Michigan Sulfide Mining Report, Contest WINer & Air Monitoring Comments Due

As heard on May 18, 2012, Friday Edition, Q-90.1 FM, Delta College public broadcasting …

Battery Acid

via NWF

A report says the Great Lakes remain vulnerable to a new wave of sulfide mining.

That’s due to gaps, inconsistencies and loopholes in U.S. state and Canadian laws. The report, a legal analysis by the National Wildlife Federation and Ecojustice Canada,  says vulnerable areas include Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Sulfide mining has proven to be devastating to natural resources in parts of the western U.S. and Canada, the report’s authors say.

The report says that, across Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota and Ontario, laws do not offer adequate protections. Areas threatened by mining include the shores of Lake Superior.

Michigan ranked considerably lower than other states in the analysis.

The Michigan Environmental Council, representing groups in the Bay City area and elsewhere, is pushing for added protections in the state.

Spy on a Bluebird

An Earth Day Facebook Contest will fund a live-streaming webcam in the Saginaw Bay area.

The Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network (WIN) held a contest last month, seeking the best ideas for environmental projects in the region.

After a round of entries, a proposal by the Chippewa Nature Center emerged with the most votes. The center will receive a $1,000 grant to develop a live-streaming webcam.

The cam will be placed in a bluebird nesting box on property owned by the center, located in Midland. The cam will be viewable via the Internet, and include infrared capabilities for nighttime viewing.

WIN is an organization funded by 11 foundations in the Saginaw Bay region.

And leaders say the group still has grants available for projects that address land use, water resources, agriculture, energy efficiency, wildlife habitat and regional marketing.

See saginawbaywin.org for more information.

The Air We Breathe

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality is taking public comment on plans for air monitoring in 2013.

A draft Ambient Air Monitoring document recommends changes based on history, population and modifications to Clean Air Act requirements.

The state’s ambient air monitoring network includes a device in Bay City that monitors particulate matter emitted by power plants and vehicles. There are plans to shut down a lead monitoring site in Vassar.

The document is available online (as a pdf), and comments are being taken through June 5.

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Crushed-Up Mussels, Great Lakes Cruises & a Clean Energy March

via SVSS

As heard on Friday Edition, May 11, 2012, 9 a.m. Eastern, on Delta College Q-90.1 FM …

March in May

Students in the Bay City area will be marching for clean energy on Saturday, May 19.

The Students March for Clean Energy will begin at 11 a.m. at Pershing Park in Bay City, and go to Veterans Memorial Park.

The march is being organized by area environmental group the Lone Tree Council.

The march is meant to support conservation, and the development of green energy sources. The group says such sources can be substituted for the coal plants and gasoline that’s now consumed for electric generation and transportation.

The group is inviting students to join in the march at Pershing Park, just east of the Sage Library, and march down Midland Street to John F. Kennedy Drive and south to Vets Park.

A Spring 350 Picture Event will be held at the park at noon. The Saginaw Valley Sustainability Society also is participating. The event is meant to bring attention to climate change. Students, families and area residents are invited.

The 350 refers to a global grassroots movement to combat climate change, involving thousands of volunteer organizers in more than 188 countries.

Take a Cruise for $10-25

You can learn about the Great Lakes by floating on the Great Lakes.

Michigan Sea Grant Extension has announced Summer Discovery Cruises for 2012. This is the 11th year that Sea Grant has organized the cruises.

Cruises depart from Lake Erie Metropark, with cruises on the lower Detroit River and Lake Erie, and Lake St. Clair Metropark, cruising Lake St. Clair.

There will be more than 20 educational cruises around themes including Fisheries, Wildlife, Wetlands, Shipwrecks, Lighthouses, Weather and Shipping.

Cruises for educators wanting to enhance the use of Great Lakes content in their teaching also are available. The cruises run from 2 and a half to four hours, and cost $10-15 for children and $20-25 for adults.

More information is available online at discoverycruises.org.

The Beachmaker

There’s a new weapon in the fight against zebra mussels.

It’s a zebra mussel crushing machine called the Beachmaker.

As reported in Great Lakes Echo, the Beachmaker sucks up invasive zebra mussel shells and crushes them into sand-like particles.

The device, invented by a Wisconsin man, can reportedly crush a dump truck’s worth of dead mussels in an hour.

