Art

All the world’s a stage: Theater project in Michigan marsh aims to promote conservation

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By Daniel Schoenherr

There’s always drama unfolding at Michigan State University’s Corey Marsh Ecological Research Center: Predators hunt prey, animals show off for potential mates and plants compete for sunlight. Later this month, though, visitors to the marsh will see a different kind of drama: a play, complete with a student cast, hand-crafted sets and a story blending science education with comedy and drama. A group of Michigan State students created the play, “The Link,” with input from experts in conservation and environmental communication. The project is part of a larger trend that blends conservation and the arts to get communities thinking about their natural areas, they say. Performances will begin at 6:30 p.m. Sept.

Echo

National Geographic spotlights ‘lesser known’ Indiana Dunes National Park

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By Grace Jenkins

Indiana Dunes National Park is among the country’s five “lesser known national parks to add to your bucket list,” according to National Geographic. 

With 2.7 million visitors in 2023, the park ranks 36th in attendance among 393 national parks, monuments and historic sites. Credited for its striking plant and bird diversity, the park offers recreational and educational opportunities that many visitors enjoy, according to the National Park Service. In 2019, what was then called the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore became the state’s first national park. Betsy Maher, the executive director of Save the Dunes, an environmental conservation organization based in Michigan City, Indiana, cited the effects that renaming the park has had on its popularity. “The combination of 2020 with the pandemic and the name-change status caused a big boom in visitorship,” Maher said.

Energy

E-bike surge sparks safety concerns amid policy changes

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By Donté Smith

The surge in electric bike (e-bike) sales has been nothing short of “obvious,” according to Rick Teranes, the co-owner of Bikes Blades & Boards in Grosse Pointe, Michigan

“Sales of e-bikes have multiplied in recent years,” Teranes said, highlighting the significant shift in Metro Detroit’s cycling landscape driven by their growing popularity. And that has raised concerns about safety for e-cyclists, pedestrians and motorists. In response to the increasing use of e-bikes, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources recently implemented a land use change, allowing Class 1 e-bikes on designated non-motorized trails. Class 1 e-bikes provide pedal-assist without a throttle and can reach speeds up to 20 mph. Class 2 e-bikes have the same speed limit but include a throttle, allowing riders to accelerate without pedaling.

Art

Small grants boost businesses, neighborhoods, in cities across the state

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By Katie Finkbeiner

Capital News Service

In Iron Mountain, Michigan, Sandstone Terrace rooftop bar shares an alley with First National Bank and Trust. And hanging over the alley: a sky art installation. In the summer of 2023, the installation consisted of a rainbow assortment of umbrellas. In June 2024, the umbrellas were replaced by rotating miniature hot air balloons. “It’s been a big draw for people to sit along the edge and take their group photos with the hot air balloons in the back,” said Brandy Wentz, the manager of Sandstone Terrace.

Water

Wisconsin officials ask the public to report algal blooms in Lake Superior

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By Anna Barnes

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is banking on public oversight of the largest Great Lake to help gauge the threat of increasingly common algal blooms.

Blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria, can produce toxins that pose a danger to public health, said Kait Reinl, research coordinator at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Lake Superior National Estuarine Reserve in Superior, Wisconsin. Symptoms from exposure include stomach cramps, diarrhea, vomiting, headache, muscle weakness, fever and difficulty breathing, according to the Wisconsin DNR. Pets and children are particularly at risk. “The reason we specifically call out children and pets is because they’re pretty indiscriminate about the water that they’re inhaling or swallowing, and that’s really where the biggest risk lies,” Reinl said. As of Sept.

Energy

Energy transition requires fight against disinformation, expert says

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By Clara Lincolnhol

“Be curious, not judgmental.” This quote from the popular comedy-drama “Ted Lasso” is how a professor of energy law recommends we approach conversations about energy policy and politics. “We can be a force that fights against demonization and the nastiness online and instead ask questions to people who introduce an idea that’s different or contradicts what we believe,” said David Spence, a professor of energy law at the University of Texas Austin and author of the recent book “Climate of Contempt.”

He was speaking at the Michigan State University’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism. “Climate of Contempt” (Columbia University Press, $28) covers the complex political nature of the energy transition in two major parts, with three chapters in each part. The energy transition, or reaching “‘net zero,” is the process of cutting carbon emissions until the carbon released is canceled out by the carbon absorbed. The first part of the book focuses on the history of the energy industry, regulation and policy in the United States.

Manoomin Stewardship Plan workshop participants in wild rice beds. Image: Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy
Land

A New Paradigm: How climate change is shaping mental landscapes in the Great Lakes

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By Mia Litzenberg

In a weekly Good Grief Network session held on July 25, time and space were created for participants to reflect on their feelings of uncertainty in an unstable environment over Zoom. Trained facilitators kept time for each participant to speak while the other participants bore witness as listeners. The overarching rule was no cross-talk, which means not directly responding or referring to what a person shared. The session began with a grounding exercise, where participants closed their eyes and imagined themselves in a safe space in nature. They were encouraged to embody any sensory details associated with this place.

A white-tailed deer on a snowy November day in Marquette County. Image: Michigan DNR
Wildlife

Michigan is part of multi-state effort to track chronic wasting disease

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By Elinor Epperson

Researchers at Cornell University are studying whether machine learning can help states and tribes predict the spread of a dangerous disease plaguing North American deer. A recent study done in partnership with Michigan State University showed that machine learning could calculate where chronic wasting disease will spread at the county level. That information will help state and tribal agencies address a problem much larger than their individual jurisdictions, said Mitch Marcus, the wildlife health supervisor at the state Department of Natural Resources. “Wildlife and associated disease and or wildlife pathogens don’t understand or know jurisdictional boundaries,” he said. Chronic wasting disease is a neurological, degenerative disease caused by prions.

Land

Illegal dumping nets probation sentence in Ohio fish kill

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By Eric Freedman

 

A federal judge has sentenced an Ohio business owner to one year on probation and a $5,000 fine for illegally dumping a hazardous ammonia-containing substance into the Scioto River near Kenton. The crime killed more than 40,000 fish. U.S. Magistrate Judge Darrell Clay also ordered Mark Shepherd, 72, to perform 150 hours of community service and pay $22,509 to the Ohio Division of Wildlife for violating the Clean Water Act. Shepherd, who co-owns a chemical and fertilizer transportation business, had pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge after an investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency and state agencies. Here’s what happened, according to court documents: In April 2021, Shepherd commingled water from a tanker trailer used to transport anhydrous ammonia – a nitrogen fertilizer — with 7,000 gallons of clean water, then disposed of it into a catch basin.

Paddle boarders cross Platte Lake, Michigan, where a decades-long campaign reduced algal blooms caused by runoff from a fish hatchery. Image: J. Carl Ganter/ Circle of Blue
Nearshore

Great Lakes beach closings are no protection from harmful pollutants

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By Amalia Medina

A green flag flying on a Great Lakes beach does not necessarily mean it’s safe to swim. Checking beach monitoring websites like BeachGuard is not a surefire solution either. These two findings are central to a public health research project, the Great Lakes Microbial Water Quality Assessment, that set out to measure microbial and chemical threats in Great Lakes waters, and how to reduce the number of illnesses they cause each year. A report from the project, sponsored by the International Joint Commission said decades-old testing methods are inadequate and “advances in newer methods are critically needed.” The commission is bi-national agency that advises the U.S. and Canada on managing water along the border. The need for such research is considered urgent.