 Terry Grabill (aka Birdgoober) was one of the four local birders who helped make this project happen. The sign is one of several throughout the county marking the Birding Trail Newaygo County Birding Trail to host Grand Opening event The Newaygo County Birding Trail will officially open May 3 with a Grand Opening celebration and Ribbon-Cutting at the Newaygo County Welcome Center on M37. 4684 Evergreen Dr, Newaygo. After years of planning and preparation, the committee of four birders is very excited to share Newaygo County’s beautifully diverse habitats and birds. The trail is a collection of 35+ locations in all corners of the county. Two trailheads are planned, the county welcome center on M37 in the southern region, and Kropscott Farm Environmental Center north of Fremont in the northern area. The committee, consisting of Charles Chandler, Andrea Grabill, Marie Rust, and Terry Grabill, have worked to include sites with diverse habitats and bird life. Newaygo County Environmental Coalition will have information available, Kropscott Farm Environmental Center will have an activity for kids, artist Marie Rust will have artwork on display and for sale, and BirdGoober will have bird field guides and bird feeders for sale. Binoculars will be available to borrow provided by Kropscott Farm and Fremont Middle School’s Beaver Island Group. Logistical and financial support for the birding trail development has been given by Newaygo County Tourism Council and Newaygo County Parks & Recreation. The logo artwork was completed by Trevor Grabill of Flat Mountain Press, photo images on the website are provided by local photographers Tori Martel, Jeniffer Selwa, and Marie Rust. The Grand Opening will be staged at the Newaygo County Welcome Center on M37 (4684 Evergreen Dr) on May 3 from 9am until noon. After some welcoming remarks from Newaygo County Tourism Counsel and Representative Joe Fox and the Ribbon-cutting, there will be a brief “Birding 101” discussion and a presentation of “Birds of Newaygo County”. The program will continue at the park with two birding walks guided by Terry Grabill and Marie Rust. Finally, after the activities in Newaygo, guided walks will be hosted at other trail sites, including Fremont High School and Croton Dam. You can connect with us at https://newaygocountyexploring.com/birding-trail/ and on our Facebook page, Friends of Newaygo County Birding Trail. 
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 Vernal Pool Patrol in Action It's spring! The rain is here. The sun is warming the frozen ground and we are hearing and seeing signs of awakening with peepers, trillium and trout lilies. Best of all, the vernal pools are erupting with new life, filled with fairy shrimp, wood frogs and salamanders. “Vernal Pools are like our Coral Reefs of the Forest,” states Katie, Vice Chair and Program Manager of the Newaygo County Environmental Coalition (NCEC). You can join Katie as she coordinates the Newaygo Region of the Michigan Vernal Pool Patrol, a pioneering program to monitor the health of this valuable resource. Anyone can participate as a citizen scientist to help protect and understand the benefits of vernal pools. You may have a vernal pool on your property. The health of that pool can reflect the health of your land. If you are interested in learning more please join Katie as she and others in our community inventory Newaygo as part of the Vernal Pool Patrol. Dates for training events are listed below. MI Vernal Pool Patrol of Newaygo Region Training Events. Each will have a family-friendly version and advanced patrol training options. These events are free, but have limited space: -Saturday, April 19-12 pm-4 pm at Kropscott Farm and Environment Center. Register here: https://www.facebook.com/share/12Gr23n4umB/ or contact. Katie Clark at [email protected]. -Saturday, April 26-10 am – 2 pm at McDuffee Creek Nature Preserve. Register at: https://www.facebook.com/share/18mSDoYLgG/ -Sunday, May 4th- 11 am to 2 pm at Nichols Lake, Bitely MI. Register here: https://www.facebook.com/share/1BcRk8gqjR/ -Saturday, June 14th, 10 pm-2pm at Kropscott Farm and Environmental Center. Registration link to come soon. -Saturday, August 23- 1 pm to 4 pm at Kropscott Farm and Environmental Center. This is a fall training and MI Vernal Pool Patrol “Pool Party” to celebrate the 2025 monitoring season and all those who participated. Registration to come soon. “Vernal pool mapping and monitoring is like a treasure hunt in the woods,” chirps Katie Clark, MI VPP of Newaygo Region coordinator. “Except the treasure is something we get to help protect and preserve for future generations of creatures and humans.” Participation in this year's Vernal Pool Patrol is a partnership between the Newaygo County Environmental Coalition and the Newaygo Conservation District with a grant that provides Vernal pool Patrol kits for people to check out from the NCD that has all the equipment necessary for monitoring a Vernal pool. To become an official MI Vernal Pool Patrol Member. Contact coordinator, Katie Clark at [email protected] or go to https://vernal-pool-patrol-mnfi.hub.arcgis.com/ before 5/4/2025 to register for the training and program.  