To: CNS Editors
From: Eric Freedman
http://news.jrn.msu.edu/capitalnewsservice/
For technical problems, contact CNS technical manager Eryn Ho at (616) 485-9295; hoeryn@msu.edu.
For other matters, contact Eric Freedman at (517) 256-3873; freedma5@msu.edu
You are welcome to use the CNS logo:
Editors: This is our 1st CNS summer Michigan environmental package in partnership with Great Lakes Echo.
Here’s your file:
BUTTERFLIES: Three butterflies are racing to become Michigan’s official state insect – and the black swallowtail is ahead, at least politically. The Michigan Garden Clubs and a House committee are among its fans, but the Karner blue and the monarch aren’t out of the running yet. Lawmakers, including ones from Meridian Township, Muskegon and Pontiac, are split. By Vladislava Sukhanovskaya. FOR ALL POINTS.
w/BUTTERFLIES PHOTO BLACK SWALLOWTAIL: Black swallowtail butterfly. Credit: Department of Natural Resource
w/BUTTERFLIES PHOTO KARNER BLUE: Karner blue butterfly at the Allegan State Game Area in Fennville. Credit: David Kenyon/ Department of Natural Resources
w/BUTTERFLIES PHOTO MONARCH: Newly emerged monarch butterfly. Credit: Matt Clara/ Department of Natural Resources
–
SOLAR DISPUTE: Large-scale solar projects are a hotly disputed topic in Livingston County and elsewhere in the state, especially in rural areas with lots of farmland that could become project sites. Complex, interconnected questions about local government authority, private property rights and renewable energy sources. We talk to a Conway Township farmer, Consumers Energy, Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association and Michigan Environmental Council. By Ruth Thornton. FOR ALL POINTS.
w/SOLAR DISPUTE PHOTO FARMLAND: Farmland in Livingston County. Credit: Ruth Thornton
–
GREAT LAKES BOOK CLUB: Readers across the Great Lakes states and Canada this year will participate in a basin-wide book club hosted by the Library of the Great Lakes. From now until September 2025, participants will read Bloomfield Township author Sally Cole-Misch’s The Best Part of Us that takes place on an inland lake near Lake Huron and deals with family history, heritage and place-based attachment.They’ll also read an Ontario author’s children’s book, The Water Walker. By Kayla Nelsen. FOR ALL POINTS.
w/GREAT LAKES BOOK CLUB COLE-MISCH: Author Sally Cole-Misch says her background in environmental communication taught her that story-telling is a powerful educational tool. Credit: Susan Adams
w/GREAT LAKES BOOK CLUB COVER: Cover of The Best Part of Us. Courtesy photo
–
DAMS & BLOOMS: Like clockwork, Ford Lake and its downstream neighbor, Belleville Lake, turn bright green every summer due to harmful algal blooms. The lakes, near Ypsilanti, have struggled for decades with phosphorus pollution that spurs algae growth. The quest for a solution is familiar to urban lake communities across the Great Lakes region. Area residents, a U-M researcher and an Ann Arbor public works official discuss. By Elinor Epperson and Daniel Schoenherr. FOR ALL POINTS.
w/DAMS & BLOOMS PHOTO BELLEVILLE LAKE: Jim and Melinda O’Neill’s property overlooks the east end of Belleville Lake. They don’t boat or fish on the lake, but enjoy the view. Credit: Elinor Epperson
w/DAMS & BLOOMS PHOTO FORD LAKE DAM: The Ford Lake Dam was built in the 1930s to produce hydroelectricity for a nearby Ford auto plant. Ypsilanti Township now sells the electricity it generates to DTE Energy. Credit: Elinor Epperson
–
SHIPWRECK: Only a year after its launch in Detroit, the ill-fated Mojave sank in an 1864 storm, taking its crew of five to the bottom of Lake Michigan. The ship, well-preserved due to the lake’s cold water, was just added to the National Register of Historic Places. By Eric Freedman. FOR ALL POINTS.
w/SHIPWRECK PHOTO: Pieces of wreckage of the Mojave are visible on the bottom of Lake Michigan. Credit: Wisconsin Historical Society
w/SHIPWRECK OVERHEAD MODEL: Overhead view of a photogrammetry model of the Mojave. Credit: Zach Whitrock, wisconsinshipwrecks.org
–
WATERSHEDS: Watershed councils covering the Huron, Rouge and Clinton rivers have created the Rain Catchers Collective to help more residents and municipalities build green infrastructure. By Elinor Epperson. FOR ALL POINTS.
CNS