Early in his career, Phil Myers was teaching an ecology course at a research station just south of the Mackinac Bridge, near Pellston. Before the semester started, he set up mouse traps to see what animals were around for his students to work with. When he checked the traps though, he had a problem. “What I was catching was not what was supposed to be there,” Myers recalls.

Points North

First came the mice. Then, Lyme disease.

Last month, a bug the size of a fleck of pepper was found in a hemlock tree in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The invasive bug is called the hemlock woolly adelgid and it threatens Michigan’s 170 million hemlock trees. Infestations have existed in southwestern Michigan for years, but last year it was discovered in Mason County and has since crept north of Ludington. Foresters hope to hold the line there and keep woolly adelgid out of hemlock stands in northern Michigan.

Points North: Finding the hemlock killer

There was a plan to release hundreds of pine martens — a slender, furry predator native to the Upper Midwest — in Michigan's lower peninsula over several years. But that never happened.

Points North: Where are all the martens?

A years-long effort to build an experimental fish ladder on the Boardman River in Traverse City is in jeopardy. That’s all because of a man who decided to sue the city to protect a place he loves.

Points North: A multi-million-dollar fisheries project is suddenly on hold

A century ago, Michigan decided politics was not useful for protecting the state’s forests, water and wildlife. A commission was set up to manage natural resources without much influence from elected officials.

Points North: Michigan's apolitical conservation legacy

The plan to dig a nearly four-mile tunnel underneath the Straits of Mackinac and replace the Line 5 oil and gas pipelines continues to move forward.

Points North: Should future plans for Line 5 consider climate change?

Warmer winter temperatures are causing snow totals in many areas around the Great Lakes to drop dramatically. Scientists say a warmer climate means cold and snowy winters will likely become more and more unreliable. That leaves snow enthusiasts and businesses that depend on the snow, scrambling to try to adapt.

Points North: Winter recreation on a warming planet

Grand Traverse Bay and inland lakes across Michigan, like Lake Leelanau and Torch Lake , will be ice-free by the end of the century if carbon emissions continue at current levels.

Points North: Winter ice will become a memory on many Michigan lakes

At a lock and dam site in the suburbs of Chicago, there’s a plan to build a set of booby traps to keep invasive carp from reaching the Great Lakes. It would involve a barrier of bubbles, an electric field, underwater speakers, and a price tag of over $800 million dollars.

Points North: The elaborate plan to keep invasive carp from the Great Lakes

A dispute between Michigan's Department of Natural Resources and the commercial fishing industry is heading to court. The state announced it will prohibit fishing in water deeper than 80 feet and other restrictions commercial fishers say will mean the end of their livelihoods.

Points North: A standoff over commercial fishing in Michigan

Arctic grayling were wiped out of Michigan nearly a century ago. Since then, researchers have been trying to restore the iconic fish to the state, without success. Now, more than 50 collaborators across the state think they have a shot. Also, a look back with our field guide, Cheryl Bartz.

Points North: Could we finally bring grayling back to Michigan?

There’s a lot of interest in solar energy in Michigan as the technology becomes cheaper and more efficient, and utility companies set ambitious renewable energy goals . But building up the state's solar capacity will require miles and miles of land. And that could be a problem, because many people don't want solar farms in their communities. To get around this issue, the Department of Natural Resources is looking to develop large-scale solar projects on abandoned mines and other old industrial sites.

Points North: Where to build solar farms in Michigan

For public land advocates in Michigan, Christmas comes the first week of December each year. That’s when the Michigan Natural Resources Trust fund board decides how to spend the earnings of its massive endowment. This year, the board awarded $42 million in grants to fund projects across the state — from an addition to the Pigeon River Country State Forest to expanded parking at Torch Lake, building restrooms at an Elberta beach and dozens of other projects. Also, why deer really do get caught in headlights.

Points North: $42 million for Michigan public lands

For most people, November isn’t a great time for a day at the beach. But Ludington photographers Todd and Brad Reed aren’t most people. They dream of capturing Lake Michigan at its gnarliest.

Points North: Photographing the gales of November

The number of black bear sightings in northern Michigan is on the rise, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

Points North: Bears, bears everywhere

Points North is a ten-minute weekly show from Interlochen Public Radio where we explore northern Michigan through the news, people and places. The show connects you with life in the region through carefully crafted journalism and sound-rich storytelling.

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