June 2009

My name is Kristin, and I am currently serving as a Huron Pines AmeriCorps member with Michigan Trout Unlimited (MITU).  The goal of my service with Michigan Trout Unlimited is to increase volunteer involvement in monitoring coldwater streams in Michigan.  I spent the first few months of my service designing and organizing a volunteer stream monitoring program.  One of my tasks during this time was to give informational presentations about the volunteer stream monitoring program to MITU chapters that may be interested in participating.  Over the past few months I have given informational presentations to 7 chapters of Trout Unlimited and to the Michigan Council of Trout Unlimited.

I never know quite what to expect with each presentation.  MITU members may be very receptive to the idea of stream monitoring or they may see it as a waste of time.  It could go either way.  Luckily for me, we have wonderful Trout Unlimited volunteers in Michigan, who have been very receptive to the idea of volunteer stream monitoring, even if it has taken a bit of convincing in some cases.  It seems that at each presentation I give there are a few volunteers, who are very excited about the project right away, a few who are very skeptical, and many more who are unsure.  One of my roles in this setting is to provide the group with sound information on why MITU should be doing stream monitoring, how we will do it, and how this group of volunteers will be involved.  In addition, I am there to answer questions and help volunteers to understand what value there is in monitoring coldwater streams in Michigan.  In almost all cases by the end of the meeting the vast majority of volunteers present are excited about the program.  This is a huge win for MITU, Huron Pines AmeriCorps, and coldwater streams across Michigan. 

Monitoring various aspects of stream health and habitat are an important step in conserving, protecting, and restoring coldwater fisheries in Michigan.  This is the mission of MITU and of great benefit to tourists and citizens in Michigan.  Coldwater fisheries across the state of Michigan benefit each time I am able to explain to a group of individuals how participating in simple stream monitoring can be of great benefit to coldwater fisheries in Michigan.  The more we know about our streams the more we can do to conserve, protect, and restore them.

Kristin studies macroinvertebrates on the streambank.

June 2009

Acting on a tip from a Native Plant Rescue volunteer, I made a phone call to a local building contractor developing a piece of property in Grand Traverse county. A voicemail recording picked up, so I left a brief message asking for permission to rescue plants on the property. Over the weekend my phone call was returned with the answer I was hoping for. In addition to granting us permission, the builder informed me that the property was going to be bulldozed the next day!

It was time for an emergency plant rescue! A site permission form needed to be signed by the builder and volunteers needed to be recruited. After a little snafu with the fax machine, the permission form was signed and the dig was on! I called the volunteer who gave me the tip about the property and shared the great news with her. She was very excited and agreed to meet me there that afternoon. She even dragged along her brother who was up on vacation with her! The site had some beautiful hardwoods towering over some even more beautiful native plants.

As I walked up, a single Stinking Benjamin (Red Trillium) caught my eye. I was really excited and in awe! I dug it up and continued to search. I must tell you, it is an exhilarating experience to hike on a forest floor that is going to be upturned by a bulldozer, hunting for Stinking Benjamin. I know that the plant rescue volunteer and her brother had the same feeling. We rescued about 30 Stinking Benjamins and over 50 Jack-in-the Pulpits that day! The next day ground was broken for the house being built on that property.

This is just one example of the work that the Native Plant Rescue program does in the Grand Traverse community. I have never been involved with such a passionate, genuine, fun group of volunteers. They truly care about these plants and the environment. We have so much fun doing it, that sometimes I wonder who is benefiting more: the environment or us. The truth is both. We laugh, we ask questions, we learn, we marvel, all the while your community and environment wins.

A "Stinking Benjamin" waiting to be rescued by volunteers.

 

 

 

 

June 2009

The date was May 27, 2009, and it was raining. This was not just a quiet spring shower either. This was a cold, set-up-and-rain-all-day kind of rain, and it did. We had scheduled a cleanup day to address a number of illegal dump sites on public land, and we agreed to meet at the Roscommon Village Hall. I called one volunteer prior to the meeting and left it up to him as to whether he wanted to come out in the rain, and he opted not to. On my way to the Village Hall, I was thinking there was no way anyone would want to go out into this weather, and that we would reschedule it for another day . . . How wrong I was.

I pulled into the parking lot, and already there were 3 volunteers waiting and 5 members from Home Depot followed me into the lot with one of their rental trucks. We still had 2 volunteers from the village and 1 staffer from the DNR en route. When we all assembled, I was absolutely amazed by their desire to go out into the woods and continue our plan. They were committed, enthusiastic, and just wanted me to point them in the right direction. It was awesome. Since we had enough people, we split into 2 groups. At the end of the day, we cleaned up some 225 feet of creek bank, picked up some 30 cubic yards of old carpet (and boy, did that stink in the rain), trash, and shingles, and removed numerous old tires. And none of them left until we had unloaded all the trash into the DNR’s dumpster. Even on a cold, rainy day the dedication of volunteers to making a difference in their community can really shine brightly.