And the crunched up remains only take up a third of their original space.

What to do with the crushed up mussels, environmental impacts, and legal and permit requirements still remain for the device.

But it’s something that Great Lakes beach managers will be investigating this summer.

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Great Lakes Commercial Fishing Numbers, Early Gypsy Moths & a Super-Efficient Home

Temporarily adopting the persona of “The Catfish.” 

Try these on, from Friday Edition, 9 a.m. Eastern, Delta College, Q-90.1 FM, Public Broadcasting, NPR, Excellent.

Flying Caterpillars of Defoliage

The Gypsy moths are hatching, and it’s much earlier than expected.

Staffers with the Bay County Gypsy Moth Suppression Program say they’e found have a few gypsy moth egg masses that are now hatching.

Officials say it’s the earliest time in the year that staffers have noted hatchings throughout the county.

Courtesy Bay County Gypsy Moth program

The population is still “extremely low,” but you should keep an eye out for tiny, 1/8th-inch caterpillars crawling around your neighborhood.

When these caterpillars hatch, they climb to the highest point they can reach and wait for the wind to blow them to a new area, and food.

Gypsy moth caterpillars feed on trees. They can defoliate large trees in a few weeks, invade yards and recreational areas, and become a general nuisance to people living in infested areas, officials say.

If you live in Bay County and feel the gypsy moth population on your property is increasing or have questions concerning invasive insects, you can call the Gypsy Moth program at (989) 895-4195 to make sure your area is surveyed.

A Year of Energy for $857?!

A Saginaw County homeowner has been awarded – again – for energy savings.

Connie Rynalski of Saginaw Township first saved on energy costs at her home, through various efficiency measures. Then, she was awarded an Earth Day prize of $3,000 for going above and beyond in her energy-saving efforts.

The award came from Cobblestone Homes, a Freeland-based homebuilder which conducted an Energy Challenge among almost 100 of its homeowners.

They were challenged to save the most in utility usage compared to energy use projections during a 12-month period.

Rynalski beat the energy projections for her home by the highest amount, paying $857 for an entire year of energy costs, including heating. That’s compared to more than $3,000 for a typical, 1,900-square-foot home.

Cobblestone Homes has partnered with the Dow Chemical Co. in recent years to build Michigan’s first Net-Zero Energy Homes in Midland and Bay counties.

New Commercial Fishery Assessment on the Great Lakes

How much is Lake Huron worth?

From the GLMRIS assessment

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has released a report on the valuation of commercial fisheries in the U.S. waters of the Great Lakes, Upper Mississippi River and Ohio River basins.

The Commercial Fisheries Baseline Economic Assessment is part of Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study.

The report summarizes the latest annual harvesting data from state-licensed and tribal commercial fishing operations. The data will be used to help forecast impacts from potential aquatic invasives like the Asian carp.

The report says the average commercial harvest level in the U.S. waters of the Great Lakes is estimated at 19.3 million pounds of fish, with an associated average value of $22.5 million.

The report lists Lake Huron’s commercial harvest level at 3.5 million pounds, with an associated value of $4.6 million.

Lake Huron contributes 18.3 percent to the total commercial harvest of fish on the Great Lakes and 20.2 percent to the total value of Great Lakes fisheries.

The lake has seen a decline in commercial harvest levels since 1989. The maximum harvest level in the 1990s was 5.3 million pounds, accounting for almost 21 percent of the total commercial fishing harvests on the Great Lakes.

The top harvest level since year 2000 has been about 4.7 million pounds, or about 25 percent of all commercial fish harvesting in the Great Lakes.

The report examined data from 1989 to 2009.

The study plans to release an assessment later this year on recreational fishing.

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Catfish by Denise Chan

Dow Corning Makes Solar Stick, Beach Testing & Saving $4 By Spending $1

Courtesy Phoenix Solar

Michigan Enviro Report, as heard Friday, Jan. 6, 2012, at 9 a.m. Eastern on Q-90.1 FM, Delta College …

1 - New federal beach testing standards are coming out in October.

Meanwhile, a federal study says more beach testing needs to be localized.

The study by the U.S. Geological Survey found that water quality information collected by local officials may provide increased beach access while minimizing swimming-related illnesses from harmful bacteria.

