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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Smoke expected to lift in northern Michigan, but more could be on the way
A smoky haze settled over Traverse City, as seen from the top of Copper Ridge Drive on June 26, 2023. Smoke caused poor air quality and hampered visibility across northern Michigan. (Photo: Ed Ronco/IPR News) This coverage is made possible through a partnership between IPR and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization. Canadian wildfire smoke that blew into the Great Lakes region is expected to clear from northern Michigan this weekend — at least for now. The Michigan Air Quality Division said Thursday morning that the heavy smoke across the Upper Peninsula was already clearing out. Earlier in the week, there were unhealthy levels of fine particulate matter in the air across parts of the Upper Peninsula and northern Michigan, with smoke settling here for days before moving further south. While division forecasters expect Friday to be the last day for advisories from this round of smoke, they said it was too early to put out a firm forecast much beyond that: 'There is still a considerable amount of smoke in Canada and the models are indicating a late weekend frontal system could draw down more smoke, next week.' The state has been issuing air quality alerts for much of the region. As of Thursday, there were still advisories across the Lower Peninsula for sensitive groups, including people with health issues like asthma. People can take measures to protect their health, such as limiting outdoor activities, closing windows, and running air conditioners with high-quality filters. This is the latest in a series of intense wildfire seasons fueled by dry conditions in Canada, resulting in smoky springs and summers in the Midwest. 'For the last few years, you've combined what has been somewhat persistent wildfire problems in Canada with an air flow that is moving some of that air from Canada down into the United States,' said Jim Keysor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gaylord. It can be difficult to predict how far-away wildfires will affect air quality in different regions, since smoke is influenced by factors like wind, pressure systems, weather fronts and geography. 'Wherever the wind blows, the smoke is going to go,' said Alec Kownacki, a meteorologist with Michigan's Air Quality Division. 'And at different levels of the atmosphere you can have differing wind directions.' Over the past week, low pressure systems funneled smoke from fires in the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba toward the upper Midwest. 'Along with that wind shift, a cold front came through. And what happens on the back end of a cold front — you have a lot of air sinking,' Kownacki said. Local weather patterns also have an influence. While rain can help improve air quality, the rain that swept across parts of the region earlier this week actually pushed smoke down toward the earth, Keysor said, making exposure more likely. 'It's actually helping to bring down some of that smoke that's higher up into the atmosphere, which normally would have been way up there,' he said. 'That wouldn't have bothered us a whole lot.' One positive, Keysor added, was that modeling for smoke forecasts has become more accessible in the National Weather Service offices in recent years. Their smoke forecasts are informed by state data. 'The programmers that were putting some of those models together began to look at that [smoke] parameter a little bit more and to make it a product that we could view more readily,' he said. The weather models they use are improving. 'We're able to see more of it than we used to.' The heavy smoke that was hanging across the Upper Peninsula and northern Michigan has now moved further south, including around Lansing. 'It's wreaking havoc for us down here right now,' said Kownacki, who is based there. Conditions are expected to improve across much of the state over the next few days, but there may be more smoke from the fires in the near future. The state Air Quality Division updated its forecast on Friday morning.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Florida bees hard at work in Michigan cherry orchards
Tens of thousands of bees teem inside a hive just placed in the Wunsch Farms cherry orchards on Old Mission Peninsula. May 1, 2025. (Photo: Izzy Ross/IPR News) This coverage is made possible through a partnership between IPR and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization. Rain is pelting the cherry orchards at Wunsch Farms on the Old Mission Peninsula. Michal Peterson is wearing a full suit of rain gear. On the back of a flatbed truck are bee hives, stacked two or three high and dripping wet in the downpour. Peterson uses a Hummerbee forklift — 'pretty much a forklift on steroids' — to offload them and drop them off around the rows of budding cherry trees. He hands me a veil so I don't get stung. Peterson works for Hilbert's Honey, Co., distributing beehives on orchards across northern Michigan, work he's been doing for 18 years. 'The wild honeybees aren't really around much. You got some butterflies, the monarchs and the bumble bees, but it's just another extra pollination to insure the farmer,' he said. Pollination is an essential part of many farming operations. That's because pollinators — from bees to bugs to birds — are crucial for plant growth and reproduction. Cherry trees, for example, need pollination in order to develop: More pollination means more fruit. And the honeybees Peterson is setting up in northern Michigan are actually from Florida. Commercial honeybees are considered livestock by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and shipping colonies to different crops around the country is a common practice. For instance, hundreds of thousands of colonies were sent to California's almond orchards in 2017. But the process comes with complications and concerns. European honeybees are not native to North America, and can disrupt ecosystems and out-compete native species for resources. Non-native bees face a number of threats as well: pesticides, diseases and parasites, and weather. Some years have seen high mortality rates, including this year, when some commercial operations reported high losses. Peterson said they coordinate with those running the farm to reduce their bees' exposure to pesticides. 'He tells me when he's done spraying, and I can put the bees in,' said Peterson. 