On Friday, May 27 at 7 p.m. the program “The Coho Story: Gold Rush in Platte Bay,” will be presented at the Empire Township Hall. Learn about the most successful sport-fishing introduction in Great Lakes history and the Coho’s effects, including its triumphs and tragedies, on the Platte Bay area. Free popcorn will be served and donations are appreciated.
Every Saturday afternoon for the “Saturdays at the Lakeshore” programs at 1 p.m., a Park Ranger awaits you at the Visitor Center in Empire to introduce a topic and then lead a car caravan a short distance to where the walk will begin. Each week features a different topic and location. The programs last 1 to 1½ hours and are no longer than 1½ miles.
n early March 2011 I invited the Representative of Michigan’s 101st District, Ray Franz to come and speak with my students at Onekema Elementary School about his role in our State’s government, I asked him to speak of current issues in Michigan that would be of interest to a typical third grader, and to answer student questions regarding our natural resources, energy, transportation, and our civil liberties.
Elberta, in nearby Benzie County, could fall prey to Governor Rick Snyder and the GOP-controlled Michigan legislature’s controversial Local Government and School District Accountability Act. This means that debt-ridden and financially troubled Elberta could fall under government financial review and, hypothetically, the town could be disbanded and turned over to non-elected Emergency Managers.
A boat wash workshop will be held on April 28 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Leelanau Community Government Center Community Meeting Room, lower level. Learn protocol for washing your own watercraft and recreational equipment and the importance of using the boat wash at the DNR site on Little Glen Lake.
The first annual Benzie County Water Festival in nearby Frankfort on Saturday, March 19 is a community water celebration designed to engage folks in the stewardship of the Great Lakes, the global freshwater crisis and the cultivation of a vibrant and sustainable local culture.
Michigan Land Use Institute: A proposal by the nation’s largest energy company to erect more than 100 utility-scale wind turbines in Benzie and Manistee Counties holds the promise for an economic boost to the rural region, experts say, and will further the state’s efforts to become a leader in the nation’s emerging clean energy sector.
Northern Michigan’s full service freshwater surf shop. Sleeping Bear Surf & Kayak provides lessons, rentals and sales. Surfboards, stand-up paddle boards, skimboards, longboard completes, touring kayaks, wetsuits, lifestyle clothing and accessories. Beryl and Frank are all about encouraging free-ride play on the big water. They and their staff have been happily helping groms, families and people of all ages since 2004.
Avian botulism returned to Lake Michigan this year, killing more species and lasting longer than other recent outbreaks, according to state wildlife officials and researchers. The increase came after a two-year lull. The outbreaks first hit Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Benzie and Leelanau counties in 2006. The die-offs rapidly spread across northern Lake Michigan shorelines and killed an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 birds in 2007.
Glen Arbor, Michigan, has a lot going for it. Lake Michigan, the Sleeping Bear Dunes, friendly locals, a vibrant art scene … and here’s a new notch for the belt. BroBible.com (“Every bro has a story”), an online fraternity-spirit lad mag, has named Glen Arbor among the most “Bro Towns” in the United States.