“The news paper for people who love the north”

Late September 2013 Vol. 60, No. 18 $2.50 Digital Delivery

Michigan’s Conservation Sentinel Since 1953

Rexton Selected for U.P. Mine? Page 1

Anti-Fracking Lawsuit Page 1

Debate: Farm Pigs & Invasive Swine Page 3

Wolf Hunting Licenses Page 3

Tapping Plastic “Oil Fields” Page 3

Fracking Reports Published Kitch-Iti-Kipi: The Big Spring Page 6 Palms Book State Park, Schoolcraft County Michigan’s Upper Peninsula www.mynorthwoodscall.com

www.mynorthwoodscall.com Late September 2013 Vol. 60, No. 18 $2.50 Digital Delivery

Michigan’s Conservation Sentinel Since 1953

“Anniversary” & autumn break This is not the official anniversary of The Call’s founding—that comes in November—but it is a milestone of sorts. It has been one year since publication resumed under new own - Hendricks Quarry ership, following the January 2011 death of longtime publisher Glen LAKE Sheppard. Strip Mining Of course, that means that renewal notices will begin going out soon to readers who signed up early on. Fiborn Strip Mining “We’re grateful for all the generous support we have received dur - Quarry Strip Mining ing our first 12 months of operation and trust that readers have found Dollar Lake SUPERIOR To Trout Lake > enough value in our work to continue with us,” said current Publisher Carp Mike VanBuren. “Obviously, continued loyalty from past subscribers Plant Lake and success in gaining new readers are essential to The Call’s long- Plant Underground term health and sustainability.” Underground It’s also time for the newspaper’s traditional fall break, which this year will be spent visiting Talia Elle Girgenti, the editor’s brand new Rexton Strouble (and very first) grandchild, in Harriman, New York. Lake That means that the next North Woods Call will appear in your STATE mailboxes in mid-October. Until then, enjoy the cool nights and beautiful colors of autumn. FOREST

Limestone Quarry Site North Woods Notes Although not yet officially announced, the selected location for Graymont’s proposed limestone quarry is said to be in the Rexton area of the Lake Superior State Forest. The map above was gleaned from docu - ments obtained by opponents of the operation under a Michigan Freedom of Information Act request. Most of the mine site is on state-owned land, although the parcels depicted in white within the mine GAHAGAN OPEN HOUSE: The Marguerite Gahagan Nature Pre - boundaries are reportedly privately owned. serve will host its annual open house and membership meeting from 4 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 22. The volunteer organization—headquar - tered at the late North Woods Call founder’s cabin in Roscommon—has Rexton likely location for proposed mine grown in size and scope over the years. Members and non-members While Graymont officials have not yet publicly ac - other section—which extends from east of Caffey alike are encouraged to attend the open house and celebrate the collec - knowledged their chosen location for a proposed Corner between Trout Lake and Caffey roads halfway tive accomplishments of people who love the outdoors, value the envi - quarrying operation in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, to the village of Trout Lake—has been labeled ronment and realize the need to educate youth about the natural world. some sources—including documents obtained under “plant.” At least three separate areas around Hen - An informal presentation will begin at 4:30 p.m., followed by fellowship a Michigan Freedom of Information Act request—say dricks Quarry and Nelson Lake to the northwest— and a guided walk around the preserve. Marguerite Gahagan established that the company has chosen a 9,600-acre area sur - and to the south and west of Fiborn Quarry north of The Call in 1953 and published it for the first 16 years. rounding rural Rexton in Mackinac County. the so-called “plant” area—are apparently being tar - EHD OUTBREAK: Muskegon County is the first in Michigan to Maps found among the documents show the bor - geted for strip mining. have epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) confirmed this fall. The De - der of the mine site extending along portions of the Most of the property—all within the Lake Superior partment of Natural Resources (DNR) says that 25 to 50 deer have died north and south sides of the Wisconsin Central Rail - State Forest—is owned by the state of Michigan, in Muskegon County so far. The incidents appear to be localized, they road tracks and Hiawatha Trail—from west of though there are some significant portions that are said, and are in line with outbreaks that have occurred annually for the Borgstrom Road in Hudson Township to east of Caf - privately owned. last decade in Michigan. The disease is caused by a virus that is trans - fey Corner. The northern border cuts through the In August, Graymont spokesman Bill Robison told mitted by a type of midge. It comes on suddenly and deer can suffer in - middle of Dollar Lake, then dips down near Fisher The North Woods Call that the company—one of ternal bleeding, lose their appetites and fear of humans, grow Road. The southern border follows Hiawatha trail North America’s leading lime producers—was still progressively weaker, salivate excessively and finally become uncon - through Rexton, then dips down to Crosseville Lake analyzing potential sites, but expected a formal deci - scious. Due to a high fever and extensive internal bleeding, infected and skirts the northern tip of Strouble Lake. Included sion within a couple of months. deer are often found sick, or dead, along (or in) bodies of water. For in - in the designated mine area are numerous lakes, David Gorenflo, an outdoorsman/opponent of the formation, visit www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases. The first hard streams and wetlands that opponents say could be proposed mine, has launched a Facebook group to frost should kill the flies, DNR officials said. The disease does not af - harmed by the activity. keep others informed about the controversy. To learn fect humans, they said. Much of the mine around Rexton, outlined on the more about Citizens Against Strip Mining (CASM), BEAVER ISLAND WORK DAYS: Up to 20 volunteers are being map above, has been labeled “underground.” An - visit www.facebook.com/groups/401316723302145/. sought by the Little Traverse Conservancy for trail work and general clean-up of the Barney’s Lake Preserve on Beaver Island. The two-day event will be held Sept. 23 and 24 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. To help out for Lawsuit challenges fracking in wildlife sanctuaries part of a day, both days, or just a few hours, contact Mike Lynch at (231) A lawsuit has been filed against protect the ASGA, wildlife re - and the lower Kalamazoo River, 344-1011, or send him a message at [email protected]. All volunteers the U.S. Secretary of the Interior sources and the Kalamazoo which has ben designated by the should bring gloves, appropriate footwear, lunch and a water bottle. and the U.S. Bureau of Land Man - River—among other things—from state of Michigan as a “natural Drinks and snacks will be provided. agement (BLM) in an effort to potential damage from the contro - river.” CANADA CREEK BRIDGE: The foot bridge over Canada Creek stop leasing of federal mineral versial practice of hydraulic frac - The BLM reportedly auctioned in Presque Isle County has been rebuilt with a grant from the federal rights for fracking, and other oil turing. 6,000 acres of its ASGA subsur - Recreational Trails Program. An integral part of the High Country Path - and gas development in the Alle - “Fracking has no business any - face mineral rights earlier this way—an 80-mile-long loop trail—the bridge is now open and ready for gan Sate Game Area (ASGA). where near the ASGA’s crucial year. The action was triggered use. There is also a creekside shelter adjacent to the new bridge. John Davis Jr. and Marybeth wildlife habitat, said John Davis when undisclosed oil and gas IRONTON BOAT LAUNCH: A new ramp is being constructed at Pritschet-Davis—longtime resi - Jr. “My wife and I had to step up companies filed “expressions of the Ironton Boat Launch on Lake Charlevoix in Charlevoix County. The dents of Allegan County—filed and take this on.” interest” in the ASGA and sur - replacement project began Sept. 16 and is expected to take about two the legal action in U.S. District On Sept. 12, the BLM auc - rounding private land with the weeks. Boaters should expect partial and complete shutdowns during Court in Grand Rapids on Sep - tioned 27,302 acres of subsurface BLM. The total acreage of what this time, according to the DNR. tember 5. mineral rights in the ASGA, which the BLM calls the “decision area” CROW ISLAND: The water level was recently lowered at Crow Is - Coming just a few weeks after is home to state and federally is approximately 127,000 acres in land State Game Area in Saginaw County to accommodate the replace - a Barry County circuit court judge listed endangered and threatened portions of several townships. ment of a water-level control structure in the East Unit along M-13. The dismissed a similar case against species, several trout streams, nine The Davises are being repre - DNR and Ducks Unlimited are working to improve waterfowl habitat. the Michigan Department of Natu - lakes, various wetlands, vernal sented by Jeffrey K. Haynes of (Continued on Page 2) ral Resources, the suit seeks to pools, three wildlife sanctuaries (Continued on Page 5) Page 2 Late September 2013 The NorTh WoodS CaLL