Dan cleans up illegal trash dumps with the help of volunteers of all ages.

June 2009

My name is Emily and I am currently serving my second year as an AmeriCorps member at the Otsego Conservation District. One of my responsibilities is running the District’s Habitat Enhancement Cost-Share Programs. The goal of these programs is to assist landowners that want to improve wildlife habitat on their property. I have truly enjoyed meeting these landowners and visiting their forests or fields. Conserving wildlife and wildlife habitat is very important to them. I find it rewarding to be able to work together and create a planting plant they are happy with and are excited to implement on their land.

Through these programs I am making a difference in the county “from the ground up” by creating plans that will help provide food and cover that wildlife will be able to utilize for years to come. As a result, over 32 acres of land have been enhanced and at least 6,250 trees and shrubs have been planted in Otsego County. The time I am spending during my service is not only helping landowners, but I am also making changes to the landscape of northern Michigan that benefit wildlife. I think it is awesome that in 20 years I will be able to look at an aerial photo or just drive down the road and see the difference I made during my service.

 

June 2009

My name is Abigail Ertel, and I am serving as a Land Protection Specialist with HeadWaters Land Conservancy as part of the Huron Pines AmeriCorps Program. The focus of my AmeriCorps placement is to assist HeadWaters Land Conservancy (HWLC) in the development of conservation easements and their associated Baseline Assessments alongside Land Protection staff. I am excited to reach out to landowners and help further HWLC’s mission to protect the natural beauty and significant lands of Northern Michigan.

I have been serving as an AmeriCorps member for just over a month, but have already had the opportunity to see the impact that the successful completion of a conservation easement can have on both the land trust organization and the landowner. A conservation easement is a legal agreement between a conservation organization or government agency and a landowner to place a parcel of land into conservation permanently. By doing so, important conservation values of that property are protected. The relationship that develops between agency and landowner helps to foster an understanding that environmental protection is necessary for the integrity of a region’s ecosystems. However, the action of protecting natural and scenic lands has far greater implications than just the obvious biological values. Our human communities are strengthened through the preservation of our most beautiful and wild spaces. Conservation easements are an excellent way for private citizens to leave a legacy of stewardship and teach future generations that is it important to be proud of the tie between family history and the environment.

At the end of May, I was able to join HWLC at Ray Hoobler and Frances Kuehn’s property on the Pigeon River for the final signing of the conservation easement they had developed for their land with the help of my host organization. Ray Hoobler owns almost 400 acres adjacent to the Pigeon River Country State Forest, the biggest piece of contiguous undeveloped land in the lower peninsula of Michigan. This area is home to the largest free-roaming elk herd east of the Mississippi and three of the State’s finest trout rivers. The Hoobler conservation easement will ensure that the elk herd can move freely in this area and protect almost 9,500 feet of Pigeon River streambank from development. This was a huge success for HeadWaters and a pivotal step toward their goal to protect over 6,000 acres around the Pigeon River Country State Forest by the year 2012. For Mr. Hoobler it was a proud moment. He was carrying on his family’s tradition of stewardship, a tradition that started with his grandfather, Dr. Raymond B. Hoobler, and one that will be passed on to his daughter and grandchildren.

What made the day even more remarkable, was that Ray’s story and the process of creating the easement for his property, was captured on film by a television crew from WCMU public broadcasting. As part of a program documenting the history of the land conservation movement across the State of Michigan, the Hoobler story will help exemplify the important personal attachment people have to their land and how this can lead to land protection. This connection is one of the most important factors in the success of conservation easements. The signing was the culmination of almost two years of work and WCMU interviewed Ray, Frances, and HWLC’s Executive Director Gina Render to learn more about the property and its importance.

During his interview Ray talked about the many memories he has from summers spent on the Pigeon River. These special times have created a deep appreciation in Ray for his property and the family history tied to this place. He spoke of his respect for the Pigeon River Country and about how much the area’s environment and undeveloped landscape was something that needed protecting. By entering into a conservation easement he was able to protect his land first and foremost for future generations of the Hoobler family, but also for those who will be living in, and enjoying the wild splendor of the Pigeon River Watershed.

I was moved by how much Mr. Hoobler loved his property, but was more impressed by his belief that you can have an impact on your community by taking the steps necessary to protect what you believe is important. With his support of the conservation easement process, he has ensured stronger protection of the Pigeon River Country State Forest as well as his own property, and has provided a scenic and natural benefit to the greater community of the area. He has also helped HeadWaters come one step closer to achieving their goals for the Pigeon River, and inevitably increasing the land protection message within their service area. I am proud to be a part of something so powerful and meaningful to a wide range of people. I can’t wait to become more involved with HWLC and the conservation easement process.

