Formerly The Outspoken Sportsman
Radio Show website
Dec. 2008
Michigan Crossbow Legislation Goes Before Senate Committee
Dec. 3, 2008
Click here to read more.
Grant funding must be returned to DNR
Dec. 4, 2009
"Hartland Township will have to pay back to the state what amounts to more than $389,000 following a decision Wednesday by the Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund Board. The decision came as township officials attempted to calm DNR board members' concerns over selling nearly 10 acres of park property off M-59 between Fenton and Bullard roads to the Michigan State Youth Soccer Association for a new headquarters and soccer fields. The 10 acres are part of 65 total acres the township purchased partly with a $345,000 DNR grant..."
Click here to read more.
Wolves kill more livestock in 2007 in Idaho
by The Associated Press
Thursday December 04, 2008, 2:40 PM
"Wolves in Idaho have killed 325 cattle, sheep and dogs so far in 2008, the
Idaho Department of Fish and Game says. The reported kills through Nov. 24
-- 212 sheep, 100 cattle and 13 dogs -- are 47 more than in all of 2007. . . . "
Granholm: Automaker Loan Is 'Critical'
Dec. 4, 2008 - LANSING, Mich. -- Federal loans for the domestic automakers are crucial to keep the national recession from becoming a depression, Gov. Jennifer Granholm said Thursday.The Democratic governor told CNN that withholding the loans would "devastating" to the U.S. economy. One in 10 jobs are tied to the industry, so millions of people would be affected if the automakers aren't helped, she said.Granholm appeared on CNN as the heads of the U.S. auto companies were pleading with Congress for an expanded $34 billion rescue package..." Click here to read more.Mike Terrell: Exploring the wilderness
Outdoor columnist - Dec. 4, 2008
I'm pretty sure it was Thoreau who once said,
"The mere existence of wilderness refreshes us."
Take a trip to Black Mountain Forest Recreation Area 0, located southeast of Cheboygan, and you will instantly understand what he meant. As I pulled away from the area after two days of wonderful midweek cross-country skiing last March, my body felt tired, but my soul felt refreshed and uplifted for the time spent there...." Click here to read more.
Proposed Fees Would Hog-Tie Livestock Farmers
Posted On December 05, 2008
This issue would be funny if it weren’t so frustrating: A federal proposal to charge fees for air pollution caused by burping and tooting barnyard animals could put many farmers out of business. And not surprisingly, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is just fine with that.
The newest and craziest idea from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) comes after a U.S. Supreme Court judgment last year that counts flatulence from hogs and cattle as greenhouse-gas emissions. The livestock tax would penalize farms and ranches that own more than 25 dairy cows, 50 beef cattle, or 200 hogs by making them pay a yearly fee of $175 for each dairy cow, $87.50 for every beef cattle, and $20 per pig. The measure would cost even a midsize farm up to $40,000 annually and has the potential to bankrupt most family-owned businesses.
Naturally, PETA is A-OK with the idea. The Associated Press reports:
While farmers say it would drive them out of business..." Click here to read more.Concealed Carry Now Legal in National Parks
Dec. 5, 2008 - Concealed carry permit holders will now be able to carry protection from thugs, rapists and murderers in some national parks and wildlife refuges. The Department of the Interior has released new rules that allow a citizen to carry a concealed weapon in a park or wildlife refuge if the person has a CCW permit in the state in which the national park or refuge is located.The rule overturns a 25 year old regulation that has restricted loaded guns in parks and wildlife refuges. The previous regulations required that guns be unloaded and placed somewhere that is not easily accessible, such as in a car trunk. Teddy Roosevelt would be proud.
Department of the Interior news release
on crime and guns in our National Parks
Detroit Edison Company Acceptance for Docketing of an Application for Combined License (Col) for FERMI 3
On September 18, 2008, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) received a combined license (COL) application from Detroit Edison Company, dated September 18, 2008, filed pursuant to Section 103 of the Atomic Energy Act and Subpart C of Part 52, ``Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants,'' of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 52). The site location is in Monroe County, Michigan and identified as Fermi 3. A notice of receipt and availability of this application was previously published in the Federal Register (73 FR 61916 on October 17, 2008).
The NRC staff has determined that Detroit Edison Company has submitted information in accordance with 10 CFR Part 2, ``Rules of Practice for Domestic Licensing Proceedings and Issuance of Orders,'' and Part 52 that is sufficiently complete and acceptable for docketing. The docket number established for this application is 52-033. . . . " Click here to read more.
Deer Seasons Below Average
By RON DEUTER, Staff Writer - Dec. 5, 2008
"IRON MOUNTAIN - A look at preliminary deer harvest numbers provided by Wisconsin and Michigan Department of Natural Resources officials confirms what many local hunters had already suspected.
The 2008 count saw a noticeable decrease from a year ago.
Wisconsin DNR reported 276,985 whitetail deer registered during the state's nine-day gun season which ended Sunday, down 20 percent from a year ago.
"The down numbers may mean the population is moving toward goal. That is a good thing, and that hunting is having a positive effect on deer herd management," DNR deer expert Keith Warnke said. "If this is true, as populations get toward goals, lower harvests like this will become the norm.".....Click here to read more.
Can We Conclude There Are More Wolves?
December 5, 2008 - By Tom Remington
"What a confusing mess! I guess this is another classic example of government making shambles out of anything they touch. Idaho Department of Fish and Game in their most recent wolf report shows they have confirmed wolf kills on livestock outnumbering last year. The same report shows more wolves have been killed than last year but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in September that wolf populations were on the decline in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. So what gives?
According to IDFG, since January 1, 2008 until November 24, 2008, they have 325 confirmed kills by wolves - 100 cattle, 212 sheep and 13 dogs. For all of last year, there were 278 confirmed kills - 57 cattle, 211 sheep and 10 dogs. Can we conclude that there are more wolves?
Perhaps but we could also say certain conditions made the wolves more hungry or as some would probably like to say, the ranchers aren’t taking care of their livestock.
The same report says that again from January 1, 2008 until November 21, 2008, 136 wolves have been killed - 86 authorized through Wildlife Services for various reasons, 13 taken under the ESA 10j rule and 37 other, including illegal kills...." Click here to read more.Saginaw lands another large grant to reopen water park
by Justin Engel | The Saginaw News - Saturday December 06, 2008
Saginaw City Hall officials have secured another six-figure donation for their Andersen Water Park repurposing plans.The state's Department of Natural Resources awarded the city a $480,000 grant this week, City Manager Darnell Earley said.
"We're ecstatic about this latest news," he said. "This puts us very much on schedule for the 2010 opener."
The news comes two weeks after Thomas Township's Hemlock Semiconductor Corp. donated $400,000 to the $1.4 million undertaking.
"I knew it was a good project from the beginning,
so I'm not surprised (by the donations)," Earley said. "The staff has
done a wonderful job." .......
Coaster decision delayed
By John Pepin Journal staff Writer - Dec. 6, 2008
"MARQUETTE - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has delayed until April a decision on whether the coaster brook trout warrants protection under provisions of the federal endangered species act.
In
October, the Fish and Wildlife Service announced plans to issue its
finding by Dec. 15. But over the past two weeks, those considering the
question decided to postpone their decision while they acquired some
data on genetics of the fish.
"We felt it was important enough to delay our finding, "said Jessica Hogrefe, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife regional office in Minneapolis..." Click here to read more.
The Slate Bailout Guide
An interactive cheat sheet on the trillions of dollars in federal rescue packages.
Updated Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2008"Since the economic-stimulus package in February, the federal government has offered more than a dozen multibillion-dollar rescue packages for a variety of industries and people endangered by the financial chaos and the recession. The magnitude of even one of these mega-bailouts is hard enough to grasp—see the "Explainer's" take on the meaning of $700 billion—and combined they represent trillions of dollars in federal commitments. The following Slate visualization attempts to put the magnitude of these rescue packages in perspective....." Read more here.
Many snowmobile trails are ready to ride
Dec. 9, 2008
"According to estimates, snowmobiling in Michigan has a $1 billion economic impact to the state...."
Click here to read more.
Michigan panel OKs rules for wildlife rescuers
TRAVERSE CITY — "Volunteer wildlife rescuers in most of Michigan will be able to resume caring for orphaned or injured deer under new rules issued by the state Natural Resources Commission...." Click here to read more.$5M Pigeon drain project moves ahead
By Kate Hessling, Tribune Staff Writer - Published: Tuesday, December 9, 2008
PIGEON
— "Following a nearly five-hour long meeting, members of the Pigeon
River Intercounty Drainage Board voted 2 to 1 to move forward in a
proposed improvement project that could cost up to $5 million.The board — comprised of a representative from the Michigan Department of Agriculture, the Huron County deputy drain commissioner and drain commissioners from Sanilac and Tuscola counties — held a meeting at Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Lakers Monday evening where a presentation outlining several proposed improvements was given and then public comment was received from those either opposed or in favor of an improvement project...." Click here to read more.
How about help for endangered Michiganders?
by Peter Michaelson
Tuesday December 09, 2008, 11:20 AM
"This fall a federal court put the gray wolf of Michigan and other
Great Lakes states back on the endangered species list, despite the
Bush Administration's attempts to delist it prematurely. Good for the wolf, but what about me, a fellow Michigander?......" Click here to read more.
PIGEON RIVER UPDATE:
Contact/go to: Michigan Horseman Public Land Use
The Pigeon River page.
Gongwer News Service -- Wednesday, December 10, 2008
SENATE PANEL HEARS TESTIMONY ON WILDERNESS AREA
The Pigeon River Area was the topic of discussion at Wednesday's Senate Appropriations Natural Resources Subcommittee meeting with several House members saying the area should be open for broader use by horseback riders. Click here to read more.Should the DNR raise hunting license fees?
Rob takes aim, copy; Jenni Jones
This Lansing State Journal editorial agrees with a Michigan Department of Natural Resources advisory panel recommendation (panel report - pdf) to increase the cost of hunting, fishing and trapping licenses. The LSJ says that the ultimate decision rests with the Legislature and that in the face of looming deficits:
Cosmetic fixes are unlikely to work this time. The advisory committee recommended doubling the cost of a hunting license, from $15 to $30. Out-of-state and senior citizen licenses also would cost more; other DNR-related fees also could increase.
User fees now cover about 76 percent of the DNR's annual budget, but the system needs adjusting. Michigan has lower fees than many other states while offering longer seasons, more state-owned land and more waterways.
Read DNR fees: Raising license costs would protect Michigan's valuable resources in the Lansing State Journal and then tell us what you think in the comments.
for chronic wasting disease
Dec. 10, 2009
"For more than a decade, Department of Natural Resources wildlife personnel have been checking deer and elk heads at the agency's Wildlife
Disease Lab, looking for evidence of bovine tuberculosis (TB) in the animals' lymph nodes.
The DNR began analyzing the heads in 1995, the year after TB was confirmed in a free-ranging whitetail in the northeastern Lower Peninsula. Since the program started, the DNR has examined more than 115,000 deer heads, mostly collected from hunters who took the animals from within the TB zone, as well as elsewhere, as the agency investigated the extent of the disease....."
Click here to read more.
From the U.S. Senate Committee on
Environment & Public Works website:
UN Blowback:
More Than 650 International Scientists Dissent Over
Man-Made Global Warming Claims
Study: Half of warming due to Sun! –Sea Levels Fail to Rise? -
Warming Fears in 'Dustbin of History'
"POZNAN, Poland - The UN global warming conference currently underway in Poland is about to face a serious challenge from over 650 dissenting scientists from around the globe who are criticizing the climate claims made by the UN IPCC and former Vice President Al Gore. Set for release this week, a newly updated U.S. Senate Minority Report features the dissenting voices of over 650 international scientists, many current and former UN IPCC scientists, who have now turned against the UN. The report has added about 250 scientists (and growing) in 2008 to the over 400 scientists who spoke out in 2007. The over 650 dissenting scientists are more than 12 times the number of UN scientists (52) who authored the media hyped IPCC 2007 Summary for Policymakers.