Our 60th Year: Looking Back to Sept. 22, 1954 Land of our fathers By Marguerite Gahagan To lovers of the woods and the wildlife it contains, it is an un - pleasant possibility that the little of it remaining available to the pub - lic might be destroyed. Here in Michigan, the state and national parks give happiness, a momentary freedom from the turmoil and tension of big city life, and the great sports of hunting and fishing. The fight to preserve those lands is not over. Too few who enjoy them realize the battle that is being waged constantly to prevent—lit - tle by little—that land from being whittled away. The latest round was won by conservationists throughout the na - tion when they successfully plugged loopholes in the atomic energy and multiple mineral leasing bills that would have opened the pre - cious national parks, monuments and wildlife lands for the explo - ration and recovery of minerals determined to be the sources of fissionable materials. As civilization continues to struggle though its atomic age, racing No Compost, Please ofttimes blindly for war in the world’s mad scramble for scientific know-how, simple truths are forgotten, or ignored. Environmentalists and back-to-nature types often encourage composting as an earth-friendly practice that In the worldwide race against communism, the victor may be the pays future dividends. But citizens of Cooper Township in southern Michigan’s Kalamazoo County are one with the largest atomic stockpile. But, if that stockpile is [built] much more concerned about the landscape and groundwater supplies in their rural neighborhood. That’s at the expense of the last of this nation’s remaining public forests— why they’ve been protesting a proposed 10-acre indoor/outdoor composting facility at the site of an old the last wilderness stronghold of wildlife that give fast-living man a gravel pit. The $1 million project—which would be located within several yards of the Kalamazoo River— momentary escape into the contemplative world—it would be a high would turn tons of organic waste into compost fertilizer and create up to 30 jobs, according to the Chicago- price to pay. based Cocoa Corporation. Yet residents who fear various contaminants and heavy truck traffic have urged That the lands should be open to private interests for prospecting township officials to nix the plan. At last report, it appears they may been successful—for now, at least. and mining would therefore be even more of a sacrifice on the part of the public. Attack bear Life is precious and so is freedom. Our great national parks, with their wilderness beauty, are a constant reminder of those very facts. escapes justice Let us not lose them. North Woods Notes The black bear that attacked and injured a 12-year-old girl last month near Cadillac has appar - ently escaped justice—for the (Continued from Page 1) time being, at least. NRC MEETINGS: The next Michigan Natural Resources Com - Michigan Department of Nat - mission meeting will be held October 10 at Pine Mountain Resort, 3332 ural Resources officials thought Pine Mountain Road, Iron Mountain. The November 7 and December they may have tracked and killed 12 meetings will be held at the Michigan State University Diagnostic the renegade bear Aug. 18, after a Center, 4125 Beaumont Road, Lansing. For more information about similar bear had been shot and starting times and agendas, visit the Michigan Department of Natural wounded by a Wexford County Resources (DNR) website at michigan.gov/dnr . property owner who said he be - WIND FARMS & EAGLES: Wind energy facilities have killed at lieved the bear was a threat to his least 67 golden and bald eagles in the past five years, according to a new life. study published in the Journal of Raptor Research . And that estimate But a comparison of DNA taken Rare Wolf Attack is probably low. More on this in the next North Woods Call . from the dead animal with fur and A 16-year-old boy survived an unusual attack by a gray wolf in north - PHOTO CONTEST: Friends of the Jordan River Watershed will saliva samples taken from the at - ern Minnesota during late August. Noah Graham, of Solway, was announce the winners of its 6th annual photography contest and debut tack victim revealed that it was camping on Lake Winnibigoshish with friends when the animal re - its 2014 “Visions of the Valley” calendar during a special celebration not the same bear. The tests also portedly approached and chomped on the back of his head. The attack on Saturday, Sept. 21. The event will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Jor - showed that the bear that attacked apparently came without warning and Graham had to kick and scream dan River Watershed Center in East Jordan. It is free and open to all. . the girl was a female, while the at the animal to get it to retreat. It was the first documented serious S.S. BADGER FINES: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency bear killed was a male. wolf attack on a human in Minnesota, said state officials, who were wants to double fines against the S.S. Badger for dumping coal ash in The victim survived the attack, waiting for DNA test results to confirm whether a wolf trapped and Lake Michigan after the end of the 2014 sailing season. The agency but reportedly underwent surgery killed in the same campground a few days later was the same animal filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids to revise a pre - at Munson Medical Center in Tra - that attacked Graham. The dead wolf had a jaw deformity that made liminary decree it reached in March with owners of the coal-fired car verse City before being released it likely it had to scavenge for food, they said, because it wouldn’t have ferry. If approved, the revision would double the penalties from $3,000 for recovery at home. been able to kill large prey. Graham suffered a deep, four-inch gash to $6,000 per day for ash discharges during the 2015 season and set ad - DNR officials said they would on his scalp, but otherwise was not seriously injured. ditional restrictions on ash and mercury content in the coal. temporarily extend trapping ef - ANTLER POINT RESTRICTIONS: Don’t forget the new antler forts in the area of the incident point restrictions that are in place for the 2013 deer hunting season in and continue to monitor bear ac - Get your outdoor message Michigan’s northwestern Lower Peninsula. The newly enacted restric - tivity in that location in an effort tions apply to a 12-county area, in addition to the other Michigan coun - to find the guilty animal. As of to the conservation audience! ties where they were already in effect. For more information, contact the this writing, however, the aggres - Michigan Department of Natural Resources. sive bear had apparently not been Advertise in FOREST PLANS: Public input on forest plans for Alcona, Craw - located. ford, Iosco and Oscoda Counties will be taken from 1 to 6 p.m. on Tues - The public was being asked to The North Woods Call day, Oct. 8, at the DNR’s Grayling Field Office, 1955 Harwick Pines report bear sightings in the area of Road. Such open houses are a good way for Michigan residents to learn the attack—which occurred in well in advance about the DNR’s proposed treatment plans and to share Wexford County’s Haring Town - Contact: [email protected] input toward final decisions on those treatments, according to Bill ship—by calling the Report All O’Neill, chief of the Forest Resources Division. Poaching (RAP) Hotline (800- SAUNDERS DAM: Removal of Saunders Dam on the Upper Black 292-7800), or the DNR’s Cadillac The perfect gift for any occasion: River began Sept. 9. The project—involving the Gaylord-based Huron Operations Service Center at Pines organization, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Michigan DNR, (231) 775-9727. Give The North Woods Call to that the Upper Black River Council and several private donors—will recon - The public is reminded not to special person on your list nect eight miles of the river and its tributaries to allow fish passage and shoot a bear unless the animal natural river processes to occur for the first time in decades. poses an immediate threat. The DAM GRANTS: Proposals are being accepted for $350,000 in DNR black bear is a protected species grants to address Michigan’s failing dam infrastructure in 2014 through under Michigan law. removals, repair and maintenance. See michigan.gov/dnr-grants. Black bear attacks on humans AU SABLE RIVER: The Au Sable Big Water Preservation Associ - are very rare, DNR officials said. ation has been working for the past two years with the Huron Pines or - Many bear attacks occur because Facebook.com/NorthWoodsCall NorthWoodsCall.blogspot.com ganization to control erosion in the “big water” stretch of the river on a sow is protecting her cubs, they U.S. Forest Service property. It is the single largest project of its kind said, but there is no evidence that For updates, t-shirts & caps, visit our website at: in that area of the river, said Association President Thomas Buhr, “and cubs were present at the scene of has done a great deal of good for the river.” the Wexford County attack. www.mynorthwoodscall.com The NorTh WoodS CaLL Late September 2013 Page 3 A debate over the right to farm vs. invasive swine

