President Donald Trump has signed the 2018 Farm Bill. The $867 billion bill expands the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) by three million acres, to a total of 27 million acres, but limits the government subsidy to 80% of the average rent for the acre and disallows whole farm enrollment into the program. In a twenty-five minute signing ceremony, the President called the measure a “bipartisan success” and thanking Democratic lawmakers for “ensuring that American agriculture will always feed our families, nourish our communities, power our commerce and inspire our nation.”

Contact: Ron Olson (DNR), 517-243-1477

Purchase to be funded by state sources, commitments from The Nature Conservancy and the Mott Foundation

One hundred acres of pristine sand dunes, wetlands and forests soon will become part of Ludington State Park in Mason County, Michigan. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced today that it has purchased the land and mineral resources from Sargent Minerals-Ludington, LLC – commonly known as Sargent Sands – a Michigan-based company, permanently preserving this valuable property for public recreation.

The 100 acres, adjacent to Ludington State Park, are comprised of sand dunes – about 60 acres of which have never been altered. The property is located in the northern section of a larger 372 acres that have been mined for sand for decades. Although surrounded by state park land on three sides, the Sargent property is not yet part of Ludington State Park, where mining does not occur.

“This purchase will permanently protect a beautiful tract of critical sand dunes, conserving a unique landform and its plants and animals for public enjoyment,” said DNR Director Keith Creagh, who approved the purchase during the Oct. 11 Natural Resources Commission meeting in Lansing. “We are very appreciative of the willingness of the Sargent family to work with the DNR on this purchase. Their generous actions will leave a considerable legacy for future generations.” Read more

Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officers recovered stolen artifacts from a historical shipwreck after receiving a tip from recreational divers. In September, the DNR Law Enforcement Division’s Great Lakes Enforcement Unit was notified that people were stealing internal framework – referred to as “ribbing” – from the Metropolis, a shipwreck north of Traverse City.

Metropolis is a 125-foot schooner located offshore of Old Mission Point in the East Grand Traverse Bay, which is part of Lake Michigan. The ship was abandoned after becoming lost in a snowstorm in November 1886. The remains of the Metropolis are divided in two portions, one located in 8 feet of water and the other at a depth of 120 feet. The site is part of the Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve.

Michigan’s Great Lakes are home to 1,500 shipwrecks and 14 underwater preserves, including Isle Royale, which provide recreational diving opportunities. It is illegal to remove anything from underwater shipwrecks. Read more

Contact: Capt. Pete Wright, 906-228-6561

Two teenage girls reported missing after not returning home from their Cadillac Junior High School Friday were located Saturday night by Michigan Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Mike Hearn.

Trinity Machowski, 13, and Arrianna Schings, 14, were found with alleged abductor Christopher Wagenschutz, 34, of Cadillac early Saturday evening in Kalkaska County.

After initially being taken to the Cadillac Police Department, the girls have since been returned home to their families.

Police issued a “Be on the Lookout” bulletin Friday for Wagenschutz who was being sought for child abduction in the Cadillac area. It was reported Wagenschutz picked-up the two teens from the Cadillac Junior High School Friday afternoon.

The bulletin included a description of Wagenschultz, a vehicle license plate number and reported that Wagenschultz was suspected to be driving a red Subaru. The bulletin also reported that the suspect may have a firearm in his possession and was therefore considered dangerous.

Hearn was patrolling the Village of Kalkaska early Saturday evening. He had received the original “Be on the Lookout” information from Kalkaska County Central Dispatch and had also been told there was reason to believe the vehicle and suspect might be in the Kalkaska area.

At around 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Hearn saw a vehicle driving into the parking lot of St. Mary in the Woods, located at 438 County Road 612 in Kalkaska. The vehicle matched the description provided in the bulletin. Hearn followed the vehicle in his DNR patrol truck and confirmed the vehicle and license plate information. Read more

Editor’s Note: Confused about the E85 fuel question? You’re not alone. In fact, as this piece from BoatU.S. clearly shows, virtually everyone is confused by the differences, similarities and dangers of E15 and E10 fuel. Hope this helps.

