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Great Lakes Echo - Environmental news of the Great Lakes region

Great Lakes Echo (https://greatlakesecho.org/author/karen-hopper-usher/page/2/)

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Karen Hopper Usher

Karen Hopper Usher
Recreation

12 falls, 12 beers

By Karen Hopper Usher | February 22, 2017

Outdoor enthusiasts with disabilities hit the slopes thanks to the region’s adaptive ski programs.

Beaches

Video shows stunning views of Lake Michigan

By Karen Hopper Usher | February 9, 2017

A kiteboarding and drone enthusiast captures stunning views of Lake Michigan beaches.

Books

New book introduces readers to the prairie

By Karen Hopper Usher | February 1, 2017

A new book introduces readers to a compelling but disappearing landscape.

Agriculture

Man spent federal crop loan on boat, Mexican vacation

By Karen Hopper Usher | January 30, 2017

A $210,000 federal crop loan wasn’t a big deal at first. Now a former Wisconsinite is on probation.

deer

Dachshunds prove they’re not just housepets

By Karen Hopper Usher | January 23, 2017

Dachshunds help hunters find wounded deer.

Echo

In Pursuit of Plants: Foraging is nutritious, organic and free

By Chloe Kiple | January 17, 2017

Foraging for food can be healthy for you and for the environment.

coyote in foliage
coyote

Foxes join #TeamWolf versus #TeamCoyote

By Karen Hopper Usher | January 6, 2017

Wolves, foxes and coyotes show “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

Echo

Wash, rinse, pollute, repeat

By Chloe Kiple | December 21, 2016

Parts of our clothing ends up in the bellies of fish because of our laundering habits.

Great Lakes shipping

New Soo Lock could prevent trillion-dollar crisis

By Karen Hopper Usher | December 20, 2016

President-elect Donald Trump’s call for infrastructure investment could give revamping of critical maritime link a boost.

documentary
chimney bluffs

Great Lakes invasive species documentary airs on public television

By Karen Hopper Usher | December 14, 2016

A new documentary about invasive species in the Great Lakes was a labor of love for a husband-and-wife team.

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About Great Lakes Echo

Environmental news of the Great Lakes region from the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State University.

  • Cannabis workers are developing job-related asthma and some have died, study says

    By Clara Lincolnhol New research says workers picking, grinding and packaging cannabis are developing workplace-related asthma, and two deaths have occurred so far.

  • Swiss researcher studies ‘abandonment tourism’ in Detroit

    By Camila Bello Castro A recent case study of a former “abandonment tourism” business in Detroit found a disconnect between the lived experience of many city residents and the lives of the tour participants who were generally white, younger and more international than most Detroiters and generally first-time visitors to the city.

  • Wolves hunt beavers in Isle Royale National Park, changing the ecosystem

    By Akia Thrower A new study reveals how gray wolves in Isle Royale National Park seasonally alter their habitat preferences to align with beavers’ habitat preferences, a shift that might have implications for the island’s ecosystem.

  • Green clues: Crime-busters turn to moss to help solve crimes 

    By Eric Freedman Tiny pieces of moss can be crime-busters, says a study examining how law enforcement agencies, forensic teams and botanists have used moss to solve murders, track missing people, calculate how long ago someone died and – in a notorious Mason County case – try to locate the body of a baby murdered by her father.

  • Photo of Chen sitting in a chair
    New research in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula shows how invasive earthworms are changing forest soils  

    By Georgia Hill Scientists studying the body size and growth patterns of non-native earthworms in the UP’s Huron Mountains say they are disrupting forest ecosystems. Contrary to popular belief, most North American earthworms are invaders unintentionally introduced during European colonization. They have a significant impact on ecosystems, especially in the Great Lakes region where they affect soil structure, nutrient cycling and biodiversity.

  • Anishinaabe fire practices shaped Great Lakes ecosystems, new research shows

    By Victoria Witke New research shows Anishinaabe fire practices shaped today’s Great Lakes ecosystems. The region’s forests never existed and can’t continue to exist without people – or fire.

  • Michigan court refuses to reinstate lawsuit over runaway carriage horse at Greenfield Village  

    By Eric Freedman A horse-drawn carriage. A runaway horse. A crash. Sounds like an old-fashioned drama – not a bizarre 21st-century event. But that’s what happened three years ago when a visitor was injured while riding in a horse-drawn omnibus at Greenfield Village. The Court of Appeals has refused to reinstate her negligence suit against The Henry Ford and the driver.

  • Michigan soliciting fisheries habitat projects 

    By Finn Mills  Pre-proposal submissions for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ yearly fisheries habitat grants are now being accepted. Each year, the DNR allocates $1.5 million in fisheries habitat grants to governments and nonprofit organizations around the state.

  • Vacant lots boost diversity among Detroit’s birds, study finds

    By Eric Freedman Empty lots in deindustrialized cities like Detroit may contribute to bird species diversity, says a new study by researchers at MSU and Carleton University in Canada. The study is based on sound recordings collected at 110 sites in 11 Detroit neighborhoods. The study recommends that vacant land management in the city takes a balanced approach that considers the needs of both residents and birds. There are other concerns about vacant land, too, including as sites for solar arrays.

  • New book shares how Mackinac Island became Michigan’s tourism gem

    By Isabella Figueroa Nogueria Frank Boles, a retired Central Michigan University historian, has spent decades documenting Michigan’s past. His latest book, “Visiting Mackinac: 150 Years of Tourism at Michigan’s Fabled Straits,” explores how Mackinac Island and the surrounding Straits region became a hub for travelers from across the country.

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