The U.S. Senate report is the latest evidence of the growing groundswell of scientific opposition rising to challenge the UN and Gore. Scientific meetings are now being dominated by a growing number of skeptical scientists. The prestigious International Geological Congress, dubbed the geologists' equivalent of the Olympic Games, was held in Norway in August 2008 and prominently featured the voices and views of scientists skeptical of man-made global warming fears...."
Click here to read more!Try for Tri
Dec. 10, 2008
"Talks as to whether Saugatuck, Douglas and Saugatuck Township should consolidate raise three questions..."
Click here to read more.
Wisconsin: Deaths of six wolves investigated
Click here for a few articles on this topic.
Dec. 10, 2008
Click here for the Latest News from the MI GOP
Dec. 11, 2009 - "CAMP MOVES UP IN LEADERSHIP…House Republicans yesterday elected U.S. Rep. Dave Camp(Midland, MI) as the Ranking Minority Member of the House Ways and Means Committee. The committee is considered one of the most powerful in the House with jurisdiction over taxes, health care, trade, Medicare, Social Security and welfare. This is great news for Michigan!...." Click here to read more.
Area snowmobile trail re-opens
Dec. 11, 2008
CADILLAC -- The White Pine Snowmobile Trail is re-opened in Wexford County.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources temporarily closed the trail the first week of December to repair the trail bed. All repairs are completed and the snowmobile trail in southern Wexford County is now open for use.
Trail maps and related information can be found on the DNR Web site at www.michigan.gov/dnr
Trail Sticker Increase; The vote is a yes.
Dec. 12, 2008
Here's a short summation on this subject:
#1489 is to increase registration renewal fees to $30 and the $8 increase to be put into
Permanent Snowmobile Trail Easement Sub-account, #1490 is for the trail permit fee
increase from $25 to $50 in 2009 and 2010, $60 in 2011, 2012 and 2013, and $75 in
2014 and each subsequent year (with a $15 discount if purchased before November
15th). Some of that language is being cleaned up.
MSA mailed out 90,000 fliers explaining the deficit of the program if the increase does
not happen. 82 % of the members are for the changes so far. 80% non-members agree
with the changes.
Click here for the DNR Snowmobile Advisory Committee Members
PIGEON RIVER UPDATE:
Dick Kleinhardt's testimony at the
Contact Dick Kleinhardt or Norm Seppi
Contact/go to: Michigan Horseman Public Land Use
The Pigeon River page.
Thank you to all for your support & diligent work on this issue!
The MI House: Vehicle Tax Increase Ultimately Fails
Dec.12, 2008: "You wouldn't think the Legislature would even consider raising taxes in this difficult economy. Guess again. As I write this, the House is passing a package of tax increase to fund roads. Fixing roads is a priority, but why can't the leadership in this government find ways to downsize other departments of government, or make it more efficient so they can afford to provide those essential services we all expect?....."
"...HB 4577 would amend the Michigan Vehicle code to increase the state's vehicle registration fees....Under this bill registration fees would increase 50%.....Plans are already in place for replacement taxes. I am willing to bet you that it won't be pretty. But, to be technically accurate, the bills we passed today are actually tax decreases........Moments ago, I sent out a short letter regarding HB 4577......." Read more here.
Michigan a paradise for cross country skiers
by Howard Meyerson | The Grand Rapids Press
Friday December 12, 2008, 8:00 AM"Cross country skiers will have their choice of 23 groomed ski trails
in Michigan state forests this winter. State officials say funding is
in place for grooming. The trails run from 6.6 miles to 30 miles long.
"We're looking for a fantastic cross country ski season," said Mark
Mandenberg with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources state
forest recreation program.
"The snow is looking good and so is the funding. I can't think of a nicer place to ski than the Michigan woods."
"Cross country skiers will have their choice of 23 groomed ski trails in Michigan state forests this winter. State officials say funding is in place for grooming. The trails run from 6.6 miles to 30 miles long.
"We're looking for a fantastic cross country ski season," said Mark Mandenberg with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources state forest recreation program.
"The snow is looking good and so is the funding. I can't think of a nicer place to ski than the Michigan woods."
Pro-wolf:
Poachers Kill Resurgent Wolves, Despite Protection
mlive.com - by John Flesher | The Associated Press
"....They're born killers," said Al Clemens, a hunter from Ironwood who has lobbied state legislators to establish wolf hunting and trapping seasons. "... People are just fed up."
Yes, wolves eat deer, but not enough to put a serious dent in the total, Roell said.
"Wolves are an easy scapegoat," he added.
The wolf isn't universally despised in the region. The DNR says a 2005 survey indicated most residents were willing to peacefully coexist. In fact, tips from citizens have been instrumental in nabbing poachers.
Still, most cases go unsolved, and many illegal kills undoubtedly never come to official attention. "Yoopers," as Upper Peninsula residents call themselves, even have a catch phrase for dispatching a wolf and hiding the evidence: "Shoot, shovel and shut up."....
....The ruling means for now, state officials in Michigan and Wisconsin no longer can kill wolves that repeatedly prey on livestock or pets -- a crucial provision in management plans the states had crafted. The states are seeking permits from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to continue doing so. (Minnesota can use lethal control because its population is listed only as "threatened," not "endangered.")
Without that option, some fear public support for wolves will decline -- and poaching will rise as frustrated farmers and hunters take matters into their own hands.
"It's going to make some criminals out of honest people," said John Talsma, a retired veterinarian....."
Sierra Club sues DeYoung power plant
in Holland over emissions
by Ken Kolker | The Grand Rapids Press
Monday December 15, 2008, 3:54 PM
HOLLAND -- The city's James DeYoung coal-fired power plant is
spewing too much soot and smog-forming pollution and should be forced
to clean up its emissions, according to a federal lawsuit filed today
by an environmental group.
Sierra Club, which is fighting Holland's planned expansion of the
plant, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids on
Monday, alleging the plant has violated the federal Clean Air Act.
It claims the Holland Board of Public Works, which operates the
plant, has modified it over 40 years to keep it operating without
installing required modern controls that would limit emissions of
carbon dioxide, sulfur oxide, nitrogen oxide and other pollutants....."
Michigan must pull the plug on coal - Detroit Free Press
Dec. 14, 2008
"...Big Coal is preparing to build eight new coal plants in Michigan,
more than any other state. Northern Michigan University already has a
permit from the state Department of Environmental Quality to build a
coal plant -- and it's already being challenged. Four other projects
have begun the DEQ permitting process; two of them, in Holland and
Rogers City, will be the subject of public hearings next month.
Instead
of standing up to these coal plants and standing up for our citizens,
the state DEQ shrugs its shoulders and says, effectively, "There's
nothing we can do."
We beg to differ.
Recently, a broad
coalition of citizens groups, including the Sierra Club, Clean Water
Action, the Michigan Environmental Council, Natural Resources Defense
Council and many others, urged Gov. Jennifer Granholm to order the DEQ
to protect the public from CO{-2} pollution and stop the permitting
process for coal plants immediately. The DEQ is duty-bound not to
provide permits until safeguards that protect public health and reduce
greenhouse gases are in place. If the DEQ refuses to acknowledge this
duty, then the governor should require it to do so...."
Click here to read more.
_____________
Slap Suits and Suits by Enviro Groups
Information on Radical Environmental Groups
HOLLAND -- The city's James DeYoung coal-fired power plant is spewing too much soot and smog-forming pollution and should be forced to clean up its emissions, according to a federal lawsuit filed today by an environmental group.
Sierra Club, which is fighting Holland's planned expansion of the plant, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids on Monday, alleging the plant has violated the federal Clean Air Act.
It claims the Holland Board of Public Works, which operates the
plant, has modified it over 40 years to keep it operating without
installing required modern controls that would limit emissions of
carbon dioxide, sulfur oxide, nitrogen oxide and other pollutants....."
Michigan must pull the plug on coal - Detroit Free Press
Dec. 14, 2008"...Big Coal is preparing to build eight new coal plants in Michigan, more than any other state. Northern Michigan University already has a permit from the state Department of Environmental Quality to build a coal plant -- and it's already being challenged. Four other projects have begun the DEQ permitting process; two of them, in Holland and Rogers City, will be the subject of public hearings next month.
Instead of standing up to these coal plants and standing up for our citizens, the state DEQ shrugs its shoulders and says, effectively, "There's nothing we can do."
We beg to differ.
Recently, a broad
coalition of citizens groups, including the Sierra Club, Clean Water
Action, the Michigan Environmental Council, Natural Resources Defense
Council and many others, urged Gov. Jennifer Granholm to order the DEQ
to protect the public from CO{-2} pollution and stop the permitting
process for coal plants immediately. The DEQ is duty-bound not to
provide permits until safeguards that protect public health and reduce
greenhouse gases are in place. If the DEQ refuses to acknowledge this
duty, then the governor should require it to do so...."
_____________
Slap Suits and Suits by Enviro Groups
Information on Radical Environmental Groups
Concerns about water, air quality raised at meeting
about changes to De Young power plant
by Dave Muller | The Grand Rapids Press - December 16, 2008, 10:30 PM
HOLLAND — About 50 people attended a meeting with state environmental officials Tuesday night, seeking more information on expansion plans at the Holland BPW's coal-to-energy James De Young Plant.
Several attendees expressed reservations with the project, citing things like mercury emissions harming fish and more carbon dioxide being spewed into the atmosphere.
"Unfortunately, I have to tell my grandkids as they grow up that
they should be careful about eating fish. When do we stop?" said Robert
Stegmier, of Rockford. Stegmier, 79, is the Michigan chapter director
of the Izaak Walton League of America, a conservation organization.
Obama names two to Cabinet; ducks scandal query
"President-elect Barack Obama named two more members of his cabinet Wednesday, but again brushed off questions revolving around the corruption scandal of embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, saying he will have answers on the issue next week.
Lawsuit Challenges 11th Hour Cuts in Endangered Species Protections
SAN FRANCISCO, California, December 17, 2008 (ENS)"Regulations announced by Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne last week that would exempt many federal activities, including those that generate greenhouse gases, from review under the Endangered Species Act were published in the Federal Register Tuesday.
But the regulations are being challenged in court by three conservation groups - the Center for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace and Defenders of Wildlife, who filed suit in federal court for the Northern District of California the day the regulations were announced, December 11....." Click here to read more.
No CWD found in 9,000 wild deer
By Bill Parker
Editor
Lansing - Nearly 9,000 free-ranging white-tailed deer
have been tested for chronic wasting disease since Aug. 25 and, so far, none
have tested positive."What that means is that we have tested a lot of deer for CWD and we haven't found it,"_ DNR veterinarian Dr. Steven Schmitt told Michigan Outdoor News. "I'm certainly feeling better than I did on Aug. 25 when I was informed that CWD had been found in Kent County (on a deer farm). What this means is that we don't have a large outbreak like they do in Wisconsin."
Click here to read more.
