Conservation

Potential new cormorant management plan released

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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.

Capital News Service

Book explores how lighthouses and harbors transformed the Great Lakes

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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 Lucas Day.

Conservation

Bigheaded carp pose big threat, new model suggests

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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.

Environment

Too many dams, too little money

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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.

Capital News Service

Greening Detroit’s Riverfront

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The EPA has signed a $2.5 million agreement to clean the Detroit River and create new habitat for wildlife. The money will help clean contaminated sediments and create homes for fish and wildlife in a cove area at the Ralph C. Wilson Centennial Parkbeing built along the waterfront. We hear from the Detroit River Conservancy and the former manager of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. By Ri’An Jackson.

Environment

Rising waters threaten wells, drinking water systems

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Rising water levels, including the Great Lakes, inland waters and groundwater, could threaten the safety of drinking water from wells and damage septic and sanitary sewage systems. We talk to a well driller in Traverse City, a Grand Traverse County environmental health expert and the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. By Katrianna Ray.

Environment

Study finds health risk from Pine River fish

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A recent study finds a risk that anglers in the Pine RIver may become sickened by the bacteria E. coli from agricultural runoff. Researchers are from Alma College and the University of Toronto. We hear from the Mid-Michigan District Health Department, a member of the Montcalm County Board of Commissioners and the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. By Kyle Davidson.

Great Lakes

New legislation could trim property taxes on second homes

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A lawmaker says owners of vacation cottages, homes and cabins Up North should get a property tax break because the state’s stay-at-home edict prevents them from using them. The bill would require the state to make up the lost local tax revenue. We talk to a Grand Rapids-area man who owns a second home in Ludington, the Association of Counties and the Mason County treasurer. By Joe Dandron.

Environment

There’s a new kind of carp in the river and it’s huge

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The DNR has found the first invasive Asian grass carp able to reproduce in Michigan in the Tittabawassee River, which empties into Lake Huron. There’s concern that proliferating grass carp could decimate vegetation that other species rely on for food and habitat. The river’s watershed includes parts of Clare, Mecosta and Montcalm counties. We talk to DNR, MUCC and Trout Unlimited. For news and outdoors sections.