EDITOR’S NOTE State’s plan to fine pig We recently ran across these Russian boar pigs are two recent editorial viewpoints farmer is outrageous via the Michigan United Con - illegal in Michigan By Sen. Darwin Booher servation Clubs’ website. By Ed Golder R-Evart One letter is written by a Public Information Officer Michigan’s 35th District state senator and the other by Michigan Department of Natural Resources Mark Baker is a fighter. an official at the Michigan De - Sen. Darwin Booher’s recent op-ed regarding invasive swine in He honorably fought for our country as a member of the Air Force partment of Natural Re - Michigan downplays a growing and critical problem for the state. Sen. for 20 years. Now, to keep his family farm in McBain, he’s fighting sources. Booher offers no reasonable solution to protect and defend Michigan’s against state bureaucrats, the attorney general and a team of taxpayer- We think they provide an in - farms, forests and fields from this aggressive invader, and he ignores funded attorneys who are seeking to take away this patriot’s livelihood. teresting look at the growing and omits important facts. I’d like to set the record straight. The Department of Natural Resources issued an invasive species problem of feral pigs in Michi - Sen. Booher writes that the Michigan Department of Natural Re - order in 2010 that arbitrarily bans select breeds of pigs. Department of - gan, as well as the conflict be - sources (DNR) has “arbitrarily” banned “select breeds of pigs.” In fact, ficials claimed the pigs must be banned because the state has a problem tween state officials charged there was nothing arbitrary about the 2010 Invasive Species Order that with feral hogs, meaning wild pigs running outside of a fence. The de - with protecting natural re - prohibits a very specific type of pig—the Russian boar. partment makes this claim despite the fact that: 1) Mark’s pigs have been sources and one local farmer. These animals, which are dangerous and can harbor diseases, were raised inside a fence their entire lives; 2) not a single Baker pig has ever brought into the state to be hunted. Over time, Russian boar made their escaped captivity; and 3) all pigs, no matter what the breed, are capable way into the wild. We know that at least some escaped from game of becoming feral (i.e. loose). ranches. The result has been a growing, breeding population of feral The DNR created a list of certain subjective characteristics that pigs swine—that is, swine not in captivity. While it is true, as Sen. Booher will be assessed by to determine if they are now an invasive species. writes, that any pig can become feral, Michigan’s problem is not with Mark’s pigs matched some of the characteristics—characteristics that just any pig. Our problem is with Russian boar. any pig would meet. And, overnight, Mark’s pigs were magically trans - This is borne out by the results of a trapping program conducted by formed into an “invasive species” despite the fact that he and his fam - the Michigan Wildlife Conservancy and the U.S. Department of Agri - ily had been raising the heritage hogs without incident since 2007 and culture—Wildlife Services. The program catches feral swine across the successfully selling to high-end restaurants as his family’s primary state. In fact, feral swine have been spotted in 76 of Michigan’s 83 coun - source of income. Therefore, left with no other alternative, Mark filed ties. Almost all of the pigs captured or killed are Russian boar or hy - a lawsuit against the DNR to try to protect his family’s livelihood. brids of Russian boar. (Continued on Page 5) Russian wild boar (Continued on Page 5) Wolf hunting licenses will Stuck on you: Lessons from a seedy hitch-hiker September is stick tight and be on sale starting Sept. 28 burr season. It’s a time when plants love to send their seeds The Wild Nearby The Michigan Department of Natural Resources says 1,200 wolf home with you. Across field and hunting licenses will be available for over-the-counter purchase be - forest a plague of cling-ons waits By Tom Springer ginning at noon Eastern Daylight Time on Sept. 28. to hitch a ride on socks, shirts and The licenses will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis and pants—not to mention every fur- Thus did Georges de Mestral sum, she had to spend three weeks aren’t cheap. The cost is $100 for residents and $500 for nonresi - bearing inch of the family pet. get the idea for a new fabric fas - indoors before she grew enough dents. How one handles such low- tener that would connect people to peach fuzz to prevent sunburn. Hunters 10-years-old, or older, are required to have either pur - grade annoyances says much their clothes as never before. A clever guy like Georges de chased a previous hunting license, or taken a state-approved hunter about their character. You could, It took 10 long years of exper - Mestral might see that and come safety education course. as I do, gripe incessantly as you imentation before Mestral brought up with more than one way to skin A limited harvest of 43 wolves is planned in three designated wolf scrape off stick tights with a butter his product to market. In a world a cat, or at least to shave one. Yet management Units of the Upper Peninsula—18 in Gogebic County knife, or tug gingerly on the that couldn’t see beyond buttons, he’d no longer be a lone genius if in the far western U.P., 19 in portions of Baraga, Houghton, Onton - painfully spiny burrs of burdock. snaps and zippers, his idea was he did. There’s a new field of sci - agon and Gogebic counties, and eight in portions of Luce and Mack - But you could also forgo the first ridiculed. Yet Mestral finally ence known as biomimicry that inac counties. grumbling, open your eyes to na - secured a patent. He named his looks for solutions to human The 2013 wolf season will open Nov. 15 and run until Dec. 31, or ture’s ingenuity and see the po - product Velcro, because it com - problems in the designs of nature. until the target harvest for each wolf management unit is reached. tential for a multi-million dollar bined the two French words One popular biomimicry discov - Bag limit is one wolf per person per year. industry. That’s basically what velour (velvet) and crochet ery sprung from the study of over - Hunting with firearms and crossbows, as well as with bow and ar - Georges de Mestral, a Swiss elec - (hook). lapping scales, known as dermal rows, will be allowed on public and private lands. Hunters must re - trical engineer, did in 1941. The burdock that inspired Mes - denticles, which grow on the sur - port a successful harvest over the phone on the day of harvest. Once Mestral liked to take his dog tral came to North America as an face of shark skin. Since dermal target harvest is met for a wolf management unit, the entire unit will (no record of his name; let’s call exotic species imported from Eu - denticles allow sharks to move be closed for the season. him Fritz) on hunting trips into the rope and Asia. Who knows, with great efficiency in water, sci - Licensed hunters are required to check daily by phone, or online, Alps. maybe the first one even stowed entists (and no doubt someone to determine whether any management units have been closed. I can imagine Mestral in a away on the unkempt tail of from Speedo) wondered what The 2013 Wolf Hunting Digest is available in an interactive for - jaunty Tyrol hat and green wool Fritz’s ancestor. might they do for a human swim - mat on the DNR website. knickers—and Fritz as a sturdy As for stick tights, they’re dried mer? sheepdog of Swiss lineage. It’s a seeds that grow on a native plant Enter the shark-skin inspired fine, fall afternoon in the moun - officially known as showy ticktre - swimsuit that helped Michael Tapping into the “plastic oil field” tains, the crystalline air fresh with foil. The plant is one of the most Phelps win a cluster of U.S. gold A Japanese businessman says into the machine, which melts the tang of spruce and sun- important food sources for north - medals in the 2008 Olympics. A he has invented a machine that the plastic and turns it into liquid. warmed granite. Dog and master ern bobwhite, and a favorite of similar pattern has been used to converts plastic refuse into oil. As the liquid boils, gases are re - have just returned from a walk ruffed grouse, wild turkey and paint the hulls of oil tankers, Akinori Ito of Japan’s Blest leased through a container of that led through pastures thick white-tailed deer. Its showy pink, which reduces drag and thus im - Corporation, said the machine water, which cools the gas and with burdock thistle. pea-like flowers attract humming - proves fuel efficiency. was designed to answer growing turns it to oil. Mestral, a patient and method - birds and a host of pollinators. While I haven’t got an electron concerns over global warming The resulting oil product can ical man, sits down and tamps a Earlier this year, our long- microscope, there’s much I’d like and garbage disposal. be burned as is, he said, or can be fresh bowl of tobacco into his haired barn cat was a wretched to learn from nature. “Plastic is made from oil,” Ito further processed to make gaso - Meerschaum pipe. Then, as he mass of thistles, stick tights and From the white pine: how to said, “so we figured it wouldn’t line, diesel and kerosene. brushes Fritz’s tail, the gears in lord knows what else. Our out - dance in the summer breeze with be too difficult to convert it back One liter of oil can be gleaned his keen mind begin to turn. He door cats usually get food, water, a bewitching whir and rustle that to oil.” from about one kilogram of plas - plucks out a burdock thistle, and shelter, a rabies shot and that’s no stringed instrument can rival. Ito demonstrated the invention tic, Ito said. what others would cast away, he about it. But this one had a piti - From the