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December 17, 2008 - "Efforts to prevent an outbreak of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in the state's white-tailed deer population are proving costly, but the state's Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Natural Resource Commission (NRC) say the cost is well worth preventing a CWD epidemic. DNR officials told the NRC on Thursday, Dec. 4, that monitoring of the state's deer herd for the disease has cost approximately $1 million. CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects deer, elk and moose. The disease is transmitted through contact with infected saliva, fecal matter and other body fluids. "It's too early to tell how well the steps we've taken have worked, but so far so good," said Mary Dettloff, public information officer for the DNR...." Click here to read more. | |||||||||||||||
Ravenna-area deer breeders seeking $1 million in damages
This case has everything -- or at least a lot of unusual things.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Potential damages of more than $1 million.
Genetic engineering over many years, leading to super-bucks with amazing antlers for eager hunters to shoot on big deer ranches around the country.
Allegedly toxic growth hormone.
Lost semen.
A Muskegon County jury is hearing the case of Whitehouse Whitetails vs. Armada Grain Co. Inc.
Deer farm owners Earl "Pete" Carroll and his wife, Laura Carroll, are suing the Port Huron-area feed supplier. The Carrolls claim that a food additive in feed they bought from Armada led to the deaths of at least 60 of their fawns in June and July 2004 -- two-thirds of the farm's babies that year....." Click here to read more.
Docks at end of county roads face another hurdle
by Holly Klaft | Citizen Patriot Thursday December 18, 2008, 7:18 AM
"Jackson County residents who hope to construct docks at county roads that end at the water's edge might have to cut through more red tape before they can do it.
A state regulation considers a dock designated for public use — such as those built at the county right-of-way — to be a marina, so a special permit is required for its construction, a Michigan Department of Environmental Quality representative said...." Click here to read more.Michigan man files suit to stop AIG bailout
By ED WHITE - DETROIT
"A Michigan man is challenging the government's bailout of American International Group Inc., claiming the move is illegal because the insurer has financial products that promote Islam and are anti-Christian.
The
lawsuit was filed Monday in federal court in Detroit by the Thomas More
Law Center of Ann Arbor, which pursues cases on behalf of Christian
causes.
It
says the government is violating the Fist Amendment with billions of
dollars of aid for AIG. The clause prevents the U.S. government from
endorsing a religion..."
Here's What's Un-American, Gov. Granholm
Brett Joshpe, 12-17-08Michigan's executive drives her state into the ground.
"In response to the Senate's failure to pass a $14 billion automaker bailout bill, Gov. Jennifer Granholm, D-Mich., said last week that "It is unacceptable for this un-American, frankly, behavior of these U.S. senators to cause this country to go from a recession into a depression." Really? Well, let's talk about un-American behavior, Governor.
For starters, there is a deep irony in the Canadian-born governor proclaiming the temporary death of this socialist legislation "un-American." The bill, which Congress almost certainly will revisit in January, would have created a federal bureaucrat, namely the "car czar," to make business decisions in the automobile sector. The absurdity of the failed legislation's contents aside, Granholm is widely regarded as one of the worst executives in the country, with an approval rating of 37% as of August.
Granholm, who has driven Michigan's economy into the ground (forgive the pun) is no stranger to making hyperbolic, political charges either...." Click here to read more.
Mich. Snowmobile Fees Could Rise
POSTED: Thursday, December 18, 2008  |
Scottville out of luck on bridge repair timing
Fish not the problem
Melissa McGuire - Daily News Staff Writer - Friday, December 19, 2008
SCOTTVILLE — "Work on the South Scottville Road bridge will begin around May and continue through the summer, ending in August. That’s exactly what Scottville officials and businesses were hoping to avoid.
City Manager Amy Hansen said the news of the timing of the work isn’t
good for the city, as it blocks access to and from the city from
Scottville Road.
Hansen said the bridge is literally rusting away and anyone who boats underneath it can see the wear.
“It’s just past its time,” Hansen said. “It just has to be replaced.”
Hansen, along with the Michigan Department of Transportation, Department of Natural Resources, Mason County Road Commission, representatives from local lawmakers’ offices and other city officials met Thursday to discuss what could be done about the Scottville Road bridge project.
“I don’t think it went well,” Hansen said. “We learned there is no way possible the project can begin any earlier.”
She
said MDOT has to bid out the project in April and it takes four to six
weeks once that is done to get all of the contracts in order...."
Annoying ordinance passed in Brighton
Don’t annoy someone in Brighton city or you might get a ticket.The Brighton City Council approved a more stringent code for public conduct, and those who violate the rules – including annoying someone else – could be ticketed and fined. The ordinance was modeled after one in Royal Oak, where Brighton Police Chief Tom Wightman previously was employed.
One of the sections reads, “It shall be unlawful for a person to engage in a course of conduct or repeatedly commit acts that alarm or seriously annoy another person and that serve no legitimate purpose.”
Another section states, “It shall be unlawful for any person in the city to insult, accost, molest or otherwise annoy, either by word of mouth, sign or motions any person in any public place.”
Two City Council members expressed concerns about the ordinance but ended up voting for it...."
Click here to read more.
"Cussing Canoeist" Conviction Revered in Michigan (4-1-02)
"DETROIT--In a case that drew international attention, a Michigan appeals court today struck down a 105-year-old law used to convict a man dubbed the ""cussing canoeist,"" saying that the law unquestionably "operates to inhibit the exercise of First Amendment Rights."
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, which defended Roseville resident Timothy Boomer, hailed the decision as a victory for free speech rights and common sense.
""This decision reaffirms the longstanding principle of the rights of free speech," said Michael J. Steinberg, Legal Director of the ACLU of Michigan. "As the court today recognized, the government cannot act as speech police and prosecute a citizen just because someone is offended.""
Boomer was convicted in August, 1998 for yelling a stream of profanities in earshot of...."
Click here to read more.
'Detroit News' and 'Free Press' cut delivery to 3 days a week
The Detroit market is the largest in the country to undergo that transformation. But it reflects a calculation facing newspapers across the country, with print circulation dropping as readers increasingly get their news on the Internet.
By curtailing home delivery on certain days, the papers reduce printing, fuel and labor expenses for editions that tend to attract fewer advertisements.
The chief executive of Detroit Media Partnership, which runs the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News, said the move would keep the papers alive.
"I don't think we're ever going back," said David Hunke, who also is publisher of the Free Press. ......"
Michigan legislature passes Foxtown rail line;
Cobo expansion funding close
Posted by George James Malik December 19, 2008
"The Michigan State Legislature wrapped up its 2007-2008 term by passing legislation that paves the way for the Foxtown rail line supported by Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch--and the Detroit News's Gary Heinlein notes that the State's about to approve funding for an expansion of Cobo Hall which will very likely involve the transformation of the Ilitch-operated Cobo Arena:
December 19, Detroit News: State lawmakers this morning abandoned, for this year, efforts to ban smoking in all workplaces, including bars, restaurants and casinos. As the hours ticked down on..."Click here to read more.
New tapeworm found in Great Lakes fish
Jeff Alexander, Muskegon Chronicle - Tuesday, December 23, 2008
"An outbreak of tapeworms in Lake Huron walleye has Michigan officials urging people to avoid eating sushi made with freshwater fish caught in the Great Lakes region.
The warning came as a Canadian researcher reported the first documented case of Asian fish tapeworms in Great Lakes fish..." Click here to read more.
Leave a legacy, Gov. Granholm
Posted by Susan J. Demas | Capitol Chronicles | Analysis December 24, 2008
"The worst kept secret in Lansing this year has been how much Jennifer Granholm wanted to skip town -- and how badly folks from both parties were dying for her to do just that.
After the governor was named to Barack Obama's economic transition team, most of Lansing's chattering class considered her a lock for a cabinet post. Evidently, the New York Times was convinced enough to run a cover story and all the networks came calling.
Around the corridors of the Capitol, Democrats could be seen crossing their fingers that the governor's name would be announced...."Click here to read more.
Harassment rule creates stir -
Officials back Brighton Measure drawing national attention
"Even amid a wave of national media coverage, several Brighton City Council members say they have no intention of revising amendments to the community's public harassment ordinance, or as media outlets have dubbed it, the "annoyance ordinance."
Last week, the City Council approved the amendments, which make it illegal for a person to repeatedly commit acts that "alarm or seriously annoy" another person. Violators could face a $100 fine.
Since
then, news of the council's actions has spread to numerous media
outlets, including some in Florida, Missouri and Nebraska, as well as
Detroit television stations and newspapers, including USA Today.
A sampling of what the news outlets and blog are...." Click here to read more.
Snowmobile group's approach is admirable
by Howard Meyerson | The Grand Rapids Press
Friday December 26, 2008
"I have to hand it to the organized snowmobile community, particularly
the Michigan Snowmobile Association. They really know how to get things
done. But even more, I admire that the organization isn't afraid to
tackle tough funding issues to support the sport they love...." Click here to read more.
Is it really all that admirable? Is this instead a case of the uninformed or the misinformed?
Click here to read a response letter written by a listener.
"I have to hand it to the organized snowmobile community, particularly the Michigan Snowmobile Association. They really know how to get things done. But even more, I admire that the organization isn't afraid to tackle tough funding issues to support the sport they love...." Click here to read more.
Is it really all that admirable? Is this instead a case of the uninformed or the misinformed?
Click here to read a response letter written by a listener.
Michigan law on mirror baubles struck down
Break out the fuzzy dice.A federal appeals court has struck down a Michigan law that
prohibits items on the rearview mirror if they obstruct a driver's view
of the road.
The problem: The law is vague, and police have
too much discretion to decide which ornaments are OK, the court said in
a case involving drugs, weapons, alcohol — and a 4-inch Tweety Bird air
freshener.
"Many vehicles on the road today have something
hanging from the rearview mirror, whether it be an air freshener, a
parking pass, fuzzy dice or a rosary," the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals recently said.
"Because of this, many vehicles on the
road may violate the obstruction law, but the statute itself provides
no guidance either to motorists or police. ... It is simply up to the
officer on the street to decide," a three-judge panel said.
Click here to read more.
Autoworkers Union Keeps
$6 Million Golf Course for Members
at $33 Million Lakeside Retreat
Friday, December 26, 2008
An aerial view of the Black Lakes Golf Club, a $6 million golf course owned and operated by the United Auto Workers.
The United Auto Workers may be out of the hole now that President Bush has approved a $17 billion bailout of the U.S. auto industry, but the union isn't out of the bunker just yet.
"Even as the industry struggles with massive losses, the UAW brass continue to own and operate a $33 million lakeside retreat in Michigan, complete with a $6.4 million designer golf course. And it's costing them millions each year.
• Click here to see photos of the UAW's $33 million retreat.
The UAW, known more for its strikes than its slices, hosts seminars and junkets at the Walter and May Reuther Family Education Center in Onaway, Mich., which is nestled on "1,000 heavily forested acres" on Michigan's Black Lake, according to its Web site......" Click here to read more.
Wrong On Endangered Species Act Interpretation
December 26, 2008
One of the problems in dealing with the Endangered Species Act is the continued false declarations of what the Endangered Species Act says. In the Summit Daily News, an article pertaining to the feds rejection of wolf reintroduction into the Southern Rockies, Rob Edward, of WildEarth Guardians was quoted as saying the ESA requires the feds to reintroduce wolves to the Southern Rockies.
Unfortunately, this is the kind of misinterpretation of the ESA that gets printed. People read it and accept it as fact when it is a dishonest and incorrect interpretation...." Click here to read more.According to Rob Edward, of WildEarth Guardians, the Endangered Species Act requires the government to restore threatened plants and animals to “all or a significant portion” of the species’ historic range. According to Edward, wolves only live in less than 5 percent of their historic range.
Op-Ed: Population loss looms large
By GEORGE WEEKS - Syndicated Columnist - Dec. 28, 2008
"Michigan, long reeling from huge job losses and other economic grief, now faces more loss of clout on Capitol Hill and possibly lower levels of federal funds because of accelerating population loss.
