The Outdoor Journal

State recreation areas add handicap canoe, kayak launches

Howard Meyerson — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:23:40 +0000

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.”

Donnelly said the launch system at Bishop Lake can be used by able-bodied paddlers as well. He expects it will be a hit with many of the paddlers who come out and explore the waterway.

The Brighton State Recreation Area also has an ADA accessible riding stable where a mechanical device helps riders mount horses along with a one-mile plus woodland trail for those in wheelchairs. The 4,947 acre area is located in Livingston County. It has five campgrounds, 40 miles of trail for equestrians, mountain bikers and hikers and four rustic, family cabins, one of which is accessible.

Rifle River State Recreation Area Rifle River State Recreation Area also has a variety of accessible attractions. The 4,449 acre area in Ogemaw County has seven lakes, three ponds and seven miles of trout stream . It has almost 15 miles of trail, five campgrounds and five accessible rustic cabins.

“It’s a similar situation there but we focus more on hunting and wildlife interpretation,” said Lord. “There has been some trail surfacing and improvement and we cluster these opportunities near each other so people can do more than one thing.

“We’ve recognized this (absence of easy water launches) as a gap.”

Brighton’s new canoe and kayak launch system cost $27,000 to install, according to Lord. The Rifle River project cost $95,000 and was combined with the construction of a handicap fishing pier.

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Toxic Hogweed: State looking for giant poisonous plants

Howard Meyerson — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:35:35 +0000

Brian Kooper of the USDA and Matt Bushman study a patch of hogweed found in a backyard planter in Wakefield in 2004. Photo: USDA

By Howard Meyerson

Giant hogweed, an illegal and toxic non-native plant has been known to give state and federal officials heartburn now and then. But homeowners, hunters and hikers who may stumble upon it are being advised to report it and give the plant wide berth so as not get burned themselves.

“The toxin from it burns the skin and feels like a hot iron on your arm,” said Peter Carrington, assistant curator of the W.J. Beal Botanical Gardens at Michigan State University. “You can get burned pushing through a thicket of it. And that will change your whole day. The burns can take months to heal.”

Giant hogweed, or giant cow parsnip as it known, is a member of the carrot family. But it ranks right up with poison ivy and poison sumac as a health hazard, according to the Michigan Invasive Plant Council. The organization first reported about the weed in 2003. The group was formed in 1999 by a federal executive order signed by then President Bill Clinton.

Cow parsnips may grow to three or four feet tall, but giant hogweed can get to be 15-feet high with five-foot-wide leaves. It is covered with fine fuzz that carries a toxic sap. The toxic effects are triggered by ultra-violet light, or sunlight. Get the sap on your skin and walk in the sun and a serious case of blisters is likely to follow.

Giant hogweed is not a huge Michigan problem according to state and federal officials who track invasive plants. It is a much bigger problem in Pacific Northwest states. Here, there is far more garlic mustard on the ground. But unlike that leafy plant which can be used in cooking, giant hogweed is a serious public health danger. It is listed on the federal noxious weed list which prohibits its possession, sale and transport.

A popular ornamental plant

“It’s been growing in Michigan for about 50 years,” said Ian Shackleford, a botanist with the Ottawa National Forest in western Upper Peninsula where the largest Michigan infestations are found.

“It was a popular ornamental plant back then, a garden curiosity. Someone brought it in. We’ve been eradicating it because it is a public health nuisance.”

There are 22 Gogebic County sites where giant hogweed has been reported. None are in the Ottawa National Forest, according to Shackleford. Most of those plants have since been eradicated, but eight sites were found and treated in 2012.

The plant has been reported at 60 sites statewide, from Detroit to the western Upper Peninsula, according to Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development records. It has appeared in small numbers in several Lower Peninsula counties including Ingham, Berrien, Muskegon and Manistee counties.

No more federal funds for eradication

Agriculture officials said federal money available for eradication dried up in 2012. Michigan was annually spending approximately $10,000 in federal funds to treat giant hogweed sites.