sycamore: how to yearly in a video that was released by Instead of purchasing and examines with great care. And he fully snarled coat that hung in slough off the bark of middle age United Nations University and is shipping oil from the Middle beholds in his hand not a weedy long strips like kitty dreadlocks; a and wear a crown shiny white and making its way around the Inter - East and other far-distant places, nuisance … but a singular marvel Cat-stafarian if you will. It was always new. And from the small - net. He said he has been taking Ito said the world’s overall CO2 of divine engineering. ugly, but more than that a health mouth bass: how to spit out—with the machine to undeveloped emissions would be lower if we Being the sort who keeps a mi - hazard. Should the strips pull impunity—the hooks of those countries to teach the people how simply turned plastic back into croscope around the house, Mes - away, they could’ve torn away the who would lure me into their pet to recycle their plastic garbage. oil. And we could solve a major tral decides to take a closer look. skin beneath them. projects and obligations. “When a child understands garbage disposal problem at the It’s then that he notices something Finally, for $60—four times Hopefully, I’ll stick tight long this,” he said, “the garbage gets same time. extraordinary. On the thistle’s more than I’ve ever paid for a enough to learn about that. cleaned up.” Is anybody out there listening? burrs are tiny hooks that make it haircut—we had the cat shaved. He just stuffs plastic garbage catch on loops of fur and clothing. Pink and bald as a newborn pos - Page 4 Late September 2013 The NorTh WoodS CaLL Urban sprawl & the “geography of nowhere” Opinion Many years ago—before I ever lived in northern Michigan—my Quote Box predecessor at The Antrim County North Woods Journal “Growing timber is a simple affair. All you have to do is stick a News wrote a column about urban By Mike VanBuren little tree into the right sort of ground and wait.” sprawl and development in Tra - —P.S. Lovejoy verse City. The area around Grand Traverse Transparency and U.P. mining Bay, he concluded, was a beauti - We recently spoke with officials at Graymont, a leading lime ful place “until the white man producer, who said they had not yet chosen a site for a proposed came.” quarrying operation in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. He was, as I recall, talking That may have been technically true—with a firm and final de - about the heavy traffic and view- cision forthcoming—but we have since learned that the company blocking construction along U.S. has been zeroing in on a 9,600-acre area around rexton in Mack - 31 in the mid-1970s. Today, of inac County (see related story on Page 1). course, these problems are expo - While we understand the desire to protect corporate secrets nentially worse. and to release information when it is most beneficial to manage - Northern Michigan—Traverse ment and investors, we would much prefer more transparency in City and Petoskey, in particular— matters of such consequence to citizens of the state—particularly are drawing visitors and new res - those living in the region most directly impacted by the proposed idents like steel nails to some kind mining activities. of powerful urban magnet. Recent national attention as In fact, we believe company officials and state regulators work - Early morning bustle in the village of Richland, Michigan. ing in tandem with Graymont have an obligation to share infor - great places to live and vacation mation with Michigan taxpayers, who ultimately own the lion’s have only increased the number of and industries that now surround the wisdom and will to correct our share of natural resources being sold for commercial interests. people and automobiles flocking the one-time farm community. mistakes. Urban, suburban and a strip mine and quarrying operation has a much greater im - to these areas. These days, cars and trucks rural communities should try to pact on the land than, say, a timbering operation. all the more Each time I venture into either crawl around the shady village manage growth and sprawl with reason to have a free and open civic debate—well-informed by of those communities, I’m struck square like ants on molasses. what the Sierra Club says are abundant detail—about where such operations should be located. by the additional clutter and in - They fill parking lots, clog road - “smart-growth solutions.” These If we can’t resolve these dilemmas, however, it occurs to us creased difficulty I have driving ways, and snake out in all direc - include setting boundaries for that we may need to have a discussion about which industrial ac - my own vehicle through the tions across the cluttered urban growth, preserving farm - tivities and products the modern world is willing to live without. mind-numbing congestion. landscape. And people are every - land and green space, and build - I’m sure city officials are doing where—crowding local schools ing neighborhoods that are easy An ecological prophet of doom their best to cope with all the and forcing higher taxes on us all. on pedestrians. a couple of people have asked why we haven’t swallowed the changes, but I wonder if they’re It’s an ongoing challenge faced We need better transportation notion of man-made climate change like a hungry fish—hook, line doing enough. As population fig - by cities and villages throughout choices, too—such as bike paths, and sinker. ures escalate, little seems to re - the Great Lakes region—and be - commuter trains and buses. And There are several reasons we aren’t doing more than nibbling lieve the growing pressure. Even yond. From Buffalo to Chicago we should do away with govern - at the bait. and one of them can be summed up in two words: building new and wider roads and Cleveland to Marquette, ment programs and tax policies al Gore. does not eliminate traffic conges - sprawl is increasing air and water that help create sprawl. More im - The former U.S. vice president turned carbon credit profiteer tion. The new roads just fill up pollution, devouring forests and portantly, we should insist that de - has said a lot of outrageous things over the years—and not just with cars and additional busi - wetlands, and saddling communi - caying urban areas be revitalized about the “inconvenient truth” of global warming. his dema - nesses that attract more activity. ties with the social and economic before new development is al - goguery seems to know no bounds. These problems are by no costs of unplanned growth. lowed on open rural land. Now he has reportedly compared “climate change deniers” means confined to northern Many people in Richland seem People move away from cities with “an alcoholic father who flies into a rage every time a subject Michigan. Unplanned growth and to think they can stop this hungry because they’re looking in part for is mentioned.” and he likened them to the perpetrators of his - urban sprawl have become huge monster with feeble efforts to pre - better schools, safer streets, and tory’s most egregious events, including racism, apartheid, and problems in many locations. serve local heritage. They’ve had cleaner air. They also want a sense slavery. Some folks in my hometown the village designated a historic of community and a connection to None of this is really surprising, of course, because he is fol - of Richland—a generally peace - district, and have declined to let nature. If we could address these lowing the same playbook that most so-called “progressives” use ful, well-used community in the streets be widened to accom - issues in existing urban areas, to push their often dubious desires on a confused and ill-informed lower Michigan—worry about modate the thickening traffic. there might not be a need, or a de - world. Such tactics are not only dishonest, but patently offensive, this, too. But I think it’s too little, too sire, for so many people to flee to and we long ago stopped listening to anyone who uses them. It’s not that they mind the in - late. They shouldn’t have allowed places like Richland, or rural Simply put, personal smears and the wholesale demonization creased commerce and higher tax it to get this way in the first place. communities further to the north. of others are non-starters that poison civic debate, and keep us base that come with more people Even now, little is being done to The answer lies in making all from collectively reaching concensus on issues as complex and and more development. They just stop the runaway development communities “user-friendly” and politically charged as climate change. hate having lost the quaint, small- that hugs the outskirts of the vil - livable—regardless of their size. We deserve a more genuine discussion about such conse - town atmosphere that once was lage—turning it into what writer That way, everyone can enjoy the quential matters when we engage in the public square. and it’s the village. James Howard Kuntsler calls “the benefits of a healthy environment. up to each of us to make sure we have it. Yet they should have thought geography of nowhere.” And we wouldn’t have to de - Snake oil salesmen and self-absorbed prophets of global eco - about that years ago—back when Still, I find myself hoping stroy our farmland, forests and logical disaster should be rejected in favor of clear thinking and they first began to welcome the there’s a way out of this mess. rural villages in the name of mod - verifiable facts—even if we’re tempted to bite hard on the fright - houses, apartments, businesses Some claim there is—if we have ern homesteading. ening theory of man-made climate change. When we allow ourselves to be manipulated by modern-day The North Woods Call elmer Gantrys, it’s truth and civility—more than the earth—that hang in the balance. Michigan’s Conservation Sentinel Since 1953

