The Michigan Mountain Biking Association, in conjunction with the Washtenaw County Parks system will open a new mountain bike trail this Sunday at the Sharon Mills County Park to the north of Manchester.  The new trail follows the banks of Sharon Hollow, a beautiful area along a River Raisin impoundment.  See this link at the Michigan Mountain Biking Association forums for more details:

http://www.mmba.org/viewtopic.php?t=83255&highlight=sharon+mills+map

Here’s the MMBA map:

Charles Slat at the Monroe Evening News has a report indicating that the National Park Service is speeding up its study of the River Raisin Battlefield related to its proposed inclusion within the NPS.  Excerpt and link:

Federal officials are accelerating their study of whether the River Raisin battlefield should become part of the National Parks System, and area residents will have a chance on Oct. 28 and 29 to voice their views on the matter.

“Given the intense interest in this study, we are now planning to have a complete draft of the study for the public next summer,” said Ruth Heikkinen, study project manager for the National Parks Service, in a letter to William H. Braunlich, president of the Monroe County Historical Society.

Mr. Braunlich credited the efforts of U.S. Rep. John D. Dingell, D-Dearborn, with helping to shorten the study timetable.

“We will get this battlefield,” Mr. Dingell said, “but we want to get it in time to celebrate the 2012 anniversary” of the War of 1812.

Full story:

http://www.monroenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081008/NEWS01/110089982/-1/NEWS_RSS

It is Fall color season.  Several articles in the Michigan press have updates on the color in certain areas.  Here are the links:

http://wluctv6.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=202120

http://blog.mlive.com/bctimes/2008/10/autumns_palette_fall_color_eme.html

http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081004/NEWS01/81004014/1002/rss

http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/09/30/ddn093008leaves.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=16

http://blog.mlive.com/traveling_coach/2008/09/m22_manistee_benzie_and_leelan.html

The Detroit Free Press has a story about a man who has found four shipwrecks in NW Lower Michigan in recent years.  One is just off the coast of South Manitou Island.  Link:

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081005/NEWS06/810050456/1008/NEWS

Several articles related to possible cougars in Michigan passed through my Google reader today.  Here are the links:

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081006/NEWS06/810060367/1008

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081006/NEWS01/810060332/1002/NEWS01

http://www.mlive.com/news/chronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-15/1223115323121270.xml&coll=8

The Jackson Citizen Patriot reports in today’s editions that the black bear sighted in Jackson County and near Manchester is now located near Saline.  I recommend reading the full article for information on the great southward migration of large wildlife in the State of Michigan:

A bear showed up in August in Henrietta Township, then wandered to Chelsea and Manchester, and last week was seen near Saline. The DNR plans to live-trap the bear, fit it with a radio collar and track it to learn more about the southern movement of bears.

Biologists hope the bear will be easier to locate when it prepares to hibernate this fall, spokeswoman Mary

Dettloff said.

A wolverine videotaped in the Thumb, beavers in the Grand River in Jackson, coyotes in Detroit and Jackson, booming populations of Canada geese and greater sandhill cranes, and highways littered with deer carcasses and fur-bearers indicate nature is thriving in many ways.

Full Story:

http://www.mlive.com/news/citpat/index.ssf?/base/news-26/1223201123271450.xml&coll=3&thispage=1

Is is not every day that one gets the chance to thank the people responsible for a great hike personally.  But I had that opportunity on Saturday afternoon at Michigan State University’s MacCready Reserve in Jackson County’s Liberty Township.

The story of the reserve is really the story of the MacCready family.  For roughly a hundred years, the family  nurtured the forests, lakes, hills and wetlands located on 408 acres northeast of the intersection of Skiff Lake Rd. and Jefferson Rd.

So, it was appropriate that soon after I left the Skiff Lake Road trailhead, I ran into the MacCready family.  I didn’t realize it at first.  I just kept on saying polite “Hellos” as nearly a dozen family members passed.  But then I stopped to talk to Doug and Carrie MacCready.  They told me some of the family history and recommended some particularly scenic locations within the reserve.

I thanked them heartily because the property was valued at roughly $1.5 million at the time of its donation to the Michigan State University Department of Forestry.

