The century-old dams are expensive to maintain, generate little energy and are generally harmful to rivers and native fish. But their reservoirs bring boaters, visitors and lake houses that help support small communities.
Kelly House
Kelly House covers Michigan environmental issues for Bridge. She joined the Bridge staff in March 2020. Previously, Kelly reported for the Oregonian, where her coverage of the environment and other topics garnered national honors and sparked state efforts to better protect Oregon’s natural resources. She has a master’s degree in environmental law from Lewis & Clark Law School and a bachelor’s in journalism from Michigan State University. She is from Harrison and lives in Lansing. You can reach her at khouse@bridgemi.com or on Twitter at @Kelly_M_House.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
With wolf plan complete, Michiganders lobby state on possibility of a hunt
Though wolf hunting is banned at the federal level, hunting advocates want Michigan to lay the groundwork for a hunt should federal protections end. Wolf advocates say there’s no justification for doing so.
Posted inMichigan Government
2022 Michigan election updates: See all of today's Bridge news stories
Follow along Nov. 9 after the Nov. 8 vote for live updates on Michigan’s election news, including analysis from Twitter and cable networks, and updates from Bridge Michigan reporters across the state.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
DTE wants to quit coal by 2035. Some in Michigan say that’s not fast enough
The energy utility plans to lean into natural gas after shutting down coal plants, a move that has irked some clean energy advocates.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Benton Harbor lead line replacement nears completion
Four years from the onset of the city’s lead-in-water crisis, crews have removed 99 percent of lead service lines from the city’s water delivery system.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Nonprofit buys 31,000 forested acres by Copper Harbor to keep land public
The Nature Conservancy, a global environmental group, has paid a New York hedge fund more than $27 million for part of the land, with another purchase to come. The deal appears to put an end to fears of privatization of timberland long open to the public.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
State lawyers to appeal dismissals of Flint water crisis criminal charges
Prosecutors in the Michigan Attorney General’s office say they will argue a circuit court judge erred when she dismissed criminal charges against seven former public officials.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Tudor Dixon and Gretchen Whitmer polar opposites on Michigan environment
Whitmer wants to close Line 5, prepare for climate change, watchdog industrial polluters and update water safety. Dixon wants Line 5 open, regulations cut and a state that treats businesses like customers, not adversaries.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Traverse City’s FishPass dam replacement project OK’d by appeals court
The experimental barrier along the Boardman River would cap a decades-long effort to replace dams that impede the river’s flow and block native fish migration. But a resident contends it would ‘decimate’ a city park.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Two years after Midland dam failures, still no action on safety reforms
Mid-Michigan lawmakers urgently introduced a slate of bills to better fund and regulate Michigan’s aging dams. But more than two years after the Midland disaster, the reforms have yet to receive a hearing.