Patience and the civic debate Published regularly by: Newshound Productions LLC recently an Internet blogger criticized the Michigan depart - 5411 east de avenue ment of environmental Quality (deQ) over the agency’s response Kalamazoo, Michigan 49004. to the unlawful spraying by Team Services LLC of toxic brine on Telephone: (269) 342-8724 some Benzie County roadways. he accused the deQ of sternly wagging a finger at the per - E-mail: [email protected] petrator, rather than hitting the company with stiff fines and other Website: mynorthwoodscall.com punishments. Online subscription: $35 per year Come to find out, the deQ was still investigating and wanted and $60 for two years. “to get a firm understanding of what happened and what the ac - Print subscription: $55 per year tual environmental damage is” before deciding on the next steps. and $95 for two years This seems reasonable enough to us, providing the “investi - gation” is indeed completed and appropriate action is then taken. Address changes: Please send $2 to cover costs. Not to judge the blogger’s sincerity or conclusions—he may be proven right—but this is one of the problems with our civic de - Editor & Publisher: Mike VanBuren bate today. We too often leap to conclusions before all the Publishers Emeritus: facts are in. Marguerite Gahagan It’s good to watchdog public institutions and private industries Glen and Mary Lou Sheppard to make sure they do what they are supposed to be do. When advertising rates upon request. they don’t, it should be loudly pointed out. But we might want to A Newshound Publication be a little more patient before firing our guns, so we at least give Sadly, the peaceful charm of small-town America is increasingly our intended targets enough time to do what needs to be done. threatened by runaway development and urban sprawl. The NorTh WoodS CaLL Late September 2013 Page 5 Reader Comment We can fix science problems in the U.S.A Book Review Editor: and carriage industry had spent as much money on American Barns by Jan Corey Arnett The last two opinions in your paper made me think lobbying and advertising as the oil industry does of the history of our country. today. I suspect we would have lost the First World ISBN: 978-0747812494 “Oh, we can’t fly. We are not birds.” War. Published by Shire Books “We can’t go to the moon. It’s too expensive. And “Let’s wait and study the problem some more.” United Kingdom what good will it do?” The problem has been studied for 50—yes, 50—years Nothing says rural America “We can’t go to Europe and fight their battles. Let and the conclusions are still the same. quite like a big red barn. them settle it.” This is not a social problem. This is a physical— The heart of every working “We can’t have a national highway system. The a science—problem. We can fix these types of prob - farm and ranch, the barn has be - states are in charge of the highways.” lems; fix them for our own good and for the good of come an icon of hard work, “We can’t, we can’t, we can’t. coming generations. clean living and mankind’s on - But this country does things. Problems come up Remember the frog in hot water. It will jump out. going relationship to the land. and we solve them. This is the United States of But put the same frog in cool water, heat it and the This 72-page paperback book America. We solve problems. frog will stay and get cooked. by Battle Creek resident Jan So let us get our collective heads out of the sand Then remember the canary in the coal mine. Corey Arnett chronicles many and solve climate change—NOW! The sooner the types of barns. Illustrated with better. We have the tools and the skills; the technol - William Twiddy beautiful photographs—includ - ogy and the manpower. Let’s get busy. Harbor Springs, Michigan ing shots of many Michigan reader can visit. It also discusses Give the oil subsidies to the renewable energy peo - barns—it examines how these the efforts of conservation ple. Amen. We couldn’t agree more. We just need to treasures of early American ar - groups working to preserve Will there be setbacks? Of course. Will there be make sure the problems we are solving—and spend - chitecture developed. America’s barns and find ways mistakes? Yes. But look at the oil spills. Progress is ing millions upon billions of dollars in the process— The author—who grew up on to repurpose the old structures as something we do and, when we want to, we do it very are verifiably real and that ALL the information on a Stephenson-area dairy farm in homes, studios and living mon - well. which we are relying to make these decisions is ac - Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and uments to rural heritage. Think of what would have happened if the horse tually true. —Mike for many years has been in - A current move to return to volved in barn preservation the small family farm, create work—shows how a wealth of more sustainable agricultural Sen. Booher: No state fine for pig farmer immigrant construction meth - methods and make healthier (Continued from Page 3) to escape—the department devel - day and not the next—simply be - ods, as well as a range of envi - food available locally, offers Now, incredibly, through the oped this outrageous rule that tar - cause the DNR director said so ronments and climates, resulted many heritage barns a chance at lawsuit that Mark filed, the de - gets only certain breeds. and couldn’t be bothered to sim - in a fascinating variety of barn new life. partment is claiming that Mark Thankfully, it’s not too late. ply take a bit of time to promul - styles throughout the United Get your signed copy today has admitted to having invasive State officials can still do the right gate some sensible regulations to States. from the author at: species and should be fined thing and just repeal the invasive ensure pigs didn’t become feral. Well-written and informative, www.jancoreyarnett.com. $10,000 per pig—or an astound - species order. They could then Like Mark, several other oper - this book highlights many fa - It’s the perfect gift for any ing $700,000! That is right, the work to institute common sense ators in Michigan have also been mous and historic barns that the barn enthusiast. state wants to fine Mark nearly wronged by this action and forced changes that would better address three quarters of a million dollars by the state into the same corner feral pigs in Michigan, and not in - simply because of the breed of pig as Mark. Consequently, they have stantaneously make criminals out Allegan Game Area fracking suit that he produces on his farm. also filed lawsuits to protect their of law abiding citizens and take Of course, if Mark was “just” businesses, their property and away their property and their liv - (Continued from Page 1) poaching deer, he would only be their livelihoods. Not surprisingly, ing. As this lawsuit heads to trial, Beier Howlett PC in Bloomfield Hills. After conducting an exhaustive subject to a $1,000 fine. If he rather than allow Michigan citi - I hope the DNR, attorney general, search, Haynes said he has been unable to uncover any BLM notice to were driving drunk, he would zens who will serve as jurors to and Governor Snyder see how the public about this proposal, according to a related news release. only be subject to a $2,000 fine. decide whether the department’s shameful this decision is and re - “Apparently, BLM provided neither direct notice of the proposal to Or, heaven forbid, if he were sell - actions were right or wrong, the consider their decision and ac - affected persons and local units of government,” he said, “nor solicited ing crack cocaine to our children, DNR and their team of taxpayer- tions. public comment, both of which the BLM should have done.” he would only face a $10,000 funded attorneys have continually Mark Baker is a fighter, but this “We’ve lived in the area for 38 years and never heard any mention fine. sought to delay, or dismiss, the is not a fair fight, so I will con - of the federal government owning any interest whatsoever in the Instead of prohibiting all peo - case. tinue to stand behind Mark and ASGA,” said Marybeth Pritschet, who with her husband owns a house ple from hunting simply because All of the actions taken by the the other farmers who are fighting and 40 acres contiguous with the game area. “No doubt it’s very con - a few people choose to poach state—from first issuing the inva - against this disgraceful ruling. venient for the companies and the BLM to exclude public involvement.” deer, or stopping all people from sive species order, to its imple - And, I urge you to join me in The Davises created a conservation easement on their land to en - driving because some people do mentation, to the stall tactics and that fight by calling the gover - hance the natural values of the ASGA and to protect its wildlife habitat. choose to drive drunk, we pass indefensible fines—were done be - nor’s office (517-373-3400) and They are financing the litigation with their own personal savings. laws to clearly and specifically cause of a bureaucratic ruling, not request that he join me at Mark The Center for Biological Diversity, which successfully brought a address those behaviors. We do because it was required by law. Baker’s farm to see the issue first - similar action against the BLM in California last year, is supporting the not simply have some bureaucrat Instead of taking a common sense hand, and then work with me on a lawsuit. make a rule that prohibits hunting approach to prevent the release of common sense solution that does - “Fracking pollution poses enormous threats to Allegan County’s and driving. feral swine—such as requiring n’t put our law abiding, hard - water and to the endangered species in this important wildlife habitat,” Unfortunately, that is not the tags on all pigs, or increasing the working, small family farms out Marc Fink, a Center for Biological Diversity attorney, said. “The fed - case for Mark Baker. The her - penalties for those who purpose - of business. eral government should protect these public lands—not auction them itage pigs he raised were legal one fully release hogs or allow them off for dangerous drilling and fracking.” DNR’s Golder: Michigan needs protection against Russian boar pigs (Continued from Page 3) Industries, Potato Growers of did not get into the wild. The leg - time to adjust their business prac - tinue to try to confuse citizens by Invasive swine may carry dis - Michigan and Michigan Agri- islation passed in the state House tices. suggesting that “heritage” breeds ease to domestic livestock, root up Business Association. of Representatives. It was Sen. Sen. Booher defends one par - of swine have been made illegal in farm fields, even eat upland game Michigan knows about invasive Booher and his colleagues who ticular local farmer, Mark Baker of Michigan. That is simply not so. birds, small mammals and fawns. species. The Asian carp continues failed to move that legislation Missaukee County, while ignoring Every type of pig is legal to raise Southern states such as Texas, to threaten our Great Lakes. It’s through the Senate. With no rea - the concerns of a much larger in Michigan except Russian boar Mississippi and Florida have worth noting – and remembering – sonable alternatives to protect the group of farmers and conserva - and Russian boar hybrids—the watched feral pigs become an ex - that Asian carp came into the Mis - state’s natural resources against tionists. But DNR policies must very type of pig Mr. Baker has pensive plague, estimated to cost sissippi River basin from fish this threat, the DNR had to declare encompass the interests of all openly admitted to owning. the United States $1.5 billion a stocking ponds where they were the Russian boar an invasive farmers and protect the state’s nat - Given Mr. Baker’s admission, year. This threat is the reason that supposedly being held “captive.” species under Michigan law. ural resources for the benefit of all Sen. Booher’s complaints about a broad coalition of groups contin - Now they are threatening incalcu - Russian boar were not legal one Michigan residents. “subjective characteristics” used to ues to support the prohibition on lable harm to the world’s greatest day and illegal the next, as Sen. Sen. Booher accuses the DNR identify Russian boar are nonsen - Russian boar in Michigan. freshwater lakes system. “Cap - Booher suggests. The DNR un - and the Michigan Attorney Gen - sical. Mr. Baker himself has iden - The coalition includes Michi - tive” invasives—whether four- derstood the potential impact that eral’s office of continually seeking tified the type of pig he owns, as gan’s largest conservation group, footed or finned—pose just as the Invasive Species Order could to “delay” Mr. Baker’s court case. could any farmer. the Michigan United Conservation great a threat to our state as those have on some individuals. As a re - However, many of the delays in The DNR will continue to work Clubs, as well as the Michigan that are in the wild. sult, the DNR delayed the effective Mr. Baker’s case have been the re - closely with our partners in the Wildlife Conservancy. Also sup - Throughout the process that led date of the Invasive Species Order sult of his attorney’s actions. If Legislature to identify needed pro - porting