The USGS study found that current water quality testing at Great Lakes beaches may be applied too broadly, possibly resulting in hundreds of beach closings between 2004 and 2010 that may have not occurred if a more localized approach was taken.

By basing beach closure decisions on local variations in bacteria concentrations, beach managers will likely be able to keep their beaches open more often, one scientist says. And this can be done without increasing presumed health risks or violating EPA guidelines.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to release new recreational water quality criteria later this year. The criteria will update current beach water quality standards that are based on sites affected by sewage contamination.

 

2 -

What can make solar energy stick around? How about adhesives developed by Dow Corning?

Dow Corning has just completed a solar installation at its world headquarters in Midland.

The project, done by Phoenix Solar, will allow both companies to collaborate on efforts to commercialize structural adhesives for mounting solar panels on rails.

Structural adhesives developed by Dow Corning can replace metal clamps, clips and bolts that that typically used to secure panels to mountings.

Company officials say using adhesives rather than clamps and bolts can lower the costs of materials and labor, and reduce installation time.

Phoenix Solar has installed  a 23- kilowatt demonstration plant on the grounds of Dow Corning’s corporate headquarters.

 

3 -

Every dollar spent on energy conservation and efficiency measures saves more than $4 in energy bills.

The Michigan Public Service Commission recently released an Energy Optimization (EO) Program annual report (pdf).

The report shows that savings to electrical and natural gas customers from energy conservation programs run by utilities in the state were much higher than expected.

And, the $135 million spent on EO programs by utilities in 2010 resulted in cost savings to ratepayers of more than four times that amount.

Or, for every dollar spent, savings were calculated to be about $4.88.

The money for Energy Optimization programs comes came from surcharges on customer bills.

So if you don’t use the programs, they won’t pay you back.

Residential programs fall into several categories:

• lighting
• heating, ventilating and air conditioning
• weatherization
• and energy education.

Contact your local utility for more information.

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Pop Sci Picks a Michigan Invention, EPA Reports on Enforcement, & a 2012 Lightbulb Guide

The Environment Report. As heard Fridays @ 9 a.m. Eastern on Q-90.1 FM, Delta College

Courtesy Consumers Union

Dec. 30, 2011:

1 – A Michigan invention has been named one of the “Best of” 2011 by Popular Science magazine.

The product, called Forage Boost, was developed by researchers at Michigan State University.

It’s a microbial fertilizer that uses an ingredient called SumaGrow. The fertilizer was chosen as a “Best of What’s New” product by Pop Sci for its positive environmental impact.

SumaGrow is different from common fertilizers because it harnesses the power of non-genetically modified living microorganisms to improve the productivity of forages, hay crops, and grain and vegetable crops, according to MSU researchers.

SumaGrow is said to reduce the need for chemical fertilizers and improve disease resistance.

Popular Science magazine wrote that Forage Boost “could eliminate all other fertilizer use on the planet’s eight billion acres of pasture grass.”

2 -

Enforcement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has cut more than 300 million pounds of pollution in the Great Lakes region, according to a year-end report.

The information comes from the EPA’s Region 5 office in Chicago, which oversees enforcement efforts in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.

Major cases highlighted by EPA for fiscal year 2011 include a settlement with the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, which will keep untreated sewage out of Cleveland-area waterways and Lake Erie.

Closer to home, EPA records show enforcement actions in 2011 involving the Saginaw Wastewater Treatment Plant, which discharges to the Saginaw River.

In total, the region’s office estimates that 311 million pounds of pollution was reduced, treated or eliminated as a result of EPA enforcement actions.

An additional 25 million pounds of hazardous waste was cut, and 72 million cubic yards of contaminated soil or water were cleaned up, the EPA says.

3 -

New federal lightbulb laws are taking effect Jan. 1.

Here’s what you need to know: Incandescent lights are not being banned. But the lights you can buy in stores will be more efficient come Jan. 1, and there will be expanded choices.

The Consumer Federation of America and Consumers Union have released a guide on the new lighting standards.

Light bulbs sold in 2012 will have to be 25-30 percent more energy efficient than traditional incandescent bulbs.

There will be three choices: Halogens, Compact Flourescents, and Light-emitting diodes. The last of those, LEDS, cost around $25 per bulb, but prices are expected to drop. Halogens and CFLs sell for about $2 each. All three last longer than traditional incandescents and can reduce emissions from power plants due to less energy consumption.

