Environment

Dawn of the Great Lakes Wolf Patrol

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Editors note: This is the second of a two-part story about Rod Coronado, a convicted eco-terrorist now working to protect wolves in the Great Lakes region. By HOLLY DRANKHAN
Capital News Service
LANSING — One of the Great Lakes Wolf Patrol’s first actions after it was established in 2013 was photographing a wolf killed in Michigan and posting the pictures on its website to inspire others to take up the cause. The group has since established chapters in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Founder Rod Coronado of Grand Rapids also organized a patrol in Montana to oppose hunting wolves as they leave the protection of Yellowstone National Park. In each location, the group sticks to public lands and roads, and avoids infringing on hunters under the guidelines of hunter harassment laws, Coronado said.

Environment

State and local partners plan statewide trail

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By ELIZABETH FERGUSON
LANSING — State officials are partnering with Michigan’s communities to create the Iron Belle trail, a 1,200-mile pathway starting in Detroit and ending in the western Upper Peninsula. “We’ve found out trails invigorate communities, and it’s a place for people to go and visit, it’s good for local economies, it’s good for public health, so there’s a lot of benefits,” said Paul Yauk, the Department of Natural Resources Interim State Trails Coordinator. The Iron Belle trail — first introduced by Gov. Rick Snyder in 2012 — is actually two trails. Both a 774 mile biking trail and a 1,200 mile hiking trail will start at Belle Isle Park in Detroit and end in Ironwood. The DNR created a route based on existing trails in Michigan, Yauk said.

Environment

Young conservationists advise DNR on kids’ interests

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By ELIZABETH FERGUSON
Capital News Service
LANSING — Students passionate about the environment can help the state provide outdoor recreation for their generation while learning more about Michigan’s natural resources. Applications for the state’s Youth Conservation Council are available on the council’s website and will be accepted until April 30. “If we are going to sustain world-class resources, you have to have people that care about them, and so how do you get the next generation to care about them?” said Keith Creagh, director of the Department of Natural Resources. The Youth Conservation Council was created in 2013 to bring the next generation’s conservation leaders — ages 14 to 18 — together to discuss how the DNR can increase young people’s interest in Michigan’s outdoors, according to Ray Rustem, the Youth Conservation Council’s adviser. The 25-member council includes students selected from across Michigan to give the DNR insight into the interests of kids in all areas of the state.

Agriculture

Where, oh where, is my salmon from?

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By EAMON DEVLIN
Capital News Service
LANSING – When you reel in the salmon of your dreams, people may ask how big or what kind it was. It’s unlikely someone will ask where it was born. But that’s what researchers at Michigan State University are now asking to better understand how many Chinook salmon move from Lake Huron to Lake Michigan. So, where are the fish born? For researchers, the answer lies in a stone in the fish’s ear.

Agriculture

New fishing, hunting fees boost DNR resources

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By MOLLIE LISKIEWICZ
Capital News Service
LANSING – Michigan got more boots on the ground, waders in the water and eyes in the field thanks to an extra $8 million earned from restructuring sales of hunting and fishing licenses. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) did away with restricted species fishing licenses and instead began offering all-species licenses for $26 last March. A change was also made to hunting licenses, requiring the purchase of an $11 base license for small game before additional licenses for other species can be purchased. In just eight months, an additional $8 million was produced through the restructured license sales, said Ed Golder, the agency’s public information officer. The license revenue pays for many DNR efforts to manage natural resources.

Environment

Tough winter good for some endangered species

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By LACEE SHEPARD
Capital News Service
LANSING – Heavy snowfall is proving to be helpful for some of Michigan’s endangered species. Karner blue butterflies are federally listed endangered insects that are taking advantage of the protection the heavy snow brings, said Chris Hoving, an adaptation specialist with the DNR in Lansing. “Karner blue butterflies do best when there’s continual deep snow through the whole winter,” he said.  “That’s what we’ve had this winter for the first time in decades. It’s excellent weather for blue butterflies.”

The Karner blue butterfly has been found in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio and in western Michigan. In Michigan it used to be common from Lake County to Allegan County, but the butterfly sightings have dropped 50 percent to 90 percent every year for the past four years, said Hoving.

Environment

From tank to pond bully — it's parrot feather!

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By LACEE SHEPARD
Capital News Service
LANSING – State officials fear a return of the aquatic invasive plant, parrot feather. The plant called parrot feather has had two appearances in Michigan, in Oakland County and in Brownstown Township in Wayne County. It flourishes in lakes, ponds, and other shallow waters, said Matt Ankney, the early detection rapid response coordinator for the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) wildlife division, but it does have the potential of spreading to Lake Erie if it is not contained. The plant has a distinctive bright green color and can grow up to five feet long. Unlike native plants it can grow above water, Ankney said.

Government

Bill would remove ban on new state property

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By ASHLEY WEIGEL
Capital News Service
LANSING- A bill that would uncap the amount of land the state owns and manages is being met with some opposition. Sponsored by Rep. Wayne Schmidt, R-Traverse City, the bill would raise the 4.626 million acre cap on land and allow the Department of Natural Resources to acquire more. The change would be allowed because the department has a new plan for purchasing and selling land. The state cannot own more land than it does today, according to Brad Garmon, director of conservation and emerging issues for the Michigan Environmental Council. He said the cap is inhibiting the department’s abilities to do its job.

Environment

Early warning program battles frog bit, other invasive species

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By LACEE SHEPARD
Capital News Service
LANSING – A Department of Natural Resources (DNR) early warning program is preventing the invasive species frog bit from destroying native aquatic plants. “Essentially, frog bit is an invasive plant that’s come into Michigan from Canadian waterways,” said Holly Vaughn, a DNR wildlife outreach technician. “It’s roughly the size of a quarter or half dollar, it looks like a mini- water lily but forms really dense mats of leaves on the surface of the water and ends up choking out native species of plants.”
An invasive species  is one that comes from another ecosystem and can harm native plants and animals  There are more than 200 invasive plants and animals in Michigan that could have been controlled or prevented had the program started earlier, said Susan Tangora, invasive species coordinator for the DNR Wildlife Division. The Early Detection Rapid Response Program, which received $970,000 over three years from the federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative,  is one of the most cost-efficient ways to prevent the spread of invasive species, Tangora said. To control them, they need to be caught quickly.

Government

Want to keep roadkill? Bill would make it easier

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By BECKY McKENDRY
Capital News Service
LANSING – Sen. Darwin Booher, R-Evart, wants you to keep your roadkill – please. A bill by Booher and Sen. John Pappageorge, R-Troy, would relax the rules for claiming roadkill. Booher said he drafted the bill after constituents asked for simpler, quicker protocol than current Department of Natural Resources (DNR) requirements. “Some people said they’d see animals lying on the side of the road that they could use in their compost piles instead of stinking up the side of the road,” he said. “Why not make it easier?”
The bill would give first dibs to the driver who hits the animal.