Outdoors

Along with melting snow and emerging spring flowers comes the renewed sense of hope for new beginnings and life. Our eyes are treated to an array greenery we haven’t seen in more than six months and the bounty of colorful flowers is sure to delight. If you’re like me, it’s impossible to not get excited for the coming growing and gardening season.

US Forest Service Terrestrial Ecologist Paul Thompson (right) was recently awarded the Michigan United Conservation Clubs’ (MUCC) Forest & Park Conservationist of the Year award. Thompson was nominated by the Straits Area Sportsmen’s Club for his work across both the east and west units of Hiawatha National Forest.

The Max B of the VanLandschoot and Sons fleet prepares to leave dock, as the commercial fishing season in Alger County has begun. Putting down nets in late April has been one of the more consistent signs of the changing of the season in the area.

Editor’s Note: This continues an ongoing series published through the Alger Conservation District. The first story is available in the Dec. 9, 2022 edition Happy New Year! If you’re following along from last month, we discussed the importance of Forest Management Plans (FMP’s). FMP’s are an inventory and analysis of what your forest looks like and what species are present. FMP’s can also help identify trees that may be infected by insect or disease and opportunities to improve wildlife habitat and also recommendations to work towards a healthier forest. An FMP is a guidance tool for landowners to follow to assist them in meeting their goals for their properties.

Wildlife biologists from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources released their findings of the latest Michigan gray wolf survey on Tuesday, Jan. 18.

While the weather outside may, as the song goes, be frightful, winter is one of the most exciting times to go birding across Michigan and the Great Lakes region. Many new visitors from the north arrive in the colder months, including snow buntings, horned larks and dark-eyed juncos. Snowy owls, great gray owls, northern hawk owls and boreal owls also make their way into the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula. Winter is the perfect season for waterfowl birding, too, as hundreds of thousands of ducks, geese and swans descend on the Great Lakes.

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A recent cooperative venture has resulted in an exciting new opportunity for birdwatchers in the eastern Upper Peninsula. With the help of several partners, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has developed the Shore-to-Shore Birding Trail, which is a driving/walking/birding experience that covers more than 400 miles and 40 birding points of interest throughout parts of Chippewa, Schoolcraft, Luce and Mackinac counties.