 

My name is Tim Engelhardt, and I am currently serving as an AmeriCorps member for the Huron Pines AmeriCorps program as the invasive species coordinator. One of the goals of my AmeriCorps position is to educate the public on key nonnative invasive plant species that are threatening the lakes, rivers and forests of Northeast Michigan. I have been serving for nearly nine months. The first several months were spent developing this brand new program and planning fieldwork for the spring and summer months.

One extremely important aspect of the program is educating and engaging the public on invasive species. Education creates a more informed public that can then actively assist in protecting their property and communities from an invasion. Recently I coordinated a public meeting on an invasive species that we are targeting: phragmites, a nonnative grass that is threatening shorelines and wetlands across the country. Approximately 40 people attended the meeting that took place in Tawas City covering identification of invasive as well as native phragmites, methods of removal, required permits and the application process for removal, and how to report established stands of phragmites that they find.

The next step after educating the public about phragmites is to get them involved in controlling the plant. Volunteers have been returning site reports of known phragmites stands to me in our service area so that they can be mapped. Mapping the stands will help us decided where to focus our efforts and move forward. To help private landowners with the cost and process of removing the plant, Huron Pines is also offering a program to help cover those costs. Several people have already shown interest in the program and we currently have one site confirmed. As we continue to educate people about phragmites, more will be interested in taking action. With the help of our volunteers, phragmites in Northeast Michigan will be kept in check.

Tim surveys a stand of phragmites near Tawas City.

It is illegal to let your pig run free in Detroit unless it has a ring in its nose. The website www.dumblaws.com informs me that this old Michigan law is still on the books, technically enforceable. Whether this is actually true, I am quite certain that police officers in Detroit don’t go around checking the noses of loose pigs, ready to write citations for any swine that may be without decorative nostrils. As the website’s domain name does imply, having and enforcing such a law does, quite simply, seem dumb.

Fortunately, even without strict enforcement, the people of Detroit don’t have to worry much about loose pigs roaming the streets these days. Nose rings or not, the problem has pretty much taken care of itself without the need for police intervention. Though, for the life of me, I can not figure out how a nose ring would solve the problem of a free-roaming pig.

I am writing about my position as a Huron Pines AmeriCorps member serving as education and outreach coordinator for the Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy. You see, my position required me to temporally relocate to Bay City, MI, and so I rented a room from a young man who was looking for a housemate. As luck would have it, my new residence was only a half block away from the lovely park that runs adjacent to the Saginaw River. My second night in my new town, my roommate and I took his dogs for a walk at the riverside park. Like many people in the community, my roommate enjoys having recreational opportunities in and around the water. Unfortunately the waters of the Saginaw River and the adjoining Bay have a long history of high pollution levels. Stories of combined sewer overflows and industrial wastes entering the rivers are frequently reported in the news. Many people in the community view these point sources as being the crux of the problem and refuse to take any personal responsibility for water quality until the major sources are cleaned up.

So here we are on our walk when my roommate lets his pigs, I mean pets, roam free in the park. As man’s best friend, I think it can be safely assumed that dogs, unlike wandering pigs, are here to stay.

“Do you have a bag to pick that up?” I say to my new roommate after his dog defecates on the park lawn. He looks at me as if I have just asked if his pig has a ring in its nose. For the life of him he can not understand why it would matter if he picked up after his pet’s waste.

“It’ll pollute the water if you don’t pick it up,” I say to explain.

“It’s natural,” he says in indifference.

“It should be illegal to let your dog roam free in Michigan, unless you have a bag in your pocket,” I think to myself as my roommate walks on. Immediately I visualize scores of dog owners and others getting a good laugh at the newest addition to the dumb Michigan laws list; having no understanding as to why on earth it matters if people pick up after their pets. Even if such a law were passed you can imagine the joke that would become of trying to enforce it.

The fact of the matter is that most people just don’t realize that actions such as failing to pick up pet waste, mowing grass to the water’s edge, or applying too much fertilizer on one’s lawn—common everyday actions from normal people—contribute far greater pollution to our waters than factories and the sewer overflows they hear about on the news. As a Huron Pines AmeriCorps member and education and outreach coordinator for the Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy, one of my responsibilities is to educate people about the ways in which they can help to improve water quality.

Fast forward a week later when my roommate and I take our next dog walk through the park. This time when one of the dogs leaves a present on the park lawn I pull out the plastic bag I had secretly stuck in my pocket and provide the gift wrapping. I walk over to the trash can and dispose of the waste as indifferently as I can, as if picking up pet waste is a “natural” behavior. In subsequent walks my roommate has since taken responsibility for picking up after his pets. I’m not sure if this would have happened had I instead pulled a citation out of my pocket and issued him a fine. This is a small, and yet, a huge success. No, this small behavior change alone will not solve the water quality problems in the Saginaw Bay but it’s a step in the right direction. Indeed, solutions to water quality problems can only be achieved if individuals throughout the community decide to take personal responsibility for keeping our waters clean.

