The Maumee Bay State Park and Resort is hosting a weekend dedicated to hawk watching on September 27th and 28th according to the Port Clinton News Herald.  The weekend includes a field trip to Lake Erie Metropark for hawk watching.  Excerpt and link:

The Ohio Ornithological Society and Black Swamp Bird Observatory, will be hosting a two-day event featuring raptor experts who will be presenting their knowledge about a fascinating and intriguing group of birds of prey Sept. 27 and 28 at the Maumee Bay Resort and Conference Center in Oregon.

The afternoon will include field trips to four local birding hotspots. The evening will feature dinner, and keynote speaker Brian Wheeler, author of Raptors of Eastern North America, and A Photographic Guide to North American Raptors.

Sunday morning features a field trip to Lake Erie Metropark, a premier hawk watching location in Brownstown, Mich., to witness the spectacle of migrating raptors.

For more information, costs, and registration form, call BSBO at 419-898-4070 or visit www.bsbobird.org.

http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080905/UPDATES01/80905012/1002/NEWS01

MyNorth.com, the internet arm of Traverse Magazine, has a nice overview of a September Michigan mushroom hunting delicacy.  It’s called the chanterelle.  Excerpt and link:

Move Over, Morel: Come early autumn, the delicately delicious chanterelle mushroom is in season Up North. Two varieties worth the search are the golden chanterelle, which unfurls its yolk-colored cap in hardwood and pine forests, and the yellowish chanterelle, which peeps up among the sphagnum moss in wetlands.

Tasty Treasure: Chanterelles have a fruity, slightly spicy flavor that is heavenly when sautéed with butter or cream.

http://www.mynorth.com/My-North/September-2008/Chanterelles-in-the-North-Woods/

Note: The image above comes from the wikimedia commons at the following site:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Chanterelle.jpg

The Michigan Community Blood Centers are hosting an unusual fundraiser today in Grand Rapids.  The organization has brought in a rappelling company and will give donors of at least $1,000 the chance to rappel down the tallest building in Grand Rapids.  Excerpts and link:

A Michigan Community Blood Centers event on September 6, 2008 in downtown Grand Rapids, MI, will offer a unique, once-in-forever experience to people who are adventurous enough to rappel down the side of the tallest building in Grand Rapids – and generous enough to donate at least $1000 apiece to help support two unique, lifesaving services.

A US-based company, Over The Edge, will coordinate participants’ controlled rappelling descent from the 32nd floor of River House Condominiums, a $90 million project of Robert Grooters Development Company, for a vertical distance of about 400 feet. For information or to register to take part in Over The Edge, call 616-233-8600. A minimum donation of $1000 is required to reserve your place on the rope.

Through this high-visibility, high-adventure event, the Blood Center and its partners hope to raise awareness of, and support for, Cord Blood and Marrow/Stem Cell programs. Transplants of stem cells from marrow and cord blood may represent the best hope of survival for patients with some kinds of diseases that otherwise could be fatal, including certain types of cancer. According to current estimates, marrow/stem-cell transplants could benefit more 35,000 patients with life-threatening diseases each year.

http://www.miblood.org/giving_money/edge.html

National Geographic Adventure has an adventure guide to Wasilla, Alaska.  Wasilla, of course, is the town for which Sarah Palin served as mayor.  Excerpts and link:

What to Do:
Ready for some physical labor? Excellent. Head over to the Independence Mine State Historical Park where you will be allowed to actually mine for gold. Feel free to bring a shovel, it’s totally allowed. But leave those guns at home. “Discharge of all weapons is prohibited at Independence Mine.”

The town’s namesake, a Dena’ina Athabascan Indian Chief, would have called Wasilla “Benteh,” meaning “among the lakes.” Of the many bodies of water within the small town (pop. 9,700) the largest is Wasilla Lake and the smallest is the adequately named Weinie Lake. Hook up with guide Scott “Scooter” Wiles from Alaska River Sports or rent a raft from the Wasilla-based outfitter ($128 per day, per raft; alaskariversports.com).

