Wild turkeys in a field

Michigan residents encouraged to report wild turkey sightings this summer

By Clara Lincolnhol

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is asking state residents to report the number of wild turkeys they see this summer. The statewide survey will be used to get a sense of the turkey population to find out if baby turkeys are replacing adults. The survey, which runs through the end of August, asks residents to report when and where they’ve seen the birds in Michigan.

Can Michigan’s forests survive climate change? One researcher is finding out

By Emilio Perez Ibarguen

As Michigan’s climate warms, tree species like red pine and eastern white pine may no longer thrive here. Their native regions are moving north faster than forests can keep up with. That could have devastating consequences for Michigan’s $26.5 billion timber industry and rob the state of the ecological services the forest provides like carbon storage, water filtration and wildlife habitats. To help forests stand a chance, Michigan State University forest genetics assistant professor Jeremy Johnson is experimenting with “assisted tree migration.”

A bat held by gloved hands

New state program encourages Michigan residents to report bat roosts

By Clara Lincolnhol
The Department of Natural Resources is encouraging residents to report bat roosts. These are the places where bats sleep and raise their babies like chimneys, trees and bridges. DNR bat specialist John DePue says the Michigan Bat Roost Monitoring Program will collect data that will help scientists better understand bat behavior and improve conservation methods.

Gray treefrog in a tree

Wildlife changes found on Lake Huron island

By Eric Freedman
In nature, a lot can change on a largely uninhabited Great Lakes island over the course of a century. And a lot can stay the same. That includes the disappearance and appearance of wildlife species. That’s what scientists discovered when they inventoried mammals and amphibians on Charity Island, a 252-acre speck near the mouth of Saginaw Bay in Lake Huron. It’s one of about 35,000 islands in the Great Lakes, most of them even smaller than Charity Island, according to a recent study.

Portrait of Sen. Sean McCann of Kalamazoo

Michigan’s bottle return rates keep falling. Is it time for change?

By Emilio Perez Ibarguen
Michigan beer and pop buyers increasingly aren’t bothering to return their bottles and cans to get their deposit back, and in the process left more than $116 million on the table last year. Some beverage industry representatives are pointing to the decrease as a sign that the law has become irrelevant. Meanwhile, retailers and environmentalists alike are looking at what could be done to make returning empties more convenient — although they butt heads on how exactly to do so.

Algae bloom in Lake Erie

Michigan’s fight against Lake Erie pollution didn’t work. What happens next?

 Since the 1990s, algae blooms have become increasingly common each summer in western Lake Erie. The blooms are caused by an overabundance of nutrients, namely phosphorus, that spills into the lake off farms. Credit: National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration

By Emilio Perez Ibarguen

Michigan and its neighbors have missed a 2025 deadline to curb the farm pollution that feeds toxic algal blooms in western Lake Erie, despite 10 years of work and millions of dollars spent on the effort. 

Now, state officials are revamping their strategy. But they’re not setting a new deadline for now. “Seeing how we’re implementing these newer approaches is an important step before updating some of the timelines,” said Tim Boring, the director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. 

He added that any future deadline should be “realistic and achievable.”

The state’s strategy irks environmentalists who have long criticized Great Lakes governments for refusing to regulate farm pollution while instead leaning on voluntary programs that aren’t working. “These were commitments made by the state of Ohio, by the state of Michigan, by the United States.

A beach along Lake Michigan

Great Lakes slightly colder than usual ahead of summer

By Emilio Perez Ibarguen
Now that Memorial Day is behind us, thoughts naturally turn to summer and the return of watersports on the Great Lakes, but Michiganders tempted to take a dip in those inviting waters now might be in for a chilly surprise. Slowed by a cold May, the Great Lakes are slightly cooler than usual for this time of year.