SPRINGFIELD, VA – President Trump has officially moved to allow E15 (15 percent ethanol) gasoline sales year-round – a fuel prohibited for use in recreational boats and a decision that recreational boating groups say will needlessly put 142 million American boaters at risk. Protecting Boaters at the Gas Pump is a new website with a series of photos of gas station pumps in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin that clearly shows the challenges boaters face with poor ethanol warning labels at the pump, resulting in a greater risk of misfueling.

The effort is from the National Marine Manufacturers Association’s (NMMA), which was recently shared in “Boating United” campaign that urges recreational boat owners to tweet their members of Congress to stop the expansion of the government-mandated fuel. Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) supports the effort and is urging recreational boaters to share the website with friends:

https://spark.adobe.com/page/dYPx7SjouAr2k/

“The ethanol industry doesn’t want you to see these photos of gas pumps,” said BoatUS Manager of Government Affairs David Kennedy. “The confusion presented to consumers at the pump today is real. Putting the wrong fuel in your boat will likely void your engine’s warranty. We applaud NMMA for clearly showing the misfueling problem.”

E15 is currently banned for sale in many states by the Environmental Protection Agency during summer months over concerns that it contributes to smog on hot days. The push for more ethanol into the nation’s fuel supply is a result of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). When it was passed in 2005, RFS assumed that America’s use of gasoline would continue to grow. Since then, however, gasoline usage has not increased as forecast, which today forces more ethanol into each gallon of gas. Read more

Winter may have just begun, but it’s the perfect time to start making summer travel plans. Looking for uncommon travel experiences? How about a two-week stay at the historic Tawas Point Lighthouse, located in Tawas Point State Park off Tawas Bay in Lake Huron?

Starting today, the Tawas Point Lighthouse Keeper Program will accept applications for volunteer keepers for May 1 through Oct. 29. Those selected – the program gets more than 100 applications a year – will get to live in the restored keeper’s quarters. Each participant pays a $75 per-person fee and provides roughly 35 hours of service each week in and around the historic lighthouse that attracts visitors from all over the world.

“The Tawas area is known as Michigan’s Cape Cod,” said Hillary Pine, Tawas Point Lighthouse historian. “It’s a lovely area favored by bird-watchers, sailors, history enthusiasts and others. We make sure our volunteer lighthouse keepers have plenty of time to enjoy Lake Huron, Tawas Bay and other recreational
opportunities.” Read more

The new WagOne™ Ultimate Ball Thrower from Birchwood Casey® throws a tennis ball farther and more easily so your dog gets the workout, not you.

The WagOne™ Ultimate Ball Thrower features easy hands-free and slobber-free ball loading. Simply push the steel fingers onto the ball and its picked up for the next throw. The auto-cocking feature makes throwing easy on your arm and the rugged polymer handle provides plenty of leverage for launching the ball long distances. The design of the WagOne™ Ultimate Ball Thrower allows for easy right or left-handed use.

The WagOne™ Ultimate Ball Thrower is proudly made in the USA and sells for a retail price of $30.00.

(Nov.12, 2018) — Managing your hunting property is no easy task, and it’s a year-round effort. You have shooting lanes to cut, food plots and trees to plant, treestands to hang or move, ponds to build and more. Sometimes the work requirements can be overwhelming. Let the Realtree Half-Ton Hauler Lift-Assist and Swivel Utility Dump Cart by OxCart take some of the load off of you so you can accomplish more in less amount of time. Read more

In an ongoing effort to ensure that the Department of Natural Resources forest road inventory is as accurate as possible and to also encourage continued public input on the management of state forest roads, the DNR has proposed some changes to ORV use on state forest roads in Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula.

The proposed changes include:

• • Adding roads that previously were unmapped.
  • Deleting mapped roads that no longer exist.
  • Closing roads to conventional vehicle use (including ORVs); closing roads only to ORV use, and opening roads to ORV use.

Read more