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Ash Elegy

Ashes (Fraxinus spp.) have never been a large part of the Michigan forest landscape. At most, about three percent of the volume was occupied by a combination of white, black, and green ash. Yet, black ash (F. nigra) was sometimes the only tree species that could grow in wetlands. The elms used to be co-inhabitants, but we all know what happened to the elms. With the loss of the ashes, many forested wetland habitats will become open wetlands. Green ash (F. pennsylvanica) cultivars were very common street trees, resistant to most maladies, but over-planting ash in municipalities ...

Another severe winter hampers U.P. deer herd

This past winter, with its heavy snowfall, marks the third severe winter in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in the past five years and could significantly impact the peninsula’s white-tailed deer population. Wildlife biologists from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources conducted field necropsies of vehicle-killed deer in late winter and spring and documented widespread signs of starvation. A white-tailed deer in winter in the Upper Peninsula. Biologists look inside leg bones of deer to examine bone marrow fat as an indicator of nutritional status. Deer that are exhibiting a ...

Grand Island to see improvements end of summer

MUNISING — Visitors to some of Grand Island’s most popular destinations will notice several improvements this summer, including upgrades to recreation areas and historic resources. The Grand Island Rim Trail project, funded by the Great American Outdoors Act, will improve the road with ...

Oh what a night

“It was a night, oh what a night, it really was such a night,” – Lincoln Chase We sat together waiting for our food in the country-styled roadside restaurant – one we’d known since we were both kids. It hadn’t changed much at all – decent food, friendly staff, bathrooms down the ...

Invasive elm zigzag sawfly detected in Michigan

LANSING – The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development confirmed the state's first detection of elm zigzag sawfly (Aproceros leucopoda) in St. Clair County, in late June. The invasive insect was identified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service following a report submitted by an arborist through the Midwest Invasive Species Information Network online reporting tool. Young elm zigzag sawfly larvae create distinctive, meandering “zigzag” patterns starting at the leaf edges as they feed. “While this is the first ...

Bald eagle success story faces new threats

LANSING — The number of bald eagles in Michigan is declining, and funding delays aren’t helping the cause. Researchers who have spent decades climbing trees, banding eaglets and monitoring nests say something unusual is happening this year. Field crews working with long-term monitoring ...