“Our funding was eliminated and we have no program anymore,” said Mike Phillip, pest survey program specialist with the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. “It’s one we would like to be involved with because of the health hazard, but it’s not in the cards.

“Most of the sites where it is located are small, maybe one or two plants and there are a few larger sites. On the whole it is still a very rare plant.”

More information about identifying giant hogweed and who to contact is available online at: Michigan.gov/mdard Click Consumer Information in the left column, then Human Health, then Giant Hogweed. Additional information is available from MSU Extension Service at: msue.anr.msu.edu Type “giant hogweed” into the upper left search box.

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Growing concern about Great Lakes nuclear hot spots

Howard Meyerson — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:13:34 +0000

Reblogged from All Things Great Lakes:

Two recent news items should give pause to anyone who loves the Great Lakes and the 30 million people who rely on the lakes for drinking water.

Great Lakes United and the International Institute of Concern for Public Health released a stunning map of nuclear hot spots in the Great Lakes basin. The map identified nuclear power plants, a proposed nuclear water dump near Lake Huron and other sites.

Between a rock and a hard place: Michigan’s national parks cut services amid budget woes

Howard Meyerson — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:12:06 +0000

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore will fare better than some national parks in Michigan as federal budget cuts take effect. Photo: Howard Meyerson

By Howard Meyerson

Hikers intending to backpack on Isle Royale this summer might want to pay extra attention to their planning. Fewer rangers will be stationed on the remote and rugged Lake Superior island, meaning fewer first-responders will be available to handle back-country emergencies. Break a leg, and you might end up waiting longer for a rescue.

Isle Royale and other national parks all absorbed a five percent budget cut this year, the result of the federal boondoggle known as “sequestration.” In Michigan, that also affects Keweenaw National Historic Park, and Sleeping Bear Dunes and Pictured Rocks national lakeshores.

You’ll feel the pinch

The impact at each varies. Most are not serious. But this is only the first year of cuts, and visitors to these national landmarks are likely to notice some of them.

“We’re closing the north and south shore ranger stations at Malone Bay and Amygdaloid Island,” said Liz Valencia, chief of interpretation and cultural resources for Isle Royale National Park. “Emergency response will take longer. Those (rangers) are usually our first-responders. Now, that response will come from Rock Harbor and Windigo.”

Most Isle Royale visitors, of course, come home smiling and none the worse for wear, but things do happen, according to Phyllis Green, the park superintendent. Hikers go out and stumble and fall. Some head out forgetting to take their medications.

“We see anything from cuts and scrapes to heart distress and heat exhaustion, things that require a higher skill level in response,” Green said. “There can be three incidents one year and 17 the next. It varies with the weather and people’s attentiveness.”

Wild, wild north

Law enforcement staffing also was reduced along with seasonal maintenance staff. There will be fewer evening programs for those at the Rock Harbor Lodge, and back-country trails might not be brushed out as well.

Conditions at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore are expected to be normal overall. The

Camping and trails at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore are not expected to be affected this year. Photo: Howard Meyerson

cuts there show up at Munising Falls, where the popular visitor center has been closed for 2013.

Travelers who want maps and other information about the falls will need to go to the Interagency Visitor Center in Munising operated by the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service. That address is 400 E. Munising Ave. in Munising.

“We anticipate closing that visitor center will affect about 20,000 people this summer,” said Tim Good, the interim lakeshore superintendent. “We’re not anticipating any other impact.”

Visitors to Keweenaw National Historic Park, where the Upper Peninsula copper mining era is showcased in the towns of Hancock and Calumet, should watch the timing of their visits. Budget cuts mean shorter hours there. The park’s new Calumet visitor center will stay shuttered until May 23.

It then will be open Tuesday through Saturday every week until September 7, and then only three days a week through the end of September. In the past, it has been open seven days a week.

The information desk at the Quincy Mine will be staffed only four days a week in July and August. Staffers normally are there seven days a week from June through September.

