The Michigan DNR received a record 47,493 applications for 260 elk licenses in 2025. The state is considering changes in its regulations for elk hunting season in Pigeon River Country State Forest and an area near Gaylord.
Wildlife
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.
Wildlife
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.
Wildlife
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.
Cities & Suburbs
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.
Wildlife
‘Dig in and get my hands dirty’: New book explores citizen scientists and their contributions to the Wolf-Moose Project
|
By Isabella Figueroa
In his new book “Dead Moose on Isle Royale: Off Trail with the Citizen Scientists of the Wolf-Moose Project,” Jeffery Holden turns decades of volunteer field notes and short essays into an off-trail narrative about the people who sustain one of ecology’s longest-running studies. The Wolf-Moose Project at Isle Royale National Park started with scientists from Purdue University, Durward Allen and L. David Mech, in 1958. Since then, volunteers have collected data through on-the-ground fieldwork and built a six-decade record that reveals how climate, disease and food availability shape population cycles.
Wildlife
Western and Indigenous knowledge will help lake sturgeon, study shows
|
By Isabella Figueroa Nogueira
A recent collaborative study, conducted through the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, the College of Menominee Nation in Kenosha, Wisconsin, nine tribal entities and academic researchers to understand how climate change threatens the lake sturgeon and to develop adaptation strategies rooted in tribal knowledge.
Wildlife
Meet Maple: Former K-9 now beekeeper
|
By Clara Lincolnhol
Meet former K-9 Maple. She made a big career switch earlier this year—from a human remains detection dog to a beekeeper at Michigan State University’s Pollinator Performance Center. The friendly brown-and-white dog, with a long tongue that hangs out of her mouth, dons her own beekeeping suit and uses her powerful nose to detect American foulbrood — a bacteria that left undisturbed, means certain death for an entire honeybee colony.
Wildlife
Michigan DNR wants you to look out for invasive Asian longhorned beetle
|
By Rachel Lewis
The Michigan Invasive Species Program is asking the public to be on the lookout for the invasive Asian longhorned beetle. The inch-and-a-half long black beetle with white spots and long antennae is known to attack at least 12 species of hardwood trees, including maples, elms, horse chestnuts, birches and willows. Although the beetle has not yet been found in Michigan, the state Department of Natural Resources said the earlier they are found, the easier they are to eradicate.
Wildlife
Iconic Michigan songbird undergoes concerning population decline
|
By Clara Lincolnhol
One of Michigan’s most rare, iconic and celebrated bird species is the Kirtland’s warbler. Once nearly extinct in the 1970s, decades-long, targeted conservation efforts helped their population rebound. But this year’s census revealed something concerning: a significant drop in warblers– nearly 700 fewer pairs.
Wildlife
Dead deer and small fish: Michigan students learn to investigate poaching
|
By Emilio Perez Ibarguen
For students hoping to become conservation officers for the state Department of Natural Resources — tasked with enforcing fish, game and natural resource protection laws — one Northern Michigan University class gives a glimpse into their day-to-day work.