Northern Michigan Conservation Network

by Paul Rose, NMCN Sr. Editor I know what you’re thinking.  For a website that has spent much of its time and identity highlighting legislative efforts to divert and alter the constitutionally-protected use of the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF), proposing any change to its current use and funding allocation may be seen as […]

Our thanks to NMCN site content contributor Marc Smith and our friends over at the Great Lakes office of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) for passing on this link. While the nation continues to ratchet up the gun rights debate and the battle lines appear to be drawn now on the  wolf management issue here […]

As in the past, we will resist raising the issue of potential reasons for warming temperature trends only to say that regardless of cause, the current trends represent a mixed bag of results for the health of northern Michigan’s forests, waters and wildlife. In a recent article  appearing in the Petoskey News by Morgan Sherburne, […]

The 5-year strategic plan for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division has been released for review and public comment. Since this coincides with the public input periods for the State Forest Management Plan, Comprehensive State Trail Plan, and the completion of the “Blue Ribbon” Parks Plan, we have noticed a recurring theme. As […]

As a follow up to our October 7, 2012 post Reclaiming the Boardman River – Easy? “No” – Worth it? “Yes”, an update on the Brown Bridge Dam project has been released by Conservation Resource Alliance and The Boardman River Dams Implementation Team.  A summary of the release follows, and the entire document can be […]

This may be old news to many of you, but we’ve recently been hearing from others who have begun using and exploring an interactive mapping tool which has been integrated into the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) website.  Although this feature, MI-Hunt, is described on their website as being primarily a tool for planning […]

No one ever said that a project which sets out to remove three dams and connect some 150 miles of riparian habitat along the Boardman River corridor in Grand Traverse County would be easy.  The recent partial and limited failure of a temporary dam installed at the Brown Bridge Dam pond should in no way […]

As many of you likely know by now, the publication of  The North Woods Call has resumed after a 1 ½ year suspension, following the passing of conservation legend Glen Sheppard.  This news comes at an especially good time for those of us who have struggled in our attempt to at least partially fill this […]

Following up on our July 31, 2012 post Great Lakes Water Level Update  https://nmconservationnetwork.org/2012/07/31/great-lakes-water-level-update/  , Dan Egan has written an excellent article which recently appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Pressure mounts to restore Great Lakes water levels. You may recall that in 2004, an engineering firm was engaged by property owners from the northern Lake […]

The Michigan Conservation Coalition, a diverse partnership of sportsmen’s organizations and conservation groups, is seeking grassroots support for its opposition efforts regarding Senate Bill 1212 (see NMCN post “Reversing Course on Great Lake Ballast Water” (https://nmconservationnetwork.org/2012/08/29/reversing-course-on-great-lakes-ballast-water/).  The Coalition is asking that its partner organizations and members sign on to this letter (or one of their […]