“We’ll be cutting our interpretive programs by 65 percent. That’s huge,” said Tom Baker, the park’s management assistant.

Look for the impact at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore primarily on “the shoulder seasons,” according to Phil Akers, the park’s chief ranger. Five seasonal positions were eliminated and 22 other positions were shortened from four to five months to less than three months of employment.

The result, he said, is trash cans outside campgrounds won’t be serviced during the shoulder seasons and grassy picnic and historic areas are likely to get shaggy where mowing has been cut back.

Law enforcement staffing also has been reduced there, along with seasonal staff involved with piping plover monitoring and protection. The plover is the endangered species that nests on the park shoreline.

There might be fewer toilet paper rolls in outhouses and fewer trash cans at trailheads, Akers said. Janitorial staffing also was reduced. The focus will be on providing “full service” during the peak season from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

For South or North Manitou island visitors, both part of the national lakeshore, staffing cuts might result in longer times for emergency response during spring and fall months.

“During the shoulder seasons, we may have to respond from the mainland,” Akers said.

“First response is a concern on the island. We had 30 search-and-rescue missions in combination for the mainland and island last year and three medivacs from South Manitou Island.”

This, of course, is just a preview. If Congress doesn’t act to resolve the sequestration issue, additional cuts are likely next year. And what might be a nuisance at national parks this year is likely to get much worse.

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This column appears on MLive Outdoors

Wind companies won’t face charges in condor deaths

Howard Meyerson — Sat, 11 May 2013 17:10:25 +0000

Photo: LA times

California condors are fair game if you own a wind farm these days. Surprising as that may sound, the US Fish and Wildlife Service has granted permission to California’s Terra-Gen Power for incidental take of the endangered bird, meaning it won’t be prosecuted if one is killed by a wind turbine.

Environmentalists have complained, according to a story in the LA Times, which quotes FWS director, Daniel Ashe, saying it is a difficult decision and reality given that prosecution threatens a large-scale wind project.

This is a harbinger of things to come – and disappointing.

The Catbird: A different take

Howard Meyerson — Sat, 11 May 2013 16:36:55 +0000

Found on FB at Cornell Lab’s Celebrate Urban Birds

Grand River Coho: Fewer stocked at Lansing, more downstream

Howard Meyerson — Sat, 11 May 2013 13:00:11 +0000

By Howard Meyerson

Lansing, MI –A state decision to reduce the number of coho salmon stocked in the Grand River at Lansing, while increasing stocking downstream at Lyons, is just fine with Joe Mull, the manager of Grand River Bait and Tackle, a Lansing-based fishing outfitter that caters to salmon fisherman and other anglers.

In fact, he thinks it’s a good idea.

“Not only will more fish get downstream (to Lake Michigan), but more may survive to come back upstream. I think it’s a wonderful idea,” Mull said of the change that took place in April when state hatchery officials planted just 50,000 yearling Coho in the Grand River at Lansing rather than 295,000 as in the past.

State fisheries managers announced the plan a year ago; their thinking is that fewer young smolts will die from predation or hydro-electric dams while making the long trip down to Lake Michigan.

“We weren’t seeing a lot of fish return to Lansing,” said Jay Wesley, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources southern Lake Michigan management unit supervisor. “There is quite a predatory gauntlet upriver and we have been losing them to the Portland and Webber dams.

“Our goal isn’t to reduce the number of fish in Lansing, but to increase it,” Wesley said of the plan expected to boost coho smolt survival.

Fewer than one percent return

Less than one percent of the stocked coho salmon have made the journey back upstream to spawn. State officials analyzed salmon passage at Webber dam and found .09 percent returned from Lake Michigan in 2001 while .06 and .07 percent returned in 2002 and 2008 respectively

Yearling coho have been preferred to younger fish. They are heartier and better able to survive. However, they are more expensive raise in the hatchery for a year. The Grand River coho stocking effort is the second largest in the state, costing $626,850. Only the Platte River gets more fish because it is the brood-stock river for Michigan’s coho program.

