Eagles are sacred for many Native Americans, who can obtain dead birds for religious use through the federal government. Bird flu has slowed the already-lengthy process.
Michigan Environment Watch
Michigan Environment Watch examines how public policy, industry, and other factors interact with the state’s trove of natural resources.
Great Lakes News Collaborative
Bridge Michigan, Circle of Blue, Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television, The Narwhal and Michigan Public work together to report on the most pressing threats to the Great Lakes region’s water. This independent journalism is supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. You can find all of the collaborative’s stories here.
Shockwave
The Great Lakes region is in the midst of a seismic energy shakeup, from skyrocketing data center demand and a nuclear energy boom, to expanding renewables and electrification. In 2026, the Great Lakes News Collaborative will explore how shifting supply and demand affect the region and its waters. Read the series here.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
‘Big, beautiful bill’ scraps conservation projects in northwest Michigan
Congress withdrew $20 million that was earmarked for stream restoration and farmland preservation across northwest Michigan after groups already spent $450,000 getting ready for the projects.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Great Lakes drownings down, marine patrol funding cut
Drownings in the Great Lakes are down this year, with half of them occurring in Lake Michigan. Meanwhile, the number of drownings in inland lakes isn’t known and some sheriffs are cutting back marine patrols amid a funding shortage.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
The DNR is selling over 120 plots of land. Why?
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is auctioning off 124 properties state officials say are better managed by private hands. Lakefront properties, vast forestland and an island are all up for grabs.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
A record year for Great Lakes piping plovers
The Great Lakes piping plover recovery effort has been ongoing since the mid-1980s when the population got as low as a dozen nesting pairs. This year, the number reached 85 nesting pairs for the first time.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Future of climate ‘resilience hubs’ uncertain after Trump cuts
Plans to build climate resilience hubs across the state have come to a halt after the Trump administration abruptly canceled nearly $88 million in federal grants meant for Michigan nonprofits. Now, organizers are suing for their money back while scrambling for alternative funding.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Game regulators blast Ted Nugent for ‘insulting’ Capitol testimony
Michigan game regulators tore into Ted Nugent’s June testimony at the state Capitol, calling his comments underinformed and disrespectful to conservation officers.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
‘We can’t regulate ourselves’ out of whitefish crisis, experts say
Amid a population crash of Michigan’s staple lake whitefish, fisheries experts told regulators that more research needs to be done to discover how to stem the scourge of invasive mussels. Without that, they said, efforts to limit fishing are futile.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Michigan fishing regulators to discuss Great Lakes whitefish crisis
The Michigan Natural Resources Commission on Thursday will hear a presentation on the looming collapse of whitefish in lakes Michigan and Huron. Bridge Michigan is spending the summer exploring the ramifications.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Life goes on, even at uninhabited Lake Huron island, sometimes surprisingly
In nature, a lot can change on a largely uninhabited Great Lakes island over the course of a century. And a lot can stay the same.