Census Bureau estimates released last week show Michigan losing more
people last year -- 46,368, or 5 percent of the population -- than any
other state, continuing a three-year slump. Rhode Island was the only
other state to lose population -- 2,348....."
Deal nears in wetlands case involving Midland developer
Paul Egan / The Detroit News / Dec. 29, 2008
DETROIT -- "A Michigan businessman has agreed to pay a $150,000 civil penalty and complete a 100-acre wetlands mitigation project near Midland as final settlement of a 14-year-old property rights case that went to the U.S. Supreme Court.
John Rapanos
has also agreed to leave undeveloped about another 135 acres as part of
a proposed settlement of a civil lawsuit filed against him by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency. The federal government filed the
proposed consent order today in U.S. District Court in Detroit. The
order is still subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval
by Chief U.S. District Judge Bernard A. Friedman....."
Lansing State Journal shrinks print edition in response to ‘challenging economy’
By Todd A. Heywood / 12/29/08The Gannett-owned Lansing State Journal — the primary paper in the capitol city — announced beginning Monday that it would shrink from four sections to three.
In a notice published on the newspaper’s website, the paper said the changes were:
“…in response to a challenging economy and to accommodate production issues. The Lansing State Journal soon will begin printing the Battle Creek Enquirer at our Delta Township plant. .... More.
Melting snow, rain trigger 2008's biggest sewage spill
by Ron Fonger | The Flint Journal
Tuesday December 30, 2008, 1:09 PM
FLINT, Michigan -- "Melting snow and heavy rains have triggered Genesee County's biggest sewage spill of 2008 -- an estimated 61 million gallons that overflowed from a city retention pond into the Flint River this past weekend...." Click here to read more.
Present administration policies driving the state into abyss
Tuesday, December 30, 2008 10:52 AM EST
"Gov. Jennifer Granholm promised to "go anywhere and do anything to bring jobs to this state." To that end she's made a number of overseas trips to entice corporate executives into outsourcing jobs and operations here and dramatically expanded the state's economic development apparatus. Unfortunately, not only will these central planning programs fail to save Michigan's sinking economy, other administration policies are driving the state deeper into an economic abyss.
Shops in the Copper Country Mall continue to close their doors.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008 at 1:50 p.m.HOUGHTON -- "Stores in the Copper Country Mall continue to close, with one this month and three more slated for January..." Click here to read more.
Son: Billy Graham's work with presidents is ending
"CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Billy Graham's work as a pastor to presidents is coming to an end, but he is praying for Barack Obama as the nation's next leader begins his work, Graham's son said Friday on the aging evangelist's 90th birthday.
Franklin Graham said in an interview that his father's mind remains sharp even as his body continues to fail. But the preacher who has counseled every president beginning with Eisenhower is not in line to mentor Obama....."
Agency claims bad paint job on Mackinac Bridge
Dec. 31, 2008 - MACKINAW CITY
Big Mac got a bad paint job.
"That's the allegation in a $1 million lawsuit filed by the state agency that runs the Mackinac Bridge.
The lawsuit says Allstate Painting and Contracting left the project in 2006 without fixing the flaws, four years after it was awarded a contract to sandblast and paint steel posts and beams below the bridge deck..." Click here to read more.
Nov. 2008
Freedom Fighter Radio Host, We Are Change Georgia Member Arrested For Display of Upside Down Flag
.
Staff Writer / Debbie Morgan / For Immediate Release
http://www.freedomfighterradio.net
November 5, 2008 (Columbia County, GA) - Freedom Fighter Radio Host and WeAreChange Georgia member, Jim Stach, was stopped and arrested on the evening of November 4, 2008 as he was driving by a polling place in Columbia County, GA. Stach had gone to vote in his own precinct wearing a Fire Congress t-shirt, carrying an upside down flag and wearing an empty gun holster, in a silent form of protest. He was told he could not wear the shirt into the polling place, as it violated campaigning laws. Stach returned wearing a different shirt and was allowed to vote.
Stach, whose radio show deals with American freedoms and liberties and dispensing information that is not covered by the mainstream news networks, is very knowledgeable about the Constitution and carries an upside down flag because he feels our country is in distress. He sees this as peaceful.... More.
REVISED AND UPDATED: Firearms Industry Statement on Results of CDC Blood Lead Levels in Hunters Study
NEWTOWN, Conn., Nov. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
"The National Shooting
Sports Foundation (NSSF) - the trade association for the firearms,
ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry - issued the following
statement in response to study results from the Centers for Disease Control
(CDC), released by the North Dakota Department of Health, showing no
evidence that lead or "traditional" ammunition pose any health risk to
those who consume game harvested meat..." Click here to read more.
Man in KKK regalia carrying gun walks
Nov. 7, 2008MIDLAND -- "A Midland man told police that his walking on the sidewalk in full Knights of Ku Klux Klan regalia while toting a handgun had nothing to do with Barack Obama winning the presidency.
Later, however, he admitted that Obama's victory was the catalyst for his display.
Midland police questioned Randy G. Gray II, 30, who was walking on the sidewalk along Eastman near North Saginaw Wednesday afternoon while waving an American flag but released him because he wasn't breaking any laws...."
Midland sidewalks to protest Obama win
"MIDLAND -- A Midland man told police that his walking on the sidewalk in full Knights of Ku Klux Klan regalia while toting a handgun had nothing to do with Barack Obama winning the presidency.
Later, however, he admitted that Obama's victory was the catalyst for his display.
Midland police questioned Randy G. Gray II, 30, who was walking on the sidewalk along Eastman near North Saginaw Wednesday afternoon while waving an American flag but released him because he wasn't breaking any laws...."
A must read about our new Chief of our Wildlife Division:
Nevada wild horse policy: Shoot first
Wildlife official retreats from incriminating e-mail
WHAT'S the best way to manage wild horses and burros on public
rangeland? The preferred method, according to the Nevada Department of
Wildlife, is to shoot them.
Proposals by the federal Bureau of
Land Management to euthanize thousands of captured wild horses have
generated scorn and outrage among defenders of the wild horse herds.
Now, the department is competing with the Bureau of Land Management for
the top spot on the horse advocate's hit list, thanks to candid
comments made by the agency's Game Division Chief Russ Mason -- that's
Russ Mason Ph.D. -- who thinks the most effective way to manage wild
horses on public lands is to shoot them out on the range, rather than
go to the trouble of rounding them up and making them available for
adoption.
Mason's views were made public after wild horse
defenders recently wrote to Nevada's wildlife department to ask why
horses are not mentioned whatsoever on the department's website. The
Game Division is dependent on the sale of hunting tags to sportsmen,
and sportsmen see wild horses as competitors for forage that might
otherwise be consumed by deer, elk, and bighorn sheep.
For the wildlife department, it's a no-brainer. Horses are bad for business.
Mason's
matter-of-fact reply e-mail correctly explained that most wild horses
are under BLM jurisdiction. The Wildlife Department's authority
encompasses a few scattered herds that roam across mostly-private lands
around Virginia City. His e-mail repeated an oft-asserted falsehood
that horses do not deserve their protected status since the species is
not indigenous to North America. In the e-mail, Mason proclaims that
horses are an exotic and invasive species that weren't introduced into
the wild until the 19th century, when ranchers and cavalry officers
released them onto the open range.
The statement is demonstrably
false and ignores volumes of scientific research conducted in Mason's
own backyard over the last 50 years.... More.
Follow-up Article:
I - Team: Sheryl Crow Joins in Wild Horse Fight
George Knapp, Chief Investigative Reporter / Updated: Nov 12, 2008
BLM says it has no choice but to put horses to death because it can no longer afford to feed the ones it already has.
Critics say the initials "B.L.M." more accurately stand for Bureau of Livestock and Mining, since those industries are so often the beneficiaries of federal land policies. Horses certainly aren't in good standing with BLM.
BLM says it has no choice but to pull the trigger on thousands of captured horses. Others say BLM created this crisis by clearing 75,000 horses off the range in the last seven years, for reasons that appear specious at best.
At a muddy depression in the Nevada desert, three healthy looking wild horses, surrounded by dozens of antelope, plop around while warily eyeing our camera.
Just down the road at the gate of the classified Tonopah Test Range, trucks are loaded with the remnants of a makeshift corral, the last vestiges of a roundup effort that carted away hundreds of other horses.
The trucks will head down the road in anticipation of the BLM's next roundup.
It's uncertain how these three horses dodged the government this time, but if you believe the BLM, the horses out here are dying of thirst or starving.
Detroit CFO sees elimination of $125M deficit
Nov. 8, 2008 - "The
man charged with correcting Detroit's finacial woes and hauling the
city from a $125 million budget pit says his task is not insurmountable.
Even at a time when city job cuts are likely and Detroit's unemployment and foreclosure rates are among the nation's highest, Joe Harris is upbeat......click here for more.
Michigan uses aerial patrols to catch deer bait violators
Nov. 8, 2008
"Michigan officials are using aerial surveys to enforce a ban on baiting
deer in Kent County, where the state's first case of chronic wasting
disease was detected in August..."
* Your Representative's Report Card Has Arrived! *
*
Who Voted to Raise your Taxes? (2007)
In
the quiet hours of Sunday night, while most people were asleep
preparing for another week of work, certain lawmakers were plotting to
raise your taxes. Without any citizen input or debate, the Michigan
Legislature passed two bills that will dramatically increase the
financial burden on Michigan's families.
The first, House Bill 5194, raises the state income tax from 3.9% to
4.35% – an 11% increase in your overall tax bill! I wonder how many
Michigan workers will receive an 11% increase in their pay this year?
The other, House Bill 5198, imposes a new 6% sales tax on many services, a full list of which can be viewed here. The full impact of what this will have on Michigan's already struggling economy is unknown.
A full list of everyone who supported House Bill 5194 (income tax
increase) in the House of Representatives can be viewed here and everyone who supported it in the Senate here.
A full list of everyone who supported House Bill 5198 (sales tax on
services) in the House of Representatives can be viewed here and everyone who supported it in the Senate here.
Both bills were signed into law by Governor Granholm.
Leon Drolet Explains the Problems in Lansing MI (video)
Rep. Dave Agema slams Gov. Granholm after State of the State (video)
Granholm Promised NOT To Raise Taxes! (video)
Granholm TV Ad promising not to raise taxes (video)
Inspection agency says mad cow in B.C.
animal likely came from feed
VANCOUVER, B.C. — The Canada Food Inspection Agency says a B.C. feed manufacturer is the most likely source of the country's 13th case of mad cow disease.
Canada brought in changes more than a decade ago to stop animal products from being fed to cattle, sheep and goats and prevent the transfer of bovine spongiform encephalopathy into the food chain.
But Dr. Connie Argue of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Thursday that one of the most recent cases of BSE and all 12 previous cases likely came "through incidents of accidental cross-contamination, which may occur in the complex feed and manufacturing system....." Read more here.Michigan facing billion-dollar loss in federal highway funds
by Peter Luke | Ann Arbor News Bureau
Monday November 10, 2008, 7:45 AM
"LANSING -- Michigan's transportation system will continue to decline
without billions in new investment and the fees required to pay for it,
a report released today says.
In the short term, the state faces a loss of $1 billion in federal
highway funding because it is unable to generate sufficient matching
money.
The result, says the Transportation Funding Task
Force: Likely reductions in annual road improvement spending from $3.2
billion this year to $1.9 billion annually in the future...." Click here for more.
"LANSING -- Michigan's transportation system will continue to decline without billions in new investment and the fees required to pay for it, a report released today says.