You’ll have to buy based on lumens, not watts. Lumens indicate brightness. 60 watts is 800 lumens, for instance, and 100 watts is 1,600 lumens.

You’ll also have to check for light color, measured on the Kelvin temperature scale. Lower K numbers indicate more yellow light. Higher K numbers mean whiter or bluer light.

Don’t worry if you can’t remember all of this, because the law also requires a “lighting facts” label on packages for most bulbs manufactured after Jan. 1, 2012.

Those facts will include estimated yearly energy costs.

—

Mich Enviro Report: Gypsy Moth Eggs, Water Power & Student Scientists

As heard Nov. 4, 2011, on Q-90.1 FM, Delta College …

1.

Don’t scrape that tree. The Bay County Gypsy Moth Suppression Program is conducting egg mass surveys for the fall.

The surveys are used to determine the size of the Gypsy Moth population in wooded areas of the county.

If the egg mass surveys indicate that the population may be growing, the area will be included in spray operations next spring. The county program works to control the bugs, which feed on the leaves of hundreds of species of trees and other plants, commonly oak and aspen.

For that reason, residents are advised not to scrape egg masses off their trees until after the survey and count in increasing. A low count can disqualify a property from being sprayed next spring.

2.

A new study evaluates the impacts of power plants on Great Lakes water resources.

According to the Great Lakes Commission, about 90 percent of the electrical power in the Great Lakes basin is produced by thermoelectric plants, which use 26 billion gallons of water a day for cooling.

A commission report based on 18 months of research says that about 25 percent of water used for power generation in the basin comes from groundwater and tributaries.

The report also says about a quarter of all watersheds in the basin may be ecologically vulnerable to water withdrawals under certain “low-flow” conditions. Such conditions are likely to be more frequent in the future as the impacts of climate change become more severe.

The research is called the Great Lakes Energy-Water Nexus project.

The analysis also identified ways for public utilities to evaluate environmental impacts and use those results in decision-making, including requiring periodic water resource impact studies.

The Great Lakes Commission is an interstate compact agency established under state and federal law. The Commission consists of governors’ appointees, state legislators, and agency officials from eight member states. Commission offices are located in Ann Arbor.

3.

Three Bay area elementary schools were “Wired for Wind” in October.

Washington, Hampton and MacGregor schools received 4-H funding from Michigan State University to enhance their science education programs.

Students worked in teams to design light-weight, fast-moving wind turbine blades. The blades were then tested to see how much electricity they could potentially generate. The student scientists made changes to their designs based on the results.

The same program was conducted nationwide, as part of a Wired for Wind national science experiment.

The idea is to get young people involved in implementing alternatives to traditional energy production.

According to Bay County officials, there is a national shortage of young people pursuing science college majors and occupations. The 4-H organization is working on a goal to engage 1 million new young people in science, engineering, technology and applied math programs by the year 2013.

— Photo by John B.

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Great Lakes News Bullets: Bangor Energy Expo & Dow Corning Solar Decathlon

As heard Friday, Sept. 16, 2011, on Delta College Q-90.1 FM …

1.

A second-annual Energy Expo is planned for Saturday, Sept. 24, at Bangor Township Hall in Bay County.

The event runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is sponsored by the Bangor Township Green Team.

Rain barrels, which allow people to save on their water bills, will be sold at the event.

Information also will be available on:

• Saving money with energy efficent lighting;
• Insulating your home; and
• The availability of solar and wind power in the area.

Vendors from throughout Mid-Michigan will be on hand to answer questions and provide demonstrations of their alternative energy and cost-saving products.

The Energy Expo is free and open to the public.

2.

College students from around the country will converge on Washington, D.C., next week for the fifth Solar Decathlon.

The event, held on the National Mall, is sponsored in part by the Dow Corning Corp., headquartered in Bay County’s Williams Township.

The U.S. Department of Energy is putting on the Decathlon, to challenge students to design, build, and operate solar-powered homes.

The decathlon runs from Sept. 23 through Oct. 2.

Students will be judged, in part, on their ability to keep costs low while designing and building their projects.

