I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
Federal grant money designated to improve the water quality in Saginaw Bay will instead be used to trap and kill wild pigs. The Bay City Times reports that up to $5.6 million will be made available to private landowners and farmers for feral swine elimination projects in the 19 county region that makes up the Saginaw Bay watershed.
While some might question why funds intended to improve water quality are being diverted for another, seemingly unrelated cause, the benefit is there in a roundabout way.
“When they’re rooting for food they disturb a lot of soil, which makes its way into the bay,” said Monica Wymer, a resource conservationist who is coordinating the grant program for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Resources Conservation Service.
Wild hogs also impact water quality by using the watershed as a bathroom, she added. There are an estimated 5,000 wild hogs statewide.
The money for this project comes from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative — an Obama administration initiative that designated $475 million last year for projects to improve the Great Lakes.
The five main areas of focus for work are: Toxic Substances and Areas of Concern, Invasive Species, Near Shore Health and Nonpoint Pollution, Habitat and Wildlife Protection and Restoration, and Accountability, Education, Monitoring, Evaluation, Communication and Partnerships.
With the Saginaw Bay watershed listed as an official Area of Concern due to run-off and chemical pollution, it does seem odd that the federal government would decide to use funds from this program to focus on wild pigs. It’s hard to believe that pig killing is the highest impact ‘shovel ready’ environmental project in this watershed.
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