Coffee, Conservation and Urban Birds: Meet Julie Craves

Posted on June 15, 2013 by
Julie Craves among the coffee plants in Nicaragua at El Jaguar, a farm/bird reserve. Photo: Darrin O'Brien

Julie Craves among the coffee plants in Nicaragua at El Jaguar, a farm/bird reserve. Photo: Darrin O’Brien

By Howard Meyerson

DEARBORN – Julie Craves is picky about her coffee, about its taste and where it’s grown. Given a choice, she’ll take light roast over dark, but only one choice exists when it comes to sun-grown or shade.

Shade-grown coffee is better for birds, biodiversity and the environment, said Craves. She is not one to mince words.

“Folgers is one of the worst coffees you can buy,” proclaims Craves in typical no-nonsense style. “They are owned by Smuckers, one of the top three leading coffee buyers in the world and they buy virtually no certified coffee.”

Certified as “bird-friendly,” that is. That’s what Craves recommends. She is the director of the Rouge River Bird Observatory (RRBO) on the University of Michigan-Dearborn campus here and the author of Coffee and Conservation, an online blog at coffeehabitat.com, about coffee growing and harvesting practices and their effect on the environment.

If Craves isn’t blogging about the caffeine-industrial complex, she may be studying dragon flies, another serious interest. But most likely she will be immersed in the study of urban birds, the resident or migratory species visiting the 290-acre natural area on campus located in the heart of a developed metropolitan area. Continue reading →

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Stinky Tents: Check it over before heading out to camp

Posted on June 14, 2013 by
Taking some time to look your tent over before leaving on a camping trip will help assure it provides a cozy shelter from bugs and bad weather when camping. Photo: Howard Meyerson

Taking some time to look your tent over before leaving on a camping trip will help assure it provides a cozy shelter from bugs and bad weather when camping. Photo: Howard Meyerson

By Howard Meyerson

I don’t know about you, but I like sleeping outdoors. The air is fresh. I like the breezes. And when a storm comes on, I usually hunker down comfortably in my tent.

Michigan’s camping season soon will be in full swing, and I am guessing many campers have not looked their tent over since it was packed away last year. It might be a good idea to do so before heading out.

Each year, I hear about people who put their tents away dirty and wet. Come spring or summer, when they pull them out, it stinks to high-heaven because of mold growth or mildew. Short of having an agitated skunk in camp, there is nothing like a stinky tent for fouling up a trip.

Sometimes, that mildew problem is fixable. Other times, the condition has gone too far, and a new tent likely is needed. But it’s worth spending the time and effort to get rid of the problem early on. I extended the life of one old tent I had for many years by following these simple steps. Continue reading →

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Anglers, boaters encouraged to fight invasives

Posted on June 9, 2013 by
Portable weed washers will be onsite at various locations now in the Huron-Manistee National Forest. Photo: Courtesy US Forest Service

Portable weed washers will be onsite at various locations now in the Huron-Manistee National Forest. Photo: Courtesy US Forest Service

By Howard Meyerson

Hose them down!

That’s the message Huron-Manistee National Forest staffers hope anglers and boaters will take away from demonstration projects planned this summer at boat launches on Houghton Lake, the Muskegon River and Manistee County waters.

That’s where two portable high-pressure, hot-water washers are expected to be available so anglers and boaters can hose down boats and reduce the possibility of spreading invasive aquatic species like zebra mussels or invasive plants.

The high-pressure washers were purchased with federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funds as part of two grants to the forest and its partners, Manistee County and the Muskegon River Watershed Assembly.

“What we want is for boaters to recognize the need to keep their boats clean when move them from lake to lake and take on that task,” said Chris Riley, fisheries biologist with the Huron-Manistee National Forest, Manistee Ranger Station.  “We still have places that don’t have invasive species. Continue reading →

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Paddling to the next level: Jeff Neumann, avid canoer, kayaker, opens business

Posted on June 7, 2013 by
Jeff Neumann is not stranger to canoes and kayaks. His new guided paddling tour business introduces inexperienced paddlers to the sport. Photo: Howard Meyerson

Jeff Neumann’s loves paddling. His new guided paddling tour business introduces inexperienced paddlers to the sport. Photo: Howard Meyerson

By Howard Meyerson

Jeff Neumann is no stranger to canoes. He got his first taste of paddling as a 10-year-old boy, in Quincy, Ill. That’s where he and a cousin lashed two canoes together and spent idyllic days floating in protected waters along the Mississippi River.

As a teenager it was weekends on the Pere Marquette and White rivers in Michigan. The Neumann family had relocated to Grand Rapids. When the work week was over they piled into the car and headed north to paddle those rivers.

