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 In particular, the calendar is completely out of date, and will be removed for the time being.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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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)

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TART Trail May Get Tunnel

South Airport Road, Traverse City, Michigan (from a TV 7&4 video)

based on a news stories from UpNorthLive.com Tunnel under South Airport Road? , and Study results take a closer look at trail plan

"South Airport Road is 'The Wall,' stated Ted Okerstrom, one of the planners and proponents of a tunnel to take the Traverse Area Recreation Trails (TART) underneath the busy street, which is currently the barrier separating the TART system from the Boardman River Trail.

TART Executive Director, Julie Clark, says, “The tunnel provides the most access to the most types of user; skiers, hikers, bikers and even canoeists can use it.” This plan places the tunnel along the Boardman River Trail, providing a connection between the whole TART system and the Boardman River system.

This connection would provide downtown Traverse City residents, pedestrians, bicyclists, and skiers off-road access to Grand Traverse County's athletic fields, Nature Education Reserve and the Boardman River valley.

Funding stands as the biggest challenge, but Traverse Trails is planning to apply for grant money. The project is a partnership between City of Traverse City, Charter Township of Garfield, Grand Traverse County, Sara Lee, and Traverse Area Recreation and Transportation (TART) Trails, Inc.

See Traverse Trails
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Volunteers Needed for Karner Blue Monitoring

male and female Karner Blue butterflies (photo from the National Forest Service)

from Heather Keough, District Wildlife Biologist USDA Forest Service

The Baldwin/White Cloud Ranger District, located in western lower Michigan, is looking for volunteers to assist with monitoring and management activities for the federally endangered Karner blue butterfly in 2011. Volunteers are needed to help conduct surveys between late June and early August to assess the status of Karner blue butterfly populations, and evaluate the effectiveness of different management strategies for restoring Karner blue butterfly habitat. There are opportunities for individuals of all skill levels to participate. Training will be provided. Interested parties can volunteer during weekdays, for a few days, or a week or more. Limited mileage reimbursement and/or housing may be available upon request.

Volunteer participation has allowed the Baldwin/White Cloud Ranger District to dramatically increase its management and monitoring activities for the Karner blue butterfly. The volunteers, partners, and U.S. Forest Service personnel that have made the Karner blue butterfly recovery program a success were recently recognized for their achievements with the receipt of two prestigious national awards: Wings Across the Americas Award for Butterfly Conservation, and Making Tracks with the Forest National Award for outstanding accomplishments in the Habitat Management Program. To those who volunteered during past field seasons, thank you and congratulations! Your participation made these awards possible!

The assistance of volunteers is vital to meet our recovery goals! Please choose to volunteer this year and help conserve a locally endangered species. If you or someone you know is interested in participating in the 2011 field season, please contact me at 231-745-4631 x 3111 or hkeough@fs.fed.us.

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Adaptive Bike Trail Being Built at Challenge Mountain

adaptive bike (photo from Kids Wish Network)

based on a news article in the Petoskey News

Kids with special needs will have one more place to enjoy the outdoors, possibly as soon as this summer, thanks to Challenge Mountain

Challenge Mountain, a non-profit organization based in Boyne City, Michigan, is dedicated to enriching and improving lives for the mentally and physically challenged through outdoor recreation.

They already provide opportunities for kids with special needs to ski, using special equipment to adapt to each special situation in the least restrictive manner possible. Now, board member Bob South says, "The end result we’re shooting for is having an adaptive trail where kids can learn mountain bike skills. It has to be adaptive for kids who have never ridden before and for kids with a variety of disabilities."

South has been planning the adaptive trail for about twelve years. On March 15, volunteers began walking the Challenge Mountain property to being choosing a route for the trail. A skills course of about 1.5 miles will be the first project.

Coupled with the trail building, a separate committee will work on raising the money needed to acquire a variety of adaptive bikes for kids to use. Such bikes are often custom built, and can be quite expensive. In addition to bikes which can be powered by a single child, some bikes will be special tandems, and other will be bikes with side-cars.