In the short term, the state faces a loss of $1 billion in federal highway funding because it is unable to generate sufficient matching money.
The result, says the Transportation Funding Task Force: Likely reductions in annual road improvement spending from $3.2 billion this year to $1.9 billion annually in the future...." Click here for more.
Passage of Prop 2 raises concern elsewhere
By Dairy Herd Staff | Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Sponsors of the recently passed animal-welfare initiative, Prop 2, in
Proposition 2 effectively bans the use of gestation crates for pigs and cages for egg-laying hens. Farming interests in
Humane Society of the United States President
Wayne Pacelle predicted the passage of Proposition 2 would usher in a
new era in farm standards.
An agribusiness lobbyist in
Source: Des Moines Register
Stacy Welling Named DNR the NEW U.P. Field Deputy
Nov. 13, 2008
Stacy J. Welling, a native of Powers, has been named the Department of Natural Resources' Upper Peninsula Field Deputy by DNR Director Rebecca Humphries. Welling will begin her duties effective December 1, 2008.
"I am very pleased that Stacy Welling has agreed to return to Michigan to help the DNR build stronger relationships with the U.P. citizens it serves," Humphries said. "Stacy's experience on both the state and federal levels, along with her lifelong love of the outdoors, will help the DNR and the U.P."
What will Stacy Welling's salary be?
Thomas Courchaine's annual salary was $78,613.20.
Battle heats up: Fairness doctrine v. Conservative talk radio
| by George Lauby (North Platte Bulletin) - 11/15/2008 | |
"Democrats in Congress could be aiming to quiet Republican talk radio, if not Rush Limbaugh himself, by returning to a federal doctrine of balanced commentaries. Some Democrats call for a return to the Fairness Doctrine, which from 1950-1986 required news media to allow time and space to pro and con viewpoints, candidates or political parties, if requested to do so. . . ." Click here to read more. | |
Editorial: Off to the races, but, please, not too soon
Jockeying for 2010 governor's race would be a distraction
The Detroit News
Dick DeVos' decision to decline a second run for governor of Michigan opens up the Republican primary field to a host of contenders. But we hope they'll show some patience in starting the race.
DeVos,
52, was considered a safe bet to win the nomination if he sought it. He
spent $35 million of his own money in his losing bid to unseat Gov.
Jennifer Granholm in 2006, and his resources would have discouraged
some challengers..."
Season of Change
Click here for the original article and to post comments."The 2008 firearm deer season opened under a veil of change and suspicion among hunters and non-hunters alike in Michigan.
"I am very concerned about the future of hunting for Michigan," said rocker and avid deer hunter Ted Nugent. "We have taken the spirit of hunting and put it in the hands of the bureaucrats."
Many hunters share Nugent's apprehension. Depending on who you ask, the source of all the concern is either chronic wasting disease (CWD), or how the Departments of Agriculture and Natural Resources have responded to it.....Click here to read more.
Click here for more on Chronic Wasting Disease.
Michigan Police Chiefs Admit Speeding Tickets Are About Money
Nov. 17, 2008 - In 2002, police in the city of Detroit gave out a total of 126,007 traffic tickets. Last year, the number of tickets grew to over 245,000 - a 94% jump. The increase was even larger in small towns like Plymouth which saw the number of tickets go up from 440 to 2,500 — up 480 percent — over the same amount of time. According to Detroit area police the reason for the increase is dwindling property tax revenue. That lack of property tax revenue has forced local governments in Michigan to use average citizen drivers to fill the coffers. You might call it a new, “random driving tax.” Click here to read more.
Hunters begin paying the price for bait piles
Posted by Tom Gilchrist | The Bay City Times November 18, 2008 08:00AM
"STERLING - These are not happy days for hunter Richie Cunningham.
The Arenac County man hasn't bagged a whitetail this fall, but he did get a ticket - from a state conservation officer - under a new law making it a crime to bait deer in Michigan's Lower Peninsula.
It's no consolation to Cunningham, 21, of Sterling, that he's not the only one convicted of a misdemeanor after getting ticketed by the state Department of Natural Resources.
"They say this baiting ban is to fight this chronic wasting disease (in deer), but I think it's all about money, personally," said Cunningham, who paid a $150 fine after DNR Officer Nick Atkin ticketed him Nov. 1....." Click here to read more.MICHIGAN NEWS: Deer Cull Approved for Rochester Hills
Nov. 18, 2008Environmental protection advocated amid drilling boom
Nov. 21, 2008
"LANSING - Lawmakers have been adamant about their quest to turn the state green.
Movement toward an eco-friendly state include constructing renewable energy facilities that would convert unused natural resources into fuel and adopting more innovative technology.
But in the wake of an unstable fossil fuels market and ailing
economy, attention is turning toward tapping into the state's oil and
natural gas resources.
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) oversees leasing of state-owned lands for oil and natural gas production.
Mary Uptigrove, a supervisor in DNR's Mineral and Land Management Section, said the department received almost $100 million from leasing and production of oil and natural gas mineral rights this year. That's the highest amount on record, compared to $67.1 million in 2007......" Click here to read more.Fewer deer taken this hunting season
Nov. 22, 2008 - ESCANABA - The first week of the firearm deer season appears to be slower overall than in previous years according to Bill Rollo, wildlife technician with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
"As of Thursday, we have checked in 342 deer, which is 25 percent less for the first six days of the firearm deer season over a 10-year average, " he said. He also said hunters were seeing fewer deer this hunting season. The recent severe weather seen over the past two days could also attribute to the reduction in numbers of deer being seen.
Another contributing factor, according to Rollo, was a reduction in buck production in the northern parts of the Upper Peninsula, where there is an estimated 10-percent reduction due to the severe winter of 2007-08.
Click here to read more.Bait ban, weather are real killjoys as deer total falls below DNR target
BY ERIC SHARP • FREE PRESS OUTDOORS WRITER • November 23, 2008
"....One guy got a small three-point. That was it," Vic Mullins said. "Most of us never even saw a deer."
Ed
Zieminski said, "We've been seeing a lot of deer tracks, but they
aren't walking near us. I think this baiting ban has really hurt us. I
won't lie to you, I don't hunt as much (or) as hard as I used to. But I
still spent a lot of hours sitting out there, and it was pretty barren...."
Reality might put a bite into holiday sales in mid-Michigan
by Paul Wyche | The Saginaw News
Sunday November 23, 2008, 5:05 AM
Retailers are hoping to make some green on Black Friday.
But there are harsh realities heading into the holiday season:
- Retail sales last month plummeted by the largest amount on record as the nation's financial crisis and poor economy put a damper on consumer confidence.
- A National Retail Federation poll revealed shoppers plan on averaging $832 on holiday-related spending, up just 1.9 percent from last year. If those figures hold true, they'd represent the smallest increase since the survey began in 2002.
- This year's Thanksgiving is the latest possible date, meaning the shopping season is condensed for many people.In the black? Click here to read more.
EPA Wants to Charge for Livestock Emissions
"EPA’s consideration of a greenhouse gas rule to cover emitters of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxides, stems from a Supreme Court case decided in favor of environmentalists last year.
The American Farm Bureau is strenuously opposing a U.S. EPA greenhouse gas proposal that would tax livestock producers for their animals’ emissions. AFB says it doesn’t even pass the smell test, let alone the straight face test. But EPA is considering steep fees based on animal emissions that Farm Bureau says would force many livestock producers out of business. American Farm Bureau lobbyist Rick Krause says it’s no laughing matter....."Click here to read more.
MI Ethanol plant files for bankruptcy
"How quickly things change, earlier in 2008, we were paying record prices for gas and looking to ethanol to move us into the future.
Now, a promising plant in Barry County is having serious financial problems and has filed for bankruptcy.
Newschannel 3 was at the Woodbury facility Tuesday, where the community is left in limbo.
In 2006, there was a celebration over the opening of the ethanol plant, today there's concern about where the corn will go.
Verasun Energy's Woodbury Ethanol Plant isn't just Tim Brodbeck's neighbor, it's also his biggest customer. Brodbeck, about ten other elevator operators and dozens of producers are now wondering what will happen now that Verasun is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
They also don't know what it means for the forty employees.
"A lot of those are our neighbors and friends that work there," Brodbeck said, "so we are concerned about their jobs."
Newschannel 3 took a tour of the plant when it opened in 2006. Governor Jennifer Granholm, who was at the grand opening, was asked about the bankruptcy news at a recent news conference...."
Click here to read more.
Time to take ammo bill seriously
Used to be whenever a downstate Assembly Democrat wrote legislation proposing a tax and/or severe restriction on the manufacture and sale of ammunition, it caused a ripple among the hunters and gun owners, but that quickly subsided. Everyone knew that radical measures involving ammunition and firearms were largely penned for effect in the Metropolitan area and that the Senate wasn't about to allow companion bills out of committee...." Click here to read more.Granholm's new COO might not have any business experience but he's written her a lot of checks!
By Nick, Section News - Nov 30, 2007"When we first heard that the Governor was looking to bring on a Chief Operating Officer to do her job for her on the job-growth and economic development front we read a couple things in every report. She wanted to hire someone with experience leading a business who could cut through the garbage and the red tape and the regulation to get to the nuts and bolts of job creation and she was urged by a group of female CEOs during the campaign last year to abdicate this particular part of her job description..." Click here to read more.
Oct. 2008
Shooting of the cow moose has outraged many residents
October 06, 2008 at 1:18 p.m.
ISHPEMING -- Ishpeming Police late Monday announced that they had to euthanize an adult female moose who had wandered into Ishpeming with two calves.
Police say they euthanized the mother because it was endangering the public. The Department of Natural Resources supported the decision.
The whereabouts of the two calves is unknown, according to authorities.
The three moose were first spotted on the east side of Ishpeming Monday morning, and at one point, US 41 was closed down.
Authorities cautiously kept the trio on the move to help them avoid being hit by passing cars.
Watch the video of the moose wandering through town by clicking on the video camera icon.
Click here for community reaction, an official response & photos, or to comment.
DNR again faces racism allegations in lawsuit
Oct. 23, 2008
"The state Department of Natural Resources is facing more charges of racial discrimination six months after reaching an out-of-court settlement with a black female Law Enforcement Division lieutenant.
A state investigator concluded she suffered on-the-job racial and sexual bias.
In a suit filed Oct. 10 in Federal District Court in Detroit, Sgt. Arthur Green III, another black supervisor in the division claims he was a victim of "numerous forms of race discrimination."............Click here for more.
Click here: Requiem
for Reason [Mackinac Center for Public Policy]
(This is what happens when one side of the aisle is in control of
everything....Michigan is running un-bridled and NOBODY cares....Too Ignorant to
know any better, Too selfish to do anything about it, and Too apathetic to speak
up.
|
Posted: Oct. 27, 2008 Requiem for Reason"Gov. Jennifer Granholm promised to "go anywhere and do anything
to bring jobs to this state." To that end she's made a number of
overseas trips to entice corporate executives into outsourcing jobs
and operations here and dramatically expanded the state's economic
development apparatus...." Click here to read more. |
Stupak relies heavily on special interest groups
Letters to the Editor - POSTED: October 27, 2008
EDITOR:
While Washington is broken, it's not broke. Nor is Congressman Stupak. Mr. Stupak's campaign financing records illustrate how afloat Washington is in special interest money.
Ironically,
it was Mr. Stupak that raised the issue. In a letter to the Marquette
Mining Journal on Oct. 6, he claimed it was "difficult" to raise
campaign money. But, he said, "people across northern Michigan
recognize the challenge of raising money" and "send checks for as
little as $2." Clearly he was implying his campaign funding comes from
Northern Michigan..." Click here to read more.
