Beth Hudson, a left below-knee amputee, can enjoy one of her favorite pastimes, cycling, with her modified tricycle that has a small motor activated with a throttle. Image courtesy Beth Hudson
Land

Disability rights advocates ask Mackinac Island to allow Class 2 e-bikes

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By Gabrielle Nelson

The only things that rival the popularity of bikes on Mackinac Island are horses and fudge. M-185 stretches around the island, hugging the coast with a clear view of Lake Huron’s crystal blue waters. The 8.2 miles is a perfect bike trail because it boasts a unique feature: It’s the only state highway in the country with no motorized vehicles. And that includes e-bikes that riders can operate without pedaling by engaging a throttle. To preserve the no-motor tradition, Mackinac Island placed a ban on throttle assisted e-bikes, but is now facing backlash from e-bike users who say the ban discriminates against people with disabilities who can’t use the iconic road.

: A Blanding's turtle stands at the edge of a wetland. Image: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Water

Michigan and Ohio receive $500,000 to study rare turtles

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By Ruth Thornton

State wildlife agencies in Michigan and Ohio have received nearly $500,000 in federal funding to study rare turtles. The grant is part of more than $7 million distributed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to benefit rare and declining fish and wildlife and their habitats across the country. Other states receiving funding under the program this year include Minnesota, Iowa, Hawaii and North and South Carolina. Michigan’s work will focus on Blanding’s and spotted turtles, two rare species that often occur in wetlands. The funding will allow researchers to understand how the populations of both species are doing, especially the survival of nests and baby turtles.

An Isle Royale wolf. Image: National Park Service
Wildlife

Wolves hit Isle Royale campgrounds in search of food

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By Gabrielle Nelson

A warning for campers on Lake Superior’s Isle Royale National Park: Wolves are venturing into campground trash cans for easy meals. The park reminds visitors to secure and monitor food and trash to keep people and wolves separate and safe. “Wolves are very opportunistic and will utilize just about anything as a food source, and obviously getting in the garbage is an easy one,” said Brian Roell, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’s large-carnivore specialist. Liz Valencia, who manages cultural resources for the national park, said a couple of wolves started knocking down trash cans at the Rock Harbor campground, one of the park’s busiest areas. Rangers’ efforts to secure trash cans and scare away the wolves failed, she said, and the wolves keep coming back.

Electronics contain critical minerals such as copper, nickel, gold, lithium and cobalt needed to make batteries for electric vehicles and to electrify Michigan’s energy grid. Image: Gabrielle Nelson
Energy

The electric energy future could be wasting away in a junk drawer

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By Gabrielle Nelson

Lily Wilkin has four old phones tucked away in her closet — and no plans to recycle them. “I keep them for nostalgia,” she said. Wilkin works at Best Buy, the nation’s largest retail collector of electronic waste — from CRT TVs to hard drives to fans. Wilkin said at least two customers drop off electronics for recycling every day at the East Lansing Best Buy. Even though she knows about the e-waste collection program, she’s choosing to keep her old electronics.

Student researchers Ava Whitlock and Brody Glei get ready to fly a drone equipped with a heat-sensitive camera to find rare eastern massasauga rattlesnakes. Image: Ruth Thorton/WKAR
Wildlife

Researchers use drones to find elusive Michigan rattlesnake

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By Ruth Thornton

Standing together at Pierce Cedar Creek Institute near Hastings, Michigan, two students stared intently at the screen, looking for the subtle signs of the small rattlesnake they were trying to find. The eastern massasauga, Michigan’s only rattlesnake, typically hides in dense vegetation in wetlands, and conservation biologists are concerned about trampling their sensitive wetland habitats to study them. To avoid that problem, researchers are using drones equipped with heat-sensitive cameras to find them. “What I’m looking for is anything that looks what we call ‘snakey,’” said Brody Glei, a student at Grand Valley State University, as he looks at the screen with the camera feed – “where it’s either kind of looking like an S-curve or if it’s in some weird shape that doesn’t really look like vegetation.”

Those studying the rare and elusive eastern massasauga rattlesnake are hampered by its secretive behavior. Massasaugas hide so well that researchers often walk by just inches away without seeing them, Glei said.

Nearshore

Deliberate sinking on Lake Ontario nets conviction

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By Eric Freedman

A Rochester, N.Y., man who deliberately abandoned and sunk his 25-foot Bayliner in Lake Ontario must pay $15,442 restitution to cover the cost of unnecessary search-and-rescue operations. Vyacheslav Migitskiy admitted lying to federal investigators about his ownership of the boat, according to court documents. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Migitskiy “intentionally sunk the vessel without reporting his actions” on Aug. 25, 2022. The next day, civilians spotted the partially submerged boat, triggering an immediate search-and-rescue operation by the Coast Guard, New York State Police and other agencies.

Water

Forty years on, future of contaminant plume under Ann Arbor still murky

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By Elinor Epperson

Gelman Sciences LLC manufactured medical filters for decades, but that’s not the public health issue the company is known for. Dioxane from Gelman’s Scio Township plant leaked into Ann Arbor’s groundwater, creating a plume of contamination more than 4 miles long. That contamination was discovered by a University of Michigan graduate student, Dan Bicknell, who alerted the state environmental regulator on June 26, 1984. But Gelman had been dumping the chemical since 1966. And 40 years after Bicknell blew the whistle, the plume is larger than ever.

Climate

Green infrastructure job trainings aim to support growing field

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By Elinor Epperson

As more green infrastructure projects are installed across the state, more workers are needed to maintain them. Friends of the Rouge, a Detroit-area nonprofit that manages the River Rouge watershed, is offering a short course about maintaining green infrastructure like rain gardens. The course is an opportunity for workers to expand their job skills and contribute to green projects in the metropolitan area. Cyndi Ross, the restoration manager at Friends of the Rouge, said more green projects in the city means more trained workers are needed. “It’s in demand, and the demand is growing,” she said.

Moms Clean Air Force demonstrates an electric school bus in front of a manufacturing facility as a part of its national Let’s Get Rolling Tour in 202. Courtesy photo
Air

Inside is not the answer: Air quality in the Great Lakes

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By Mia Litzenberg

In the Detroit area, people experience unsafe levels of particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and ozone in the air they breathe. These pollutants are blamed for adverse health effects such as heart disease, respiratory issues and cancer. The University of Michigan is part of an ongoing Detroit research partnership, Community Action to Promote Healthy Environments (CAPHE). CAPHE identifies sources of air pollution, measures its impact on residents and empowers the community to take action. CAPHE found that outdoor air pollution has caused people to miss a total of 500,000 days of work and 990,000 days of school.