MOWA Invites Nominations for 2026 Clean Waterways Award

Events Calendar

Kenneth Kornheiser receives the 2025 award on behalf of Kalamazoo River Watershed Council from MOWA board member Jeff Nedwick (photo from MOWA)

a news release of Michigan Outdoor Writers Association

The Michigan Outdoor Writers Associations (MOWA), in partnership with Enbridge, is accepting nominations for the 2026 MOWA Clean Waterways Award. The Clean Waterways Award recognizes and rewards organizations who demonstrate continuous, voluntary efforts to protect, preserve, and enhance the lakes, rivers, and streams of Michigan.

Threats to Michigan’s waterways are on the rise and it’s more important than ever to protect our most vital and treasured assets. While stewardship of our waterways is everyone’s responsibility, MOWA is specifically seeking to reward local or regional organizations operating within the state of Michigan for their voluntary stewardship efforts.

Last year's recipient was Kalamazoo River Watershed Council. The KRWC played a critical role in the cleanup and restoration of the Kalamazoo River after the July 2010 oil spill that released up to a million gallons of tar-sands crude oil into Talmadge Creek – a small tributary to the Kalamazoo River near Marshall, MI – which resulted in the contamination of a 30-mile stretch of the Kalamazoo River. The Kalamazoo River Watershed Council, an Assisting Agency under the Unified Command led by U.S. EPA and Enbridge, closely monitored the spill response and contributed numerous technical suggestions based on their experience and familiarity with the river and floodplain ecosystems. They were also involved in outreach activities, including public talks and presentations to schools and community groups.

About MOWA
Founded in 1944, MOWA is a non-profit organization comprised of outdoor communicators with a passion for communicating about nature, the environment, and outdoor recreation. MOWA’s members communicate on various outdoor subjects including hunting, fishing, skiing, hiking, snowmobiling, backpacking, the environment, education, trapping, travel, humor, natural resources, conservation, ecology, birding, boating, canoeing, kayaking, shooting sports and more.

Detailed information about the award can be found by visiting the Clean Waterways Award section of the Michigan Outdoor Writers Association website. Please contact Jeff Nedwick for additional information or questions: jeffsoutdrs@gmail.com


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Recycle Boat Shrink-Wrap

winter boat storage (photo from Sea Grant)

a news release of Michigan Sea Grant

This program provides boaters and marina operators with a cost-effective, environmentally friendly option for disposal of shrink-wrap.

Shrink-wrap (Low-Density Polyethylene or LDPE) is commonly used for protecting recreational boats from snow, ice, water and debris when stored outside during the winter. In the shrink-wrapping process, plastic is draped over the boat, secured by strapping and heated to provide a rigid plastic surface, thereby providing a protective covering strong enough to hold the weight of snow and ice and protecting the boat from the elements. In the spring, shrink-wrap is removed and often ends up in landfills.

Proper preparation and storage of shrink-wrap is key to preventing problems with recycling machinery that shreds the plastic.

• Step one: Remove strapping, lumber, nails, zippers and vents before packaging shrink-wrap for recycling. The doors and vents may be reusable next year.
  
• Step two: Keep the shrink-wrap as clean as possible, free from gravel and sand.
  
• Step three: Roll or bag the shrink-wrap, depending on your local program’s requirements.

Bay Area Recycling for Charities and Dr. Shrink, Inc. have partnered to assist businesses in the Lower Peninsula in recycling shrink-wrap by creating an annual recycling run. Participants may enroll in the program by completing a Michigan Recycling Run 2011 form.

Many counties in Michigan provide shrink-wrap recycling services. Contact your county’s waste management program to see if a program is available. Emmet and Washtenau Counties are known to take this product.



See Shrink Wrap Recycling Video
See Enrollment Form
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Kalamazoo River Oil Spill Cleanup On Schedule

Kalamazoo River cleanup (photo from Enbridge)

based on a news story from WZZM TV13

Enbridge, the company whose pipeline burst, spilling oil into the Kalamazoo River in 2010, is staying on schedule with cleanup. The local Township Supervisor states that every deadline has been made, and efforts have exceeded the required work.

The final step is to purposely agitate sediments which causes the oil to be released and rise to the water surface. There it can be trapped with booms and removed. Work is focused on areas at Ceresco Dam, Morrow Lake and Mill Pond

The EPA has set a deadline of August 31 to remove as much oil as possible from the river bottom. Some sections of the river may be re-opened for recreation by the end of 2011.

Several new riverside parks will be created as part of the mitigation. These will include boat launches, picnic areas and parking.

