Great Lakes Echo (https://greatlakesecho.org/tag/capital-news-service/page/29/)
Iosco County would become tMichigan’s birding capital under a legislative proposal that’s a dead duck — at least for this year.
The bill stems from work that an Oscoda woman did with the sponsor, Sen. John Moolenaar, R-Midland, to make Iosco County a destination for bird watching tourism.
One proposal allows local laws to avoid detours connecting off-road vehicle routes
Wildlife is on the move in Michigan with species like black bears moving increasingly south.
Ballast water has become a battleground for environmentalists and shippers throughout the Great Lakes.
A proposed bill could loosen Michigan’s rigorous treatment standards for ballast water to international requirements.
Federal wildlife refuges across Michigan are celebrating the outdoors during National Wildlife Refuge Week.
The National Wildlife Refuge System maintains about 150 million acres in 558 refuges across the country. There are three main ones in Michigan.
After the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) released floodplain maps, effective April 17, homeowners started receiving letters from their lenders giving them 45 days to buy additional insurance because they were in a flood zone.
Floodplain maps for counties statewide were determined by FEMA, but officials in Gladwin and Crawford counties were concerned about the accuracy and impact of the maps.
The size and timelines of state payments to local governments is under fire as many counties, advocacy organizations and legislators are calling for more accountability in Lansing.
At issue are state payments in lieu of taxes (PILT) to local governments, including school districts, instead of property taxes on land administered by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Late and reduced payments are harming local governments and communities that feel the state already holds an advantage through the PILT system, critics say.
LANSING – A widely-supported bill that would prevent property tax increases for owners who transfer family-owned land has a high chance of becoming law before the end of the year, according to the sponsor, Rep. Peter Pettalia, R-Presque Isle.
Current law decrees that the taxable value of a home cannot increase from one year to the next by more than 5 percent or the increase in the consumer price index.
New advertising campaign lures fall and winter tourists to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Nonprofit organizations that safeguard land and habitat in Southeast Michigan are worried about a proposal that could tax their preserves.