'Right now, they're probably going to spray after it stops raining, for fungicide or whatever. That don't really hurt the bees. It's the poisons that they put out.' Tens of thousands of bees teem inside one of the hives. Hilbert's hives usually have between 30,000 and 100,000 bees. They generally try to place the hives in the orchards when it's cool out — early morning or late evening — so the bees are less active. On a chilly, rainy day that's less of a concern. The cherry trees aren't yet in bloom. 'By next week, you'll start seeing them kind of popcorn out of their shell and have white buds coming out,' Peterson said. 'So this is about the right time, as you can see, the rain don't stop me. [The bees] have to go in a certain time so they can get acclimated to their surroundings.' When Peterson began, he was in between jobs, and knew he wanted to work outside. His brother-in-law, a fifth generation beekeeper, reached out to ask him for help. 'I learned from the best, I feel,' he said. Peterson clearly loves his job. 'The view is amazing,' he said, though we couldn't see much in the downpour. 'While I'm putting in bees, it's really beautiful out here,' he said. 'I always get excited when I have to put bees in the cherries.' Hilbert's Honey is based in Traverse City and LaBelle, Florida, and Peterson is trying to get back down to Florida to make a second trip — his second this season. He and his family rear queen bees in Florida and help pollinate watermelon crops there as well. 'I have a list of pollinations to do, and I'm almost done with this one,' he said. 'We do pollination up [US-31] and all the way up north of Northport. We try to stay local, try to help the local farmers. We also do almond pollination in the wintertime in California,' he said. 'The bees travel more than we do.'
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Here's how federal assistance might work after the ice storm
A snapped-off utility pole lays by the side of the road in Bear Creek Township on March 31, 2025. (Photo: Michael Livingston/IPR News) This coverage is made possible through a partnership between IPR and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization. Last week, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer requested an emergency declaration from President Donald Trump for the state, 12 counties and the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians following the historic ice storm that hit northern Michigan. If granted, up to $5 million from the federal government would be made available to help northern Michigan clean up and recover. Local, tribal and state entities and utilities have been responding to the storm for weeks, clearing roads, cleaning up debris and repairing power lines. Whitmer also called in the National Guard to help. The state estimates that costs for responding to the storm already exceed $7 million. Officials have said federal assistance is central to recovery in the region. U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, a Republican, and Sens. Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin, both Democrats, supported that request. In a news release from the governor's office, Col. James F. Grady II, director of the Michigan State Police, said approval of the emergency request 'would bring critical federal resources to support local response operations that are still ongoing. This is a necessary step while we work toward the broader disaster declaration that will bring additional relief.' But how does the process actually work? After a disaster hits, local, tribal and state governments will typically be the first to respond. If they don't have enough resources to deal with the aftermath, governors and tribal governments can request assistance from the federal government, which the president has to sign off on. Disaster declarations are structured through a law called the Stafford Act. 'There are incidents that obviously the state needs help dealing with, because no state or community can take care of it on their own, and that's when federal aid is designed to kick in,' said Anna Weber, a senior policy analyst for climate adaptation at the environmental nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council. Weber spent a decade working on federal contracts related to water infrastructure and environmental health. There are two types of federal disaster declarations. One is an emergency declaration, which the president decides on and which doesn't have to meet any threshold. The other is a major disaster declaration, which often requires a damage assessment to determine if an area is eligible. (In situations where it's clear that federal assistance will be required, officials don't have to wait for a damage assessment to request federal assistance.) The state of Michigan will work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, and the Small Business Administration to assess whether the region is eligible for that assistance. It's up to President Trump to decide whether or not to grant that relief, which usually goes to local entities to help with cleanup and recovery. In an emailed statement to IPR, White House spokesman Kush Desai said, 'The Trump administration is closely tracking the situation and is working with state and local officials to assess what next steps are needed.' Emergency declarations are typically processed pretty quickly because they don't need to meet any specific criteria. The goal is to get aid to the area quickly. And that can also be a stopgap to give FEMA time to assess the damage to see if more assistance is needed. If that is the case, the governor can request a major disaster declaration which would unlock additional federal dollars. And unlike the initial emergency declaration, in a major disaster declaration FEMA considers a range of criteria, such as a state's financial capacity and resources. Those assessments begin next week. 'There'll actually be people out there driving around to areas that they can reach, you know, going looking at things with clipboards, writing down the kinds of damages that we've seen in these areas, how much money it costs and how many additional resources the state might need in order to address it,' Weber said. If the region is eligible for major disaster relief, other forms of aid can then come into play — such as cash payments to individuals and public assistance for more long term recovery like repairing infrastructure. Rep. Bergman is urging counties to assist in those assessments. 