the Invasive Species Order to the Invasive Species Order, the for 10 months and then delayed Mr. Baker is eager for a quick res - tections for Michigan’s farmers, is a large group of agricultural or - DNR sought to find a reasonable enforcement for an additional six olution, it’s surprising that his at - citizens and world-class natural re - ganizations, including the Michi - solution. The DNR supported sen - months. This time was meant to torneys have missed by more than sources. We’ll look forward to gan Pork Producers Association, sible legislation that would have allow the Legislature time to come a year the court-imposed deadline constructive proposals from Sen. the Michigan Milk Producers As - provided adequate fence regula - up with an alternative solution, as for naming expert witnesses. Booher that will advance those sociation, Michigan Allied Poultry tions to make sure Russian boar well as to give affected individuals Mr. Baker and Sen. Booher con - goals. Page 6 Late September 2013 The NorTh WoodS CaLL “Fracking” reports are published More Opinion University of Michigan re - to analyze the fracking practice searchers have released seven and recommend policy options to technical reports that together, government officials, industry ex - Fall is a great time for studying spiders they say, form the most compre - perts, academics, advocacy groups At the end of summer, we ex - hensive Michigan-focused re - and the general public. perience all kinds of sounds— source on hydraulic fracturing—a The reports can be found on the sounds of insects and the young The Natural World controversial natural gas and oil university’s website and public bird fledglings of the year. By Richard Schinkel extraction process commonly comments—which will be used to Many birds are just learning to known as “fracking.” inform the second phase of the make the traditional sounds of the The studies, totaling nearly 200 project, not to revise the current parents and can be very confus - Most spiders spin webs to do The orb weavers can have an pages, examine seven critical top - reports—are being sought through ing. Insects have been producing different things. Most often the array of colors and usually have ics related to the use of the tech - Oct. 7 via an online form. young all summer and now we are web is used to catch insects, but large bodies. nique—technology, geology & The next North Woods Call will probably at the peak of the popu - can also be used to attract a mate A spider that doesn’t carry the hydrogeology, environment & examine the major findings— lation. with the proper placement of same tactics of spinning webs is ecology, public health, policy & which acknowledge that high-vol - We are also at the peak of the pheromones. Once the spiders the fisher spider. It actually hunts law, economics and public percep - ume hydraulic fracturing can help spider population. As we get out mate, they lay eggs in sacs and small fish, insects and other tions. access natural gas reserves, but on those dewey and even frosty can attach them to the web, put aquatic creatures. Also known as The reports represent the first conclude that potential impacts to mornings, enjoy the sometimes them underground, or place them raft or dock spiders, they can ac - phase of a two-year project—ex - the environment and public health intricate webs the spiders build. on their bodies. tually dive under water. When pected to be completed in 2014— must also be addressed. There are only two poisonous When the eggs hatch, the young they go under water, they are en - spiders found in the United States, disperse quickly, because they are cased in a bubble of air. They the black widow and brown re - extremely hungry and will eat hunt by sitting on the edge of a Outdoor Rhythms cluse. The black widow is not their siblings. To move, they spin body of water, watching for a tiny By Doug Freeman real common in Michigan and the out a flat silk thread that will carry ripple. Soon, the spider will scoot brown recluse is not indigenous to them away. across the water to capture the Michigan. There have only been Often, when hunting or hiking prey with its foremost legs— a handful (3 to 5) reported cases in the fall, you may feel a web hit which are equipped with claws— Hoofbeats in the midst of a mist of the brown recluse presence. your face. Most often this is a and then inject venom into the Most often, the wolf spider is newly hatched spider ballooning prey. Working a second shift job requires me to do much of our barn ani - misidentified as the brown re - or “kiting” its way to freedom. A A unique way to locate and mals’ care around noon and midnight. Most of the farm folks out this cluse, as it is one of the most com - field of ballooning spiders is study spiders is to shine them at way hit their beds just after dark and rise before dawn, so I’m consid - mon and gets large and scary. The called a gossamer. night. Unlike shining deer and ered a bit odd, if not downright eccentric. brown recluse usually can be ac - Some pretty spiders that show other wildlife, it isn’t illegal. It Though my routine is different, our goats, chickens, cats, dogs and counted for having been trans - up in the fall are the black and yel - takes a bit of technique to get it thick-necked miniature horse have all adapted well over the years. ported in from the south. low argiope. It spins a web in a right, but when you master the art One cool September night not long ago, after the barn cleaning, feed - The black widow we have here circle and can often be found in it can be fun. Take a flashlight, ings, and bucket refills had been completed, I sent our hoofed critters is the northern black widow. The the center of the web. hold it next your eye and scan into the big pasture out back, where they could enjoy a couple hours of greatest abundance is on the west - Other fall spiders that spin cir - your surroundings. You should peaceful grazing. The chicken girls had returned to their coop, allow - ern coast, but it can be found cles are quite colorful and, when see tiny emerald sparkles of light. ing the barn lights to be doused. My watch read quarter-past one. throughout the state—although I was a kid, I collected them. My Walk toward the spider until you A bright half-moon had risen over the eastern tree-tops, inspiring a far from common. As the name mother wouldn’t allow them in see its body. This is a fun activity deviation from the path leading up to our house. I took a stroll down the implies, it is black and the under - the house, however, so I kept for kids of all ages. county road instead, keeping to shadows and making as little noise as side has a red or orange hour glass them in the granary in individual One thing that you will dis - possible. shape. The male is smaller than jars and let them go after a couple cover is the large number of spi - A pair of barred owls chorused back and forth from their favorite the female. weeks. ders you will locate. One source grove above Pierson’s Creek. Three deer glided across the road ahead, Traditionally, black widows The silk produced by spiders is has estimated that there are more slipping into a field of well-tended corn without making a sound. were encountered while picking one of the strongest fibers in na - spiders per square foot in a I decided to leave the pavement to check on some young trees re - berries, in and around brush and ture. Some of the most intricate meadow than any other inverte - cently planted along our southern boundary. Ground fog was forming in outhouses that are not used webs are spun by a group of spi - brate. as each small tree was examined by moonlight. Everything was fine. often. The bite is usually not ders called the orb weavers and Get kids outdoors and they will The owls were still yakking. The fog thickened into a surrealistic swirl fatal, but needs to be treated by a they are most abundant in the fall, find these things for themselves. as it expanded and engulfed me where I stood. doctor. with webs glistening dew or frost. Two dark blobs appeared suddenly out of the mist in an adjacent Our largest spiders—wolf and field. They grew larger, and were clearly moving closer. fisher spiders—can reach nearly Bears? The word popped into my head. One had been seen wan - four inches across, including the dering the lakeshore only a few weeks earlier. legs. A loud snort startled me. Then came a gleam of recognition and a Even though we only have two sense of relief. Quarter horses. Belonging to our neighbors. They’d spiders that pose a real threat, all stopped about twenty feet away to look me over. spiders can bite and many inflict Faith and Moby—a gentle mare and her fully-grown son. We’d met a painful wound. It's always good before. I asked them what they were doing out on such a foggy night. No response. to be careful with any insect, spi - Many kinds of spiders, such as black widows (left), argiopes (mid - Moby was known to have a strong protective instinct, coupled with der, or anything that has a mouth. dle) and orb weavers (right) can be found in Michigan. a tendency to bite and kick. Having read some of Monty Robert’s en - lightening books, I figured it might be a good idea to make myself seem A polarized environment: Who’s to blame? less threatening. Paul Sabin, a professor at Yale University, wrote a magazine, writer and journalist Naomi Klein—who I turned away and knelt slowly, tearing up a handful of wild grass. thought-provoking column in the Boston Globe ear - is examining the issue of climate change in an up - In less than a minute, while munching on the seedy tips, I felt a horse lier this month about the decline of Republican envi - coming book yet to be titled—acknowledged that chin come to rest on my shoulder. Then the other. Faith and Moby had ronmentalism over the past quarter-century. there is a “dual denialism” at work. Conservatives relaxed and were watching me eat. My scent and voice were no doubt There are numerous reasons for this phenomenon, may deny what many believe is verifiable science, familiar to them. I felt temporarily accepted into their herd. he said—not the least of which are the increasingly she said, but liberals deny the political [and eco - The next major task would be to lead them home safely, so I set out partisan political alliances of environmental groups. nomic] implications of the science. on a direct line to their paddock. They followed. We came upon a laden “Environmentalists exacerbated the Republican “I think there is a very deep denialism in the envi - pear tree, causing a delay. My barn was nearby, but I didn’t have any shift away from environmental issues by allying ronmental movement among the Big Green groups,” halters large enough for a pair of 900-pound horses. forcefully with the Democratic Party,” Sabin wrote. she said. “And to be very honest with you, I think I rubbed faces and kissed a furry nose or two, trying to urge my new “Environmental groups gave [former President it’s been more damaging than the right-wing denial - herd mates to move on. Unfortunately, Moby trotted off into the fog, George Herbert Walker Bush, for example,] little ism in terms of how much ground we’ve lost, because shadowed by his mom. The sound of their hoof-falls receded to the credit for his accomplishments.” it has steered us in directions that have yielded very west. At least they were traveling away from the road. Among other things, Sabin said, Bush was con - poor results.” I sprinted to the house and phoned our neighbors. No one picked cerned with population growth and shared the envi - It’s important to ask, she said, “why green groups up. Sound sleepers. A message on their answering machine was the ronmental movement’s goals of improving the have been so unwilling to follow science to its logi - best I could do. nation’s air and water. cal conclusions. I think the scientists Kevin Anderson The remainder of that night was spent patrolling the county road on “When they denounced Bush for his failings and and his colleague, Alice Bows, at the Tyndall Centre foot. Cars are not frequent during the hours of darkness, but some of allowed Democrats to claim the environmental man - have been the most courageous in this ... because they them cruise by at 70 or 80 mph—way too fast for a road with kids and tle exclusively for themselves, environmentalists have been saying for at least a decade that getting to livestock, and a speed limit of 45. helped to drive both parties to the extremes,” he the emissions reduction levels that we need to get to I was prepared to flag down anyone passing by with a flashlight wrote. “The Democrats veered toward warning of in the developed world is not compatible with eco - should the errant equines appear again, but they didn’t. Faith and Moby environmental apocalypse, while many Republicans nomic growth.” had run free all night, and slipped into their paddock through a busted went to the other pole, denying the threat of environ - In the end, economic and ecological issues need to fence just at dawn, their owner told me later that morning. And my mental problems.” be addressed simultaneously, Klein said, requiring boss wondered why I was dragging at work in the afternoon. In a somewhat related interview Sept. 5 in Salon all sides to address the