It is still unknown what caused the pipe rupture despite study by the National Transportation Safety Board. Cleanup is projected to cost $550 million, but Enbridge says they are committed to completing the job



See Enbridge response updates
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AFFEW Lists Fall Activities

if you like this article, click the Blip chiclet!
a news release of AFFEW

The Mason County based environmental group, AFFEW, announces the following fall activities. AFFEW stands for A Few Friends for the Environment of the World.

Beach Sweep August 10th and September 25th (International-counting done at this one). This volunteer activity removes litter from Lake Michigan beaches.

Storage Unit Sale August 27th-28th- like a garage sale, but no clothes! From The sale will be 8-4 p.m. Friday the 27th and 8-3 p.m. Saturday the 28th, at Larson’s Storage, South Jebavy Dr., Ludington, MI, Unit B 33

Donations can be made 5-7 p.m. on August 2, 9,16, 23, 26, and August 25th from 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Or make contact for other times.

Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day August 21, 9 a.m. -2 p.m. Volunteers are always welcome. This event is at the Mason County Road Commission on US 10 east of Scottville.

Annual Dinner-October 2 Ludington Center for the Arts, 6:30 p.m. Potluck with Annual Meeting to follow.

AFFEW’s 20th Anniversary Celebration – October 2 after the Annual Meeting. Hard to believe that AFFEW has been around 20 years! To mark this accomplishment we have booked The Famous Ragbirds! This high energy roots and world music band have strong environmental beliefs. The Center only holds 110 people so MEMBERS will have until September 15th to purchase tickets. If you are not up to date with membership you might consider doing so. After that friends of AFFEW will be able to buy them. If you want to secure a ticket for yourself and family send $15 per person to Box 177 Ludington, MI 49431 with your name, phone number, and address. The tickets will be held for you at the event. Board members will also have tickets available.

Battery Recycling is still going on. For drop off points and information see the web site.

See AFFEW
Contact Julia Chambers
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Kalamazoo River Cleanup Closes Segment

the Kalamazoo River now flows freely past the previous site of Plainwell Dam (from Kalamazoo River Webline)

a news release of the Michigan DNR

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources today announced that a one-mile stretch of the Kalamazoo River between the Penn Central Railroad Crossing and the Plainwell No. 2 Dam will be closed to public access starting Saturday, Aug. 1. Cleanup operations to remove targeted soils and sediments containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are slated to begin at that time and will continue until December 2010.

Contractors will be operating heavy construction equipment on both sides of the river as well as on two mid-channel islands, making it too dangerous to allow access to canoeists, kayakers and other boaters. Signs will be posted to alert river users of the closure.

Boaters also will not be able to access or pass the Plainwell No. 2 Dam structures or the Mill Race; no form of portage is available around the dam or through the Mill Race.

The recently completed cleanup effort on the Kalamazoo River - located between the Main Street Bridge in Plainwell and the old Plainwell Dam three and one-half miles downstream from the current work site -- began in 2007 and was completed in early 2009. This project included the removal of the old Plainwell Dam, allowing the river to flow freely in its historical channel as well as unobstructed passage of fish, canoes and kayaks.

See Kalamazoo River Cleanup Continues
See Portion of Kalamzoo River Reopened for Public Use
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Tunnel at Sleeping Bear?

Pierre Stocking Scenic Drive dune (photo from Visit Sleeping Bear)

based on a news article in the Traverse City Record Eagle, "Park officials eye tunnel, boardwalk," by Brian McGillivary, July 3, 2009

The steep dune from the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore can pose a threat to visitors who misjudge its difficulty. Ignoring posted signs, people leave the boardwalk and descend the 450 foot sand and gravel cliff to the lake. Many of them need help returning to the top and their vehicles. Rangers regularly have to aid visitors who have become injured, exhausted, overheated, or lost from trying to find less strenuous ways back to the top.

Also, erosion of the dun itself is becoming a serious problem as grass is trampled, and paths funnel winds into unnatural locations.

The National Park Service has paid JJR Consulting firm of Ann Arbor, $60,000 for an environmental assessment. The resulting report offers four alternatives for consideration.

The one favored by Sleeping Bear officials is to construct a 150-foot tunnel through the top of the dune to a new elevated platform. This would be coupled with several elevated boardwalks. Construction costs are estimated between $750,000 and $1 million.

This would keep visitors from ever touching the sand. Some see this as the best alternative to protect the park, while others feel that it runs counter to everything that a National Park should be. "There are a lot of activities in our national parks that involve some danger, but I think it's really neat when people go out and use the park instead of standing there on a platform and looking at it like it's a postcard," said a retired ranger.

