Dr. Carolyn Copenheaver saw a significant loss in Michigan's biodiversity due to development. Classrooms in Wisconsin may have a classroom model to address this shared Midwest issue.
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A nearly 300-year-old bur oak at Detroit’s Elmwood Cemetery is being mourned after a powerful storm caused serious damage to the historic tree.
The tree was one of 19 trees lost at the cemetery when a tornado went through Detroit’s east side last month.
Officials say strong winds caused widespread damage. The historic bur oak suffered a large, irreparable split at the base of its trunk.
The tree was believed to be about 280 years old, meaning it was already roughly a century old when Elmwood Cemetery was established.
The cemetery held a memorial service for the tree, led by death and grief doula Kristy Sue Bishop.
Bishop says that natural spaces can be very important for people going through sadness or grief.
“I know many people come here and carry heavy feelings, and I think the trees are just one of the natural things people turn to when they’re feeling overwhelmed, she says.
Detroiter Josh Bono says he was immediately drawn to the bur oak. “I was amazed to find out that it’s older than the cemetery itself. I felt really moved by an ancient presence…or as close to one as we can get out here.”
Elmwood is an 86-acre cemetery and arboretum. Officials say replacing lost trees and caring for damaged ones has become an increasing part of maintaining the grounds.
This story is a part of WDET’s ongoing series, the Detroit Tree Canopy Project.
The post Grieving for Elmwood Cemetery’s historic bur oak appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources announced the 2025 discovery of a centuries-old stand of red pine trees last week.
The trees, which can be identified by their scaly, reddish-brown bark, were discovered during a routine survey of the state-owned forest near the Two-Hearted River on the shore of Lake Superior.
This discovery comes as a surprise, as most of Michigan’s known red pines were harvested during the lumber boom of the 1800s.
Core samples taken from some of the trees point to them being over 200 years old. Visual estimates for other trees, however, suggest they may be between 300 and 400 years old, pre-dating European settlement in the area.
The forester that found the area calls the stand of red pines “Ghost on the Shore.”
This story is a part of WDET’s ongoing series, the Detroit Tree Canopy Project.
The post Centuries-old red pines discovered in Upper Peninsula appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
Michigan is highlighting its extensive network of hiking, biking and recreational trails as the state marks Michigan Trails Week .
According to the Department of Natural Resources, Michigan boasts the longest state-designated trail in the country. The Iron Bell Trail is over 2,000 miles long, going from Belle Isle to Ironwood in the Upper Peninsula.
While the DNR wants folks to go explore the network of hiking, biking and general recreational trails in the state, State Trails Coordinator Tim Novak also wants to protect the health of natural areas. He says that starts with a simple rule: anything brought onto a trail should leave with you.
Novak also recommends getting outdoors this time of year to see the leaves changing color. Among the top trails to see the fall colors, he lists the Porcupine Mountains in the U.P. and the Betsy Valley Trail in the lower peninsula.
In Southeast Michigan specifically, he suggests visiting the Pollyann Trail that runs from Oakland to Lapeer County. Finally, there’s the Paint Creek Trail—”That’s a wonderful trail to see some beautiful color changing in Southeast Michigan,” says Novak.
The post DNR encourages seeing fall colors and leaving no trace this Michigan Trails Week appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
After nearly a year of back and forth with Flat Rock officials and residents, Huron-Clinton Metroparks is advancing a plan to partially remove the Flat Rock Dam and construct ‘rock arch rapids.’
Located in Flat Rock on the Huron River, the 100-year-old dam is in fair condition, but has a “high hazard potential” rating. Despite the risk, Flat Rock residents and officials strongly opposed the Metroparks’ plan for partial removal.
Flat Rock Mayor Steve Beller spoke at an Aug. 14, 2025 board meeting after Flat Rock City Council unanimously passed a resolution to urge Metroparks not to remove the dam.
To buy, or not to buy
In September 2025, Huron-Clinton Metroparks offered to sell the dam to the City of Flat Rock for five dollars and provide an additional $4.5 million to help pay for fish ladder improvements.
The city spent months weighing their options and ultimately decided not to take ownership of the dam.
Huron-Clinton Metroparks CEO Amy McMillan says the organization respects the City of Flat Rock’s decision:
“No matter how we look at it, this is a change for that community. And so, being transparent and listening and disagreeing where reasonable people will disagree, we’re happy that we’ve come to this conclusion and we’re looking forward to moving forward.”
