Northern Michigan Conservation Network

One website that recently attracted our interest was the Detroit District U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) website which tracks historic Great Lakes water levels. Our interest was due, in part, to the concerns and discussions taking place in recent years surrounding the levels of Lakes Huron and Michigan. There is no place where the […]

Reading this week’s issue of Showcasing the DNR and its feature on the wildlife restoration success story represented by the Kirtland’s warbler once again brought to mind the importance of conservation education.  It was a just over two years ago when controversy erupted as a result of the disclosure that Deer Range Improvement Project funds […]

July 19, 2012 Please call your U.S. House of Representatives member TODAY and urge them to support the conservation provisions in the Farm Bill. by Bob Marshall (posted with permission) “Conservation groups this week are sending a desperate plea to sportsmen: Contact your House members today and urge them to bring the Farm Bill up […]

Well, it was nice while it lasted, but the Michigan State Senate is now back in session.  Although the ink is hardly dry on several bad pieces legislation involving public resource management, many of those same bill sponsors are now back from a summer recess and will likely be seeking action on the next phase […]

Regardless of the causes or circumstances, we are in the midst of yet another “unseasonably” warm summer which is again placing stress on many of our northern Michigan cold-water systems.  In the coming days, we will be asking several of our contributors to weigh in on their take on the situation and perhaps offer possible […]

July 14, 2012 By Dawson Bell – Detroit Free Press Lansing Bureau The Anglers of the Au Sable aren’t what you’d call a go-along, get-along gang. Dedicated to protecting the Au Sable River and its watershed, the 700-member organization has, at various times in its 25-year history, vilified politicians, shamed bureaucrats and sued the pants […]

Although we originally intended to write about this year’s round of MDNR Forestry Open Houses and Compartment Reviews, the timelessness and inherent benefits of this public outreach process seemed to offer potential applications to the way many of our State’s natural resources are managed. During a time when calls for increased accountability, operational “transparency” and […]

Thanks to our friend and site content contributor Marc Smith, we have begun following the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ website out of the Chicago District through its Aquatic Nuisance Species Portal – link:  http://www.lrc.usace.army.mil/AsianCarp/eDNA.htm. As many likely know by now, there have been additional positive DNA samplings for Asian Carp in Lake Calumet which […]

TRAILS & TALES OUTDOORS JOURNAL for 07/06/12 “Creagh Transitions To Head The MDNR” Provided to NMCN by Tim Kobasic (All Rights Reserved) The first half of 2012 went out with a bang with regards to conservation. It was yet another transition and adjustment towards the future in how Michigan’s natural resources will be managed. Rodney […]

Now that the Governor has elected to sign the Land Cap Bill (SB-248) into law today, it is not too soon to begin discussing the legislatively-mandated two-year process necessary to allow for the removal of the cap. As most of you know by now, the version of SB-248 which has been signed into law establishes […]