See XChallenge Mountain
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Free Map of Michigan Multi-Use Trails

from the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance

As of January 2011, a new map of Michigan's multi-use trails is available. For a free copy of the Michigan Trails and Greenways Map and Directory send a self addressed stamped (.61 or 2 first class stamps) business size envelope to:

MTGA Trail Map
PO Box 27187
Lansing, MI 48909

If you prefer an interactive online map, go to: Michigan Trails Finder

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1700 More Acres Protected in Pere Marquette Watershed

Elliott property (photo by Tim Johnson)

condensed from the Spring 2011 Newsletter of the Land Conservancy of West Michigan

The protection of the free-flowing Pere Marquette River continued in 2010 as two more families protected their land by creating conservation easements with the Land Conservancy.

The Elliott family created an easement of 136 acres which helps protect the resident trout and migratory salmon and steelhead that use the Pere Marquette along their stretch of the river.

Wildlife benefits too. "They tell me that bobcats are nocturnal, but I see them throughout the night and day," notes Craig Elliott. There is also an active bald eagle’s nest in a tall white pine overlooking the river on the property.

A small stream originates within a cedar grove and runs through a majority of the Elliott property before flowing onto adjacent Michigan DNR land. By protecting their property with a conservation easement, the Elliotts have ensured that this stream will continue to be a cold-water feeder stream to the Pere Marquette.

Upstream of the Elliott property, the Lewis family has also made the permanent commitment of a conservation easement to protect their 17 acres along the Middle Branch of the Pere Marquette. The Middle Branch is known for its brown trout population. Because of surrounding open space, the Lewis property is frequented by bobcat, white-tail deer and black bear.

"We strongly believe that we don’t truly own the land, but are merely caretakers for coming generations," states Eric Lewis as he reflects on the desire of placing the property into a conservation easement.

See Land Conservancy of West Michigan
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Several Western Michigan State Forest Campgrounds to Close

State Forest Campground (photo by jhy)

based on a news release of the Michigan DNR

With all the budget pain in Michigan, some State Forest Campgrounds are going to suffer. Ones that are "underutilized" will be closed, 23 of them. These are all campgrounds that have few amenities, and therefore attract fewer campers. Of course, if you are one of the people who really prefers to get away from the crowds, this news is not going to be good.

Most of the closures are in the Upper Peninsula, but Lower Michigan is not exempt. To be closed:
• Cheboygan County: Black Lake Trail Camp
• Crawford County: Manistee River Bridge
• Lake County: Bray Creek
• Montmorency County: Little Wolf Lake State Forest Campground
• Oscoda County: McCollum Lake State Forest Campground
• Otsego County: Pigeon Bridge and Round Lake
• Wexford County: Long Lake

Cara Boucher, assistant chief of the DNR's Forest Management Division, said, "Given the long-term trend of declining use and the inability to raise camp fee revenues, the only way to absorb the current cut in General Fund support is to close some campgrounds."

The order to close the 23 campgrounds will be submitted as a proposal at today's Michigan Natural Resources Commission (NRC) meeting in Lansing, and will be eligible for action by DNR Director Rodney Stokes at the NRC's May 12 meeting in Flint. If approved at the May meeting, the closures would be effective on May 19, 2011.

It's difficult to imagine how much this will save. The only services provided are usually latrines and a hand pump. Admittedly, these need to be serviced in the spring and fall, but surely the high-performing campsites could cover some costs for the smaller sites.

It's difficult to imagine how future generations will learn how to enjoy nature when more and more places that are close to natural are closed each year.

See Natural Resources Commission Agenda for April 7, 2011
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Rough Legged Hawk in Mason County

caption (photo by Dave Dister)

received from Dave Dister

Dave Dister is working on becoming the man who "wrote the book" on birding in Mason County, Michigan. This was received from him yesterday:

Today while driving south on north Angling Road in Victory Township, I drove by a rough-legged hawk on a spruce tree near the road. I quickly turned around, drove back and got a few photos before it took off. I was only 35 feet or so away from the bird- how cool ! Also, note that as a rule RLHAs [rough-legged hawks] perch on the tips of trees vs. the similar sized RTHAs [red-tailed hawks] which perch on major branches. This is even noticeable from a great distance.

If you want to be on Dave's birder e-list and receive updates directly, contact him at Dave Dister
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