The trail system in the reserves is now quite developed.  Three routes with total trail lengths of 6.5 miles cross the reserve.  It is possible to hike most of the 6.5 miles if one creatively routes a hike in a back and forth manner across the preserve.  That is what I did on Saturday.

The yellow trail follows Skiff Lake Road for a bit before turning into some very nice hills with views of three lakes and a wetland area.  A mature pine forest creates some dramatic scenery and a small wooden bench allows for a pleasant resting spot.

The blue trail is the most hilly system in the reserve.  These hills box the preserve from surrounding roadways.  It is possible to hike through the center portions of the reserve without hearing the sound of civilization.  It is quite impressive.

Perhaps the most scenic location in the reserve comes at the top of a tall hill on the blue trail.  It looks down on a lily-pad covered pond that was just beginning to show fall color on this particular Saturday.  Most of the MacCready Reserve is covered in relatively dense forest.

The red trail segment is the flattest and most open of the trail areas.  It boasts sandy low hills and reverted farm areas.  In this section, I spotted several deer and a hawk that patrolled the area above a section of prairie.

Just to the east of this open area, a small cabin looks towards a wetland area.  One can imagine several generations of MacCready’s enjoying the view from the cabin’s small deck.

I can’t say enough about the MacCready Reserve.  The trail system is well-conceived.  MSU is working to restore and protect some sand prairie and savannah habitats.  And the reserve is open to the public, creating one of the best hiking experiences in our area.  It is well worth a visit.

Here is a link to the trail map:

http://www.canr.msu.edu/lmo/images/trails.pdf

Here is a recent story about the reserve from the Jackson Citizen Patriot:

http://blog.mlive.com/citpat/2008/09/acres_of_trails_open_to_public.html

Here is a web shots album of a recent hike in the northernmost loop of the Munson Park mountain bike trail.

Munson Park: North Woods Loop

Bean Creek, in western Lenawee County, flows largely unnoticed through our region.  There is not a great deal of parkland along the creek.  And the waterway is far enough away from larger population centers that it gets less attention than, say, the River Raisin.

That said, the towns of Addison, Hudson and Morenci have some very nice waterfronts that face the creek.  So, it was interesting to read in today’s Adrian Daily Telegram about possible plans to create a Bean Creek Trail within the City of Morenci.  I hiked a section of the proposed pathway this past January.  Here is that blog post:

http://www.blogsmonroe.com/expatriate/?p=838

Here is an excerpt and link to the Adrian Telegram article:

Morenci residents could see a walking path installed along the Bean Creek in the coming years.
The first phase of the path would start at Wakefield Park on Main Street and go north, then loop around back to the park to make one mile, said Patrick Judd of the Conservation Design Forum in Ann Arbor.

Judd presented a conceptual plan of the trail to more than 20 people at a public meeting Thursday at the Morenci City Hall. Drawings for the trail will be refined at least two more times and presented to the City Council for approval before fundraising efforts start, city administrator/clerk Renee Schroeder said.

Full story:

http://www.lenconnect.com/homepage/x1272959295/Morenci-considers-Bean-Creek-path

One of the better government programs dedicated to environmental protection is the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP).  The basic idea behind the program is that farmlands play a large role in the nation’s environment.  Tax breaks and government funds are paid to farmers and others who choose to enroll their lands.  The land is then managed, at least partially, for conservation.

The program is good because it often creates wildlife buffer strips along rivers and prairie grasslands on fallow fields.  All of this is good for plants and animals.

And a new U.S. Department of Agriculture initiative includes the possibility that some of these lands may be opened to public access for hunting, hiking and birdwatching.  Essentially, the federal government would pay CREP landholders $3 per acre per year to open CREP lands to public access.

This is a fantastic idea.  Many rural areas have limited greenspace because farmlands dominate the landscape.  There is no reason that trails and walking routes can’t cross these lands while they are farmed.  And if you look at our region’s long-distance hiking trail, the North Country Trail, it is clear that the most difficult areas to locate trail are in rural, farming areas.  Hopefully, this program will help to change that.

Here is the press release from the USDA:

http://tinyurl.com/4dmlja