital ecosystems in this book about the savannas and prairies that once cover 7 percent of Michigan.
Farming, logging, development, drainage systems, overuse of groundwater and absence of fire threaten their existence.