RETURN TO TOP
Sept. 2008
* VHS scare impacts state hatcheries
By Brandon Veale - bveale@dailypress.net - Sept. 5, 2008
ESCANABA - "Rearing and stocking of walleye fingerlings from the Thompson State Fish Hatchery is back underway in a reduced capacity for 2008.
The Michigan DNR put a moratorium on walleye stocking last year after viral hemorrhagic septicemia threatened state fisheries..." Click here to read more.Fox: Get over Michigan's job losses
Former Mexico leader says exodus of factory work is a product of U.S. economic policies.
Ron French / The Detroit News / Sept. 12, 2008
"Vicente Fox, former president of Mexico, isn't a shy man. He calls
President Bush the "cockiest" politician he's ever met; he talks
glowingly of John McCain and less so of Barack Obama. And he has a
message for Michigan factory workers who have lost their jobs.
Get over it.
Those jobs aren't coming back, and Michigan should focus instead on the high-tech and service industries..." Click here to read more.
Eating veggies shrinks the brain
Sept. 14, 2008posted at 7:28 am on September 15, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
The pattern of ACORN’s voter-registration fraud continues in Michigan. The Detroit Free Press reports that the Secretary of State has supplied evidence to the US Attorney’s office for potential prosecution after getting complaints from registrars about duplicate registrations and obviously made-up names on others, almost all from ACORN’s paid staff:
Several municipal clerks across the state are reporting fraudulent and duplicate voter registration applications, most of them from a nationwide community activist group working to help low- and moderate-income families.
The majority of the problem
applications are coming from the group ACORN, Association of Community
Organizations for Reform Now, which has a large voter registration
program among its many social service programs. ACORN’s Michigan
branch, based in Detroit, has enrolled 200,000 voters statewide in
recent months, mostly with the use of paid, part-time employees...." Click here to read more.
State finds no more bovine TB in Shiawassee County,
lifts 'potential high-risk area' designation
by Elizabeth Shaw | The Flint Journal - September 16, 2008
SHIAWASSEE COUNTY, Michigan
-- "State agriculture and wildlife officials say months of rigorous
testing have detected no further cases of bovine tuberculosis in
Shiawassee County.
That's given the all-clear to lift a 10-mile
"Potential High-Risk Area" declared by the Michigan Department of
Agriculture back in February, when bovine TB was confirmed in a doe
killed by a Bennington Township hunter on Dec. 29, 2007.
It was
the first confirmed case of bovine TB found this far south since the
disease was first detected in 1975 on the northeast side of the state...." Click here to read more.
HOG WILD in Riverton!
Origins, numbers of feral pigs loose in Riveron unknown
Brian Mulherin - Daily News Staff Writer - September 18, 2008
"There are wild hogs loose in Riverton.
No one can say for sure where they came from and no one’s sure just how many are out there, but there are definitely hogs roaming the creek bottoms.
The prime area for the hogs seems to be bounded on the north by the Pere Marquette River, on the west by an imaginary line from the intersection of Stiles and Chauvez roads north, on the south by Chauvez Road and on the east by Scottville Road.
Earlier this summer, a hunter who asked not to be identified shot a boar he said topped out..." Click here to read more.Michigan DEQ slashes wetland inspection, pollution spill response programs
WHITEHALL -- A cash-strapped Michigan Department of Environmental Quality is making unprecedented cuts in programs designed to protect the state's surface waters and wetlands from environmental abuse.
DEQ Director Steven Chester said several years of budget cuts, in the face of rising inflation and other expenses, have left the department unable to fully do its job.
``We simply don't have the kind of funding we need to adequately implement the laws we're required to implement,'' Chester recently told local officials at a water-quality-preservation workshop.
The DEQ has dropped on-site inspections of wetlands that developers and others want to fill with dirt or otherwise alter. Agency officials are reviewing those proposals from their desks, relying on photographs submitted by permit applicants.
The DEQ also is slashing its pollution-spill-response program and will ignore ``minor complaints'' about individuals or businesses illegally filling in wetlands. Chester said the DEQ will defer to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on wetland-alteration permits sought for sites along the Great Lakes and connecting waters.
The agency also will issue surface-water-discharge permits, which allow companies to pump limited amounts of pollutants into lakes and streams, to ``minor facilities'' without first conducting an on-site inspection.
``In some cases, we'll have to rely on people's honesty and integrity,'' Chester said.
Environmental advocate Tanya Cabala said the cuts will jeopardize Michigan's environment. She said areas like West Michigan, where surface waters and wetlands are abundant, will suffer more than drier areas of the state.
Chester's comments were a prelude to his pitch for increased funding of the DEQ and an environmental cleanup bond the agency hopes to put before voters in November 2010.
The DEQ's retreat on environmental protection programs is one of many symptoms of the state's prolonged fiscal crisis. Chester said the DEQ's general fund budget has been cut by 60 percent over the past six years; the agency has recouped some of those losses by charging companies more for permits to alter wetlands or discharge pollutants to the air and water.
How the (Wisconsin) Department of Natural Resources stole Birch Lake
Sept. 19, 2008 - Richard Moore, Investigative Reporter
"When I think of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, I think of thieves in the night.
They are like the ruthless soldiers of the totalitarian and fascist armies of the early twentieth century, who by sunlight battled the military of opposing forces but who by darkness looted the livelihoods of the families and communities they were supposed to protect, right before the citizens' very eyes.
They could steal in the open because they had the weapons. They had nothing to fear. There was no accountability...." Click here to read more.
Fact Finder: DNR trespassing investigation
September 22, 2008
A District Court Judge is accused of trespassing and using state land for his own personal use, but it may just be the latest volley in a on going feud between neighbors in Charlevoix County.
By Marc Schollett"Wednesday, September 17, 2008 at 3:20 p.m.The land in question is in the Fisherman's Island State Park near Norwood in Charlevoix County. The person who admits to mowing the trails and riding his horses on it is sitting 33rd Circuit Court Judge Richard Pejtas. That left neighbors with questions, the answers we found are the subject of this Fact Finder Report:
Wayne Wynkoop says, "it appears to me as if someone is taking a portion of the state park and using it for their own use." Wynkoop claims he was setting up game cameras to scout for hunting season in Fisherman's Island State Park, but this was the only "deer" he caught on film. Wayne Wynkoop says, "John Deere tractors with Brush Hogs, and four wheelers, so on, so forth."
When asked if he thought this could be a situation of someone just not knowing where there property ended Wayne Wynkoop says, "absolutely not".
Wynkoop says the people in these pictures should know the property lines. He says they are his neighbors, 33rd District Court Judge Richard Pejtas and his family...." Click here to read more.
Mud fight is chasing firm -- and jobs -- out of Michigan
Wetland dispute may end with fine, jail for tech entrepreneur
BY TOM WALSH • FREE PRESS COLUMNIST • September 28, 2008 - Read Comments(25)
"It's also a story about 100 existing jobs, and untold future jobs, that could leave Michigan for Colorado or Wisconsin because Taylor and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality can't settle their squabble about the mud puddle.
It's a sad story, but who knows?
Perhaps Gov. Jennifer Granholm -- who often vows "to go anywhere and do
anything" to save jobs for Michigan -- could intercede and find a way
to stop this madness..." Click here to read more.
Aug. 2008
Critics question theme park project plan
A sinking feeling about proposal - Theme park idea has many flaws (August 3, 2008)
DNR Names Dr. Russ Mason as New Wildlife Division Chief
August 4, 2008
"The Department of Natural Resources today announced that Dr. Russ Mason of Reno, Nevada will assume the post of Chief of the DNR’s Wildlife Division beginning in September. Mason most recently served as Game Chief for the Nevada Department of Wildlife.
“We are fortunate that Russ Mason has agreed to come on board here in Michigan,” said DNR Director Rebecca Humphries. “He has more than 20 years of experience at the state and federal level, as well an impressive scientific background. Russ will bring extensive experience to the Wildlife Division, and he will bring new perspectives on issues that the state is facing now, such as alternative energy and climate change.”,,, Click here to read more.CASPERSON OFFERS TO SUSPEND CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN
Contact: Cori Johnson, Campaign Manager
(906) 789-3417
"Fresh off a convincing Primary Election victory, Tom Casperson has
offered to suspend his congressional campaign. Casperson, running for
U.S. Representative in Michigan's First District, said that he is
extending such an unusual offer because the urgent nature of the energy
crisis calls for immediate action...." Click here to read more.
Appeals Court says Reform Michigan measure can't go on ballot
by The Associated Press
Wednesday August 20, 2008, 5:58 PM
LANSING -- The Michigan Court of Appeals said Wednesday that a broad proposal to change the size and makeup of the courts and the Legislature shouldn't be allowed on the November ballot.
The court said the Reform Michigan Government Now ballot measure is
"of a reach and expanse never before seen" in Michigan constitutional
initiatives..."
National Center for Policy Analysis - Environment Issues
Daily Policy Digest - August 22, 2008
Under the Clean Water Act of 1972, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers are granted jurisdiction over the "navigable waters" of the United States. Over the years, the definition of "navigable waters" overflowed its banks, expanding to include virtually anywhere with detectable levels of H2O, says Reason.
- This law began as a reasonable attempt to control water pollution in the nation's rivers, lakes and streams, says Peyton Knight at the National Center for Public Policy Research.
- However, it spiraled into unreasonable federal regulation of isolated wetlands, ponds, dry lake beds, and drainage ditches.
- In 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a muddled opinion in "Rapanos v. United States" that reined in some of the more exotic interpretations of "navigable waters."
Now, two
Democratic congressman have introduced the Clean Water Restoration Act,
which would replace the phrase "navigable waters," with "waters of the
United States," by which they mean "all waters subject to the ebb and
flow of the tide, the territorial seas, and all interstate and
intrastate waters and their tributaries, including lakes, rivers,
streams (including intermittent streams), mudflats, sand flats,
wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes, natural
ponds, and all impoundments of the foregoing."
If the bill
passes, it will create massive new regulatory barriers for fishermen,
boaters, hunters, and even some conservationists, who may find that
their favorite hobbies no longer pass muster, says Reason. The act
leaves it up to the courts to decide if "waters of the United States,"
also include your kitchen sink and bathtub.
Source: Ronald Bailey, "Feds in the Fishbowl," Reason, August/September 2008.
For text:
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Feds+in+the+fishbowl:+whatever+floats+your+boat.-a0181714053
For more on Inland Waters and Oceans:
http://eteam.ncpa.org/issues/?c=inland-waters-and-oceans
For more on Environment Issues:
http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_Category=31
Original Source:
National Center for Policy Analysis - Environment Issues
http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=16945
DEQ: Sewage overflows down30 percent in '07 ???
Aug. 23, 2008 - Posted by Jeff Kart | The Bay City Times
"Municipal sewage discharges dropped 30 percent in Michigan from 2006 to 2007, according to a report released by the state Department of Environmental Quality.
Releases of partially treated or raw sewage also declined in the Bay City area during the period.
But wastewater treatment plants that discharge to the Saginaw River, including those run by Bay City, Bay County and Essexville, have already surpassed 2007 totals this year, DEQ data shows..." Click here to read more.
Three Bay County beaches are back open.
Aug. 25, 2008
"The Bay County Health Department has lifted closure notices for Brissette Beach, South Linwood Township Park Beach and the beach at the Bay City State Recreation Area.
Health Department officials said in a news release dated Friday that follow-up water samples taken at the beaches on Thursday met the state's single-event water quality standard for total body contact recreational activities, such as swimming..." Click here to read more.
It is part of a plan to prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease.