And there is no guarantee that hikers won't simply find ways to avoid the tunnel and walk out to the dune anyway. Park Superintendent Dusty Shultz will make the final decision.

See Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive Under Evaluation
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Muskegon Lake to Get $10 Million Cleanup

Muskegon Lake (photo credit: NOAA)

from a news release of the Great Lakes Commission

Federal stimulus dollars totaling $10 million have been awarded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to the Great Lakes Commission (GLC) for a major wetland and wildlife habitat restoration project on Muskegon Lake, Michigan, along the east shoreline of Lake Michigan.

Partnering with the West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission (WMSRDC), the GLC will coordinate the restoration of some 10,000 feet of shoreline “hardened” over several decades by broken concrete, foundry slag, sheet metal and other materials. The project will also remove more than 180,000 tons of degraded lake bottom sediment to improve aquatic habitat for fish and other species.

As with all programs receiving stimulus funds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the project also includes a job creation commitment: it is projected to generate almost 40,000 labor hours to support 125 jobs, largely in engineering and construction. More than $20 million will be contributed by local sources through in-kind services, donations of land, and conservation easements.

Muskegon Lake is part of the Great Lakes coastal wetlands ecosystem and provides more food and habitat for wildlife than just about any other Great Lakes ecosystem. Due to filling, development and pollution, Great Lakes wetlands are one of two ecosystems listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Midwest Region as “Imperiled Ecosystems.” The restoration project, to be supported by ARRA funds, builds on more than a decade of research, assessments, planning and design work, as well as large-scale remediation and pollution control efforts on Muskegon Lake

See the Great Lakes Commission news release and project fact sheet
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Michigan Shoreline Plagued by Green Scum

from several sources

Visitors in the past few weeks to the Lake Michigan shore from Holland to Ludington have been complaining about green scum. It is unsightly, and many people wonder if there is a health concern.

In some places the discolored area extends as far as 15 feet out from the shore.

The slime has been identified by the Grand Valley State University's Annis Water Resources Institute as a blend of decomposing algae and other plants. The material was all natural and organic. "It is not very healthy looking water, but I don't think there are any health concerns," Alan Steinman of the Institute said.

It does not appear to contain Algae cladophora, a host for the E. coli bacteria

Farther north, near Ludington, a green layer of plant pollen has collected along the shoreline. Although it looks odd there is no danger unless one is especially sensitive to pollen, since there is probably quite a bit that is still airborne.

The hot, humid and sunny weather, and calm wind conditions have all contributed to the collection of the materials at the shoreline.

See the Muskegon Chronicle, "Hot weather brings harmless but ugly 'scum' to Lake Michigan shoreline"
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Kalamazoo River Cleanup Continues

Pictured here is the Kalamazoo River near the Rose Park Veteran's Memorial on E. Michigan Ave. (photo by Tess McEnroe / Kalamazoo Gazette)

based on a news release of theKalamazoo Gazette

Monday, June 9, people gathered at Rose Park in Kalamazoo, Michigan to celebrate the continuing restoration of the Kalamazoo River.

"I heard the current," said state Senator Patty Birkholz (R-Saugatuck) "and I said, 'Thank you, Lord."

The river cleanup has been a large and ongoing project that has overcome many financial roadblocks as several of the companies paying for the work became bankrupt. Georgia-Pacific and Millenium Holdings have paid $25 million for this phase of the work. The river was heavily contaminated with PCB's in the past and the sediments have all been dredged and cleaned.

Also, remnants of the old dam and powerhouse have been demolished, and more than 2,000 trees, shrubs and plants planted. Participants were excited to be told that plans for restoring the 2.5 mile stretch north of Plainwell will be announced very soon. That section is expected to need $10 million worth of work.

Jim Saric, EPA project manager, explained that the Plainwell section will require two years of work, and studies will continue downstream, "toward Otsego, laying the groundwork for the march of the cleanup to continue all the way to Lake Michigan." An advisory about eating fish from the Kalamazoo is still in effect according to the DEC.

Many miles of attractive river are open to paddling as the Kalamazoo nears Lake Michigan. It is hoped that the continuing cleanup will eventually open the entire length of the river to recreation.
See Portions of Kalamazoo River Reopened for Public Use

See Kalamazoo River Webline
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AFFEW Plans Earth Day Event for Ludington

from the AFFEW web site

AFFEW (A Few Friends for the Environment of the World) is planning an Earth Day event, April 16 and 18, in Ludington. All events will be at the new Ludington Center for the Arts building on South Harrison Street, one block from downtown.