If rafting doesn’t feel quite extreme enough, you may want to rent an Argo. What’s an Argo, you ask? An Argo is an amphibious eight-wheeled ATV, able to do things and go places a regular four-wheeled ATV can only dream about ($60 per hour; alaskatoyrental.com).

Things to See:
“We grow amazing gravel here,” says Cheryl Metiva, executive director of the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce. And it’s true. Wasilla’s largest export is their fine gravel, which beautifies many a New England cul de sac. Check it out at the source, then stop in at the Iron Dog—snowmobile racing’s answer to NASCAR. With some luck, you’ll be able to bet against sometimes racer Todd Palin.

Full story:

http://ngadventure.typepad.com/blog/wasilla-alaska-sarah-palin.html

Did you happen to catch the story in today’s Monroe Evening News describing the three best hiking spots in Monroe County?

Well, I have to recommend the story because….I wrote it.  Yup.  The journalism standards at the Monroe Evening News have declined to such a degree that they decided to give this blogger a chance at the Big Leagues.

Of course, the article was originally set to run on the hiking-rich Labor Day holiday, but some guy came to town that I had never heard of.  Barack Obama?  Who’s that?  Aw, well, getting bumped by the potential leader of the free world is not so bad.

Anyway, here are some excerpts and a link to my first story in the Monroe Evening News:

Each summer, thousands of Monroe County residents take part in a great Michigan tradition. They head north to places such as Cadillac, Traverse City and Marquette in search of lakes, trails and campgrounds.

And, I have to admit, I spent years following the familiar I-75 route. During a trip to the Manistee River Trail in northwest Lower Michigan, however, I had a revelation. While looking at a trail map, I realized that my route never was more than a mile from roads, private residences and industrial sites. The trail and its “wilderness” was an illusion created by smart trail planners.

So I began to look at our local trails and parks with new eyes. I asked myself, “Is it possible to find great trails and nature in southeast Michigan?” Like surf movies of old, I began an “Endless Summer”-style quest to find the best trails and nature spots in and around Monroe County.

Full story:

http://www.monroenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080904/NEWS01/109049972/-1/NEWS

One of the more famous and unusual Upper Peninsula attractions is the Jampot Bakery near Eagle River along M-26 in the Keweenaw Peninsula.  The bakery is run by monks who sell tasty baked goods to raise money for their religious work.

Well, now the monks have purchased 600 acres that will form a new outdoor retreat for visitors from around the world.  Excerpt and link to WLUC TV in the UP:

The monks are best known for the Jampot Bakery, filled with jams and sweet treats.  But this past winter, the monks purchased nearly 600 acres of land, adding to the 65 they already own.

So what do they plan to do with the property?  Build a monastery when they outgrow their current building and offer the public a place to take solitary retreat…a place to meet God.

“We’re trying to preserve the natural qualities of the area,” said Father Basil, one of the five monks at the monastery, ”as well as developing certain portions.”

The parcel runs south behind the Jampot, bordering near Jacob’s Creek, and east to the Eagle Harbor Cut Off Road.

The monks say the property will have multiple functions.  When the monks outgrow the current monastery on M-26, they’ll build other monastic housing up along the ridge.  They’re also hoping to start a large pilgrimage church to draw international visitors.  It’s something they’ve been planning since the Skete started 25 years ago.

Currently they’re working on improving logging roads and building trails to create a monastic park, with small trailside chapels, and possibly retreat cabins for people to experience solitude.

“I think the silence and the solitude provide a space for getting in touch with God; that’s not really possible in most folks’ lives,” Father Basil said. 

Last fall the monks cleared an area for an orchard.  They plan to plant apple, pear, cherry and plum trees.  The monks say the projects will develop slowly, over a ten year period, or longer.

http://wluctv6.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=178566

The Clinton River in Detroit’s northern suburbs serves as one of our region’s great natural resources.  It forms half of the arc that composes the Huron-Clinton Metropark system.  Excerpt from the Observer & Eccentric newspapers:

The Clinton River Trail passes through Rochester, Rochester Hills, Auburn Hills, Pontiac and Sylvan Lake along a path blazed by the railroads, much of it along the Clinton River. Each of the five communities is responsible for maintaining and managing its segment of the trail.