The new stocking pattern implemented this spring shifted the bulk of the Grand River’s allocation downstream to Lyons where 240,000 were planted instead of 20,000 in years prior. Another 25,000 were stocked in the Rogue River in Kent County.

“I think it’s a fantastic move,” said Bob Strek, a Grand Rapids angler and member of the Grand Rapids chapter of the Michigan Steelheaders. “If they are up in the Rogue fishermen will be there. There is a strong chance of lower mortality and that will benefit everyone.”

Little to no impact at Lansing

Mull expects the change will have little to no impact on his Lansing bait and tackle business. Salmon fishing, he says, is a one to two-month flurry. He sends customers elsewhere already.

“The fish caught in Lansing are really dark,” Mull said. “That lasts about a month. We send people downstream to Lyons and Grand Ledge. There are better numbers of fish there and the fish are much fresher. Lyons is only about 12 minutes from here.”

Wesley said the DNR has not studied the “outmigration mortality” that occurs with coho on the Grand River. No hard numbers exist. It is assumed they die due to predation and hydro-power dams. Monitoring, he said, will continue at Webber dam and some will take place on the Rogue River and at Lyons.

“This is a trial and error thing,” Wesley said. “We have been doing the same thing for 20 years and haven’t seen much change. We see this as an opportunity to boost the run and survival down to Lake Michigan. We expect it will be a benefit for Lake Michigan anglers and other anglers in the Grand River system.”

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Mentoring Youths: Young hunters bag big birds

Howard Meyerson — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:08:18 +0000

Cameron Edgerton shot this 14-pound turkey while being mentored by his uncle, John German. Behind them are guides Bruce Waterman, left, and Dennis Neibarger. Photo: Courtesy.

By Howard Meyerson

MUSKEGON, MI — At a time of day when most youngsters are comfortably home in bed, Evan Rogalla sat calmly in a moonlit field, waiting. Dawn was approaching. It wouldn’t be long. The 13-year-old hunter sat still in his blind with his father and grandfather.

Across the field, a group of wild turkeys soon started gobbling. They flew down from their roosts 500 yards away and began to squabble. It would be a while before they rushed the blind, drawn by the hunter’s enticing calls.

When they did, they came with seven hens calling and three jakes gobbling.

Evan dropped the biggest male bird with one shot from a 20-guage shotgun, a 20-pound wild turkey with a six-inch beard. He would be one of four successful hunters that weekend in a special youth hunt at the Muskegon County Wastewater Facility, organized by the Muskegon River Bottom chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation.

“Evan has enough hunting experience that he is comfortable with it and a good shot,” said Aubrey Gale, Evan’s grandfather and hunting mentor. “I watched his hand when he put the gun out the window (of the portable blind). When he decided which one he wanted, I saw him slip his finger onto the trigger and let it go.”

It is that kind of scrutiny that makes “mentoring” a meaningful term, a guided and well-counseled experience where constructive feedback comes quickly, and undesirable behavior can be extinguished just as fast.

The gobbler was Evan’s fourth since starting to hunt. He’d shot the others also under his grandfather’s tutelage and that of his father, Alex Rogalla.

Evan Rogalla shot this 20 pound wild turkey during a youth hunt sponsored by the National Wild Turkey Federation. Photo: Courtesy

Three other Muskegon area youngsters also did well that weekend. Austin Fowler, Corey Vanderputte and Cameron Edgerton all are 9-year-olds that went home with a bird. Each was hunting with a Michigan mentored youth hunting license.

The license allows children 9 and younger to hunt small game, wild turkey and deer. It allows them to fish and trap, too. Hunter Safety classes are not required to hunt, but the youngsters are required to go with a mentor, someone 21 years or older who has prior hunting experience and a valid hunting license.

I can say honestly that I have had some questions about the wisdom of letting such young children handle a gun, but what became clear this weekend is the mentored youth program can and does work when parents or legal guardians approach it seriously.