A Salamander  Article and photo by Donna Iverson Hellebore is one of the first garden plants to flower in early spring. A member of the buttercup family, it has a delicately beautiful wildflower appearance. The diminutive Hellebore is a long lived perennial that prefers winter sun and summer shade. It’s not a native plant, but it’s not invasive. It is also known as the Lenten rose. It will grow under trees and is perfect for a rock garden or a woodland slope. Once planted, it can take three to five years to bloom. But its rose-like flowers will give you pleasure for 40 years or more. In the summer, it retreats into dormancy. Flower color ranges from pink, to white, to purple, and yellow. Rabbits and deer leave it alone although squirrels have been seen to take a nibble or two. It is toxic to dogs and cats if eaten in large amounts. It can also cause skin irritation in sensitive humans. A native of the Balkans, the name Hellebore, has nothing to do with hell. Rather it is derived from the Greek word “hellebores.” The translation is injured flower food. Maybe referring to its toxic properties. On the other hand, Ancient Greek myth refers to some young women driven mad by Dionysus who were cured with a brew made from the hellebore plant. On a personal note, I am always drawn to flowers that most resemble the wildflowers of Western Michigan. They are small, unobtrusive and delicate like the Hellebore.
Morel Picking with the Champ – Anthony Williams: After winning the National Morel Hunting Championship five years in a row, Anthony retired undefeated from competitive picking to become the "Expert in Residence" for the National Morel Festival. His presentation is filled with stories from his 70+ years of picking. Tips on when, where, and how to pick include the personal, finer points that made him the champion of finding the elusive morel. This event will take place in the library’s Community Room on Monday, April 21st at 6:30 p.m. Andrew Kercher Presents Lighthouses of Michigan: Lighthouses are critical pieces of infrastructure and iconic pieces of architecture. Join historian Andrew Kercher to find out more about these sentries on the lakeshore. Learn the how and why of some of the most famous lights that have guided everything from 1,000 foot freighters to sailboats on the Great Lakes since the 1820s. Hear stories of ever-changing technology, government corruption, German saboteurs, and lifesaving rescues. This event will take place in the library’s Community Room on Thursday, April 24th at 7:00 p.m.  Forest Engineer Jonathan Meeks utilizes survey equipment to check the camber of the Manistee River Suspension Bridge. The suspension bridge is open for pedestrian foot travel after being closed for upgrades. Photo courtesy of USDA Forest Service. CADILLAC, Mich., April 4, 2025 - The Manistee River Suspension Bridge is open for foot traffic in time for early spring through hikers and loop travelers. The “Little Mac,” as it is commonly known, received several safety updates including new galvanized hardware, decking, railing, curbing, galvanized paint on hard-to-reach components, needle beams, which support the bridge from the main cable, as well as a few new stringers. “With new decking and railing installed,” Huron-Manistee National Forests’ Transportation Engineer Jon Meeks said, “The bridge is safe for pedestrian foot traffic.” He added that work is ongoing. Meeks doesn’t anticipate additional closures and asked that visitors be considerate of workers while traveling across the bridge. Located just downstream of Hodenpyl Dam, the pedestrian bridge is 246-feet-long and spans 166 feet over the Manistee River. It connects the popular Manistee River Trail to the 4,800-mile North Country Trail, completing a 20-mile non-motorized trail loop which attracts many forest visitors. Spring trail users should prepare for wet and muddy trail conditions. “Instead of traveling the Manistee River Trail, consider a more durable surface like a road, paved trail, or rail trail for your spring outing” said Forest Service Outdoor Recreation Planner Reese Borlin. “When an alternative route isn’t feasible, hikers should wear proper footwear and walk through, rather than around, mud and water stepping on rocks whenever possible to avoid widening trails and trampling foliage,” Borlin continued. Funding for this project is made possible through the Federal Lands Transportation Program and its partnership with several federal land management agencies. The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration oversees the program, whose goal is to provide safe and sustainable access to national parks and other federal lands through transportation infrastructure. |
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