Parks & Recreation

Hunt for virtual wildlife leads to real nature encounters

By |

By EAMON DEVLIN
Capital News Service
LANSING — If you want to see wildlife you go outside. The same is true for the critters in Pokémon Go. So while people chase the virtual wildlife in that popular new game, they’re getting a taste of real nature. One group of Pokémon hunters even pooled their money to rent a boat to chase after the creatures on Lake Michigan, said Maia Turek, a recreation programmer with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). It’s the kind of enthusiasm that has state parks across Michigan seeing attendance increase as people hike on trails and through campgrounds, enjoying nature as they search for Pokémon, she said.

Environment

924-mile trek tracks cross-state trail plan

By |

By NICHOLAS BLASKOWSKI
Capital News Service
LANSING – Chris Hillier of Taylor is on a hike of historic proportions. The former Army medic and current cardiovascular technologist said he’s logged more than 6,000 miles of hiking since 2011, mostly across Michigan. His new journey takes him from Belle Isle in Detroit to Ironwood, a Western Upper Peninsula city bordering Wisconsin. The 924-mile hike will make Taylor the first to tackle the trail route proposed by Gov. Rick Snyder last November. The plan, to be funded in part from the Natural Resource Trust Fund, would connect existing pathways – about 70 percent of the route – with new trails to showcase the state’s waterways, diverse forests and wildlife.