DNR deer baiting ban confuses businesses
Stores can sell bait, hunters can't use it
By Rob Preston / August 27, 2008 at 4:56 p.m."It seems kind of silly that stores can sell it but you can't use it. I don't know what to make of that," says Northwoods Feed Store Manager Jerry Horbath. Some northern Michigan businesses say they don't quite get the Department of Natural Resources ban on deer baiting. But for businesses like The Northwoods Feed Store, it is clear what effect this ban could have on their business. "It's a huge chunk of our business in the fall. It really helps us a lot to get through the winter months," says Horbath. According to The Northwoods Feed Store Manager Jerry Horbath, hunters really rely on deer bait especially if they're only up here for a weekend. He says the weekend hunters might not come up to northern Michigan if they can't use bait. "It's pretty critical for those guys who can't come up here for a week or two at a time. It's pretty tough for them to come up and just automatically see deer. They almost have to put something out."
The Northwoods Supply Store says they will carry some deer bait for the hunting season. Meanwhile, Helsel's 13th Street Market in Cadillac says they too will carry deer feed because they depend on deer bait sales during the fall and winter. "In October it's about 16 percent of our sales. November it ranges about 36 percent and December's about 15 to 16," says 13th Street Market store manager Marcy Walston. Walston says this ban could leave her with unsold deer feed. "If we don't sell it, we sit on it. It rots and then we have a loss." Both The Northwoods Supply Store and the 13th Street Market say they hope the DNR lifts the baiting ban within a few weeks.
DNR still searching for cause of dead deer along Clinton River
By ERIC SHARP • FREE PRESS OUTDOORS WRITER • August 28, 2008
"While kayakers and canoeists have found about 20 dead dear along a six-mile stretch of the Clinton River centered on Bloomer Park in Rochester, DNR officials said Thursday that the animals were not infected with chronic wasting disease or any other wildlife disease that they have been able to identify.
Tim Payne a biologist for the Department of Natural Resources wildlife division in Southfield, said the deer apparently started dying about three weeks ago but that no freshly-dead deer had been found dead in the last week. The DNR reported 18-20 second and third person accounts of free roaming whitetail deer found in Rochester Hills and Shelby Parks alongside the Clinton River system..." Click here to read more.
Tilting at T. Boone Picken's Windmills
By Alan Caruba - Aug. 2008
"You may have
seen the television commercials with T. Boone Pickens, a
multi-millionaire who made his money in oil and is now trying to double
up selling wind. That is wind as in wind power—as in hundreds and
hundreds of wind turbines to generate electricity.
That’s why I
find it more than strange that Picken’s television and print ads all
start off talking about oil. In the current edition of Business Week magazine he has a full-page ad with a headline that says “It’s time to stop America’s addiction to foreign oil.”..... Click here to read more.
July 2008
A must read about our new Chief of our Wildlife Division:
Nevada wild horse policy: Shoot first
Wildlife official retreats from incriminating e-mail
WHAT'S the best way to manage wild horses and burros on public
rangeland? The preferred method, according to the Nevada Department of
Wildlife, is to shoot them.
Proposals by the federal Bureau of
Land Management to euthanize thousands of captured wild horses have
generated scorn and outrage among defenders of the wild horse herds.
Now, the department is competing with the Bureau of Land Management for
the top spot on the horse advocate's hit list, thanks to candid
comments made by the agency's Game Division Chief Russ Mason -- that's
Russ Mason Ph.D. -- who thinks the most effective way to manage wild
horses on public lands is to shoot them out on the range, rather than
go to the trouble of rounding them up and making them available for
adoption.
Mason's views were made public after wild horse
defenders recently wrote to Nevada's wildlife department to ask why
horses are not mentioned whatsoever on the department's website. The
Game Division is dependent on the sale of hunting tags to sportsmen,
and sportsmen see wild horses as competitors for forage that might
otherwise be consumed by deer, elk, and bighorn sheep.
For the wildlife department, it's a no-brainer. Horses are bad for business.
Mason's
matter-of-fact reply e-mail correctly explained that most wild horses
are under BLM jurisdiction. The Wildlife Department's authority
encompasses a few scattered herds that roam across mostly-private lands
around Virginia City. His e-mail repeated an oft-asserted falsehood
that horses do not deserve their protected status since the species is
not indigenous to North America. In the e-mail, Mason proclaims that
horses are an exotic and invasive species that weren't introduced into
the wild until the 19th century, when ranchers and cavalry officers
released them onto the open range.
The statement is demonstrably
false and ignores volumes of scientific research conducted in Mason's
own backyard over the last 50 years.... More.
Follow-up Article:
I - Team: Sheryl Crow Joins in Wild Horse Fight
George Knapp, Chief Investigative Reporter / Updated: Nov 12, 2008
BLM says it has no choice but to put horses to death because it can no longer afford to feed the ones it already has.
Critics say the initials "B.L.M." more accurately stand for Bureau of Livestock and Mining, since those industries are so often the beneficiaries of federal land policies. Horses certainly aren't in good standing with BLM.
BLM says it has no choice but to pull the trigger on thousands of captured horses. Others say BLM created this crisis by clearing 75,000 horses off the range in the last seven years, for reasons that appear specious at best.
At a muddy depression in the Nevada desert, three healthy looking wild horses, surrounded by dozens of antelope, plop around while warily eyeing our camera.
Just down the road at the gate of the classified Tonopah Test Range, trucks are loaded with the remnants of a makeshift corral, the last vestiges of a roundup effort that carted away hundreds of other horses.
The trucks will head down the road in anticipation of the BLM's next roundup.
It's uncertain how these three horses dodged the government this time, but if you believe the BLM, the horses out here are dying of thirst or starving.
Read the full statement from Dr. Mason
Read more here or here at BCHMI.org.
FBI investigates theme park financier
July 9, 2008 - BY SHERI McWHIRTER - smcwhirter@record-eagle.com
GRAYLING -- "A would-be financier of a proposed Crawford County theme park is under investigation for alleged business misconduct.
A federal probe of Remington Financial Group of Philadelphia, believed to be a potential financing source for a sprawling theme park near Grayling dubbed Main Street America, further clouds a project already rife with funding questions...." Click here to read more
Casperson: DNR facing uphill battle
July 11, 2008ESCANABA - "Department of Natural Resources Director Rebecca Humphries had a positive outlook on the future of citizens' advisory councils during a visit to Escanaba this week. State Rep. Tom Casperson, R-Escanaba, was decidedly less positive Thursday.
"They misled us, and now they're trying to candy-coat it with an advisory group to make everybody feel good," he said.
Humphries
said earlier this week that the department hopes twin councils in the
eastern and western U.P. will meet for the first time later this month...." Click here to read more.
Web site: State Democrats behind sweeping ballot effort
Posted by Kathy Barks Hoffman | The Associated Press July 18, 2008 04:34AM
LANSING -- A PowerPoint presentation posted on a Web site shows the Michigan Democratic Party and some unions are behind an effort to make sweeping changes to state government through a ballot proposal.
"No one publicly has acknowledged writing or financing the proposal. State elections officials are still determining if the ballot supporters handed in enough valid signatures to qualify it for the November ballot..." Click here to read more.
Michigan group fighting to change state constitution
July 2008
LANSING - Pretty much everyone in Michigan says they are fed up with the high cost of government and the greed and selfishness of the Mitten State's politicians.
Not to worry - help is on the way, says Dianne Byrum, a spokesman for a mysterious new group called "Reform Michigan Government Now!" They believe they have just the prescription, and are fighting to get it on the ballot in November:
What they are offering is a monster of a state constitutional amendment. Most such amendments seek to change one thing...." Click here to read more.
A plot to rule state Democrats' secret strategy aims to trick voters into one-party advantage in Michigan
You can read the details on a set of 34 Power Point slides by clicking here.
"Documents revealed Thursday make the case for how a $4.9-million campaign, funded partly with in-kind contributions from the Michigan Democratic Party, could accomplish in one bold gesture what for decades has eluded state Democrats: total control of the three branches of state government.
Democrats' strategy for state control revealed Government reform drive cast in new light
Complaint: Reform Michigan group failed to report money spent on plan
3 GOP candidates square off for seat in Congress
Tuesday, July 22, 2008 http://www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news-12/1216739721144800.xml&coll=4&thispage=1
"A state representative, a Ron Paul volunteer and a Ronald Reagan conservative all hope to unseat eight-term Congressman Bart Stupak in the 1st District.
But first, the three will face off in an Aug. 5 Republican primary..." Click here to read more.
Three vie in GOP primary for U.S. House
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By RICH ADAMS - July 23, 2008 - Tribune Editor
"Three Republican candidates will face off on Aug. 5 to determine which one will move on to the November general elections.
Casperson, 48, is a resident of Escanaba. He represents Delta, Dickinson and Menominee counties in the Michigan House of Representatives..." Click here to read more.
Opponents file suit against reform group's constitutional proposal
Posted by The Associated Press July 24, 2008 17:20PM
http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/08/appeals_court_says_reform_mich.htmlLANSING -- Opponents of the Michigan Democratic Party's state government reorganization plan have filed suit to keep what they say is a "constitutionally flawed" proposal off the November ballot.
The lawsuit filed Thursday asks the Michigan Court of Appeals to shut down the effort, contending the Reform Michigan Government Now proposal packs too many disparate elements into a single constitutional amendment.
"In one amendment is an attempt to tie together probably several
dozen different changes to the Michigan Constitution," said Lansing
attorney Peter Ellsworth. "It's a take-it-or-leave-it proposition..."
Fuel bills hurt pros, tournaments
By Brandon Veale - July 25, 2008
ESCANABA - "Anglers in this weekend's FLW Walleye Tour event can't catch fish without the gas to get to them.
High
fuel prices have put a dent in most professional fishing series, and
the tour is no exception. The Bays de Noc tournament is the third
straight in which there has not been a full 150-boat field...."
June 2008
Future for Flint Police Department
remains uncertain as Gary Hagler's
unconventional term ends
by Dana DeFever | The Flint Journal / Sunday June 01, 2008
FLINT, Michigan -- "For four years Gary Hagler sat at the helm of the Flint Police Department, drawing almost constant criticism for never really leading it as its official chief.
A new leader for the Flint's Police Department -- likely an interim replacement -- is to be announced Monday, sparking another round of questions over what the role of the city's next top cop.
Mayor Don Williamson said on Sunday that he had not yet chosen who the department's next leader will be and plans to start talking to candidates Monday morning.
"I have several in mind and I will narrow that down to one," said Williamson, who noted he is looking for a candidate with honesty and leadership to lead the department...." Click here to read more.
DNR Makes Incredible Find
"Any credibility the Department of Natural Resources has with
Michigan sportsmen is vanishing quicker than a whitetail deer spooked
by a noisy hunter. It seems incredible that the agency has suddenly
discovered a $10 million balance in its Game and Fish Fund when the
agency has been threatening to lay off 79 employees and close some
wildlife areas to hunting ostensibly due to a lack of funds. On Dec.
11, DNR Director Rebecca Humphries explained to the House
Appropriations Subcommittee on Natural Resources that the unexpected
windfall is due to an increase in license sales, operational changes
and good returns on investments...."
DNR authorized to acquire land near Muskegon State Park
LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan Department
of Natural Resources will pay $196,675 to the Land Conservancy of West
Michigan for a 33-acre tract of land near Muskegon State Park.
The DNR also said Friday it will receive an additional 35 acres as a gift from the conservancy.
Both parcels are along the eastern boundary of Muskegon State Park.
The acquisition of the first property will complete state ownership of a coastal plain marsh.
The DNR says
the land that it's getting as a gift will be operated as part of the
state park and remain in its natural, generally undeveloped state.
