Blog posts by FLOW team and guest writers
Summer’s here. That means more time outdoors on the water, at the beach and under the sun. With each type of enjoyment comes the need for accurate information to protect against polluted water and air, excessive UV rays and fish contaminants. Great Lakes recreational risks include: Rip currents. In 2023, 85 people drowned in the… Read more »
Friends of FLOW, As a descendant of early Montana homesteaders, I’ve been blessed to spend much of my life close to pristine trout streams and millions of acres of wilderness. I’ve pulled lambs, witnessed calves being born on open range, and found myself way too close to grizzlies and bison. Both the responsibility of an… Read more »
FLOW welcomes anyone who has a passion for environmental policy. Each summer, FLOW seeks out bright, talented interns to assist us with communications, policy, and legal research tasks, supported by The Helen and William G. Milliken Fund For Love of Water. The Milliken Fund is designed to support work that protects the Great Lakes and the public trust… Read more »
You probably don’t know it, but this first week in June, Michigan is observing Great Lakes and Freshwater Week. It’s certainly appropriate. Michigan has an astounding array of waters. As Governor Whitmer said in her proclamation, “during this week, we encourage Michiganders to learn more about the unique wonders of our Great Lakes and freshwater… Read more »
Come join us on July 5th for an evening of farm-to-table fare from Epicure Catering, beverages from Baia Estates, Arbor Brewing, and Iron Fish Distillery, and delight in the music of mandolin virtuoso and NPR’s Live From Here host Chris Thile. This event will be hosted by Cherry Basket Farms in Omena, Michigan, located on… Read more »
Our Beachcomber’s Guide to the Great Lakes has some useful information while traveling the shores of the Great Lakes, particularly along the coast of Michigan. With this handy guide in your pocket, you can enjoy the knowledge of public trust and your feet in the water.
Photo credit: Nancy May Happy Birthday to the Mackinac Bridge! Today marks its 61st birthday. The Mighty Mac, as it is affectionately known, opened to traffic on November 1, 1957. Perhaps no other piece of public infrastructure in Michigan evokes the same pride and sense of majesty as does the Mackinac Bridge. It draws tens… Read more »
The rush continues in Michigan’s lame-duck legislature to bind the future of the Mackinac Bridge to notorious oil-spiller Enbridge and its proposed private oil tunnel. A Republican-led Senate committee at an 8:15 a.m. hearing today (Wednesday, November 28) voted 3-2 along party lines to approve Senate Bill 1197 and advance it to the full Senate… Read more »
By Liz Kirkwood and Skip Pruss Substitute Bill SB 1197 continues to be riddled with faulty assumptions and logic that favor and bend towards Enbridge’s private corporate shareholder interests. Most glaring of all is the audacious and misguided underlying assertion that we humans will continue to rely on a fossil fuel based economy over the… Read more »
By Jim Olson “With my Grandma I like to walk along the beach and find Petoskey stones. With my Grandpa I like to go in Lake Michigan and body surf the waves,” my 11-year-old granddaughter Ava Bachmann reflected in late August when she stood with me along the shores of West Grand Traverse Bay. We… Read more »