“That’s one of the nice things about the program,” said John German, Cameron Edgerton’s uncle and mentor. “It’s all about the kids. If they want to do it, great. If they don’t, that’s OK.”

German had hunted with his 8-year-old daughter, Samarra, the first day of the weekend

hunt. She got a shot at a turkey using a crossbow and missed. He spent the second day supervising his nephew, Cameron.

“When the bird came off the roost, Cameron’s eyes got really big,” German said. “They came in from behind, and Cameron said, ‘I can see them. I can see them.’ I said, ‘Keep yourself calm.’ They came in gobbling real hard, and Cameron said he had a beard on its head.”

Cameron’s first shot was low. It knocked the big bird down, but it would take three shots to finish it off. In the end, the young hunter came away with a lesson learned. His uncle, and their two Muskegon-area guides, Bruce Waterman and Dennis Neibarger, were on hand to help.

Neibarger, a member of the Muskegon NWTF chapter, said the mentorship program works well, provided the young hunters are with an adult who is focused on them — rather than using the hunt “as an excuse for dad to go out with a gun by taking their kid with them.”

The adults on the hunt were there only to be in service to the children, whether to help with calling or to supervise the young hunters closely.

“Cameron did really well,” Neibarger said. “He listened real well, and we had him take a couple of snoozes. We had his gun on a shooting stick inside the blind so the turkey wouldn’t see his barrel moving around. He was so excited to see the turkey fan and hear it gobble that he was really shaking bad.”

The Muskegon hunt was one of four special youth turkey hunts around the state that weekend, including one in the Battle Creek area, Belding area and the Upper Peninsula. Each had been organized by a local turkey hunting group and was designed to introduce mentored hunters to the sport of turkey hunting.

“We had one kid shoot a 22-pound bird with a nine-and-half-inch beard from a wheelchair using a sip-and-puff mechanism in the U.P. hunt for kids with disabilities,” said Al Stewart, the upland game bird specialist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. “And at the hunt held by the Ionia NWTF folks, we had a kid who got so excited he couldn’t pull the trigger, and a 7-year-old who shot one with a crossbow and had a great day of hunting.”

Only 2,256 mentored youth licenses were sold in 2012. That’s a far cry from the number that mentored youth hunting proponents hope will be sold over time as means to stem the decline in hunting license sales. But it is a start, and a good one. And conservation groups like the NWTF are to be commended for their efforts.

“Cameron is already asking when deer season starts,” German said.

He is 9 years old and already he has the right idea.

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This column appears on: MLive Outdoors

Bicycle Museum Of America Full Of Fascinating History

Howard Meyerson — Wed, 08 May 2013 15:40:48 +0000

The Bicycle Museum of America has all sorts of interesting rides. Photo: From Bike Radar.

It could be time for a visit to New Bremen Ohio. Yes, Ohio, the world’s largest parking lot.

Why? Because that’s where the Bicycle Museum of America is located and it looks like it would be worth the trip.

The collection of bicycles and bicycle nostalgia was once housed at the Navy Pier in Chicago, according to a story on the Bike Radar blog today. What was 100 pieces has grown to 300 and the heart of the collection is an original assortment of Schwinn bicycles.

But the display also includes high-wheels, folding bikes and even an electric bike. Read more: Bicycle Museum Of America Fascinating History

Feds duck controversy, restore prize for stamp art to 6-year-old girl

Howard Meyerson — Tue, 07 May 2013 21:15:17 +0000

Six-year-old Madison Grimm, of South Dakota, has been reinstated as the 2013 Federal Junior Duck Stamp champion in the annual art contest held by the US. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Her oil painting of a canvasback duck was chosen from 29,000 contest entries. FWS announced Grimm’s win on April 19, but soon disqualified her from the contest because she was alleged to have used an illegal transfer method, according to a story from Fox News today.

The FWS announced in a May 2 press release its decision to reinstate Madison as the contest winner and apologized for any distress the decisions caused. Hmmm.