As the Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy works to improve water quality in the region by protecting wetlands—which filter out pollutants and help prevent flooding—I hope I can continue to encourage the people in the Saginaw Bay community to do their part to help clean up the water. My “bag in the pocket” law may never make it on the books, but I hope that someday, it too, is a problem that will take care of itself without the need for police intervention.

June 2009

As the mentor of the Roscommon High School Envirothon team, I had the opportunity to work with a group of exceptional and energetic students. Even though we had an abbreviated season due to scheduling issues, the kids were always willing and eager to do what they could for what they thought was right.

Two members of our Envirothon team had the opportunity to speak to the local school board. They sat nervously awaiting their turn: it was their bad luck that it was one of the most well attended meetings of the year with well over 50 community members and school faculty in attendance. It was unbearably hot and they had to wait patiently for what seemed like an eternity for their chance to speak. When their turn arrived, I introduced them to the board and returned to my seat. They spoke with pride and poise; calmly and coolly explaining to the board why they felt it was important and past due that our schools initiate a district-wide recycling program.

They said what they had to say, and in response, the members of the board praised them for their words and embraced their ideas. As a result of their actions, the school district has begun the process of instituting a district wide recycling program and has embraced the idea that recycling is an important concept to not only teach, but to model for our students.

June 2009

On March 26th and 27th Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary staff worked together with a number of partners and volunteers on a shipboard education program for 185 elementary school students from four Northeast Michigan schools. The program took place in the sanctuary’s visitor center, the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center, dockside at the Thunder Bay River and aboard working research vessels. Students learned about fisheries, the watershed, aquatic habitat, water quality monitoring, maritime history, and SCUBA diving. They toured and sailed aboard working NOAA research vessels to learn about how scientific field work is done by these boats on the Great Lakes. Despite rain and cold weather, students learned a great deal during their day and everyone enjoyed their first ride in a research vessel on Lake Huron. Through this event these elementary school students experienced scientific research first-hand and discovered some of the tools scientists use to do research in Lake Huron for resource management in part of the largest fresh water lake system in the world. Program partners included Michigan Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Michigan SeaGrant, 4-H Volunteers, Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab (a special thank you to the captain and crew of the research vessel Laurentian for their participation in this program!).

June 2009

May 9th, 2009, began on a secluded bluff overlooking the black river in Cheboygan County, where members of Huron Pines AmeriCorps joined local volunteers to restore eroding shoreline that for years has impacted the survival of an ancient fish.

Upon arrival at the project site, I had the privilege of meeting a family of volunteers who welcomed me to their camp fire, eager to tell all of the stories they had accumulated throughout the years participating in this event.

It did not take long to understand just how important a role the wildlife has played in their family.A young man about my age spoke of the river as a companion in his life growing up. It sparked early childhood memories of my own, of traveling miles of wilderness along a silent stream with my father, fishing and observing the natural wonders of Michigan.

It occurred to me then that this service project was not merely designed to promote a government program. No, this project was more about sustaining a lifestyle for the people who have depended on Michigan's natural heritage to deliver long-lasting satisfaction and meaning in their everyday lives.

All told, over 60 volunteers placed rock, topsoil, seed, and landscape fabric at two different sites along the shoreline and planted over 3,000 native plants to reduce erosion. However, it was clear by the end of the project that the Huron Pines AmeriCorps members made their difference not in the number of plants they put in the ground, but by the countless memories they worked to create for future generations of Northern Michigan families.

June 2009

The program I’m coordinating is helping me to understand what it means to be an AmeriCorps member. I have the chance not only to coordinate but also participate in the Conservation First Responder Program for Huron Pines AmeriCorps. This provides me the opportunity to help the public everyday. I’ve had over 40 private landowners contact me asking for assistance with developing management plans for their own land, and only because of the AmeriCorps program in the area can these landowners get the assistance they are looking for.

One of my favorite site visits was with a landowner named Janet. Janet had a timber harvest done on 20 of her 80 acres 10 years ago and she has regretted her decision ever since, thinking that it destroyed the entire area for wildlife use. She heard about the Conservation First Responder Program from her son and called me in a last desperate attempt to save her land. Janet told me all of her concerns including; trenches that the machinery created during the timber harvest, the standing water on her property, and the lack of trees in the harvested area. She ended the phone call by saying, “Maybe you shouldn’t even come out here, my land is a lost cause.” I assured her that I would handle her site personally and try to come up with some management suggestions for her.

When we met at her site, I immediately started sharing my knowledge with her, starting with proper field clothes. I was wearing boots, pants, and a long sleeved t-shirt; she had flip-flops, shorts, and a tank top on. We were in a tall grassland area at the beginning of the site visit and I told her that she’ll probably get ticks on her, and she responded, “What are ticks?” I spent a little time explaining to her what they we and how to properly remove one if it bit her, then I asked “Are you sure you want still want to go out and do the site visit?” She said yes, and we continued on.