Technologies to be used in the homes include:

• Roofs that store and treat rainwater collection for household use;
• Window systems that allow net heat gain over the course of a year;
• Self-watering, plant walls which provide food and carbon cycle systems;
• Ventilation systems that regulate air distribution and fresh air supply without energy consumption; and
• Landscapes that provide food, modify microclimate, reduce solar heat gain, and prevent storm water runoff.

The winner of the competition will be the team that best blends affordability, consumer appeal and design excellence with optimal energy production and maximum efficiency.

For more information, see solardecathlon.gov.

- Photo Credit: USDOE

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Mich Enviro Report: Design to Zero, DTE Wind Farms & Dog Poop Science

As heard Friday, Sept. 2, 2011, on Delta College Q-90.1 FM …

1.

Midland-based Dow Chemical has launched a contest for students, based on sustainable home design.

The Dow Solar Design to Zero Competition challenges students to use solar and other sustainable technologies to design three connected dwellings that use as little energy as possible.

The challenge is open to design, architecture and engineering students from around the world.

Registration runs through Sept. 25. Final housing designs must be submitted by Oct. 31.

The contest offers first, second and third prizes of $20,000-$5,000. Winners are to be announced in January 2012. Individual students or student teams can enter.

For more information, see designtozero.com.

2.

More wind farms are slated for Michigan’s Thumb.

DTE Energy has signed a contract to purchase 120 megawatts of power from a wind farm located in Tuscola, Bay and Saginaw counties.

DTE will purchase all of the energy produced at the 9,000-acre wind farm, which is enough to power more than 30,000 homes. The wind farm , planned by NextEra Energy, is expected to be operational in late 2012.

The latest contract puts DTE more than halfway to a goal of getting 1,000 megawatts, or 10 percent, of its power from renewable sources. A state law requires utilities to get 10 percent of their power from renewables by 2015.

DTE also has hired a Southfield company to build three additional wind farms in Huron and Sanilac counties next year. Up to 70 turbines are to be installed, with a total capacity of about 110 megawatts. Initial delivery of the wind turbines is expected in the summer of 2012.

Together, the two projects are expected to result in hundreds of new construction jobs and tens of millions of dollars in new tax money for local governments.

3.

The air in Michigan and other Great Lakes’ states is being fouled by … dog poop.

That’s according to a study that was highlighted recently by Great Lakes Echo.

The University of Colorado-Boulder study found that the winter air in Cleveland and Detroit had large amounts of bacteria that most likely came from dog feces.

The researchers analyzed 108 summer and winter air samples from four Great Lakes cities, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and Mayville, Wisconsin.  The samples were checked for common sources of airborne bacteria, including different types of feces.

High levels of bacteria common to dog feces were found in all four cities. But the levels in Detroit and Cleveland spiked dramatically in the winter.

Why? Well, one theory is that dog owners just don’t scoop the poop as often in the winter.

The difference in the fecal bacteria levels by city also may be explained by the number of dogs who live there. The study says Detroit has a problem with stray dogs. Airborne bacteria can cause disease and trigger asthma and seasonal allergies.

-Photo by F. Deventhal

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Mich Enviro Report: Dirty School Air, Dirty Sewer Systems & Consumers Energy Efficiency

As heard on Friday Edition, May 13, 2011, Delta College Q-90.1 FM …

1.

The air your kids breath could be hurting their grades in school.

Air pollution concentrations from industrial sources, with school locations.

A new study by University of Michigan researchers links air pollution near Michigan schools to poorer academic performance, and poorer student health.

The report says that schools located in areas with high industrial air pollution levels had the lowest attendance rates and the highest amounts of students who failed to meet state educational testing standards.

Out of almost 3,700 public schools in Michigan, 62.5 percent of them are located in places with high levels of air pollution from industrial sources, according to the research.

The majority of the most-polluted sites in Michigan are in the southern half of the Lower Peninsula. The most-polluted locations form a horseshoe-shaped band stretching from the Thumb region south to the Ohio border, then west to Lake Michigan and north to Grand Rapids and Muskegon.

The researchers say Michigan and other states should require an environmental-quality analysis when officials are considering sites for new schools.

Half of all states, including Michigan, do not require any evaluation of the environmental quality of areas under consideration as sites for new schools, nor do they prohibit building new industrial facilities and highways near existing schools.

The research was published in a peer-reviewed journal called Health Affairs.