broader realities of the debate. I told her I’d been up all night playing with horses in the fog. The NorTh WoodS CaLL Late September 2013 Page 7 Conservation Officer Logs (8/5/13 through 8/18/13) Off-road fatality, third-generation scofflaw, assorted pipe bombs & more DISTRICT 1 (Marquette) where he was transported to a de - CO to his truck before realizing and Todd Szyska contacted the CO Dennis Gast observed a compression chamber. he had just admitted to fishing, operator of a 38 foot yacht due to boat on a small inland lake with CO Carl VanderWall reports and lying about it. it not displaying a Michigan reg - two subjects fishing. Upon con - a defendant was found guilty for istration. The owner/operator of tact, CO Gast found that the boat the illegal killing of two goslings DISTRICT 7 (Plainwell) the vessel had never checked on was unregistered and there were with a paintball gun, and ordered CO Andy Bauer worked the the status of his expired tempo - no personal flotation devices on to pay $1,285 in fines, costs and St. Joseph River system for illegal rary registration permit. In fact board. Both subjects were fishing reimbursement. He killed the fishing activity related to summer the operator/owner stated he had without licenses; both were sus - geese because they were defecat - run steelhead. CO Bauer ob - an additional temporary permit is - pended and had warrants out for ing on his lawn. served a man and his 16-year-old sued that was 10 days more cur - their arrest. Enforcement action Sgt. Greg Drogowski recov - son fishing near a dam. CO Bauer rent than the one he had handed was taken for the fishing viola - ered a stolen shotgun from a sub - watched the father offer his son a over. Unfortunately, that permit tions and the subjects had to post ject after a different individual drink from a plastic water bottle and the one in hand still showed bond to prevent a trip to the was suspected of stealing the and, when the son turned it down, that the vessel was overdue 20 county jail. firearm. The investigation in - they ran into the woods. CO the father drank the water and days from the last issued tempo - CO Dave Miller reports there volved several people and re - Hearn made a traffic stop on the threw the bottle into the river. CO rary registration. Enforcement ac - was an off-road vehicle (ORV) fa - sulted in confessions obtained van, and identified the driver as Bauer made contact and issued tion was taken. tality in Baraga County. The op - from witnesses and the suspect. the mother of a juvenile in the the subject a ticket for littering. COs Kris Kiel , Mike Drexler , erator was not wearing a helmet Multiple felony charges are pend - group. She called her son and he CO Andy Bauer and Sgt. and Todd Szyska contacted sev - and crashed his ORV. The crash ing. The suspect was only re - returned to the road, now shirtless, Zach Doss patrolled Lake Michi - eral anglers on a yacht, fishing on was possibly the result of the op - cently released from prison and with his 17-year-old friend. The gan over the weekend and ob - Lake St. Clair. Two subjects were erator having a heart attack. was still on parole/probation. third person was identified but served a 39-foot boat from Illinois standing on the back of the water COs Dave Miller and Mark was not found. The juvenile has being operated without registra - deck transom of the vessel with Leadman worked several com - DISTRICT 4 (Cadillac) been told several times not to be tion and with a five-year-old boy fishing poles in hand. When plaints of early bear baits and tres - CO Justin Vanderlinde re - on the property. He was released on board who was not wearing a asked for their fishing licenses, passing in Ontonagon County. sponded to a complaint in Manis - to his mother, and the 17-year-old personal flotation device. Upon the third member of the vessel did Several illegal ORV trails and il - tee County of a deer being shot was told to walk home. A deputy stopping the vessel, the owner all the talking. The speaker was legal blinds were located on pri - illegally. CO Vanderlinde ob - arrived on scene and took a quick stated that the boat was docu - the father and was trying to talk vate property and one illegal bear tained a photo and name of a po - walk, following their path through mented and therefore did not need on behalf of his son and his bait was located. tential suspect. After several the woods. A cold bottle of cola to be registered. After an expla - nephew. However, both male CO Dave Painter had a busy interviews with multiple subjects, was found, along with an un - nation of the law, enforcement ac - subjects were 18 and 17, and nei - week on local lakes in Iron CO Vanderlinde was able to de - opened pint of whisky. It just so tion was taken for both offenses. ther of them had a fishing license. County. Two subjects were tick - termine who illegally shot the happens the 17-year-old and 18- Further, the nephew stated he did eted for fishing without a license. deer and removed the backstraps. year-old were on probation for al - DISTRICT 8 (Rose Lake) not have his license on him, and One subject was the third genera - Evidence was secured and an in - cohol related violations and due in While conducting a late-night then it materialized magically out tion family member to be arrested vestigative report was forwarded court the next day. Their proba - patrol in the Rose Lake Wildlife of his pocket after more question - by CO Painter for game and fish to the prosecutor’s office for the tion officers were contacted. Area, CO Rich Nickols came ing. The nephew was an Alaska violations. issuance of arrest warrants. CO Chris Bowen responded to across an extremely large party on resident here on vacation. The CO Mike Wells was working a wildfire complaint in Roscom - state land. Over one hundred col - spokesperson stated he had taken DISTRICT 2 (Newberry) a complaint on the Muskegon mon County. During his investi - lege-age subjects had gathered for the boys to the local fishing store CO Robert Crisp assisted River of subjects taking over-lim - gation of the origin, it was the party and many were still ar - to buy the licenses, but his son did local deputies with an ORV acci - its of trout. CO Wells located two determined that a subject had riving when CO Nickols came not have his driver’s license with dent. Two youths in a side-by- subjects matching the suspect de - been shooting Dragons Breath across them. CO Nickols was him and nothing was really said side ORV had struck a tree head scription and watched them for shotgun shells, which are essen - able to coordinate with township about the Alaska nephew. How - on. They were taken to Munising approximately four hours. The tially large firecrackers. The sub - and county police officers to dis - ever, the spokesperson was clear Hospital with minor injuries. The trout were not biting well and the ject admitted to shooting the perse the crowd. Many of the to state that he did purchase his ORV was a complete loss. subjects caught few fish. When explosive, which led to the start under-21 subjects had not (yet) fishing license that day and CO Jeff Panich stopped two contacted, one of the subjects pos - and escape of a wildfire. En - consumed any alcohol and were bought the night crawlers. En - subjects on Drummond Island on sessed three undersized trout and forcement action was taken. warned for the state land viola - forcement action was taken as top of Marble Head for operating the other possessed two under - CO Chris Bowen was on pa - tions. The investigation is contin - well as $100 dollars bond for the an ORV in a closed area. The ille - sized trout. When asked if they trol and made contact with a wood uing into the party organizer. out-of-state Alaska resident. gal operation took them within measured the fish, the subjects an - cutter. He witnessed the subjects While on marine patrol, CO COs Kris Kiel , Mike Drexler , inches of falling off a cliff. This swered that they didn’t have to be - cutting a standing live oak tree. Rich Nickols observed three sub - and T odd Szyska contacted two safety concern was mentioned by cause the trout were dead due to During the interview, the subjects jects who were shore fishing and subjects in a small inflatable row - the CO and one of the subjects swallowing the hook and they told CO Bowen they cut the live getting ready to leave. CO Nick - boat one mile off shore from complained, “we’re all adults didn’t want to waste them. Dur - oak tree because there was a dead ols watched a subject pull a Metro Beach. The small inflat - here” and that nobody would ever ing CO Wells’ observations, the limb at the top of it that they stringer out of the water and put it able was being tossed around vio - drive off a cliff.” As the CO ex - subjects made no attempt to meas - couldn’t get to. The subjects were in a cooler. It appeared that there lently by large vessel wake. The plained how quickly accidents can ure the fish and just threw them ticketed. were a couple questionable sized vessel was occupied by a 24-year- happen, another ORV approached into their bag after unhooking the bass on the stringer. CO Nickols old subject and his nine-year-old and the driver accidently hit the trout. The fish were seized as ev - DISTRICT 6 (Bay City) beached his patrol boat and con - nephew. No personal flotation gas instead of the brake, causing idence and tickets were issued for CO Joshua Wright received a tacted the subjects at their vehicle. devices were on board the vessel. her to crash head-on into a tree. the possession of undersized fish. complaint that a person who was One bass was 13 inches and the When the adult was asked why The subject was OK, other than a metal detecting on state land other was 14 inches. The subject they did not have any life jackets, few bumps and bruises. The inci - DISTRICT 5 (Roscommon) found an unusual object that was who caught the bass also had a his response was that his nephew dent proved the point the CO was CO Brian Olsen was on ma - buried. CO Wright went to the warrant for his arrest. A ticket was a “real good swimmer.” The making and was well taken by the rine patrol when he observed an complainant’s house and quickly was issued and the subject was nine-year-old, the adult, and the complaining subject. Tickets unregistered personal watercraft identified the objects as pipe turned over to the Michigan State rowboat were placed on board the were issued for operating in a (PWC). Upon contact, it was bombs and a shrapnel bomb. The Police on the warrant. patrol boat, and were driven back closed area. learned the operator was a juve - residences around the com - to a residence several canals off of CO Kyle Publiski is investi - nile without the proper safety cer - plainant’s house were quickly DISTRICT 9 (Southfield) the lake. Enforcement action was gating a subject from Drummond tificate. CO Olsen gave a verbal evacuated and the Michigan State COs Kris Kiel , Mike Drexler , taken. Island who cut 15 large maple warning for the violations to the Police (MSP) Bomb Squad was trees from state land. Though all juvenile and his father. Two days called to the scene. The bomb were good saw logs for lumber, later, CO Olsen located the same squad determined that all the Marketplace of the North the subject cut them all into fire - unregistered PWC operating on components were there for seven Classified Ads wood and had been selling the the same lake with the same father pipe bombs and one shrapnel wood locally. who had been warned earlier. A bomb, but none of them were SPECTACULAR, INTIMATE HUNTING CABIN /entertainment fa - different approach was taken this completely put together. Further cility surrounded by spruce, 20 north of harbor Springs. Magazine DISTRICT 3 (Gaylord) time with a ticket issued for the investigation is being conducted featured. 1350’ plus loft, 10 bunks, gorgeous stone fireplace. 250 CO Bill Webster was pa - violation. by the CO and the MSP. acres (156 owned), trails, food plots, feeders, blinds, tractor, im - trolling with the U S Coast Guard CO Mike Hearn was pa - CO Dan Lee watched a couple (USCG) on Lake Huron, checking trolling a parcel of private land of anglers for a while on a local plements and barn. Photo slide show. (248) 417-7300. diving vessels, when they con - that historically has had ORV tres - river. When he contacted the pair, tacted a diver who was having a pass issues. While leaving the one of the men stated that he was VIDEO & BOOK— Buck Lake Ranch: Nashville of the North . a 78- decompression-related emer - property he observed three sub - not fishing. The CO asked the an - minute documentary and 133-page softcover book about a his - gency. CO Webster, realizing the jects walking down the private gler to come with him to his pa - toric rural music park near angola, Indiana. $20 each, plus severity of the situation, arranged drive, who had just gotten out of a trol truck and bring the pole he shipping and handling. For more information, see the Newshound to have him loaded on the USCG van on the county road. As soon had been using to fish. The man Productions page at www.mynorthwoodscall.com. boat and taken to a landing site, as the subjects observed the CO, picked up a pole and followed the “The newspaper for people who love the north.”