When we started walking to the logged off area, Janet showed me the trenches that were created by the loggers equipment during the harvest. She shared her disgust with me and said that she wanted to fill them back up so water quit flowing through her land. I then took some time explaining to her the ecological benefits that the trenches were now serving. I told her that water is now more accessible to plants and wildlife in more areas on your property. You’ve created a new habitat type, a small wetland that will attract more wildlife to your property. If you want to dry it up a little bit, you could plant some red-osier dogwoods by the water’s edge and they’ll eventually start absorbing some of the water. Janet looked at me and said, “So, the trenches are a good thing?” I smiled and said, “Well, they’re not bad.”

When we arrived at the timber harvest area, there were no tall trees but the ground was extremely vegetated. Janet said in disgust, “You see, nothing’s grown back, it’s be 10 years and this is all that’s here.” I was shock at this declaration. I look at her and said, “You know what Janet, it looks great to me.” I told Janet about how forests grow in successional stages from grasslands to small shrubs to small trees and finally to big trees and things such as a fire or a timber harvest set succession back. She looked at me and said, so overall my timber harvest didn’t hurt my land. I said, “Yep. All you did was create yet another habitat type in the area. You have created an opening in this mature cedar stand and many animals that wouldn’t use your land if it was forested, will now use it because it’s open…Cedars are an extremely slow growing tree, but don’t worry they’ll come back.”

For this landowner, she started the day feeling like her property was worthless and she felt like it was her fault her land was like that. But by the end of the day Janet had a better understanding how different animals prefer different landscapes or habitat types. The timber harvest she thought destroyed her land turned out to be the reason for the high biodiversity on her land.

I recapped everything for her at the end of the day, how to properly prepare for a day in the field, the ecological importance of a wetland, and how a forest changes over time. When I said goodbye, she thanked me and said that I finally gave her peace of mind. Janet felt guilty for over a decade for having the timber harvest done on her land, but with a little knowledge from an AmeriCorps volunteer, the guilt went away, and she finally realized that she made the right decision, and that her land was going to be fine. Seeing the relief on her face and the attitude change throughout the day, that’s what I believe being an AmeriCorps member is all about.

June 2009

My first attempt at writing an AmeriCorps “Great Story” focused on the exciting opportunities that I have had while serving at Freshwater Future. Truth be told, these were opportunities that I had known about going into the position but rather than diminish my excitement, the chance to work with grassroots advocates all over the Great Lakes basin was one I that drew me to serve here all along. The excitement I felt, and still feel at working with these passionate and engaged individuals is a tangible reward of my service. No less meaningful have been the projects and opportunities that have been surprises and growth opportunities to learn new skills. The most influential of these new projects has been my experience working on Freshwater Futures “Freshwater Voices” newsletter. This quarterly publication focuses on the issues and stories that Freshwater Future is interested in conveying to our members. As a young person, fairly well-versed in technology, I have been able to spearhead the in-house design of this newsletter and it has proved an incredibly rewarding opportunity. Not only have I been able to write several articles that hundreds of our members have the opportunity to read, but I have worked on design and layout as well—projects I had never worked on before this term of service. While my AmeriCorps service has paid dividends in expanding and improving the skills I already had—it is the surprise projects and new directions that this year of service has provided that I will utilize more in the years to come.

December 2008

Although this is my second term as an AmeriCorps member, it was my first time at Member Celebration and I did not know what to expect. I was excited to travel to Lansing to learn more about the program I have been a part of and will be for one more year. I truly enjoyed my first term of service, but sometimes it felt like I was working “up here in my own little world.” I became a member after everyone else in my program and missed out on the opportunity to attend Member Celebration for that year. I was connected with the other Huron Pines AmeriCorps members and collaborated with them on several projects, but I didn’t quite get a feeling of the big picture. It wasn’t until Member Celebration this November that truly felt like I was part of a state-wide team. As I listened to the other groups talk about what they do and saw pictures of people in action it hit me; we are really making a huge difference. I finally understood how big “we” is. The number of people there and the energy they brought amazed me! I walked out of member celebration more proud that I had ever been to be serving my community as an AmeriCorps member.

Emily helps local kindergarteners build winter birdfeeders.

As a member of Huron Pines AmeriCorps, I serve the Alpena, MI, community by acting as an education and outreach specialist at the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. When the Education Coordinator here at the Sanctuary contacted me about Mr. Thomson’s desire to bring his class to the museum to learn more about archaeology I was very excited. Our goal was to teach the students about how archaeologists use primary documents, artifacts and the wreckage of a vessel to allow us to identify the remains of ships, linking them to the rich history of the Great Lakes. What excited me was that the programming was going to be tailored so that we would use artifacts from our collection as teaching aids for the students, allowing me to use my experience from the laboratory as part of the teaching curriculum for this group. The students were going to have a physical piece of history they could get up-close and personal with while they learned about some of the cultural resources of Lake Huron.

