I posted a link to Jerry Jourdan’s wonderful blog in a previous post, but I have to note a highlight that he reports from the annual Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count on December 14th.  Jourdan reports that more than 150 American Bald Eagles were counted at DTE’s Monroe Power Plant.  150+!  That is FANTASTIC!  Here’s the link:

http://jerryjourdan.blogspot.com/

Jerry Jourdan of Wyandotte has a great picture of a Sterling State Park screech owl on his blog, Jerry’s Birding/Digiscoping Blog.  You can see it at the link below.  BTW, Jerry was participating in Sunday’s Monroe County Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count.  He promises a full report on the count at a later date:

http://jerryjourdan.blogspot.com/2008/12/screech-owl-14-dec-2008.html

The Huron River Watershed Council is hosting a Huron River-themed film festival on March 13th at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor.  Anyone can enter.  Entry fees are $15, but the deadline for film submissions is December 22.  So, act quick.  The film fest should be fun.  Here’s an excerpt and link to the Dexter Leader:

“The idea arose in a brain storming session about ways to reach a larger audience than the people who are already interested in the river and the environment,” she said. “We are excited to get short, entertaining films that awaken people to the river and their connecting to it. We want to increase the opportunities to show the films and enlarge our audiences. We are also trying to reach a larger spread of people to enter films.”

This year, the festival is asking filmmakers to incorporate at least one of six Huron River Watershed Council messages for protecting the Huron River watershed somewhere in their film. How the message is planted into the film is totally up to the individual or group making the presentation. There are no restrictions on topic, genre or style.

The film festival is open to filmmakers of all ages and experience. Entry fee is $15.

http://www.dexterleader.com/stories/121108/loc_20081211002.shtml

During the past few years, Frenchtown Township has been developing a new park near the Blue Bush Branch Library/Township Fire Hall at Stewart Road’s perpendicular turn towards Bates Lane.  The park is not terribly large in size, but it does contain a solid, paved loop trail.  The trail is good for dog walkers and recreational walkers/joggers, but it doesn’t pass through any interesting natural habitat.

Dean Cousino of the Monroe Evening News has a report in today’s editions related to Frenchtown Township’s five-year capital improvements plan.  It includes this excerpt related to the new park:

The township is planning to spend $200,000 a year for further development of the park. Already completed in Phase 2 are a Playscape, a paved 10-foot-wide path for walking and jogging and a soccer field located adjacent to the Forest Glen subdivision.

The township spent about $95,000 for the Playscape and $55,000 for the soccer field, path, sidewalk and parking lot. The soccer field was seeded in August, and local officials are hoping to use it in the spring.

A baseball field also is being graded and seeded for use next year. The township probably saved about $20,000 by using more than 150 loads of topsoil from the park project for the baseball field, the supervisor said.

http://www.monroenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081211/NEWS01/112119980/-1/NEWS_RSS

Several new links have passed through my reader related to the proposed and controversial dredging project on the Ottawa River.  The river passes through the City of Toledo and Erie Township before flowing into Maumee Bay.  Here are the links:

http://glasscityjungle.com/wordpress/?p=4739

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081209/NEWS16/812090347/-1/RSS10

http://glasscityjungle.com/wordpress/?p=4724

Note: The map above is from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

The U.S. EPA has several grant opportunities that our local governments and/or environmental organizations should try for.  Several focus on the problems of phosphorus in lake tributaries and algae in the western basin.  This particular passage caught my eye:

EPA is requesting submissions of applications for a single award totaling approximately
$100,000. This award will support a study for the purpose of better understanding the conditions
preceding, and resulting in, Lake Erie algal bloom development, and may include 24-hour
studies of physical, chemical and biological conditions, longer term physical and chemical
studies and/or datasonde or buoy placements, or other studies concerning factors necessary for
bloom development. The project must at least include the Maumee River and Bay and their
impacts on Lake Erie’s western basin.

Here are several related links:

http://epa.gov/greatlakes/fund/2008Erierfa/index.html

http://epa.gov/greatlakes/fund/2008Erierfa/2008Erierfa.pdf

http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?mode=VIEW&flag2006=false&oppId=44239

Note: The lake is too important to let funding opportunities pass by.

The Cleveland-based magazine Lake Erie Living sponsored a photo contest and several local residents were among the winners.  I highly recommend a visit to the magazine’s web site to view the pics:

Second Place, Nature & Wildlife: James M. Phelps, of Riverview, Michigan, for the image entitled, “Tracks – Lake Erie Metro Park.” James M. Phelps has won a $50 Best Buy gift certificate.

Third Place, People: Cynthia Olsen of Monroe, Michigan, for the image entitled, “Oops!!!” Cynthia Olsen has won a subscription or renewal to Lake Erie Living magazine.

http://www.lakeerieliving.com/Story.aspx?SID=514

For more than a hundred years, birders have counted the number and variety of birds in thousands of locations at Christmas time.  The holidays are a good time to count because most birds have completed their migrations.  The count provides a good baseline of data that scientists can use to determine trends in bird populations.

Jerry Jourdan of Wyandotte has a page dedicated to this year’s Monroe count.  It will take place on December 14th.  Click below for more details:

http://jerryjourdan3.blogspot.com/2008/12/poem-christmas-bird-count.html

BTW, check out Jerry’s awesome main blog site.  Here’s a report on his recent visit to Pointe Mouillee State Game Area in NE Monroe County:

http://jerryjourdan.blogspot.com/2008/12/uh-oh-07-dec-2008.html

View Larger Map 

Charles Slat has an excellent vision for the old Ford plant property in his Saturday Monroe Evening News column.  I HIGHLY RECOMMEND a read.  Excerpt and link:

First, Ford, or Automotive Components Holdings or whoever has title to the site, should donate it to the State of Michigan.

The trail system one day might be extended onto the property and provide more opportunities to view marsh areas that teem with wildlife.

Full column:

http://www.monroenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081207/SLATCOLUMN/112079986/-1/COLUMNISTS

The Monroe Evening News has a recommended Danielle Portteus article covering the $2 million+ state grant awarded for acquisition of IHM lands for use as a county park/preserve.  Excerpt and link:

The Natural Resources Trust grant would not cover the entire cost of the purchase, which still must be negotiated. The Friends group is required to come up with a match.

If it happens, the preserve ultimately would be turned into a county park featuring trails, demonstrations gardens and a nature center. The acquisition of the land will help protect a variety of ecosystems from destruction including an oak savannah, oak-hickory forest, farmland, a lowland forest, and a forested island in the River Raisin.

Full story:

http://www.monroenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081207/NEWS01/112079996