DNR to Proceed With Acquisition of Land Adjacent to Muskegon State Park
The Department of Natural Resources will move forward with a proposal to acquire 33.03 acres of land from the Land Conservancy of West Michigan and to receive an additional 35.21 acres from the organization as a gift, following action taken at Thursday’s Natural Resources Commission meeting in Lansing.
DNR Director Rebecca Humphries authorized the agency to acquire the
33.03 acres in Laketon Township for $196,675 from the Land Conservancy
of West Michigan, and to accept the gift of additional acreage. Both
parcels located along the eastern boundary of Muskegon State Park.
Acquisition of the first parcel will complete state ownership of the
Lost Lake fen, a significant coastal plain community and one of only 40
known in Michigan. The parcel being received as a gift from the
conservancy will be operated as part of the state park with a primary
emphasis on natural resource protection and non-motorized outdoor
recreation. The parcel also will remain in its natural, generally
undeveloped state.
“Acquisition of these parcels will solidify ownership of the Lost Lake fen, and will protect it from degradation,” Humphries said. “This also fills in a private in-holding within Muskegon State Park, making it more efficient for us to manage.”
Hermansville brothers filming outdoors TV show
June 8, 2008 - Daily Press - Brandon Veale - bveale@dailypress.net
..........Instead of what Brian and Mark call “host-in-a-boat” shows, “Real Outdoor Destinations” focuses on presenting firsthand experiences instead of teaching various techniques...........
DNR authorized to acquire land near Muskegon State Park
The Path Less Traveled: New rail trail opens from Gaylord to Mackinaw City
 Photo Reprints |
New rail trail makes non-motorized commuting a breeze
By Paul Glahn
Harbor Light Newspaper - June 4, 2008
Commuting from Gaylord to Mackinaw City (or vice versa) just got a little more interesting. Winding along much of I-75, where a railroad once was, 62 miles of packed crushed limestone offers a new scenic perspective for bicyclers and walkers. And with rising fuel prices, the Top of Michigan Trails Council new railtrail’s completion couldn’t have come at a better time.
Saturday, June 7, at 8:30 a.m., ribbons will be cut in five different locations along the trail with a trail dedication at 1:00 p.m. at the centrally located Indian River Marina Park.
Emily Meyerson and Jim Conboy recently took some time to visit one of the trail stops and talk about the new trail. A few hundred feet away from the bridge over the Indian River on a sunny afternoon, the two were eager to share the ins and outs of the trail. Both being key players in the project’s planning and completion, they had plenty to talk about. To the south some 28 miles, Gaylord – 34 miles north, Mackinaw City.
“I’m a little biased, but I don’t think there is a nicer trail in Michigan,” said Conboy, Trail Council board member who heads up the Cheboygan Trail Committee. “Right now it’s the longest improved trail in the state. The views are just beautiful and we really want to get more people out using it.”
“Bicycles are a legitimate form of transportation,” added Meyerson, trailways coordinator with with Trails Council. “And especially with gas prices right now. If you want to commute from Gaylord to Vanderbilt, you now have a safe alternative to do so.”
Starting with the Gaylord trailhead and progressing north, Meyerson took a few moments to explain what each individual stretch of the trail has to offer its travelers.
The 7.6-mile Gaylord to Vanderbilt stretch is rural farmland with a higher elevation, offering views of rolling fields and pastures.
The 10.9-mile Vanderbilt to Wolverine stretch is the most rural, and includes four miles through Stuarts Creek wetland. This portion of the trail doesn’t cross any roads and is only accessible with the rail trail. Meyerson said there is always a lot of wildlife to see as well as being one of the Michigan Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) top elk viewing locations.
The 9.6-mile stretch from Wolverine to Indian River runs all along the banks of the Sturgeon River, crossing it once. Meyerson said that fly fisherman have long been the primary users of this part of the rail-trail (even prior to its completion). Also along the way is Haakwood State Forest Campground, offering trail use to campers; and Rondo Access canoe launch.
The 5.6-mile Indian River to Topinabee and 11.9-mile stretch the rest of the way to Cheboygan runs along Mullett Lake Beaches and parks can be found at various stops along the trail on that section.
A section between highway 27 and Cheboygan was described by Meyerson as a “sleeper section of the trail,” winding through rural areas and even along a buffalo farm.
The final 16.3-mile Cheboygan to Mackinaw City section is forested and straight, and serves as an important link between the two cities, Meyerson said.
“Each section is completely different,” she said. “It’s rare that you get a trail with so much diversity. Most of the time you can’t even tell that there is a highway nearby.”
This rail trail’s history goes back to the late 1990s when the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) acquired it. The Trails Council started advocating for its improvement and ultimately the DNR gave them the go ahead. The DNR put together a grant request to MDOT to improve the trail. Approximately $1.7 million was granted from the federal government with an additional $120,000 coming locally from the various communities the trail passes through, and some $300,000 from the DNR.
“The local money that we were able to raise showed us just how much support we were receiving from an area that’s not that widely populated,” Conboy said. “What’s nice about the federal funds is that they are earmarked for these kinds of projects, so it’s money coming back into the state and helping the local economy.”
Looking beyond the recreational advantages of the trail, Conboy and Meyerson said the economic boost the trail provides will be invaluable as well.
Similar to a big city apartment near a subway stop, Conboy said that real estate near the trail stands to only improve in value.
“I stress with groups I talk to that if you’ve got property to sell and you’re anywhere near the trail, make sure your broker lists it – just like water frontage,” he said. “Studies have shown that there is a recognizable increase in value of the homes along these trails.”
“The economic impact isn’t just with tourism,” Meyerson added. “Walk-ability is a number one reason people choose to buy the houses they do. These trail networks are great for the communities they run through.”
The trail itself is 62 miles of packed crushed limestone, six inches deep. It is 10-feet wide, with 2-foot shoulders on each side – making it accessible for snowmobilers in the winter. During the spring through fall months the trail is open to non-motorized vehicles and anyone interested in using it. Meyerson and Conboy said they have seen anyone from cross country teams practicing on it, to horse-back riders using it.
Because the trail is reusing what used to be a railroad, the grade is relatively flat the entire way and easy to travel for all ages. Bicycles with smaller tires are not intended for the trail, as it is unpaved, but Meyerson and Conboy said road bicyclists have used the trail without any problems.
The National Trails Day Gaylord-Cheboygan-Mackinaw City Rail Trail Grand Opening, is Saturday, June 7. Ribbons will be cut on the trail in Gaylord, Vanderbilt, Wolverine, Topinabee, Cheboygan and Mackinaw City simultaneously at 8:30 a.m. The trail dedication and luncheon celebration will be at Marina Park in Indian River at noon. To register for the event or for more information about the rail trail, visit www.trailscouncil.org.
This is part of the June 4, 2008 online edition of Harbor Light Newspaper.Riders say they're being locked out of the Pigeon River Country
Legislators take ride into 'forest' conflict
By Benjamin K. Slocum - Journalism intern from the Gaylord Herald Times ~ June 17, 2008
Dick Klienhardt, a dairy farmer from Clare, and Rand G. Smith, an attorney from Brown City, recently hosted state Reps. Kevin Elsenheimer, R-Kewadin, and Tom Casperson, R-Escanaba, in the PRC...."
Click here to read more.
Feeling the ripple effect
Posted By BY Michael Purvis
Tourism operators must work harder to attract visitors — COMMENT ON THIS STORY
DNR biologist: Swan reduction could have been handled better
by Howard Meyerson | The Grand Rapids Press
Friday June 27, 2008, 8:37 AM
Fifty-one mute swans were killed on Big Whitefish Lake two weeks ago. The lake residents grew tired of the growing number of aggressive birds and the mess they made on docks, boats and rafts.
http://www.mlive.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2008/06/dnr_biologist_swan_reduction_c.html
"A state-approved mute swan kill on Big Whitefish Lake two weeks ago may become an example of what not to do, according state officials, who now say killing 51 swans may be too many at one time.
"This doesn't happen that often, but in retrospect if I were going to do it again, I would say: 'Shoot 10 or less (each time) because its an emotional issue for the public,'" DNR wildlife biologist Jon Niewoonder said...." Click here to read more.
DNR biologist: Swan reduction could have been handled better
by Howard Meyerson | The Grand Rapids Press
Friday June 27, 2008, 8:37 AM
"Fifty-one
mute swans were killed on Big Whitefish Lake two weeks ago. The lake
residents grew tired of the growing number of aggressive birds and the
mess they made on docks, boats and rafts...."
May 2008
PRC to see restrictions on horses, bikes
PRC to see restrictions on horses, bikes
By Bob Gwizdz / Contributing Writer
Lansing - "DNR Director Becky Humphries has said she'll sign an order restricting bicycle and equestrian use in the Pigeon River Country State Forest.Mountain bikers will have about 300 miles of trail for their use. Equestrians will be restricted to roughly 280 miles - the Shore-to-Shore tail and about 30 miles of trails and service roads (typically closed to motorized vehicles) near the Elk Hill Equestrian campground. In addition, the campground at the south end of the forest, which was closed last ear due to budget problems, will be reopened and available to equestrians.
The land-use order was the result of a 3-year process of rewriting the management plan for the forest, commonly known as The Big Wild.
Humphries said adopting the changes was a difficult decision, but Pigeon River Country was “being loved to death” by growing recreational usage...." Click here to read more.
Marquette, Mich. - "DNR Director Rebecca Humphries has postponed for a couple of months her action on a wolf management plan that seeks to find a balance between the needs of Michigan wolves and Michigan people.
Instead of approving the plan at the Natural Resources Commission's May meeting in Lansing, action is now expected at the July meeting in Munising - wolf country..." Click here to read more.
April 2008
DNR encourages deer hunting in TB zone
New state program aims to halt spread of disease
BY SHERI McWHIRTER / smcwhirter@record-eagle.com / Traverse City Record-Eagle - Published: April 30, 2008
ATLANTA -- "Gunmen killed hundreds of white tail deer -- bucks and does alike -- across northern Lower Michigan in recent weeks, often at night under the glare of spotlights, and even though hunting season is months away.
Michigan's primary big game animal is being targeted to protect privately owned livestock under a state-sponsored program to reduce the risk of bovine tuberculosis transmission between wild and domestic animals.
The state Department of Natural Resources mailed thousands of free, unsolicited kill tags to farmers this year as part of a new, three-year program in the state's TB zone...." Click here to read more.
Mar. 2008
Smoking Ban Coming To Michigan Prisons.
Posted: 3/3/2008
"Prisoners, prison staff, and visitors won't be able to smoke anywhere on prison property soon.
A smoking ban is expected to take effect early next year.
The ban isn't limited to cigarettes, it includes all tobacco products..." Click here to read more.
Michigan prisons to ban smoking in 2009
Editorial: Prison smoking ban mocks lawmakers' refusal to act
Feb. 2008
DNR needs to improve customer service
The Alpena News / Tom Carney / Feb. 3, 2008
"Have you ever tried to warm up to the Department of Natural Resources only to be left with the feeling that the most useful thing you can do is to throw up your hands and mutter, “Why bother?”The Spring 2008 L.L. Bean fishing catalog, of all things, brought me to that point the other day.
L.L. Bean has begun offering caps, vests, bags and other items embroidered with the logo of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Each product also features one of Maine’s native species of fish or wildlife: trout, moose, puffin, bear, etc. A portion of the sale of each item will be donated to the MIF&W, the equivalent of Michigan’s DNR. And that got me to thinking...."
Click here to read more.
If you don't read the newspaper, you are uninformed.
If you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed.
~ Author unknown,
commonly attributed to Mark Twain or Thomas Jefferson
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