Much of what was proposed in the trail’s master plan has been accomplished, including most of the surfacing, road crossing improvements and bridges.

“The trail is usable, we got the crossings and the bridges done, so you can get from Dequindre to Pontiac,” said Alan Buckenmeyer, park operations manager for Rochester Hills. “That’s the first step. What they’re talking about is what can we do for the next step.”

Buckenmeyer said the Friends have raised money for some amenities, such as benches. The cities, with the help of grants and local funds, have provided major items such as surfacing.

As for future enhancements, “Short term there isn’t a lot of money out there but it’s good that you plan now,” he said.

“Work is under way to find the money, the funding sources to finish off the rest of it,” said Dan Keifer, a Friends member from Rochester Hills, referring to unfinished items in the master plan. Tuesday’s meeting “is to get everybody’s input on the next step, which is how to turn this from a good trail to a great trail. All those features and amenities that make the trail attractive and enjoyable, not just to local residents, who know where to find it because it’s in their community, but also to attract trail users from elsewhere. Really it is an issue of economic development and tourism on a local scale.”

http://www.hometownlife.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080824/NEWS17/808240430/1034/rss11

The Port Huron Times Herald had an update last week on the pollution trial in which DTE is accused of violating Canadian laws via pollution from a U.S. plant:

The company consistently has questioned Canadian jurisdiction over the Michigan power plant since proceedings began in March 2007.

Justice Deborah Austin ruled in July that a trial summons delivered to the president of a DTE subsidiary in Hamilton was sufficient. 

Thursday was the first time a lawyer representing DTE had appeared in court.

A date for the legal argument was not set, but it could be next year, the court was told.

It’s rare to see an American company charged under Canadian environmental law,  a law professor has said.

Chi Carmody, a director of the Canada-United States Law Institute, said the case is of interest to legal experts. 

DTE operates two coal-fired power plants on the American side of the St. Clair River in East China Township near Courtright, Ontario.

Scott Edwards, legal director for the Waterkeeper Alliance, charged the company as a private citizen with a 2005 Fisheries Act violation.

He alleges the plant emits 2,000 pounds of mercury annually that adversely affects Canadian fish habitat.

DTE representatives have stated the plant operates in full compliance with state and U.S. federal regulations while investing in emission-reduction technology.

http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080829/NEWS01/808290310/-1/NEWSFRONT2

The Traverse City Record Eagle reports that the Pickerel Lake State Forest Campground in the Pigeon River Country State Forest is closed until the Spring for renovations:http://www.record-eagle.com/local/local_story_242095627.html

VANDERBILT — Renovations will begin immediately after the Labor Day weekend at Pickerel Lake State Forest Campground in the Pigeon River Country State Forest.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources will temporarily close the Otsego County campground beginning Sept. 2 for renovations set to be completed before the 2009 camping season, officials said.

Campsites will be repositioned, vault toilets and water wells will be relocated and two additional campsites will be created. Each site will be graded, resurfaced and expanded to accommodate two cars and a large trailer. New picnic tables and fire rings also will be included.

The Chicago Tribune has a nice article about the many adventure sports possible in southwest lower Michigan:

For decades, Chicagoans have fled the sweltering city in summer for the endless beaches with sugar-soft sand, closer-to-nature lifestyle and a slower pace. The summer of 1974, my family traded our Park Ridge house for a cabin a few sandy steps from Lake Michigan. One day my sister and I found two boys surfing a dune on wood boards. The air crackled with romance when they shared their sandboards so we could ride.

We graduated to steeper, longer slopes. Waxing the boards only made us go faster. With each ride down, summers flew backward until I felt so much like that kid in 1974 that I almost forgot we’d lost our Gumby- esque rubberness. Then my friend Adam rocketed out of control on his well-waxed board, cracking a rib.

Full story:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/chi-harbor-country-sports-0831_raug31,0,2390597.story?track=rss