The students were understandably excited to be able to work with the artifacts and spend the day at our museum, and the whole day was a great success. The students were able to study primary documents from three shipwrecks, review their archaeological data and identify three shipwrecks here at our sanctuary just like we do. They were given the opportunity to tour our conservation laboratory and work with a remotely operated vehicle (R.O.V.). These are a tool brought in by Mr. Hoch and members from Alpena High School’s R.O.V. team, who were here as well to help the students learn a little bit more about one of the tools we use to gather archaeological data. The students got to see how the units are deployed and operated thanks to the help of Alpena High School’s R.O.V. team.

The day was a great learning experience for all of us, as the children got to find out more about how we go about protecting and identifying our cultural heritage, and I received a lot of experience in how to make this program even better for students in the future.

Hey Everyone! My name is Matthew Reaume and I represent Huron Pines AmeriCorps on the Michigan’s AmeriCorps Member Council. The Huron Pines AmeriCorps Program assists both non-profit organizations and conservation districts that are committed to furthering environmental conservation efforts in Northeast Michigan by placing young professionals in positions that allow them to engage in volunteer recruitment, develop new conservation projects, and promote resource stewardship just to name a few.

My position placement allows me to serve in the capacity of Training and Communications Coordinator for the Michigan Association of Conservation Districts (MACD), where I will develop and implement a strategy to provide enhanced training resources for Michigan Conservation District boards and staff. This process will be an intense effort designed to increase a District's ability to be more effective at delivering crucial environmental services to the local communities in which they serve.

Just last week MACD held its annual Winter Convention at the Soaring Eagle Resort in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. The event lasted three days and included the annual MACD State Council business meeting, various training workshops, an information and resources exhibition, as well as an enormous opportunity for District members and staff to network with representatives of government agencies and private businesses as a means to achieve shared goals in environmental stewardship.

Among the list of notable and inspiring speakers and presenters at the convention was Don Koivisto, the Director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture. As part of his speech, Director Koivisto spoke openly and honestly to the audience about the uncertainty of the future of state budget appropriations to the Conservation Districts. As I listened to this particular segment of the speech, I couldn't help but wonder how Districts were going to manage delivering vital resources to their communities with shrinking budgets and dwindling resources. At that point it occurred to me that limited budget appropriations were not exclusively going to be partial to Conservation Districts alone, but to a wide range of government service programs and initiatives, both in the environmental movement and so much further beyond.

Given the looming forecasts of America's struggling economy paired with the dire need for money and resources in the national service community, I can't help but pose this question. Is idealism and commitment to a cause really enough to affect meaningful change in society?

In looking at the role Conservation Districts play in serving as stewards of the environment, one cannot doubt the level of commitment and selfless service given by all of those who have dedicated decades of their lives to the environmental cause. I have absolutely no doubt the same is true of countless other individuals and programs served by AmeriCorps. But is this really enough to do the job? Can we really make the difference we strive to if we are not given the necessary tools?

I personally believe that where there is a will there is a way. If we are unable to accomplish the tasks that are required of us with the means that we have, then I believe our commitment and dedication must force us to awaken the same sense of urgency in all of those who are effected by our actions so as to develop a public demand that will exact the resources from our government that we require to achieve our goals. Is this naive? Or is this reality? Most importantly, how do we do it?

Matt (left) with Mike Lawless, president of the Michigan Association of Conservation Districts State Council.

January 2009

On December 18th, I attended a meeting on the Pigeon River Habitat Initiative (PRHI) project.  I was told that many people at this meeting could help me out with my Conservation First Responder program because the PRHI project is very similar to it.  My goals for the meeting were to gain information from the PRHI, and also try to network with the natural resource professionals attending the meeting and get them to partner up with my program.

I was told before the meeting that the natural resource community was small and that I would know everyone in no time, but I didn’t believe it until this day.

When introductions started, I discovered that about half of the people attending the meeting, I’ve already been in contact with through email to discuss my program.  Even though I have only been in the area for about a month, it seemed like through Huron Pines, I already had connections with five or six other organizations in the area.

After the meeting, I felt extremely comfortable around everyone and spent time talking to all of the natural resource professionals.  I explained my program to them, and it seemed like the majority of them already knew about the program and about me.  I was amazed that through email, phone calls, and personal references, in about one month’s time, I had already become a member of the Northeast Michigan natural resource network.

By the end of the day, I realized the power of networking.  As it turned out, one of the landowners in the area that showed up to the meeting I knew from my college days at Michigan State University.  He came up to me after the meeting and said that he was going to Cornell University for Graduate School in the spring.  I told him that I already had a friend in the natural resource field going there, so I gave him my friends contact information…I guess you just never know how far great networking skills will take you.

