Business & Economy

New book exposes local impact on introduction, loss of salmon in Great Lakes

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SALMON BOOK: The fall of salmon in the Great Lakes can be seen as a good thing ecologically although some people prefer native species, but the personal perspective and the local impact often are forgotten. We talk to a former Muskegon-based biologist who wrote a new book, The Salmon Capital of Michigan: The Rise and Fall of a Great Lakes Fishery, which tells that story from the perspective of Rogers City. We also hear from an MSU fisheries expert. By Shealyn Paulis. FOR ALPENA, ALCONA, MIDLAND, MONROE, ST. IGNACE, BAY MILLS, SAULT STE. MARIE, MARQUETTE, IRON MOUNTAIN, CHEBOYGAN, PETOSKEY, HARBOR SPRINGS, LUDINGTON, TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAU, OCEANA COUNTY, HOLLAND AND ALL POINTS.

Agriculture

Some want Michigan to regulate septic tanks to protect water quality 

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SEPTIC: Environmental groups are again pushing the Legislature to adopt a statewide sanitary code that would include mandatory inspections of septic systems. Leaking systems can contaminate groundwater, lakes and rivers, causing health problems and deterring water-related recreation. Sponsors include lawmakers from East Grand Rapids, Troy, Detroit, Holt, Walker, St. Joseph and Livonia. We talk to the Michigan Environmental Council, Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council and a Montmorency County homeowner with a septic tank. By Elijah Taub. FOR MICHIGAN FARM NEWS, MONTMORENCY, ALPENA, PETOSKEY, HARBOR SPRINGS, CHEBOYGAN, DETROIT, GREENVILLE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, FOWLERVILLE, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS AND ALL POINTS.

Business & Economy
Sen. Rosemary Bayer, D-West Bloomfield, is cosponsoring a bill to empower the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy to regulate new chemicals in water.

Michigan hasn’t updated list of dangerous toxins in nearly 20 years. That might change

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TOXINS: The state has been stymied in adding new toxic chemicals to the list of those it can regulate in Michigan waters. Lawmakers from West Bloomfield and Northfield Township want to restore that authority to the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. We hear from EGLE, the Farm Bureau and the Michigan Environmental Council. By Theo Scheer. FOR MICHIGAN FARM NEWS, DETROIT, PLANET DETROIT, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS AND ALL POINTS.

Business & Economy
The Dickinson County Road Commission paves a road with a rubber-modified asphalt that uses recycled tires.

Thousands of tires hitting the roads may end up in them

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TIRES: Michigan may have a sustainable answer, at least in part, to fixing its roads: asphalt made from recycled rubber tires. A partnership among state regulators, Michigan Tech and county road commissions is looking to reduce the piles of used tires. State grants support such efforts. We hear from the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, a Muskegon official and a Michigan Tech expert. By Anna Barnes. FOR IRON MOUNTAIN, BAY MILLS, MARQUETTE, SAULT STE. MARIE, ST. IGNACE, LUDINGTON AND ALL POINTS.

Environment
The Smart Lake Erie Watershed Initiative’s buoys are retrieved in the winter and redeployed in the spring to prevent damage to the sensors.

Smart buoys help brace Great Lakes for environmental challenges

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SMART BUOYS: Lake Erie is the first Great Lake getting connected to the internet with a series of offshore “smart” buoys, which provides invaluable data to researchers and anglers. Plans are to extend the technology to other Great Lakes. Michigan TechUniversity and Lake Superior State are part of the collaboration. By Daniel Schoenherr. FOR MONROE, SAULT STE. MARIE, MARQUETTE, ST. IGNACE, ALPENA, ALCONA, CHEBOYGAN, TRAVERSE CITY, PETOSKEY, HARBOR SPRINGS, LEELANAU, OCEANA COUNTY, LUDINGTON, HOLLAND, PLANET DETROIT, IRON MOUNTAIN AND ALL POINTS.

Arts & Entertainment
Genevieve Fox, far right, and other journalists tour the Carmeuse Lime Manufacturing Plant in River Rogue, and hear Simone Sagovic, the project manager at the Southwest Detroit Community Benefits Coalition, speak about health problems of people living nearby.

Reporting on the environment is a tough job

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ENVIRONMENTAL FESTIVAL: The Great Lakes Environmental Festival will take place in Manistee in April. We talked to environmental journalist Genevieve Fox, who will speak at the festival and the University of Detroit Mercy professor who organized the event. By Clara Lincolnhol. FOR LUDINGTON, PLANET DETROIT, DETROIT, MICHIGAN FARM NEWS AND ALL POINTS.

Agriculture
Lake trout and whitefish leather dyed with natural indigo.

Twenty companies pledge to use all parts of Great Lakes fish

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USING FISH: Fish-leather purses and wallets may make their way into Great Lakes fashion with an initiative to use 100% of commercially caught fish by 2025. One of the latest projects is to fully use the region’s whitefish, lake trout, yellow perch, walleye and white sucker. Mackinaw City might be one research site. Companies in L’Anse, Detroit, Manistee and Munising participate. It also involves the Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians and the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians. We learn more from the Conference of Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors & Premiers. By Shealyn Paulis. FOR MONROE, ALPENA, ALCONA, ST. IGNACE, CHEBOYGAN, SAULT STE. MARIE, BAY MILLS, TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAU, LUDINGTON, OCEANA COUNTY, PETOSKEY, HARBOR SPRINGS, HOLLAND, MARQUETTE, IRON MOUNTAIN, PLANET DETROIT, DETROIT AND ALL POINTS.

Ballot Issues
Mike Yoder, founder of Drone Deer Recovery, flies a drone used to recover deer carcasses.

Lawsuit could complicate drone laws for hunters and anglers.

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DRONES, DEER & FISH: Do drones mesh or clash with hunting and fishing ethics and regulations. A company that uses drones to locate deer carcasses is suing to challenge Michigan’s ban on the practice. Meanwhile, wildlife officials, anglers and hunters debate the ethics and implications of drone use. We hear from the head of the company, the Natural Resources Commission chair, the DNR and a Holland angler. For news and outdoors sections. By Ben Eiler. FOR HOLLAND, WKTV AND ALL POINTS.