The Environment Report

The winter study of the wolves and moose on Isle Royale is heading into its 59th year. The wolf-moose study is the longest running study of any predator and its prey in the world. Scientists from Michigan Tech spend several weeks on the island in the middle of winter every year. They'll be heading back out soon. At one point in the 1980s, there were 50 wolves on the island. Last year, the researchers found there are just two wolves left, and they’re in rough shape. These wolves are father and

Last month, we heard how an abundance of deer is reshaping the forests in northern Michigan. Deer are eliminating trees like maple, oak and cedar in many places. The trees can’t reproduce because any seedling that sprouts up is eaten. Today, we visit a forest in Leelanau County where a conservation group has taken an unusual step to address the problem.

Bald eagles came off the endangered species list in 2007 because they were doing so well. These days you can see more bald eagles than in any time in the past 50 years, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The agency has just finalized a new rule about bald and golden eagles, which revises the permitting system for unintentional impacts on eagles.

A year ago, Flint Mayor Karen Weaver declared a state of emergency in the city. Now, officials say the water is improving, but it’s still not safe to drink without a filter. The water crisis has forced some people to make tough choices. Dana Banks and her husband Charles were both born and raised in Flint, and they still have a lot of family here. Their church is here. Their house, right near downtown, is the first home they bought together.

There’s some hopeful news about a disease that’s killing bats. White-nose syndrome is killing millions of bats in 29 states including Michigan, and five Canadian provinces. It’s a disease caused by a fungus. But there might be a glimmer of hope. Researchers have found some bats in the U.S. appear to have developed resistance to the disease.

Scientists have been worried about the herring population in Lake Superior recently. In fact, last year they warned it might collapse. Lake Superior is the only one of the Great Lakes with a large population of this native fish. This fall, new rules protecting herring took effect in Wisconsin and Minnesota and things appear more stable. But there may still be a big problem lying beneath the surface.

The Environmental Protection Agency just put out a list of ten high priority chemicals. These are the first chemicals the agency will review for risks to human health and the environment under a new law that Congress passed this summer.

On the campaign trail, President-elect Donald Trump said that he would rescind the Waters of the U.S. Rule , which outlines what kinds of water bodies are federally protected. Environmentalists say the rule is necessary to safeguard our ecosystems and drinking water. But many in the agriculture industry don’t like the rule—they say it’s an over-reach, and they’re worried it will give the federal government more say over what they can (and can’t) do on their fields. The Waters of the U.S. Rule (a

This year is likely to be the hottest on record. Scientists with the World Meteorological Organization announced that recently, as world leaders met in Morocco to talk about limiting the impacts of climate change. President-elect Donald Trump has called climate change a hoax, and he’s said he’ll withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. Andy Hoffman is a professor with the Ross School of Business and education director for the Graham Sustainability Institute at the University of Michigan. He

New test results show lead levels in Kalamazoo’s water system have dropped. The federal limit for lead in water is 15 parts per billion. Last time the city tested, in 2014, Kalamazoo’s lead level was 13 parts per billion. Now it's down to 4 ppb. 13 ppb was close enough to worry Shannan Deater, Kalamazoo’s Environmental Services Programs Manager. She says some of the higher lead results in 2014 weren’t really a good, representative sample. Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act