Thursday evening, April 16, Jamie Cross will speak on Great Lakes restoration and Adopt-a-Beach program.

The bulk of the offerings are on Saturday, April 18. Speakers and activities are scheduled throughout the day, and booths from a number of organizations with interests in ecological topics will be set up for the entire time.

Speakers are:
10:30-11:30 AM Rebecca Fox - Eco Art
12:00-2:00 PM Peggy Malnati - Rain Gardens and Organic Lawn Care
2:00-3:00 PM Ray Dereske - Solar/Wind for the Home
3:00-4:00 PM Tom Karas - Michigan Green Energy Update
4:00-5:00 PM Pete DeBoer - West Michigan Nature Conservancy

AFFEW was formed in 1990 and serves Mason County through environmental education, recycling and hazardous waste collection programs, and the popular beach clean-up program.

See AFFEW
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Portion of Kalamazoo River Reopened for Public Use

the Kalamazoo River now flows freely past the previous site of Plainwell Dam (from Kalamazoo River Webline)

compiled from several sources

The Michigan DNR has announced that a one and one-half mile stretch of the Kalamazoo River that had been closed in June of 2007 for the removal of PCB-contaminated sediments is now reopen to public use

The stretch between the city of Plainwell and the city of Otsego has been the site of remediation work to remove river sediments contaminated with PCBs. PCBs are polychlorinated biphenyls, which are toxic organic pollutants.

The final activities on the river were completed in February. The old Plainwell Dam also was removed, and now the Kalamazoo River flows freely in its historical channel for the first time in more than 100 years.

Although LyondellBasell Industries, one of the two companies that had been paying for the work filed for bankruptcy last month, the $25 million cleanup of the section has been wrapped up. This leaves Georgia Pacific as the lone source of revenue for future cleanup projects scheduled both up and downstream.

The EPA, with help from Georgia Pacific, is continuing to try identify other companies that might have polluted the river with PCBs. The timeline for future work divides the river into annual project areas starting from the Plainwell Dam to Otsego City Dam in 2010 and ending with Lake Allegan Dam to Lake Michigan in 2015.

Some work will progress in spite of the reduced funding. Native vegetation, including shrubs, trees and grasses, will be planted along the renovated waterway near Plainwell this spring. A three-year water monitoring program along the 1.5-mile stretch has been instituted.

"With the cleanup complete and vegetation restoration underway, the public can once again enjoy this stretch of the river," said Sharon Hanshue, DNR Fisheries Habitat Unit supervisor.

See Michigan DNR, "Portion of Kalamazoo River Reopened to Public Use"
See Kalamazoo News, "Bankruptcy brings cleanup of Kalamazoo River nearly to a halt"
See Kalamazoo River Webline
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Traverse City Boardman River Banks Cleanup

LUSTs: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks... we don't hear so much about them any more, but in 1958 a large quantity of gasoline was released from one at a gas station in Traverse City. Soil and water contamination occurred as a result of the spill at the Boardman River.

In the 1990's private funds were applied to clean up the contamination from this spill, followed by more state funds.

But a recent drop in water levels revealed an approximately 25 foot area along the riverbank where the soil is still highly odorous and saturated with petroleum.

The Department of Environmental Quality has authorized $450,000 for the removal of this contaminated soil along the banks of the Boardman River.

"Leaking underground storage tanks continue to pose a tremendous risk to our environment and the health of our families," said DEQ Director Steven E. Chester. "There are unfortunately thousands of sites like this one across our state with extremely limited resources available for the DEQ to address them."

a news release of the Michigan DEQ, Jan 4, 2008
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Fast Response Saves Pere Marquette from 200-Gallon Kerosene Spill

map of Ruby Creek Kerosene Spill area

The Ruby Creek Store called 9-1-1 when an above-ground kerosene tank fitting broke and began leaking kerosene. The call was relayed to Garth Aslakson, an environmental quality analyst with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, who promptly drove down from Cadillac on Sunday.

Carr Fire Department was already on hand working with representatives of several other companies to contain the spill.

The kerosene was flowing across Taylor Road and into a ditch. Absorbant padding and booms (large "ropes" of absorbant material used to surround a pollutant) were used. And a vacuum truck sucked up about 7000 gallons of liquid.

Aslakson said that the quick response prevented the kerosene from reaching the South Branch of the Pere Marquette River.

It is speculated that ice fell off the roof and damaged the tank's fittings, causing the release of the kerosene.

read the full article at the Ludington Daily News, "200-gallon kerosene spill contained", by Brian Mulherin, Jan 8, 2008
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