Northern Michigan Conservation Network

by Drew YoungeDyke, Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) Grassroots Manager – So this is the line in the sand. This is where Michigan’s hunters, anglers and trappers will either stand up for their rights to hunt, fish and trap, for scientific wildlife management, and for the separation of conservation from politics, or where we will […]

My late uncle used to say that Kalkaska sand was only good for growing jack pine and trout. As a boy, I struggled to see a problem with such a characterization.  As I grew older, however, I came to realize that despite this significant over-simplification, my uncle’s intent was not to disparage these soils, but […]

In spite of our nation’s preoccupation with a handful of other more headline-grabbing issues (no need to list them here), there have been numerous pieces of natural resource/conservation-related legislation introduced in the current session of the U.S. Congress. Several of these bills have local and regional implications, including the reauthorization and funding for the National […]

by Frank Krist, NMCN Contributing Editor – The Atlantic salmon program in Lake Huron started in 1986 under an agreement between Lake Superior State University and the DNR.  Fish have been stocked in the St. Mary’s River since that time under the direction of Roger Greil, manager of the LSSU’s Aquatic Research Laboratory and Hatchery.  […]

The DNR’s Public Land Management Strategy Plan has been released for public comment and to that end, numerous public meetings have been scheduled.  In what may have originally begun as a legislative requirement made necessary to satisfy the terms of the Land Cap legislation, this plan now has the potential to become an implementation document […]

by Kay Charter Early last month, I had the great pleasure of hearing Douglas Tallamy speak. Doug is the author of every conservationist’s must-have book, Bringing Nature Home (Timber Press, 2007). I heard him twice, actually, as he presented two programs at the Michigan Association of Wildflowers Conference in Lansing. These presentations represented numbers seven […]

Next year will commemorate the centennial of the passing of Martha, the last Passenger Pigeon, who died on September 1, 1914 in the Cincinnati Zoo.  Most Americans who only have only a passing knowledge of wildlife conservation are at least generally familiar with the demise of the species. What few in our northern Michigan region are […]

Last Friday, the Michigan House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Natural Resources approved a budget package which did include a hunting and angling license fee package which is generally consistent with that advanced by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) as a part of the Governor’s FY 2013-2014 budget proposal.  For those who have […]

A 30-year study on cliff swallows which was conducted by researchers from the University of Nebraska has recently garnered considerable mainstream media attention. This is somewhat surprising since coverage of wildlife-related matters is more often limited to home videos of deer found in living rooms during their annual rut. Before we discuss those lessons learned from the […]

As the wolf management debate here in Michigan escalated in recent months, increasing references have been made to what is known as the North American Model for Wildlife Conservation.  Most notably, Dr. Russ Mason, Wildlife Division Chief of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, recently found it necessary to respond to assertions that if hunting […]