Great Lakes Echo (https://greatlakesecho.org/tag/capital-news-service/page/46/)
A recent report rates Michigan’s progress in lowering the risk of eating fish as poor.
Officials blame the failure to reduce the atmospheric deposition of mercury and on PCB contaminants. And stormwater runoff and sewage overflows are an increasing concern.
Cash-strapped government officials have struck a deal with a state workers union to allow volunteers to groom Michigan ski trails.
In December the agency announced that only eight state forest ski trails would be groomed, and mostly by volunteer organizations.
Grooming involves removing debris, adding or removing snow and creating a level amount of snow, to improve skiing.
A bill in response to a 2004 death aims to make snowmobiling and other trail hobbies safer in Michigan by requiring that chains, ropes and wires that block entry to any property be hunter orange in color and no more than 30 inches high.
Three ecologists explore the history and future of two vital ecosystems in this book about the savannas and prairies that once cover 7 percent of Michigan.
Farming, logging, development, drainage systems, overuse of groundwater and absence of fire threaten their existence.
A new federal law allows firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges, including concealed guns and makes state law applicable within the park or refuge.
In Michigan, that means a person with a concealed weapons permit can have a hidden gun; an openly displayed firearm is also legal. The change doesn’t apply to national forests, which already follow state laws.
Some lawmakers want Michigan to be able to issue bonds to help homeowners pay for energy efficiency measures such as renewable energy systems, storm windows, automated energy controls and new heating and air conditioning units. The proposal is designed to create jobs and stimulate the economy.
Michigan environmental agencies hope Monday’s White House Asian carp summit will prompt the closing of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship canal to the invaders.
We want “to keep the carp out of the lakes, protect the $7 billion Great Lakes fishery and nearly a million Michigan jobs,” said Nick De Leeuw, a public information officer for Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox.
In July, East Lansing will get a new, open-air farmer’s market that will enable consumers to more easily buy Michigan produce and products, including those that are locally grown.
Scientists have found another promising weapon in the battle against sea lampreys, strong evidence that they may win the war against one of the Great Lakes’ most infamous invaders.
Researchers at Michigan State University have begun field tests on a chemical compound that tricks the lampreys and lures them into traps.
It’s easy to recognize Fermi 2’s distinctive cooling towers rising over Newport. The nuclear power plant’s hyperbolic-shaped towers have puffed water vapor along the shore of Lake Erie since 1988.
The DTE Energy-owned facility is the newest of Michigan’s three nuclear plants.