John Webb, president of the Flat Rock Dam Coalition said in a statement his group supports the partial removal plan, as long as Huron-Clinton Metroparks ensures water levels are maintained.
“It is critical that the [Huron-Clinton Metroparks] clearly and unequivocally mandate to their engineers and contractors the requirement to maintain existing impoundment waters or preferably raise these water levels.”
Dam removals growing more common
A third of the dams in metro Detroit have “high” or “significant hazard” ratings from the National Dam Inventory. Catastrophic flooding like that seen in Midland with the Edenville Dam failure has drawn attention to questions of ownership and accountability of privately owned dams.
Dam removal is growing more common statewide and nationally. Last year, EGLE announced nearly $15 million dollars in funding for dam removals across the state. To date, Michigan has removed 125 dams. There are roughly 2,500 dams in Michigan.
Proponents of dam removals point to improved river health and biodiversity. They also mitigate the risk of catastrophic dam failures.
In the case of Flat Rock Dam, the Metroparks feasibility study for this project notes improved fish passage for sturgeon, walleye, and salmon to travel up the Huron River to spawn.
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The post The Metro: Plan to partially remove Flat Rock Dam moving forward appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
The City of Warren has planted its first micro forest as part of an effort to increase the tree canopy in the city.
Warren Mayor Lori Stone says the community rallied for more greenery in the city.
“Warren only had about 19% tree canopy, some of the lowest in Metro Detroit and Macomb County. And so, when I started out, we did a listening tour to really look at what our communities’ expectations were, and environmental sustainability was a priority,” she says.
Stone says residents want leadership to grow the city’s tree canopy, restore natural habitats, and protect green spaces.
One of those projects was a micro forest created at the Warren Community Center’s courtyard. The project received $30,000 from Green Macomb.
“I’m excited to tout that we planted our first microforest at Julius Park Circle, which is over 5,000 plants from different canopy levels, forest levels, and that was in partnership with a 4-H students, a community organization,” she shares.
Stone says Warren’s Department of Public Works also plants roughly 400 trees on easements annually, additional to the city distributing 200 saplings as part of our Arbor Day and Earth Day initiatives.
“It’s very important in order to grow tree canopy, in order to create those green spaces, … and provide natural spaces to encourage that local residents are also planting trees and providing those opportunities,” she explains.
Warren is also a part of the Rain to Roots program with Center Line, Sterling Heights, supported by the DTE Foundation, to help homeowners install rain gardens, rain barrels and native plants for stormwater management.
This story is a part of WDET’s ongoing series, the Detroit Tree Canopy Project.
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a key permit for a plan to update an aging segment of the Line 5 pipeline crossing the Straits of Mackinac in Michigan, waterways that tribal nations say are central to their ways of life.
The post Michigan tribes say ‘flawed’ federal review of Line 5 project violates treaty rights appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
A new report on Michigan’s growing data center industry offers a mixed verdict on one of the state’s most controversial development issues, finding that the massive facilities are unlikely to drain the state’s water resources or crash the power grid but are also not the economic boon that boosters often promise.
The post Michigan data centers aren’t the gold rush boosters promised, but report finds benefits appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
Denver is on track to see one of the city’s driest winters on record after only traces of snow fell in February, according to the National Weather Service.
Roughly 13.4 inches of snow fell in the Denver area between September and February, according to the weather service. On average, Denver records 34.8 inches of snow during that timeframe.
Denver’s driest September to February periods include, according to the weather service:
With only traces of snow falling in Denver in February, the city officially tied its record for the least-snowy February since 1882, when the agency started keeping snowfall records, according to the weather service. The previous record for lack of February snowfall was set in 2009.
Denver saw 0.02 inches of total precipitation, making it the second-driest February on record, and an average monthly temperature of 42.1 degrees, the third-warmest on record, weather service meteorologists said.
The warmest February in Denver’s history was in 1954, with an average temperature of 43.7 degrees, according to the agency. Temperature and precipitation records started in 1872.
One of the warmest and driest Februaries on record for much of northeast Colorado.
Denver's stats:
Records began in 1872 for temperature and precip, and 1882 for snow. #COwx pic.twitter.com/SW1LjIrj5A
— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) March 1, 2026
Most of northeastern Colorado recorded one of the warmest and driest Februarys on record, according to the weather service.
