Echo
Michigan’s shortage of forest fire fighters causes worry
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A shortage of trained fire officers in Michigan is reducing the capacity to fight and prevent forest fires on state land, according to a state official.
Echo
Shock and scorch: Michigan tries to stay ahead of blueberry viruses
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New research from the Department of Agriculture (MDA) and Michigan State University suggests there’s a growing viral threat to blueberry plants in the state: blueberry shock and scorch.
Echo
Suburban Detroit greens up with federal grants
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Oakland and Macomb counties are getting a little greener with federal money for energy-based projects under the Obama administration’s stimulus program.
Sixty-one communities received grants from the Department of Energy, most in the southeast part of the state. Among them are projects to manufacture wind turbines, generate electricity from wastewater sludge and install solar shingles.
Echo
State and hunting preserves squabble over source of Michigan’s destructive wild pigs
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Michigan’s got a big pig problem, and nobody wants to take the blame.
The presence of feral pigs has been widely reported in the media.
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Bill would exempt Detroit from Right to Farm Act, allow stricter regulation of urban agriculture
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Legislators from Detroit and Greenville have teamed up in an effort to ease restrictions on Detroit under the state farming laws.
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Grants aimed at treating wastewater from food processing
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The latest round of Department of Agriculture (MDA) grants will promote new cost-effective ways to manage wastewater from food processing — a rising concern in growing specialty crops.
The grants to companies in Frankfort and Grand Haven and to Michigan State University are part of a larger initiative to enhance the state’s agriculture industry, including food processing.
Echo
Research shows concentrations of flame retardants in breast milk
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Michigan environmental groups say the Senate has unjustifiably delayed a bill to ban a chemical linked to brain damage among breast-fed children.
New research shows increasing concentrations of flame retardants in women’s breast milk in the Great Lakes basin.
Studies show the chemical can harm human health and is finding its way into soil, water and wildlife in Michigan.
Echo
Should the government or consumers weigh risks and benefits of raw milk?
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Whether consumers should be allowed to purchase unpasteurized milk has been a hot topic in Michigan for years.
Wildlife
Bat-killing disease approaching Michigan could affect agriculture and ash borers
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Michigan’s bats are under attack — not from tennis racquet-swinging bat swatters or vampire-hunters but principally from a deadly fungus with the potential to disrupt the ecosystem.
Nationwide, white-nose syndrome has wiped out an estimated 1 million bats since it was initially seen in a New York cave in 2006. Since then, it’s been identified in 14 states and two Canadian provinces and is moving westward.
Echo
Michigan prepares fishing gear restrictions for 73 more miles of river
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The Department of Natural Resources and Environment has issued its final proposal to impose fishing restrictions on 73 more miles of river, but not without controversy.