2.

A ‘Dirty Dozen’ list of Michigan sewer systems includes Bay and Saginaw counties.

The list, from the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association, points to almost 15 billion gallons of raw or partially treated sewage that’s been discharged to Michigan rivers, lake and streams in the first four months of 2011.

Included in that 15 billion gallon figure, taken from state records, is more than 88 million gallons of sewage from Bay County, the third-highest discharger in Michigan, below Wayne and Macomb counties. Bay County sewage goes to the Saginaw River and Saginaw Bay.

Saginaw County came in at No. 5 on the list, with 63 million gallons.

A total of 86 percent of the Dirty Dozen sewage came from Wayne County, with 13.4 billion gallons.

Sewer discharges occur when overloaded and aging sewer systems are overwhelmed by heavy rains or snow melt.

In Bay and Saginaw counties, sewage typically receives partial treatment before a discharge. But partially treated sewage still contains bacteria that can lead to beach closures and river contamination advisories.

The association says the state needs to take long-overdue steps to repair or replace Michigan’s aging underground sewer systems.

3.

Last week, we talked about DTE Energy. This week, it’s Consumers Energy.

The Jackson-based utility says its customers saved about $38 million last year through an energy efficiency program.

One of the most popular aspects was the sale of discounted light bulbs.

Last year, 1.2 million compact fluorescent light bulbs were sold at a lower price at several retailers as part of the Consumers Energy program.

Payments for recycling old refrigerators and freezers also were popular, the company says.

Customers can receive $30 for offering up old fridges and freezers to Consumers Energy. The company picks up the old appliances, and people save an average of $150 a year on their electric bills by unplugging an energy hog.

Consumers Energy says 2010 energy efficiency efforts saved enough energy to supply electricity to about 30,000 homes.

Consumers Energy customers pay a total of about $3 a month in surcharges on their electric and natural gas bills to fund the energy efficiency program.

Mich Enviro Report: Regional Strategy, Saginaw Bay Muck & Midland Conservation

For the Jan. 14, 2011 Environment Report on Delta College Q-90.1 FM. 

1.

Leaders in Bay, Saginaw and Midland counties are working on a regional strategy to conserve energy use and improve energy efficiency.

They’re holding a public meeting on Thursday, Jan. 20, to gather input. The meeting is from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Curtiss Hall on the campus of Saginaw Valley State University.

The strategy is intended to enable the region to meet a growing share of its energy demand with alternative sources and technologies.

That includes targeting sources and technologies produced in the region, and transportation efforts that reduce fossil fuel use.

The public input is being requested to help set priorities for achieving energy conservation and renewable energy goals.

The three counties have already worked together on other joint environmental efforts. Those include a partnership to attract new and expanded solar manufacturing to the region, and the state designation of Saginaw Bay and central Lake Huron as a favorable location for offshore wind development.

2.

Michigan Sea Grant is targeting muck and algal blooms in Saginaw Bay.

The program plans to award up to $75,000 per year for research projects that address coastal issues in Michigan. The grants are to begin in February 2012, and the projects can last up to two years.

Researchers from universities and elsewhere are being encouraged to develop proposals that focus on issues including: muck and algal blooms in Saginaw Bay, and cleaning up Great Lakes hot spots, or Areas of Concern.

Also of interest to program funders: the development of Michigan’s aquaculture industry, risks associated with climate change and creating a sustainable Great Lakes fishery.

Michigan Sea Grant is a cooperative program between the University of Michigan and Michigan State University.

3.

The Little Forks Conservancy in Midland is adding to the amount of protected land in the region.

The conservancy recently announced a 40-acre conservation easement, which protects 4,400 feet of the Pine River in Midland County.

The easement was donated to the conservancy by the Hubert family.

The designation means the land will remain forever natural and undeveloped.

The property was once part of a larger farm. The Hubert family has planted thousands of trees there in the last 40 years. It’s still privately owned.

The Little Forks Conservancy is an accredited land trust that works with land owners to permanently protect property with natural and cultural features.

Currently, the conservancy oversees the protection of more than 2,500 acres in Mid-Michigan. That includes more than seven miles of waterways and shoreline.

— Photo via draft of Great Lakes Bay Regional Energy Efficiency, Conservation, and Renewable Energy Strategy

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