 

My year-long term of service began in late October with Huron Pines AmeriCorps. While this is my second term as an AmeriCorps volunteer, this is a much more diverse program and position.  My invasive species coordinator position is brand new for this 2008-2009 year so there is a considerable amount of program development that needs to be addressed, as opposed to the established program I was previously involved in. Starting a new program can be a daunting task for someone who hasn’t had much experience in doing so. As my research into other programs of this nature progressed it became obvious that this undertaking was not something done alone. Assistance has come in the form of resource professionals in the area, who are from various governmental and nonprofit organizations and who also find the issue of invasive species in Northeast Michigan to be an extremely important one.

After a meeting with interested parties in December the scope and direction of the program became much clearer thanks to the guidance and suggestions of the resource professionals in attendance. Many suggestions were offered: work sites, volunteer groups to assist on projects, as well as ideas on funding and resources that could be utilized. Knowing that kind of support exists to take on such a project is very reassuring for me. Without this support and assistance the effort required on my part would be too much to handle and the whole program would suffer. The resources and insight given will undoubtedly result in a successful and sustainable invasive species program that will continue to progress beyond my service year.

 

I joined Huron Pines AmeriCorps just after I completed by masters degree. I was searching for a job in the aquatic sciences field in Michigan, where the economy has been hit hard. I came across the listing for Huron Pines AmeriCorps and thought, well the stipend isn’t huge but the project sounds amazing. I applied and was offered a Huron Pines AmeriCorps position as a Monitoring Specialist with the Michigan Council of Trout Unlimited (MCTU), a perfect match for my aquatic science background.

While serving with MCTU I will be getting a volunteer stream data collection program up and running. The goals of this program are to provide an opportunity for MCTU members to get involved with hands-on volunteer work and to provide quality data to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR). The MDNR is unable to collect as much data about coldwater streams in Michigan as they would like due to budget cuts.

The first step in beginning this program was to contact MCTU chapters and MDNR professionals to determine interest levels. I was both amazed and moved by the enthusiasm I encountered not only from MCTU members but also from MDNR staff. All of the MDNR staff members I have interacted with so far have expressed an incredible amount of enthusiasm about this program. In addition, several MCTU chapters are extremely excited to begin collecting data in streams they care about. These members are excited to be able to monitor their waterways to ensure that they stay healthy. This enthusiasm is contagious. I have been inspired and motivated to work extra hard to make sure that the program I design and implement will outlast my tenure as a Huron Pines AmeriCorps member.

As I continue on with my Huron Pines AmeriCorps project I can only hope that all of the resource professionals and MCTU members I encounter will show excitement equal to those I have been in contact with thus far. Of course, these are large shoes to fill. However, I know the excitement I and others feel is enough to ensure that this program will not only engage volunteers but also benefit coldwater fisheries in Michigan.

I hired into the Michigan Department of Natural Resources in 1978 and retired in 2002. When I hired into the DNR, the environmental movement in Michigan was, relatively speaking, still in its infancy (the statute we used to require cleanups of petroleum releases was written in 1929). I was hired into a Section of the DNR that was responsible for 24 hour spill response, such as tanker overturns, pipeline ruptures, oil and hazardous waste storage facility releases, gasoline station losses, and any loss involving “transportation”. We also licensed oil and hazardous waste haulers and, eventually, their storage facilities. My area of responsibility was Wayne and Monroe counties and I was, to put it mildly, busy. I was involved in my share of cleanups that resulted from accidents, vandalism, fires, buried drum removals, executing search warrants, and all manner of petroleum releases to our lakes, rivers and streams in Michigan. Most of the people in my section were recent hires like me, relatively young, energetic, and not sure what the destination was, but enjoying the ride. We were excited, motivated and had each other’s back. We were committed: it wasn’t a job to us and we lived it 24/7. We worked together, played together, partied together, covered for each other, and went to each other’s houses. We shared a camaraderie and esprit de corps that is rarely found in government organizations. We were well known and respected both inside and outside the department. It was, without question, the best period of my career with the DNR.

Then came some big changes. A new governor was elected and we underwent a major cultural shift. He used executive power t o split the DNR into the DNR and DEQ and instituted other major policy changes. I was promoted to Chief of Field Operations, but everything had changed. I felt that the voice of environmental protection was muted and that our priorities were no longer protecting and restoring. When the legislature offered an early out in 2002, I jumped at the opportunity.

So for the last six+ years, I sought out a variety of other opportunities, which included substitute teaching and bus driving, as well as working as a full time bus mechanic for almost five years. But something was missing. Then I saw an ad in the local paper offering an opportunity to do environmental work near Roscommon, MI. I found out the position was with Huron Pines AmeriCorps in Grayling, so I applied. To my pleasant surprise, I was offered a position. I realized I had to rewire my thinking and that I had a lot to learn (and still do), but I was unsure of what I had gotten into.

