Michigan Environment Watch

Activists fear a group that may make recommendations on a wolf hunt is stacked with partisans. Tribes and Upper Peninsula hunters have similar complaints about the panel.

Restoring one of the rapids is helping diverse fish species recover in the river that connects lakes Superior and Huron, according to a recent study.

With climate action on the state and national agenda, critics of Enbridge Line 5 warn that investing in new pipeline infrastructure undermines Michigan’s pathway to carbon neutrality. Experts say it’s not so simple.

For two straight summers, residents of Detroit’s Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood watched water pour into basements and pool in streets, a result of coastal flooding that will become increasingly common throughout the Great Lakes as climate change progresses.

A federal study finds that climate change is warming even the deepest waters of big lakes, which could shorten their winters and have a ripple effect on their health.

Weeks before the start of Michigan’s spring smelt run, state officials announced it could be dangerous to eat more than one serving a month of the small, shimmery fish from Lake Superior. Officials call the limit a precautionary measure.

Rural Michigan is trying to balance the urgent need for updated sewer and water infrastructure with the financial constraints faced by towns with aging and shrinking populations.

The FishPass project uses technology that would allow migratory fish to freely travel the river while keeping out invasive species. But some residents are suing, saying it would alter a local park. They want a citywide vote on the project.

Previous industry efforts were rebuffed because they would divert funds earmarked for cleanup of contaminated land. A new bill would give beverage distribution companies a tax credit instead.

At a hearing Tuesday before a Senate joint committee, Canadian government, business and union officials said keeping the aging pipeline open would be a “win-win” for Michigan and Canada, while Democratic senators grilled them over safety concerns.

Devastating Midland floods would have been worse were it not for the sponge-like properties of a newly-restored wetland along the Shiawassee River. As climate change brings more intense rainstorms to Michigan, the incident is an example of how wetlands could help mitigate flood threats.

Changing climate threatens to bring more intense storms and worse floods to the Great Lakes region. In Grand Rapids, one park takes neighborhood stormwater runoff and stores it until it returns to the earth.

The plan, which comes two months before the day Whitmer has said Enbridge Energy must stop transporting petroleum through Line 5, outlines investing in rail and storage, incentivizing energy efficiency, and taking other steps to offset the loss of Line 5.

As climate change complicates Lake Erie’s algae problem, scientists say farmers must do far more to reduce phosphorus runoff. But will enough farmers change their ways without a government mandate?

State and federal parks and species managers said they don’t plan to act on a flurry of legislative resolutions calling for new hunting seasons targeting gray wolves, sandhill cranes and Isle Royale moose.

A significant number of residential septic systems need repair or replacement, but efforts to enact a statewide code have been hampered by the expense and disagreement over what events would trigger an inspection.

In a report detailing 86 recommendations designed to improve dam safety in Michigan, members of a state task force focused on changes to state law and policy, along with funding fixes to prevent future dam failures like the Edenville break in May.

Michigan’s electricity sector is more prepared for extreme cold and is connected to a regional grid that increases its resilience. But experts say it remains vulnerable to extreme weather events that will become more common as the climate changes.

The so-called “forever chemical” can be found in every room of the author’s home. It’s in the nonstick pans used for taco night, food packaging from take-out, on a floor mat and in waterproof boots. And, he learned, in his (and Ling Ling’s) blood.

Warming waters are hard on some fish, such as walleye, and more favorable to others, such as smallmouth bass. With so many environmental stresses, it’s difficult to gauge the future of individual lakes.