Today, at 53, Neumann still loves the allure of a quiet paddle, the natural scenery along rivers in Michigan. So much so, the former Grand Rapids Community College electronics instructor launched a guided canoe and kayak business upon retiring from teaching.

The company is GR Paddling LLC. You can find it at on the web at grpaddling.com

“We paddled all the time,” said Neumann, a tall, lanky man who exudes a youthful enthusiasm for canoeing and kayaking.

“We got into this business because we want to let others enjoy paddling the way we enjoy it. My wife and I were paddling down the Grand River one day and thought, ‘Oh, this is cool. We could do this for other people.’”

And they have. Continue reading →

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Hunting, Fishing Fee Hike Proposal Advances

Posted on June 6, 2013 by
Hunting and fishing licenses would cost more under a new legislative proposal, but would also raise more money for fish and wildlife management. Photo: Dave Kenyon, MDNR

Hunting and fishing licenses would cost more under a new legislative proposal, but would also raise more money for fish and wildlife management. Photo: Dave Kenyon, MDNR

By Howard Meyerson

Lansing — New legislation designed to simplify Michigan’s hunting and fishing license system and raise $19.7 million in additional revenues for DNR fish and game programs and marketing is making its way through the state Legislature.

HB 4668, introduced by Rep. John Bumstead, R-Newaygo, is passed the House Wednesday and goes on to the Michigan Senate.

“We don’t know what will happen in the Senate,” said Amy Trotter, resource policy manager for Michigan United Conservation Clubs. “Both the House and Senate have built this money into the appropriations bills. They are counting on it to balance the budget, but we don’t know the precise details of how the Senate might structure the fees.

“We are supporting the bill, and the simplification (it provides) is nice,” Trotter said.

HB 4668 restructures Michigan’s hunting and fishing license system by reducing the number of licenses offered from 277 to 40 and raises and lowers various fees. It does away with the state’s small game license and adds a “base” license that all hunters will be required to have, along with additional permits for various game species. The base license alone would allow small-game and non-waterfowl migratory bird hunting, according to a House Fiscal Agency Legislative Analysis. Continue reading →

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Study finds hunter ed doesn’t ensure hunters

Posted on June 6, 2013 by

Taking hunter education is no guarantee that young hunters will continue to hunt. And while some might assume they would, a new study shows only 44 percent of those who take the classes continue to hunt.

A story today in Michigan Outdoor News reports on the study by Florida-based Southwick Associates which examined the number of hunter ed graduates in 12 states that continued to buy a license during the period from 2006 to 2011. The study found, among other things, that one-third never bought licenses And of those remaining, another third stopped buying by 2011.

Graduates from highly urbanized areas had the greatest drop-out rates.

Read more: Hunter Education No Guarantee 

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Amazing Al Widing: The oldest guy in the AuSable River Canoe Marathon

Posted on June 4, 2013 by
Al Widing and Hailey McMahon as they near the finish of the 2012 Spike Challenge race. Photo: Mark Sloan

Al Widing and Hailey McMahon as they near the finish of the 2012 Spike Challenge race. Photo: Mark Sloan

By Howard Meyerson

MIO – There is little to compare with the spectacle at the start of the annual AuSable River Canoe Marathon. Thousands of cheering fans line the river’s banks in downtown Grayling. Their collective din reaches a crescendo when the start gun goes off as racers run to the river’s edge carrying their canoes, primed for the 120-mile paddling adventure that finishes well after sunrise in Oscoda.

Al Widing has been among the toned, young athletes for 40 years, so he’s the oldest paddler in pack. And when the 2013 AuSable River Canoe marathon begins July 27, the 88-year old Mio resident plans to be there again.

“I am looking forward to it. I’d just love to finish,” says Widing in typical, understated fashion, conveying little sense of having become a legend in competitive paddling circles.

Widing’s first AuSable marathon was in 1955, and he holds the record for being the oldest paddler to finish. His fastest race was in 1999 when at 74, along with Robert Bradford, of Lapeer, he set the senior division record finishing in 15 hours, 21 minutes and 22 seconds.

Two-time winner of the Texas Water Safari

Widing and Oscoda paddler, Bob Gillings, also won back-to-back first-place finishes in the 1964 and 1965 Texas Water Safari, a punishing 260-mile marathon billed as “The World’s Toughest Canoe Race.”