Then came Member Celebration in E. Lansing in November 2008. It was a congregation of AmeriCorps members, some 400 strong, pulled together by a desire to serve. Not just environmental, the group included members from all aspects of AmeriCorps involvement, from working with community based organizations, building homes, restoring coastlines, to helping people prepare for and recover from disasters. Some were involved with tutoring students while others cared for seniors, helped the homeless, worked to restore parks, or trained other volunteers. But that wasn’t what really got my attention, as important as they all are. For the first time in a very long time, I witnessed the same kind of excitement, energy, commitment and camaraderie as I had during my first years with the DNR. I realized that the commitment to care, to serve, and to help others was very much alive and well in this organization, and I am grateful to be a small part of it.

Many of you will go through a lot of changes as your careers progress, but always remember what you are or were a part of during your time with AmeriCorps, for it can be a cornerstone of great things to come. That, to me, is a GREAT STORY.

“Did you ever know your dad was cool?” said Bobby to my daughter Katie. He didn’t know I was behind him, but Katie did. She got a wide grin and slowly turned her head to look at me. “Yeah”, she said, “I did.”

A short time later, Bobby made a point of striking up a conversation with me. “I wish my dad was as cool as you”, he said. “My Dad’s mean.”

“Oh yeah?” I asked.

“Yeah, he grounded my brother.”

“Really?” I asked, amazed.

Poor Bobby just could not believe his ears when I explained to him that even I, the pinnacle of coolness, found it necessary, at times, to inflict justice upon my own children. Bobby sat dumbfounded as I explained to him that I was no different than his very own father.

As much fun as it is to spend time in the classroom as an AmeriCorps Environmental Educator, it’s the little “teachable moments” that mean the most and have the greatest impact. Little Bobby may have learned a little bit about migrating birds that day. But we really connected for a minute and I can’t help but wonder if just having a big person to talk to when he needed it might somehow, in some way, make a small difference in his life.

So once, a while back, a few folks decided that a river needed to be dammed to generate electricity for a growing town called Traverse City. No, not “damned,” but “dammed” (If spoken, one might need to spell the difference). “Dammed” meaning the restriction of a river from flowing as it should to harness its ability to spin a turbine or mill wheel. Although, after attending a Boardman River Dam meeting, one might come away with the impression that they are damned (not really).

A co-worker took me to my first dam meeting following an afternoon in the office of my host site, the Grand Traverse Conservation District. For those of you who are not familiar, there are four dams on the Boardman River that were decommissioned for producing electricity and a public-driven process is underway to determine their future.

There are strong, legitimate arguments on both sides of the debate and everywhere in between. On one side there are those who want all of the dams removed and return the Boardman to its natural state. On the other are the folks who want all of the dams to stay put and generate power again. Those who want them all gone point to the positive effects of the return of a cold water ecosystem and the folks who want them to stay, point to the advantages currently enjoyed by the warm water ecosystems and renewable energy generation.

The range of the demographic makeup of both sides that attend these meetings varies. They range from homeowners with pond/riverfront property to environmentalists who live miles from the river, to long-time residents who remember when some of the dams were young.

This is probably where one might expect this dialogue to lead into what the “right” answer is to the question of what the future of these dams should be. Well, that is not where this is going. As I sat in on that meeting, my thoughts were not concentrated on determining the “right” answer. Instead, I found myself marveling at just how passionate all of the people in that room were about an issue affecting the environment of Northern MI. I found myself wanting to learn more and more about the issue, but not necessarily so that I could join one side or the other or the other. No, I just wanted to drink the same punch and ignite the same passion as everyone else in the room. Not too many times before had I seen such an emotional charge in people about an issue affecting our environment first hand. It was inspiring to say the least.

As someone who works in outreach, getting someone to understand WHY he or she should even care is monumental. I mean, really understanding what is at stake, learning about nature and why it is so important to protect and revere. Regardless of what the decision on dams ends up being, it makes me feel great to know that the individuals who were in that room understand why things like this are so important. And I hope to help spark that same passion and understanding in others through my service with Huron Pines AmeriCorps and the Grand Traverse Conservation District.

As a new AmeriCorps member, I was unsure as to what my year of service with Freshwater Future would hold. As a recent graduate from Carleton College in Minnesota I was unsure as to how best apply my hot-of-the-press undergraduate degree.

Returning to my home state of Michigan I was lucky enough to stumble across a listing for an AmeriCorps position that matched my environmental interests. What I have found at Freshwater Future is an opportunity to serve alongside knowledgeable and passionate people while continuing to pursue my interests and passion for the environment.

In the few short months I have been serving with Freshwater Future I have organized and implemented a program for environmental grassroots advocates working in the Great Lakes basin that provides new organizations the opportunity to speak with and be mentored by experienced members of the environmental community. While this seemed like a daunting task at first, it has allowed me to explore the various organizations working all over the basin, hear about their work, and speak to some truly amazing individuals. The goal of this program is for our mentees to learn more about running a successful organization—what I have discovered is that my experience is a learning process as well and one I hope to continue in the future.