Tuesday, January 17, 2012

February Science Café: Dispelling the Myth of the Big, Bad Wolf

Announcing our February Science Café Topic: Wolves!




Date: Thursday, February 9th
Time: 4:30-6:00PM
Place: Environmental Interpretive Center, Room 119 (Map)
Cost: Free

Have you ever wondered about wolves? Do we have wolves in Michigan? Are they harmful or helpful? What is wolf conservation like in our state? Join the Student Environmental Association as we explore questions like these and more at our upcoming Science Café. We hope to discuss the importance of wolves to our ecosystems and dispel the myths associated with these important carnivores.
Guest speakers will include: Dorothy McLeer, Program Coordinator and Interpretive Naturalist for the EIC, and University of Michigan-Dearborn student, Jerry Heath.


Science Cafés are friendly forums where members of the public can engage scientists and experts with questions and become a part of a grand conversation. You don't need a background in science to attend a Science Café -- Science Cafés welcome everybody, especially those who want to learn more! Coffee and light snacks are usually served.


This event is free and open to the public. All ages (including K-12 students) are welcome to attend! We promise it will be a howling good time!

Visit the Facebook Event Page for more info!
P.S. You can read about one of our previous Science Cafés here!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Public meeting on Detroit area transit

Drat--just missed this announcement for a public meeting that took place today!

http://www.semcog.org/uploadedFiles/Notices/SEMCOG2012PublicMeetingNotice.pdf

Detroiters, take note!
Public comment about proposed highways and other transit revolving around Detroit (details to be posted when available). Written comments will be accepted until February 17, 2012. If you were not able to attend the meeting (like me), please address your comments to one of the following:

Andy Pickard
Federal Highway Administration, Michigan Division
315 West Allegan Street, Room 201
Lansing, MI 48933
E-mail: Andy.Pickard@dot.gov

Stewart McKenzie
Federal Transit Administration
200 West Adams Street, Suite 320
Chicago, IL 60606
E-mail: Stewart.Mckenzie@dot.gov

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Rouge Project Comments: Reply from the Army Corps of Engineers

I've discovered "The Agency Tone" of written voice. Very polite! Possibly because I submitted comments over a month ago (several agencies dealing with the National Environmental Protection Act [NEPA] are obligated to give response within the month of communications from the public).  Having spoken to EPA employees, the EPA has legal obligation to respond to any citizen communications--probably within a month timeframe too.  

The Army Corps of Engineers  (ACE--what a fine acronym to have!) was supposed to respond with 30 days (I'm no longer sure, but I suspect it's a direct stipulation from NEPA), but I had to prod them earlier in December to see if there'd be any follow-up.

This is about as exciting as I'd imagine getting a personal letter from an elected official. For those who can't really see what's here--it's a personal letter from the DOD's Army Corps of Engineers in response to my questions--stamped and signed too! 

In reply to my procedural and project comments to the Army Corps of Engineers from 
November, Detroit district sent a personal letter with detailed replies to both comment sets I submitted.

One of my primary concerns involved the poor degree of outreach--had it not been for friends who major in environmental studies/science and work with the Friends of the Rouge, I might not have known about the proposal at all!

It turns out (as you'll see in their reply letter) the Army Corps of Engineers did what they could and needed to inform local governments and organizations. From what I read, the ACE's response to one of my questions (about watershed outreach plans) means that promotion/marketing/pr is more of an issue than having the right community stakeholders and closer coordination between federal and local government.

I suspect poor infrastructure for communication and outreach is an endemic issue for our beloved but under-budgeted/staffed local governments and not-for-profit organizations alike.

Also, I learned county government plays a more significant role in the project than previously thought.

I believe PR organizations/institutions and colleges (with education and marketing programs or willing interns from any discipline) can better help coordinate and promote the outreach in the future.



Page 1 (click the image[s] to read)
I'll let you decide what happened with
the date that they entered--by the looks of things
I submitted my comments in the future!
Also, I couldn't resist blacking out my address
on a government document,
it now looks even more official than the original.


Page 2





Page 3



Page 4  Hand signed with a real person's signature!



A random remark: this post has a lot of meta text--I wrote (and you read) about photos of writing--how odd!


And my follow-up e-mail (from Dec. 8th):
To whom it may concern,

I submitted a procedural recommendation on Monday Nov. 7th and (according to my e-mail) comments on Nov. 8th at 12:00 AM and would like to know about the status of the project. I did not receive any message of acknowledgement or reply within the 30 day timeframe and therefore am writing to request for follow up.

I hope the procedural recommendation merits a reply since it was submitted within the comment deadline.

Thank you...

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Arctic Cycle Turning Wheels Close to Home: A Blizzard of Snowy Owls Lands in Great Lakes Region


Snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus) from the Quebec Government website

While most of us in Southeast Michigan are still awaiting the arrival winter snow, another kind of "snow" has arrived in the meantime to hold us over -- snowy owls. This bird, which hails from the northernmost reaches of Canada, has been spotted all over the state, including at locations within an hour of Detroit. There is even one unconfirmed report of a sighting downtown.

This event is more than just the arrival of an interesting and beautiful bird of prey -- it is a great chance to understand the workings of nature and how cycles happening far away can affect us close to home.

The appearance of so many snowy owls usually indicates a severe food shortage in the regions of Canada where they are typically found. These daytime hunters, which are impressively sized birds with a wingspan of about five feet, rely on lemmings, voles, and other small mammals to survive in the Arctic. When competition for their food increases (either due to a lack of prey or an overabundance of fellow predators), the snowy owls are forced to go south to find food -- as far down as the Great Lakes and beyond. Here they will hunt for voles, mice, and other small mammals, competing with local birds of prey to survive.

"We haven't had a good Snowy Owl Winter in years," recalls Rick Simek, naturalist at the Environmental Interpretive Center. "I remember a winter a long time ago when I worked at the [Metro Beach] metropark; I think I remember Snowy Owls picking off and eating injured ducks."

(There are no reports yet of snowy owls picking off housepets.)

Scientists usually refer to these dramatic mass migrations as "irruptions". They will stay in the region hunting and resting until March, when they return to the Arctic to breed.

Although this season's blizzard of snowies has been bliss for birders, the long trip south takes a toll on the owls, who must spend an enormous amount of energy to get here. It is usually the youngest and most inexperienced birds that are driven south, and many do not survive. If you go looking for one, try not to disturb it -- every movement it makes wastes calories, and the owl needs every bit of energy it can get. Be respectful and observe them from a distance, or from a blind where they can't see you (like behind some bushes, or inside your car).

If you are interested in knowing where snowy owls have been spotted, or submitting a sighting of your own, check out the Snowy Owl Maps on eBird. While you're there, check out their article, too -- lots of great information about this season's irruption, as well as some commentary on the importance of citizen science.

Let's keep our your eyes to the skies this year! Cheers to 2012!

P.S. A special treat, courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: