Wyandotte "City of Festivals"

That used to be the slogan. Back when the Yack was hoppin' every other weekend to a different ethnic celebration. Polish, Irish, German, Hungarian, you name the nationality and there was a festival for you.

Now there are only 3 and they're associated with churches. This weekend is the Mount Carmel Polish Festival filled with good food and polish beer. Check out their website for details. http://www.ourladyofmountcarmel.org/. I'll be pouring beer tonight and tomorrow and hopefully see some old classmates that are having their 40th reunion. Beer booth volunteers are still needed for Sunday.

Sunday it's on to Frankfurt for some salmon fishing and I'm hoping to be posting some pictures on my return. I'm sure Captain Dan of Stormy Chinook will come thru.

Get Outdoors Downriver it's time to polka.

To Plan or Not To Plan...

Recent weeks have brought us disturbing pictures of dead deer, killed by a devastating disease. Most of the pics have been of trophy bucks lying in water. If you think the HSUS pics of puppies and kittens looking forlornly into the camera are heartbreaking well the pics of these wasted deer is 10 times worse for hunters. The disease is EHD and is normally found in Southwest Michigan. The first occurrence and subsequent identification of EHD occurred in 1955 when several hundred white-tailed deer succumbed in both New Jersey and in Michigan. It was considered a new disease of deer and the name `epizootic hemorrhagic disease' was suggested to describe its main clinical and pathological features. Additional die-offs attributed to EHD occurred in Michigan in white-tailed deer in 1974, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010. The 1974 die-off occurred in several counties and resulted in approximately 100 deer dying. The 2006 die-off occurred in the south western portion of the state in Allegan County and involved 50-75 animals. In 2008, the die-off occurred in the south eastern portion of the state in Oakland and Macomb counties and involved 150-200 deer. In 2009, the die-off took place in the southwestern/southcentral portion of the state in Livingston County and involved 300-450 deer. In 2010, the die-off occurred in the southwestern portion of the state in Allegan, Berrien, Cass, Ottawa, St Joseph and Van Buren Counties with an estimated mortality of 1,025 deer. In 2011, the die-off occurred in the southwestern portion of the state again in Cass and St. Joseph Counties with an estimated mortality of 300 deer.

With all these deer dying there must be a plan to stop it or prevent it. No there is no plan even though many states have local deer populations that experience the disease. No baiting bans, no increase of the harvest in the area, just wait and hope the first frost comes early. The frost kills the little midges that spread the disease to the deer, problem solved.
Too bad we can't do the same thing for CWD, another debilitating cervid disease. No one is sure how the disease is transmitted but they think it's due to a prion. Prions are considered to be infectious proteins without associated nucleic acids. Okay so how do you fight prions? This is hard because they're found everywhere, on the ground and in the feces of cervids.
I wrote about this before in 2/12, the initial reaction by the state was to ban baiting in the Lower Peninsula. Increased harvesting in the surrounding area and increased testing of deer for CWD followed. Now, however, the federal funding has run out for the programs trying to deal with the disease and so has the interest.
The state has changed its "Plan" for managing chronic wasting disease. According to State Veterinarian Steven Halstead “CWD is a reportable disease, so if the disease is detected in free ranging cervids or a Michigan Privately Owned Cervid facility, we will define a surveillance zone around the positive case.” “This plan should protect Michigan’s cervid industry as well as Michigan’s free-ranging deer population while meeting our ultimate goal of safeguarding animal health.”



The principal changes to the plan are:

The plan will be implemented if a CWD-positive animal is found within 10 miles of the Michigan border, rather than 50 miles as in the original plan.

Baiting and feeding will be banned in any county within a 10-mile radius of where CWD is detected.

All Privately Owned Cervid facilities within that zone will be required to complete increased disease testing of their herds to monitor for signs of CWD.

If the disease is diagnosed in a Privately Owned Cervid facility, all facilities that have had contact (through purchases, sales or immediate contact) will undergo increased disease surveillance testing, and exposed animals will be removed from contact herds.

Once deer farms and CWD are there, the costs can become huge to inspect and monitor. One report showed that Michigan had approximately 450 deer farms and those farms paid $106,640 in inspection and regulatory program fees in 2009. Sounds good — except for the fact that state taxpayers paid $1.36 million to do that inspection and CWD monitoring work. With the loss of federal funding will the cost of inspections go up for the deer farms or will there be less inspections?

Let’s hope research will come up with a solution for this bad situation. Hopefully then we can come up with a plan.

Get Outdoors Downriver.

Blitz, Blitz, Metro Park Blitz

This is the end of summer blitz at the Huron-Clinton Metro Parks. We all pay into the parks funding so this is an opportunity to take advantage of your tax dollars at work, just like going to the DIA for free. This weekend there's a Huron River clean up at Kensington Metro, on the 18th, along with an egg hunt, a monarch butterfly egg hunt on the 19th. Kensington is on the far reaches of my reporting area so I don't cover it much. It's on the lake you see just north of I-96 on the way up north or to Lansing.

