Wildlife
Insect threat spreads to Ohio state forest, threatens Great Lakes region
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A small, aphid-like insect was recently found infesting a stand of hemlock trees in south central Ohio and has increased fears that it is spreading.
Wildlife
Scary invaders threaten Great Lakes, environmentalists warn
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By Jon Gaskell
Capital News Service
LANSING— Beware the Northern snakehead. Beware the inland silverside. And beware a host of other invasive species prompting a recent report recommending spending billions to separate the Mississippi River from the Great Lakes. The Asian carp is the media darling that gets all the attention. But according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, there are 39 other “high-risk invasive species” that might migrate through Chicago waterways and have the potential to wreak ruin on native ecosystems.
Of these species, 10 could potentially cause huge environmental damage, the agency said. “Asian carp are sort of the canary in the coal mine,” said Jared Teutsch of the Chicago-based Alliance for the Great Lakes.
Wildlife
Photo Friday: Gluttonous Squirrel
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My family has watched this bird feeder in the small tree outside our Farmington Hills, Mich., home for about ten years. I’ve never seen as many squirrels as this winter gathered under it or on the tree above it. There is an average of about ten squirrels a day. Maybe it’s the warm winter. Maybe they’ve finally learned the tricks of the trade.
Wildlife
Lake Erie’s tiny new invader
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A mini-invader that latches onto Great Lakes fish has found its way into Lake Erie.
Scientists aren’t sure what impact they will have, if any, or how the seemingly innocuous little copepods got here.
Wildlife
Camera lovin’ cougar keeps strutting around Michigan’s UP
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For years there was great disagreement about the presence of cougars in Michigan, and now one photogenic cat keeps dismissing the naysayers by strutting in front of trail cameras in the Upper Peninsula. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources confirmed a radio-collared cougar on Nov. 17 caught on camera in northern Houghton County. They consider it to be the same one caught on camera twice before. “This is the third time this animal has been captured on trail cameras in the Upper Peninsula,” said Adam Bump in a prepared statement.
Wildlife
Guitars and melodies to stop spreading invaders
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As an angler and mandolin player, I’ve often wondered what it is about the two seemingly disparate hobbies that draws me to them. And I’m not alone. Most anglers I know have an acoustic lying around somewhere, and most guitar pickers I know have some pretty good trout stories. Well, that’s research for another day. But Bret Shaw, an environmental communication specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Extension, is looking to tap into this connection to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species in the Great Lakes region.
Wildlife
Michigan bill would change oversight of deer farms
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Two Michigan departments regulate fenced in deer farms.
Some farmers are unhappy with the DNR’s role, and a new bill would make the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development solely responsible for the farms.
Wildlife
Dead bats at wind farms perplex researchers, developers
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Wind turbines popping up around the Great Lakes are getting a reputation among webbed-winged night prowlers as large, spinning murderers.
Wildlife
Economic fallout from deer bait ban continues three years later
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In 2008, the Michigan Natural Resources Commission prohibited hunters from baiting deer.
Some three years later northeast Michigan residents still blame a ban on deer baiting for harming the local economy.
Wildlife
Sonar-equipped robo-kayak patrols Welland Canal for carp
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Canadian scientists are launching a robotic kayak equipped with echo sounder sensors in the Welland Canal this week to see if invasive fish such as the Asian carp could travel between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.