Michigan Mixed Bag: Send us your Person of the Year nominations – Outdoor News
Lake Orion, Mich. — Michigan Outdoor News is accepting nominations for the 2025 Person of the Year.
The staff at MON needs your help to find a quality individual to recognize with the 2025 Person of the Year award.
We’re not looking for someone who gets paid to perform a job. Rather, we’re looking for a volunteer who goes above and beyond his or her designated tasks to support and enhance our natural resources.
Send us your nominations with a brief explanation (100 words or fewer) on why this person deserves to be recognized.
Our staff will look over the nominations and select this year’s recipient, who will receive a beautiful plaque and a write-up about their contributions to the conservation of our natural resources in an upcoming edition of MON.
Nominations for the award, given over the past 11 years by the publication, will be accepted through the end of February.
Email nominations to Michigan Outdoor News Editor Bill Parker at [email protected] or mail them to Michigan Outdoor News, PO Box 199, Lake Orion, Mich., 48362.
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Michigan Outdoor Observations: New chairman of the Natural Resources Commission appointed
34 CWD positive whitetails found so far from Michigan’s 2024-25 season
Michigan managers upbeat about increase in deer tags sold but skeptical it’s a long-term trend
Sea Lampreys Exceeded Targets in All Five Great Lakes Last Year
Chicago — Sea lampreys exceeded abundance targets in 2024 in all five Great Lakes, but officials believe coming years will likely see levels of the destructive, invasive fish at or below goals.
On Lake Michigan, officials have established an abundance target of 20,526 adult lampreys. In 2024 the Lake Michigan index showed 25,000 adults, or 22% higher than the target, according to the USFWS.
Lamprey status was the focus of a Great Lakes Fishery Commission report that ranks the sea lamprey among the most destructive aquatic invasive species to enter Upper Midwest waters.
Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever Sign Agreement with USFWS
Springfield — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a 10-year partnership with Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever to accomplish shared goals in managing grassland and upland habitats and promoting workforce development, education, and outreach.
Under the agreement, the triumvirate will develop a work plan through 2034.
The agreement focuses on habitat improvements that may be implemented on lands managed by the National Wildlife Refuge System, as well as on private lands under the USFWS’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program and other conservation programs that are affiliated with the Farm Bill.
Apply by March 14 for DNR Community Forestry Grants
Lansing — Approximately $1 million in funding is available from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources for urban tree-planting projects that benefit disadvantaged or underserved areas in the state. Individual grant amounts range from $10,000 to $150,000, and applications are due March 14.
Funding for this grant program is provided by the Inflation Reduction Act and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, Urban and Community Forestry Program in partnership with the Michigan DNR Urban and Community Forestry Program
All applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. March 14.
For more information on the Urban and Community Forestry grant program and access to the UCF Grant Handbook, visit Michigan.gov/UCF.
Traverse City State Park Campground to Close for $8.5 Million in Enhancements
Traverse City, Mich. — A massive $8.5 million investment will help transform Keith J. Charters Traverse City State Park, enhancing the visitor experience with improved access, new camping amenities and modern facilities.
The funds are part of a $273 million boost in federal American Rescue Plan relief funding that has enabled the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to tackle a decades-long backlog of infrastructure and rehabilitation projects in state parks and trails.
The enhancements, a direct result of stakeholder and public feedback through the park’s 2021 general management plan, include:
A newly designed, sweeping entrance to address traffic congestion, a new accessible campground contact station, a new park headquarters building, removal of the non-accessible pedestrian bridge over U.S. 31 and addition of an at-grade pedestrian crossing and traffic signal, and expansion and relocation of the park’s sanitation station are some of the enhancements that will occur.
To accommodate the work and ensure public safety, closures will take place in phases.
The modern campground will close Jan. 13 to April 1, including to pedestrian traffic. The modern campground will close again July 7, 2025 – following the National Cherry Festival – and the closure will be in place throughout the 2026 camping season.
The park’s day-use area located along the Lake Michigan shoreline will remain open during park construction, although occasional closures may be required for intersection work.
For more details on the project, contact Stephanie Rosinski, Traverse City and Leelanau state parks supervisor, at (231) 922-5270 or [email protected].
To learn more about the status of all ARPA-funded state park projects, visit Michigan.gov/StateParksProgress.