'For us to have a chance at securing Individual Assistance and Public Assistance, we need to take an all-hands-on-deck approach,' he wrote in a newsletter from his office on Thursday. 'I encourage our leaders in all 12 counties to support this effort as we work together to secure help for our communities.' These relief efforts kick in after events like the ice storm, but federal hazard mitigation grants have also aimed to reduce the impact of future disasters. Uncertainty surrounds FEMA amid the Trump administration's efforts to cut costs and reshape the federal government. Trump and those in his administration have said they want to drastically reduce – or even eliminate — the agency. The situation has been constantly changing, but Weber said there have been concrete impacts: 'What we have seen is that staff and programs at FEMA are being eliminated, and aid is being slower to arrive even if it's already been approved.' Those cuts have reached efforts to prepare for disasters as well. For example, Grist reported earlier this month that FEMA plans to dismantle a program, passed under the first Trump administration, to help communities prepare for disasters before they hit. FEMA didn't respond directly to IPR's questions this week about criteria for a major disaster declaration in northern Michigan or what the damage assessment consists of. Still, Weber said the big takeaway is that federal aid is meant to supplement what's already being done, so people can look to local governments and organizations for information and help.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nothing the township can do' about septage on Leelanau County farm
Attorney Chris Bzdok talks to attendees at a Centerville Township meeting on March 12, 2025. (Photo: Izzy Ross/IPR News) This coverage is made possible through a partnership between IPR and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization. Centerville Township's hands are tied when it comes to stopping the use of septic tank waste on a local farm, according to Chris Bzdok, an attorney with the township, which is in northern Michigan's Leelanau County. IPR first reported on this story earlier this week. Neighbors had concerns about the use of what's called 'septage' to fertilize fields. Septage refers to sewage pumped from septic tanks. Officials and some community members wanted to stop the use of septage on lands in the area. The township's zoning ordinance requires a special permit for septage application on land. Bzdok said the township board asked him to look into what could be done. 'This is going to be a frustrating discussion, so I'll give you the bottom line up front,' he said as he began his briefing. 'It is my legal opinion that there is nothing the township can do under its zoning authority at this time.' It's the latest in the Centerville septage saga spurred by a farmer who began applying septage to his fields last year. The township sent a cease and desist letter to the landowner and Williams & Bay Pumping, the company doing the application. But the site falls under the purview of the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, which had granted a permit to use septage at that site. Williams & Bay told IPR that it checked on its right to continue applying septage and that it's complying with state septage application regulations, which are found in Part 117 of Michigan's Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act. In this instance, state law trumps the township's ordinances. Bzdok said that wasn't the case in the mid-2000s, when the zoning ordinance was amended to address septage application. Back then, the township had more authority to decide on such issues. But laws changed and placed that authority with the state. 'The laws that govern these things severely curtail the township's zoning authority — any township's zoning authority — over the land application of septage waste in Michigan,' he said. That explanation didn't go over well with those at the meeting. 'This is not acceptable on any level in my book,' said Kama Ross, a former Leelanau County commissioner, who spoke during public comment. 'This is our groundwater. This is our groundwater. My well is within distance of this. Many people in this room live very close.' Ross urged people to take action by forming a group and talking to regulators and other leaders. When Township Supervisor Ronald Schaub asked whether she thought it was the board's responsibility to do that, she replied, 'I would love to see you take more of a position. I'm not telling you guys what to do. I'm saying as a concerned citizen, I'm not taking this answer as the last say, it's not acceptable. It's not acceptable. It's my home.' Bzdok said if the township were to bring a lawsuit, it would likely fail, though he said the circumstances could change. 'And if they were to change, the township could pursue enforcement of its ordinance,' he said. 'But I can't talk in public about any of the details of that, because that would sort of give the thing away.' Bzdok recommended reaching out to the Michigan Townships Association to find out whether other townships were dealing with similar situations. And he said those who had questions about what they were seeing in the community should contact EGLE. Still, people have concerns about what exactly is being put into the field, and about how the site is monitored. It's fully permitted by the state, and the Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department signs off on the criteria and inspections. But resident Rolf von Walthausen was worried about the state's capacity to enforce existing regulations. 'The one person that occupies the Cadillac office is in charge of the entire upper state of Michigan,' he said. 'That one person I don't think can possibly keep up with everything that's going on, even just in our county.' The Cadillac office covers 10 counties in the northwest Lower Peninsula. Meanwhile, Scott Collins, who lives across the street from the property in question, said he will take his concerns to Lansing. 'It's out of the township's jurisdiction, and it's out of the county's jurisdiction,' he said. 'So the next place is, go to the state and see what our state representatives can do and make them aware that this is actually happening and being forced upon the residents of this county and this township.' Collins said he plans to meet with state Sen. John Damoose and Rep. Betsy Coffia later this month. Editor's note: Kama Ross, who was quoted in this story, is a member of IPR's Community Advisory Council. The council has no editorial control over stories.
