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 »
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 »
By Liz Kirkwood, FLOW Executive Director Because we are celebrating FLOW’s 10th anniversary throughout 2021, I have been reflecting with gratitude on how far we have come over the last decade—thanks to you and others in our community of supporters—in securing water justice throughout the Great Lakes. And because there is still so much we… Read more »
FLOW will host a livestream event – Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible on World Water Day & Every Day – on Tuesday, March 22, 2022, from 12 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. EST. The online session will offer perspectives on the critical importance of our groundwater resources and the work of the Michigan Groundwater Table, which is convened by FLOW.
Photo: A lack of septic regulations can lead to waste in our treasured waters. You wouldn’t “do it in the river,” would you? Michigan prides itself on being an environmental leader, particularly in curbing water pollution. But in one area of water policy, Michigan is dead last among the 50 states. It is the only… Read more »
With worsening water scarcity in the US and around the world, pressures to share Great Lakes water will grow. The Great Lakes Compact allows water to be diverted outside of the watershed basin for “short-term humanitarian emergencies.” But what does this mean, and who defines it? What are the ethics of sharing water? Is it right, and… Read more »
Image courtesy of Leelanau.gov. Editor’s note: This opinion article by FLOW Legal Advisor Skip Pruss was originally published in the Traverse City Record-Eagle on Sept. 4, 2022. During SepticSmart Week, which runs through Friday, FLOW is sharing updates on efforts to protect fresh water and public health from uncontrolled septic system waste, as part of an… Read more »
Graphic courtesy of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Editor’s note: During SepticSmart Week, which runs through Friday, FLOW is sharing updates on efforts to protect fresh water and public health from uncontrolled septic system waste, as part of an annual educational campaign that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched a decade ago, with the State of Michigan, other… Read more »
The idea that Lake Huron is an overlooked or forgotten lake has even seeped into our government. A report issued by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality posed the question whether Huron is a victim of amnesia. It’s not the biggest Great Lake, the dirtiest, the most populated or the purest. It’s just unlike any… Read more »
Dear Ones, Every Mother’s Day, I take a walk along the lake. Some years, blue waters mirror blue skies, scattering light across small waves. I find myself stopping a lot on those walks, head tilted toward the sun. I feel it all: warmth, joy, awed gratitude for you three babies who are no longer babies…. Read more »
