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Nuts and Honey

Michigan forests feature a host of nut trees. Basswood, not a nut tree, has other favored features. Walnuts and butternuts produce sweet fruits. Basswood sports semi-showy flowers favored by bees in season. Basswood honey is a specialty product that carries a healthy price tag. Non-timber forest products consist of most anything from trees and forests that are not wood or derived from wood. Think mushrooms, birch bark, and maple syrup, for examples. Marla Emery wrote a PhD dissertation in the late 1990s examining the movement of these products across the Upper Peninsula. ...

It’s a gold rush for fish!

Many folks in Michigan remember the dreadful day of May 19, 2020. Severe weather pushed the Edenville and Sanford dams in Midland and Gladwin counties past their limits, resulting in catastrophic flooding in the area. These dams, along with Secord and Smallwood dams, on the Tittabawassee and Tobacco rivers create the Tittabawassee River Impoundments, also known as the Four Lakes: Secord, Smallwood, Sanford and Wixom. The flooding likely displaced many fish downstream into the Saginaw River and Saginaw Bay while also limiting access for anglers throughout the Four Lakes system — an ...

Undecided rain

“Autumn this year is gonna break my heart, the leaves start falling and the feeling starts,” – Steve Forbert The rain seemed undecided, not sure whether it felt like delivering itself to the earth below or not. Maybe the rain has lazy days too? Nothing more than a faint mist was ...

MDARD, DNR expand “Don’t Move Firewood” campaign ahead of Labor Day weekend

LANSING – The Michigan Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) and Natural Resources (DNR) are reminding consumers to not move firewood long distances this holiday weekend to help prevent the spread of invasive insects and plant diseases. The agencies are also working to expand access to certified invasive-free firewood. Firewood movement is one of the most common pathways for the spread of invasive insects and diseases. The Michigan Invasive Species Program’s (MISP) longstanding “Don’t Move Firewood” campaign asks Michiganders to purchase firewood at or ...

Sayonara, my friend. It was so good to meet you

“My transistor radio comes from far away; and when it's night over here, over there, it's breakin' day,” – Bob Morris and Faye Morris It was evening, about an hour or so before dark would descend, when I set out on a walk to enjoy the natural experience around me. I was with our recent ...

Loon sightings: ancestral interpretations

In many Native American traditions, the sighting of a loon carries spiritual, symbolic, and sometimes prophetic significance. For several tribes, especially the Algonquian-speaking peoples like the Ojibwe and Anishinaabe, the loon is regarded as a divine messenger or a spirit animal. Its ...