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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.

  • How seeds from the past are saving a unique flower of the Great Lakes

    By Kyrmyzy Turebayeva More than 30 years ago, a group of scientists planted just 4,200 seeds of the rare Pitcher’s thistle in the sandy dunes of the Great Lakes. At the time, no one knew if the new populations would survive. Today, three decades later, the restored populations are thriving and spreading.

  • Henderson holding a swan
    From otters to butterflies: How Minnesota became a pioneer in nongame wildlife conservation

    By Kyrmyzy Turebayeva In the late 1970s, when most wildlife conservation programs in the United States focused almost exclusively on game species, a quiet but historic shift began in Minnesota. It was here that one of the nation’s first state programs dedicated to protecting so-called nongame wildlife emerged from butterflies and bats to bald eagles and river otters. That story is now told in detail by Carrol Henderson in his new book, “A National Legacy: Fifty Years of Nongame Wildlife Conservation in Minnesota."

  • Michigan’s water infrastructure sees improvements, work still needs to be done

    By Clara Lincolnhol The U.S. would need to invest nearly $3.4 trillion over the next 20 years to fix and update drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, says researchers from The Value of Water Campaign. Much of that infrastructure was built 40 to 50 years ago and shows its age. Michigan’s is no exception. The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the state a D+ for its drinking water infrastructure, a D in storm water management and a C for its wastewater infrastructure. Funding is a major problem. Proposed data centers would put more stress on the infrastructure.

  • Mussels in a green net.
    Endangered spectaclecase mussels reintroduced into the Chippewa River

    By Ada Tussing To combat the population loss of spectaclecase mussels, researchers with both the Minnesota and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources released over 177 mussels into the Chippewa River in Northwest Wisconsin.

  • Michigan allocates $77 million to clean thousands of contaminated sites

    By Clara Lincolnhol Michigan is pouring $77 million into clean-up of contaminated abandoned real estate such as former factories. The director of the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy says the goal is to make the cleaned-up sites safe for housing, commercial developments and other uses.

  • Winter makes curved roads dangerous; researchers seek solutions

    By Eric Freedman Flashing light on warning signs near curves can slow drivers and reduce the odds of a crash during winter weather conditions, says a new study by Michigan State University engineers.

  • The cover of “Dead Moose on Isle Royale: Off Trail with the Citizen Scientists of the Wolf-Moose Project." The cover is moose antlers on the ground.
    Great Lakes books for your holiday gift list 

    By Eric Freedman   Looking for a holiday gift for a reader who loves the Great Lakes? Here are five prospects to consider – and what our reporters learned from interviewing their authors this year.

  • A side-by-side of the historic Portage Canal and modern Portage Canal from an aerial view.
    Restoration of historical site improves quality of life for Portage, Wisconsin residents

    By Joshua Kim Following the completion of segments 1 and 2 of the Portage Canal, local residents and visitors can use the historic site and its amenities following years of disrepair.

  • What herring gulls tell us about plastic pollution

    By Victoria Witke Christina Petalas, a doctoral student McGill University, studies herring gulls to learn about plastic pollution near the St. Lawrence River. Across two studies, she found plastic additives in every bird sampled, which could have human health consequences.

  • Scientists update geological map of northern Wisconsin, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula 

    By Kyrmyzy Turebayeva The U.S. Geological Survey has began large-scale low-level airplane flights over Michigan's Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin to obtain high-resolution data on subsurface mineral structures and bedrock composition. The data will be used to create two- and three-dimensional maps to better understand the geological structure at depths of about 10,000 feet.

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