Published twice monthly (except one issue in January, april, July and october) by Newshound Productions LLC, 5411 east de av- enue, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49004. First-class postage paid at Kalamazoo, Michigan, and additional mailing offices. online sub- scriptions $35 per year and $60 per two years. Print subscriptions $55 per year and $95 for two years. PoSTMaSTer: Send address changes to The North Woods Call , 5411 east de avenue, Kala- mazoo, Michigan 49004. M DOT Code: 8021-0068 Page 8 Late September 2013 The NorTh WoodS CaLL Turning pine cones into profit Final Shot Here’s an opportunity to make est land. If pine cones aren’t col - a few bucks while helping the lected yearly, those seedlings Michigan Department of Natural won’t be produced. Resources’ (DNR) keep state The pine cones sold to the forests healthy and sustainable. DNR can help produce seed and This fall, as they are ripening, seedlings that will reforest habi - you can collect red and jack pine tats crucial to the survival of many cones and sell them to the DNR species like deer, turkey and many by visiting offices in Cadillac, other game and non-game Gaylord, Manistique and Mar - species, including the federally quette. The seeds are placed in endangered Kirtland’s warbler. cold storage at the DNR-operated In addition to the Kirtland’s Wyman State Nursery until warbler habitat, the DNR also fo - needed. cuses its reforestation efforts on Each bushel of pine cones can sites that have been harmed by net between $30 and $35 for the natural disasters like wildfire. person willing to put in some September and October are sweat equity. generally the best months to col - “The annual pine cone buying lect pine cones. Only cones that program provides an opportunity are tight (unopened) and clean for residents to contribute to the (free of sticks, debris, rot, decay DNR’s rejuvenation efforts and and fungus) will be accepted. help produce millions of seedlings Keep the cones cool to ensure that will help sustain Michigan’s that they do not begin to compost; state forest land,” said Bill the seeds will die at high temper - Sinkhole Lakes O’Neill, chief of the DNR’s For - atures. After the DNR purchases They’re not your average sinkholes that gobble up houses and cars in places like Florida. Many such nat - est Resources Division (FRD). the pine cones, they are dried and ural geologic features in northeast Michigan—like this one in the Pigeon River Country State Forest— Michigan’s forests are known the seeds are extracted and have filled with groundwater to form spring-fed lakes, offering expanded opportunities for cold-water for their breathtaking beauty, cleaned. anglers. Once used as fisheries research sites by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), sheer size and inviting spaces. “Collected seeds can be stored the seven sinkhole lakes in the Pigeon River Country have since been opened to public fishing and other These forest lands are carefully several years, so your contribution recreational uses, which has resulted in overuse and erosion along the steep surrounding banks. That’s managed for timber, wildlife, will help the DNR grow jack and why Huron Pines of Gaylord is spearheading a conservation project to protect the clear, blue-green water. recreation, aesthetic and ecologi - red pine seedlings now and well Working with the DNR and the Headwaters Chapter of Trout Unlimited, the organization has been stabi - cal values—all of which play an into the future,” O’Neill said. lizing the banks, constructing proper foot trails and generally improving access to the lakes. The work has important role in the state’s econ - People interested in picking already been completed at three of the lakes, and more will be done this fall and into 2014. For additional omy through forest-based indus - and selling cones to the DNR this information on the projects, contact Sam Prentice at (989) 448-2293, extension 17, or write samuel@huron - try and tourism. fall can contact the FRD staff per - pines.org. Collaboration is important son in their area for more infor - when it comes to successfully mation and to find out the dates No spinning-wing decoys on Harsen’s Island managing Michigan’s state forest each office will buy cones from land to meet these needs. the public. A three-year ban on spinning- motion—whether mechanized, or The Michigan Department of “It is no small job,” said Cadillac: Sue Sobieski, 231- wing decoys at the Harsen’s Is - wind-powered. It is believed that Natural Resources sought public O’Neill, who also serves as 775-9727, ext. 6904 land Unit of the St. Clair Flats such decoys reduce the quality of comment, held meetings and had Michigan’s state forester. “Last Gaylord: Tim Greco, 989-732- State Wildlife Area (St. Clair hunting within the close quarters conversations with hunters and spring alone, FRD staff planted 3541, ext. 5041 County) has been enacted, begin - of managed hunt zones at hunting groups before adopting more than 7 million seedlings on Manistique: Richard Mergener, ning with the 2013-14 waterfowl Harsen’s Island. the ban, officials said. The state forest land—reforesting 906-341-2518 hunting season. A similar ban has been in place agency will now evaluate the im - around 7,500 acres.” Marquette: Tom Seablom 906- The ban prohibits the use of at the Shiawassee River State pacts of the policy during the ban. Many of the seedlings used in 228-6561 any decoys with a spinning-wing Game Area for three years. —Michigan DNR the DNR’s planting efforts come For more information about the Please join the from Wyman. The Manistique- DNR’s reforestation efforts and Support The North Woods Call based facility produces 5 million state forest planning, visit North Woods Call to 7.5 million seedlings annually www.michigan.gov/forestplan. and Michigan conservation community to help replenish Michigan’s for - —Michigan DNR

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The collection of writings by long - time North Woods Call Publisher Glen Sheppard is out-of-print, but we picked up a handful of Electronic subscriptions: new copies from Shep’s estate $35 per year, or $60 for two years and are offering them to the next few individuals who claim them.

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