National Trails Day 2011- West Michigan Events

by JHY with information from American Hiking

American Hiking Society has long sponsored National Trails Day on the first Saturday of June each year. This year's theme is "Made with All Natural Ingredients."

National Trails Day is a celebration of trails that grew out of President Ronald Reagan's recommendation that all Americans be able to go out their front doors and within fifteen minutes, be on trails. The recommendation, dubbed Trails for All Americans, became the impetus behind several public and private parties joining American Hiking Society in launching National Trails Day® in 1993.

Trails do not just appear for our enjoyment, it takes many hours of planning, labor, and negotiating to develop them. National Trails Day®, the only nationwide celebration of trails, brings awareness to trails and thanks many people and partners for their support and hard work, including volunteers, land agencies, and outdoor minded businesses. It is also a day to introduce people to the many joys and benefits of trails.

Registered Events in West Michigan for 2011
Traverse City: The Grand Traverse Conservation District is hosting a Boardman Valley Trail improvement project. (pre-registration required)
Grand Rapids: The Kent County Parks Department will be building new trail at Knapp Valley Forest Park. (pre-registration required)
Lowell: The West Michigan Chapter of the North Country Trail Association is hosting a tour of historic Fellasburg Park in the morning, a hike in the afternoon, and a potluck dinner at 4 pm.
Branch and Manistee: The Spirit of the Woods Chapter of the North Country Trail Association will host an event at two locations. Short guided hikes, snacks and parking fees waived by the Forest Service.

For more information about all registered events See American Hiking Society

These links are checked on the date of the article. As the article ages, some links may become invalid

Go To www.getoffthecouchnews.blogspot.com for all the news
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Update on GetOffTheCouch.info

This news blog began as an outgrowth of the Get Off The Couch (GOTC) web site. I'd been posting news articles without benefit of a blogging platform, and it was just a no-brainer to make the switch. The two sites should support each other. GetOffTheCouch.info has detailed information about where to find quiet, muscle-powered recreation opportunities in Mason, Lake, Manistee, and Oceana Counties in west Michigan.

It's been very successful in some ways. The traffic has been great, ranging from 90,000 to 120,000 hits a year. But my original dream for how to make the site pay for itself has been a learning experience. I thought that it would be a great place for local motels, eateries, sport stores, outfitters, etc. to get the word out to people who are looking for those local recreation sites.

But, the reality has been that local places do not want to advertise on the internet. I won't bore you with the details, but the truth is that I have only one local advertiser left (other than me promoting my own stuff). Gathering the info and maintaining the site takes way too much time to just be a hobby, so I've lowered my sites from that lofty and am working at putting Google ads throughout the site.

Over the past two years, while I was completing my North Country Trail quest, GOTC hasn't been getting much attention. In particular, the calendar is completely out of date, and will be removed for the time being. It needs to be made interactive for easier entering of events. It was also very difficult to compile the pertinent information. I'm unsure what the solution would be to that problem.

I'm also in the process of moving the entire site to my own server space, which will cost less. This shouldn't be too difficult, except that the forms for condition reports on every page will need to be redone, and this takes time.

I absolutely believe that this project is viable, but to date have not been able to remotely begin to have it pay for itself.

Anyone with a relevant blog or web site who is interested in advertising, feel free to read the Get Off The Couch advertising terms.

See Get Off The Couch
These links are checked on the date of the article. As the article ages, some links may become invalid

Go To www.getoffthecouchnews.blogspot.com for all the news
See Get Off The Couch

Note from Admin- Entrecard

I have had to re-apply to Entrecard, as they deleted my blog when Blogger accidentally flagged it as spam. If you had pending ads here, they are all gone, and I have a new EC account number. My apologies for any inconvenience, I hope your credits were given back and that you won't hesitate to advertise here again.
These links are checked on the date of the article. As the article ages, some links may become invalid

Go To www.getoffthecouchnews.blogspot.com for all the news
See Get Off The Couch

Ottawa County to End "No Swim" Warnings

based on a news article in the Grand Rapids Press

Due to the fact that it takes 24 hours to get the E.coli results from beach water testing, Ottawa County will no longer issue beach advisories.

Shannon Felgner, communications specialist for the Ottawa County Health Department, stated that last year, they were able to confirm that surges in E. coli levels are short lived. By the time results were learned, and an advisory was issued the danger had already passed.

Muskegon agrees that this time lag is a problem, but stated that they will continue to post warnings. They hope to procure fast-result test kits for next year, but the kits are not yet approved by the Environmental Protection Agency.

All reports can be seen through the Michigan DEQ BeachGuard web site. Historical data allows people to make decisions about using beaches which seem to have ongoing problems.
These links are checked on the date of the article. As the article ages, some links may become invalid

Go To www.getoffthecouchnews.blogspot.com for all the news
See Get Off The Couch

Emmett County Gains Prestigious Dark Sky Designation

Headlands Park (photo from UpNorthLive video)

based on several news articles

Headlands Park, just west of the Mackinac Bridge in Emmett County has been granted the prestigious designation as a Dark Sky Park. Only five other such locations have been named in the United States. These are in Utah, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Washington state.

Dark Sky Parks are considered to be outstanding locations for viewing the night sky. A 75-page application must be submitted to the International Dark-Sky Park Association. Testing for intrusive light on the property was conducted. There is also the requirement of an educational component, and ideas are being collected to meet this need.

Laurie Gaetano, the county’s Parks and Recreation Director, commented, "This important designation will spur many more opportunities for the public to come out and enjoy the beauty of the land, waters and skies that define North Michigan. And it will also ensure the protection of the many animal and bird species that call the Headlands home."

The 600-acre park has already been used for teaching opportunities related to astronomy. Cheboygan astronomer, Patrick Stonehouse, served as the Dark Sky Association sponsor for the Headlands property application. Upon hearing of the designation, he wrote, "Your achievement will benefit all those local star lovers who will have nowhere else to go in lower Michigan to see their celestial friends."

See Emmet County park on prestigious list for a really dark sky from UpNorthLive, and the video
See Emmet County park gets top designation for sky-watching from the Detroit Free Press
See Emmett County Dark Sky Park
These links are checked on the date of the article. As the article ages, some links may become invalid

Go To www.getoffthecouchnews.blogspot.com for all the news
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Interesting Birds in Mason County

snow bunting (photo by Dave Dister)

from Dave Dister

Today at Ludington Harbor I found two very late Snow Buntings (north pier) and one Willet (south pier). I also saw two Piping Plovers on the beach south of Ludington Harbor, heard a Sora in the Pere Marquette Marsh, and heard a Red-headed Woodpecker at Buttersville Park. Birds are definitely moving north again.

Dave

willet (photo by Dave Dister)

These links are checked on the date of the article. As the article ages, some links may become invalid

Go To www.getoffthecouchnews.blogspot.com for all the news
See Get Off The Couch