Michigan now has more options for mobility-impaired people to access beaches and trails than any other state, after a yearslong effort to make parks more accessible.
Kelly House
Kelly House covers Michigan's environment for Bridge Michigan, with a focus on the Great Lakes, climate change, industrial pollution, water quality and wildlife. She joined Bridge in March 2020 after reporting for the Oregonian, where her coverage earned national honors and sparked efforts to better protect Oregon's natural resources. Kelly holds a master's degree in environmental law from Lewis & Clark Law School and a bachelor's in journalism from Michigan State University.
Kelly grew up in Harrison and is based in Lansing.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Michigan farm czar: Our fight against Lake Erie pollution isn't working
Ahead of a gathering to assess the health of Lake Erie, the state acknowledges it won’t meet a 2025 deadline to cut phosphorus runoff into Lake Erie by 40 percent. The goal is to protect Lake Erie and Michigan’s small farms.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
As pollution costs grow, Lansing shows scant interest in speeding cleanups
Michigan struggles to keep up as costs mount to clean up sites. But Lansing lawmakers aren’t considering options to raise more money for long-term contamination sites, making them likely to cost millions annually for generations.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Palisades owners plan two more Michigan nuclear reactors
Holtec International hopes to bring the small modular reactors online by 2030, but will first need to secure permits and overcome financial challenges that have stymied efforts to commercialize the nascent technology.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Michigan regulators approve key permit for Enbridge Line 5 tunnel
The ruling puts Enbridge Energy a step closer to tunnel construction despite opposition from environmental and Native American groups and Democratic officials. Critics say they fear catastrophe if the pipelines remain in the Straits of Mackinac.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
The Flint effect: Feds propose eliminating U.S. lead pipes within 10 years
The proposed EPA rule follows years of growing awareness of lead’s perils following the 2014 Flint water crisis. Michigan regulators support the rule, but say the state will need more money to meet the more aggressive timeline.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
U-M’s mastodon man calls it a career after decades of solving Ice Age mysteries
Few have contributed more to the understanding of the early Americas and ancient mammals than Dan Fisher. After dozens of digs and numerous studies, he’s retiring from the University of Michigan this year.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Michigan sees another year of double-digit growth for outdoor industry
The industry grew faster than the state’s overall economy, as it continued benefitting from a pandemic-era resurgence in camping, hiking, boating and the like. But there are challenges, and some argue the state must do more to bolster the industry.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
In antler-obsessed Michigan, the state begs hunters to shoot more does
Southern Michigan is being overrun by deer, and a series of steps to reduce herds have not helped. So state game managers are urging hunters this fall to forgo big bucks for does to lower birth rates. Not every hunter is on board.
Posted inMichigan Government
Concerns about Michigan steelhead populations prompt new catch limits
State regulators are ratcheting down the number of fish anglers can keep in some rivers, citing fears that the fish could be in trouble. State scientists disagree.