“He’s definitely a humble guy,” says Ryan Matthews, of Oscoda, the marathon statistician. “We call him ‘Amazing Al’, but he hasn’t embraced the nickname. He always said he is just an average guy who likes to paddle. But, there is no denying that what he does at this age is amazing.” Continue reading →

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Trail Towns: Communities adopting North Country Trail

Posted on June 3, 2013 by
The national headquarters for the North Country Trail Association is found in Lowell. Photo Brandon Mulnix

The national headquarters for the North Country Trail Association is found in Lowell. Photo Brandon Mulnix

By Howard Meyerson

Saturday was National Trails Day, a celebration enjoyed by people all across the country. Hikers took to their favorite trails, venturing out with friends, family and organized groups.

In Michigan, of course, there is reason to celebrate trails every day. Local and state governments and non-profit groups do a terrific job developing them.

But one trail stands out as especially worthy of celebration, one surprisingly that often goes unnoticed. Its development takes place in the quiet recesses of our forests and in one-on-one meetings between landowners and well-intentioned volunteers.

More than 1,100 miles of the North Country National Scenic Trail is routed through Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsula. The 4,600 mile trail stretches from New York to North Dakota, making it the nation’s longest footpath.

Roughly 750 miles are on the ground in Michigan and ready to use, its route marked clearly by blue blazes; a path that meanders in and around farms and woods to the south and through state or national forests, national lakeshores and wilderness further north.

It is largely the product of volunteers, the communities of hikers who diligently carve out and maintain the route. Their efforts are creating a big economic asset for the State of Michigan.

I am old enough to remember the wilderness wars in Michigan, back in the ’80s when the late Sen. Joe Mack from Ironwood, an ardent opponent of wilderness, proclaimed to the Michigan legislature that backpackers came to the Upper Peninsula with one pair of undershorts, one five dollar bill and didn’t change either while there.

How wrong he was. But those were different times. We have learned a lot since, and the outdoor recreation landscape has changed dramatically. Continue reading →

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Wooden Boat Shows Aplenty in Michigan this Summer

Posted on May 24, 2013 by

Classic wood runabouts are abundant at shows like the Les Cheneaux Antique Wooden Boat Show and Festival of Arts, which is hosted in Hessel annually and this year runs Aug. 9-11. Pictured is a brass and wooden steering wheel with instruments on the dashboard in the May LaFever, built in 1912 by Fay and Bowen. Photo: Rex Larsen, MLive.

By Howard Meyerson

Michigan’s wood boat building history comes to life every summer in Great Lakes shoreline communities. 

It’s a time when quaint harbor towns celebrate the state’s boating heritage with wooden boat shows that showcase the gleaming varnish finishes of Michigan-made and other classics.

If you like antique wooden boats, consider checking one out. The shows are a perfect stop during any planned Michigan vacation, a day of fun and festivity.

“It’s a happening. People love to see them come in from the islands or watch them getting launched,” said Barb Smith, co-chair for the 36th Annual Les Cheneaux Islands Antique Wooden Boat Show and Festival of Arts on August 10. The show is held in the eastern Upper Peninsula town of Hessel.

“It’s exciting to see the old woodies come in. We had a ground fog here a few years ago and you could hear them coming, but couldn’t see them. Then they motored in out of the fog.”

The Hessel show is Michigan’s largest wooden boat show with 130 or more boats on display, most of which float at docks that can be toured. The show is sponsored by the Les Cheneaux Historical Association.

More shows listed below. See calendar.

Continue reading →

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State recreation areas add handicap canoe, kayak launches

Posted on May 23, 2013 by
The new launch ramp at Grebe Lake in the Rifle River State Recreation Area. Photo: MDNR

The new launch ramp at Grebe Lake in the Rifle River State Recreation Area. Photo: MDNR

By Howard Meyerson

Disabled paddlers who need assistance getting into canoes or kayaks and getting launched will find life is a bit simpler these days at Bishop Lake in the Brighton State Recreation Area.

A unique launch kayak launch system has been installed there that allows paddlers to move smoothly from wheelchairs into their boats while on a dry and a stable platform, from which they can guide themselves easily into the water.

“There is always a need to make things more accessible,” said Mike Donnelly, the Brighton State Recreation Area supervisor.  “We are trying to open recreation up to those people who use wheelchairs, crutches and prosthetics.”

The new EZ Launch Accessible Transfer System, as it is called, was funded by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation “Access 2 Recreation Initiative.” The launch platform at Bishop Lake is the second of two installed at state recreation areas. The other is on Grebe Lake in the Rifle River State Recreation Area.

“The foundation gave us two million dollars a couple of years ago which has been set aside for projects in state parks and recreation areas,” said Dan Lord, development program manager in DNR’s Parks and Recreation division. “They also gave one million dollars to the Natural Resources Trust Fund. It’s all meant for demonstration projects. They were looking to fund unique recreation opportunities that go above and beyond the minimums for ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance.” Continue reading →

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