July 7, 2020
CNS budget, Summer 2020 Michigan Environmental Package #2
To: CNS Editors
From: Eric Freedman
http://news.jrn.msu.edu/capitalnewsservice/
For technical problems, contact CNS technical manager Tony Cepak at (517) 803-6841; cepak@msu.edu.
For other matters, contact Eric Freedman at (517) 355-4729 or (517) 256-3873; freedma5@msu.edu.
EDITORS: This is our 2nd summer package of Michigan-focused environmental stories in collaboration with our partner, Great Lakes Echo.
HERE’S YOUR FILE:
SINKHOLES: Scientists are returning to Lake Huron this summer to explore one of the deepest mysteries of the Great Lakes – underwater sinkholes. We hear from experts at Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, U-M and the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. By Carin Tunney. FOR ALL POINTS.
w/SINKHOLES PHOTO 1: Research boat explores a sinkhole on the northern edge of Rockport’s Middle Island. Credit: NOAA/David Ruck, Great Lakes Outreach Media.
w/SINKHOLES PHOTO 2: Microbial mats made of cyanobacteria and other organisms may hold answers about life on earth. Credit: Phil Hartmeyer/Thunder Bay Marine Sanctuary.
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DAMS: The recent failure of two dams in Midland County highlights the need to remove other failing and obsolete dams in Michigan before another disaster strikes, but there’s not enough money to do it. We talk to experts from DNR, Conservation Resource Alliance and Huron Pines and the owner of a bar in Wolverine. By Cassidy Hough. FOR ALL POINTS,
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BIGHEADED CARP: Bigheaded carp are a big threat to yellow perch, according to a new model that forecasts what would happen over the next several decades if bighead and silver carp made it into Lake Huron’s Saginaw Bay. The biggest concern is disruption of the food web. We hear from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Michigan State, Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. By Carin Tunney. FOR ALL POINTS.
w/BIGHEADED CARP PHOTO: Credit: U.S. Geological Survey.
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MASTERING THE LAKES: Theodore Karamanski didn’t expect to be reprimanded by Gordon Lightfoot at a concert in 1976. Lightfoot, widely known for his ballad, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” lectured an audience for living on the Lake Michigan shores while knowing nothing of Great Lakes history. We interview Karamanski about his new book, “Mastering the Inland Seas: How Lighthouses, Navigational Aid and Harbors Transformed the Great Lakes and America.” We also talk to a Grand Valley State historian and a scientist at the Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab in Ann Arbor. By Taylor Haelterman. FOR ALL POINTS.
w/MASTERING THE LAKES COVER: Credit: University of Wisconsin Press.
w/MASTERING THE LAKES PHOTO: This Fresnel lens that focuses the light beam of Minnesota’s Split Rock Lighthouse on Lake Superior is a lighthouse advancement discussed in “Mastering the Inland Seas.” Credit Library of Congress.
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CORMORANT: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has released its proposed new plan to address double-crested cormorant conflicts and allow killing as many as 77,000 of the migratory birds in the Mississippi and Central flyways each year. In Michigan and 23 other states. The federally protected waterbird has historically created problems for shoreline communities, and critics blame them for destroying vegetation and declining fish populations in some places, such as the Les Cheneaux Islands and Mackinac County’s Brevoort Lake. A DNR expert calls the proposal a step in the right direction “even if it is not at the level of control that fisheries managers desire.” By Peter Payette & Cassidy Hough. FOR ALL POINTS.
w/CORMORANT PHOTO: Credit: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
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RUIN TOURISM: It’s the lure of gloom, not glitz. It’s the appeal of decay, not resurrection. It’s the enchantment of failure, not success. It’s a ruin tour of Detroit, a type of “dark” tourism that draws visitors to the city. While some abandoned buildings await the wrecking ball, others such as the Michigan Central Station are being reborn. We talk to a researcher, who grew up in Grand Rapids, who has studied the phenomenon, and two tour operators who say abandoned buildings should be placed in the context of the city’s culture and social and industrial history. By Eric Freedman. FOR ALL POINTS.
w/RUIN TOURISM PHOTO: Ford Motor Co. is revitalizing the long-abandoned Michigan Central Station. Credit: Wikipedia.
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OUTDOORS ZOOM: Tired of getting trapped in countless Zoom meetings? Rather be hiking among Michigan’s natural wonders? The DNR can get you out of your home-office and into the outdoors. Sort of. It posted images of the state’s natural wonders formatted for use as a Zoom background. Among the locations mentioned: Straits of Mackinac, Tahquamenon Falls, Pigeon River State Forest, Allegan State Forest and Hartwick Pines State Park. By Dave Poulson. FOR ALL POINTS.
w/OUTDOORS ZOOM PHOTO TROUT: A closeup of the spotted scales of a brown trout – gold and ed on a blue-gray background. Credit: Department of Natural Resources.
w/OUTDOORS ZOOM PHOTO TAHQUAMENON: Water thunders over the edge of Tahquamenon Falls, framed by leaves and vegetation. Credit: Department of Natural Resources
w/OUTDOORS ZOOM PHOTO ASPEN: The white-gray bark of aspen trunks contrasts with the blazing yellow and orange fall foliage at Pigeon River Country State Forest. Credit: Department of Natural Resources.
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