Closer to home at Oakwoods Metro the normal canoe tour is being taken over by pirates, but only on Sat. the 18th.
“Arrgh, Mateys!” Come along and take a fun look at the pirate life. Discover if you have what it takes to sail the high seas..or at least to paddle the Huron River.
Event Fee: $5 per person
Show and tell about the American Lotus at Lake Erie Metropark Marshlands Museum & Nature Center on the 18th.
There is nothing small about the American Lotus. It has large leaves, large flowers, lives in a large bed and is worth spending a large amount of time looking at it. The boardwalk in the park is phenomenal.
Event Fee: $3 per person
Also on the 18th at Oakwoods there's a Marsh Cuisine 101 class. Come see how to catch and prepare a meal straight from the marsh. You will also learn the legal methods of harvesting, Guy Fieri or Rachel Ray however won't be there. Event Fee: $8 per person
On the 24th at Lower Huron "Cruzin the Park" will begin and run thru Sunday the 26th. Many different activities are planned so check out http://www.cruzinthepark.com/information.html for more info. To heighten the experience the park offers camping on site.
And if all this isn't enough on August 31st Oakwoods will be having a Blue Moon Hike and Bonfire.
Join us for a hike and then spend time around the bonfire. We will enjoy the second full moon in the month of August, the proverbial Blue Moon. Event Fee: $5 per person


Get Outdoors Downriver.

Spend Yurt Night in Hell

No it's spelled correctly. For all you procrastinators that have been putting of your staycations a "yurt" is a round semi-permanent structure, half tent, half house. They go back in history a long way, used by nomadic people yurts offered a more comfortable residence than just a tent.
As with the Glenbrook yurt, in the Pinckney Recreation Area, near Hell, Michigan the structure offers bunk beds
and couches which are usually not found in tent camping.
However, there is still the atmosphere of camping, being one with nature. Minus most bugs and ofcourse sleeping on the floor. Outside you will find a picnic table, grill and fire circle. A hand pump water well and outhouse are nearby. Boat rental is available and you will find easy access to a chain of lakes. A cooking stove is provided but bring a one pound propane cannister. You will also want to bring cooking utensils, pans and normal supplies for dining. Glenbrook Yurt is located on a ridge overlooking Portage River and Halfmoon Lake and the Potawatomi hiking trail is just a few paces away.
This yurt is accessible by biking, hiking and driving. You can play all day and dine in Hell at night. Hell, Michigan is just one mile away.

Cost per night is $60. Two night minimum on the weekends.

If availability dosen't fit your schedule now you can rent this yurt all year round and stay comfortable with the propane heater that's installed. This could only magnify the feeling of adventure.


Get Outdoors Downriver.

Local boy Makes Good, Karibu Kenya

I wrote about Bruce Szczechowski before when he was learning about terns on bridges. Common terns that make uncommon migrations every year. Thousands of miles from breeding grounds to over wintering areas and back again. Quite a journey for a small unassuming bird. Now Bruce started his own journey, one that has taken him to a far away land thousands of miles from home. From Wyandotte to Michigan Tech in Houghton to Kenya in Africa the trip is long and winding. Bruce joined with Alex Kotut whom he met at Tech and started Tembokanga Tours and Education Ventures.

According to their info, Tembokanga Tours and Education Ventures is a socially conscious and environmentally responsible safari company that strives to provide its guests with unforgettable wildlife moments in a friendly atmosphere of unparalleled service. The ultimate goal of Tembokanga Tours and Education Ventures is to be the most reliable destination management company in East Africa by offering the highest standard, most reliable and cost-effective services to visitors. Located on the equator in Kenya, Tembokanga Tours and Education Ventures operates in the heart of the Rift Valley, providing its guests with unique, one-of-a-kind nature and cultural experiences.
Specializing in Tropical East African Safaris and Education Ventures, Tembokanga Tours and Education Ventures tries to produce a great African wildlife and cultural experience, or help set the itinerary for other specialty tours, please visit their website at: http://tembokangatours.com/, Tembokanga Tours on facebook and twitter, and/or contact them @: info@tembokangatours.com. Karibu Kenya (Welcome to Kenya)
Alex and Bruce first met at Michigan Technological University in 2002. Alex was a study-abroad student, and Bruce was working on his master’s degree in applied ecology. After forging a bond of enduring friendship during their days at MTU, Alex and Bruce recently decided to form their ecotourism company, Tembokanga Tours and Education Ventures, in Kenya.
Alex, upon returning to Kenya after nearly 10 years overseas, and Bruce, after initially visiting Kenya during the summer of 2011, both saw a need to help the many people living in poverty in Kenya, in addition to operating a tour company. They discussed the idea of forming a nonprofit organization in Kenya, as well as raise awareness of the many needs of the people of Kenya through “voluntours” that engage visitors in nonprofit community works, as well as taking them on beautiful tours of wild places in Kenya and East Africa.
In February, their dream of doing more to help Kenyans in need became reality with the registration of America-Kenya Connections as a nonprofit organization in Kenya. With the launch of America-Kenya Connections’ website in late May with a link for online donations, funds are being raised and projects are now being implemented on the ground in Kenya! They hope you’ll join in support of the many nonprofit charitable works in Kenya!
Bruce has a friend that’s very sick and he writes an emotional tour for him of his favorite places in Africa, so far. Go to their website or facebook page and access Bruce’s blog and look for his update on Lake Baringo and his good friend Greg Wright. You’ll get an idea of what it’s like to join Bruce in Kenya doing his new life’s work. Good luck Bruce.

Get Outdoors Downriver, you may never know where you'll end up.