Conservation

The money was slotted for stream restoration and farmland preservation across the region.

Soil and Water Conservation Districts have worked with farmers for decades in every U.S. state to reduce soil erosion and promote conservation. After two years of funding cuts in Illinois, conservation advocates worry that soil health could suffer – and dust storms could become a greater risk.

One has funding delayed on nearly half its projects.

This is the first “organization-led” land purchase in the conservancy’s more than 30-year history.

Two union leaders in Michigan confirmed with WCMU that at least 15 people from Huron-Manistee, 14 from Hiawatha and eight from the Ottawa national forests were affected by the layoffs.

Ice shanties dot the horizon as the sun rises over the frozen Black Lake. It’s only 4'F out, but hundreds of people have gathered here — all because of the elusive, prehistoric lake sturgeon.

A northern Michigan homeowner was surprised to see a hummingbird at his feeder in the middle of winter. But the intrigue only increased when the little bird turned out to be a species that's native to the West Coast.

The arctic grayling vanished from Michigan in the 1930s, but the salmon-like fish could soon make a comeback. Around 500,000 fertilized eggs could be stocked this spring.

The new land preserve will be called Peckham's 100 Acre Wood. Its name comes from the family who owned the land for 80 years before gifting to the land conservancy.

The first round of elk season in Michigan has started, and the state says it will give a financial reward to tipsters who successfully report illegal poaching.