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By ADITHI RAMAKRISHNAN The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Horses whinny to find new friends, greet old ones and celebrate happy moments like feeding time.
How exactly horses produce that distinctive sound — also called a neigh — has long eluded scientists.
The whinny is an unusual combination of both high and low pitched sounds, like a cross between a grunt and a squeal — that come out at the same time.
The low-pitched part wasn’t much of a mystery. It comes from air passing over bands of tissue in the voice box that make noise when they vibrate. It’s a technique similar to how humans speak and sing.
But the high-pitched piece is more puzzling. With some exceptions, larger animals have larger vocal systems and typically make lower sounds. So how do horses do it?
According to a new study, they whistle.
Researchers slid a small camera through horses’ noses to film what happened inside while they whinnied and made another common horse sound, the softer, subtler nicker. They also conducted detailed scans and blew air through the isolated voice boxes of dead horses.
The whinny’s mysterious high-pitched tones, they discovered, are a kind of whistling that starts in the horse’s voice box. Air vibrates the tissues in the voice box while an area just above contracts, leaving a small opening for the whistle to escape.
That’s different from human whistling, which we do with our mouths.
“I’d never imagined that there was a whistling component. It’s really interesting, and I can hear that now,” said Jenifer Nadeau, who studies horses at the University of Connecticut. Nadeau was not involved with the study, which was published Monday in the journal Current Biology.
A few small rodents like rats and mice whistle like this, but horses are the first known large mammal to have a knack for it. They’re also the only animals known to be able to whistle through their voice boxes while they sing.
“Knowing that a ‘whinny’ is not just a ‘whinny’ but that it is actually composed of two different fundamental frequencies that are created by two different mechanisms is exciting,” said Alisa Herbst with Rutgers University’s Equine Science Center, of the study in an email.
A big lingering question is how horses’ two-toned calls came to be. Wild Przewalski’s horses can do something similar, as can elks. But more distant horse relatives like donkeys and zebras can’t make the high-pitched sounds.
The two-toned whinnies could help horses convey multiple messages at the same time. The differently pitched neighs may help them express a more complex range of feelings when socializing, said study author Elodie Mandel-Briefer with the University of Copenhagen.
“They can express emotions in these two dimensions,” Mandel-Briefer said.
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Associated Press video journalist James Brooks contributed to this report.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Surveillance footage captured a coyote following a 3-year-old boy toward his home in Pasadena earlier this week.
At around 1 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 23, on Tamarac Drive, 3-year-old Salvo Bessemer exited his gated courtyard and headed for the driveway, hoping to give his father, Leonard Bessemer, a hug goodbye before he left for work, his father said.
Salvo did not find his dad, who had left about five minutes earlier. Instead, he spotted a coyote in front of the house, Leonard Bessemer said. The boy then turned around and ran back toward the house, screaming for his mother.
Video footage shows Salvo reaching the door, with the coyote following behind him. Audio captured Salvo’s mother, Aida Svelto, screaming when she spotted the coyote near the entrance.
The coyote then turned around and trotted away. According to Bessemer, the animal did not immediately leave the area, but lingered nearby for a short time, watching the house through ivy on the property.
Coyotes are frequently spotted in the neighborhood, Bessemer said. He sees one at least once a week while on early-morning runs and typically makes noise to deter them, especially when accompanied by the family’s chihuahua, Sam.
Monday’s scare prompted Bessemer and his fiancée to take stricter precautions with both Sam and Salvo.
“We made a rule that he’s not to go to the gate without one of us,” Bessemer said. “It might have gone differently if Salvo had been by himself.”
Bessemer said he also plans to make sure Sam is always leashed when taken outside and that the front door remains closed as a precaution.
Kevin McManus of Pasadena Humane said that while the video may appear frightening, the coyote did not demonstrate signs of aggressive or hunting behavior based on the footage.
“The good news is everybody’s safe,” McManus said.
Bessemer said he has noticed more coyotes in the area recently, including during daytime hours. McManus said this is likely due to mating season, when coyotes are more active and more likely to be seen outside of dawn and dusk.
“People should make noise and try to make coyotes uncomfortable to scare them off,” McManus said. “Remember, we’re bigger than them.”
McManus also advised residents to be extra cautious with pets during this season and to avoid leaving food or unsecured trash around their homes.
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