Mich Enviro Report: Riverview Natural Area, DTE Efficiency & Au Sable Makes the List

As heard on Q-90.1 FM, Friday Edition, Delta College, May 6, 2011:

1.

The Little Forks Conservancy is readying the Riverview Natural Area for a public opening.

The conservancy, based in Midland, recently closed on the purchase of 419 acres of natural land on the Tittabawassee River in Midland County.

The Riverview Natural Area is home to frogs, bald eagles and wildflowers, and contains mature woods and farmland.

The conservancy recently acquired the property for a total of $1.5 million. The conservancy launched a fundraising campaign back in 2008 to purchase, protect and manage the land.

Funding came from The Conservation Fund, individual donors, foundations, corporations and government sources. The conservancy’s staff and board kicked in more than $100,000.

At the beginning of this year, there was still $350,000 to be raised. The last hurdle was cleared when the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation agreed to provide the rest of the funding to complete the purchase.

The conservancy is now working to lay out trails for public use, and is offering guided visits for the public. 

A parking lot has been constructed with additional funding from the Dow Foundation. A formal dedication is planned for the fall.

2.

It pays to be energy efficient.

DTE Energy customers who participated in the company’s energy efficiency programs saved $31 million in 2010.

The utility estimates that those customers will see a lifetime savings of $520 million.

The DTE program is funded by a surcharge on bills, under energy legislation passed in Lansing in 2008.

The DTE program includes appliance recycling, in-home energy audits, low-income weatherization assistance, and rebates and discounts on energy efficient light bulbs, programmable thermostats and clothes washers.

Other highlights of 2010 participation include the recycling of almost 23,000 old refrigerators, freezers, room air conditioners and dehumidifiers; and the purchase of more than 3 million, discounted compact fluorescent light bulbs

More information on DTE Energy’s energy efficiency programs is available online at YourEnergySavings.com.

3

The Au Sable River has been named to a national Waters to Watch list.

And that’s a good thing.

The 2011 list was recently unveiled by the National Fish Habitat Action Plan.

It’s a collection of 10 rivers and watershed systems across the country that are due to benefit from conservation efforts to protect, restore or enhance their current condition over the next year.

The group says the waters represent a snapshot of voluntary habitat conservation efforts in progress throughout the U.S. The projects, including one on the North Branch of the Au Sable, are being implemented by regional partnerships under a National Fish Habitat Action Plan.

The plan, funded in part by government agencies like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, aims to conserve freshwater and others habitats that are essential to fish and wildlife species.

Other rivers and watershed systems on the list are located in New York, Louisiana, Alaska, Utah, Texas, Idaho and Hawaii. The Manistee River in Michigan also is listed.

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Michigan Enviro Report: Birds in Shiawassee, Rapanos Land & Saving Tobico Towers

For the Jan. 28, 2011, Friday Edition Environment Report on Delta College Q-90.1 FM:

JEFF ENVIRONMENT REPORT 1-28 by jeffkart

1.

Bird watchers, start your engines.

A $2 million auto trail is due to open this spring at the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge.

The trail is 7.5 miles long and takes motorists through the refuge, located in Saginaw County. Construction has been completed, and the route is due to open in May, according to Capitol News Service.

The trail, called Wildlife Drive, includes two observation decks with spotting scopes for viewing birds. There’s also an expanded parking area and new fishing and canoe access site.

Previously, motorists were only allowed to drive through the refuge for one day each year. The new trail will allow more people to view birds during the spring and summer. Officials say the speed limit is 15 mph and the gravel trail was designed not to disturb wildlife.

The project, funded by federal dollars, is part of a conservation plan for all national wildlife refuges in the U.S.

The trail is the second of its kind in Michigan. There’s another one at Seney National Wildlife Refuge, in the Upper Peninsula.

The Shiawassee refuge is home to almost 300 species of birds, including bald eagles and peregrine falcons.

2.

There are three newly protected parcels in the Saginaw Bay area.

The Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy in Bay City has acquired three parcels — two in Pinconning Township and one in Standish Township.

The three parcels have been under a mitigation plan established in 2005, according to Conservancy officials.

The property was originally farm field, and is still being restored. The plans are to turn it into a forested wetland.

The 2005 mitigation plan required about 93 acres of wetlands to be created or restored. Those include forested wetlands and shrub wetlands.

The remaining 125 acres contain buffers in the form of wetlands,  hedgerows, drainage ditches and other land devoted to wildlife habitat.

The three parcels were acquired as a result of a settlement between the federal government and Midland developer John Rapanos.

The Rapanos case stretches back to the late 1980s.

3.

You can help Save Tobico Towers at an event on Saturday, Jan. 29.

A citizens group will be holding the event at 10 a.m. in the front of Bay Banquet Hall at 363 State Park Drive.

It’s a 5-k run and walk, with separate categories for people of all ages.

Registration begins at 9 a.m. The fee is $15, with proceeds going to the Save Tobico Towers effort.

The group is trying to raise $70,000 to restore two wooden observation towers in Tobico Marsh, part of the Bay City State Recreation Area in Bangor Township.

So far, the group has raised about $5,000, according to The Bay City Times.

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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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Michigan Bats, Energy Awareness & the Saginaw Basin Conservancy

Photo Credit: Redjar via Flickr.

My Oct. 22 Environment Report for Friday Edition is now online.

It’s about halfway through the audio posted at the Delta College Q90.1 website.

You have to wait a bit for the audio to load. This one includes bumpers!