Mr. Great Lakes, Jeff Kart. As heard in Bay City, Michigan, at 9 a.m. Fridays on Delta College Q-90.1 FM.

1 – The Great Lakes Loons are using less energy.

The Minor League Baseball Team has set a goal to reduce total energy use by 50 percent by 2020.

The team, along with Dow Diamond and its corporate partners, Dow Chemical and Dow Corning, also plans to cut water use and waste in half by the year 2020.

The sustainability goals were updated this week in a first-quarter report.

Highlights include a new composting program for food waste at Dow Diamond, and the installation of more efficient LED lighting.

The compost program will use the food waste to fertilize the grounds and flower beds at Dow Diamond.

The LED lighting installed in various areas of Dow Diamond is expected to cut energy by about 15,000 kilowatt hours and carbon dioxide emissions by more than 36,000 pounds.

The Great Lakes Loons are a Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

2- Public meetings are planned this month on regional state forest plans.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is hosting the meetings to discuss feedback from an earlier round of meetings that sought comment on draft versions of the plans.

The topics to be discussed at the May sessions include aspen and timber management; wildlife habitat and recreational trails.

The meetings include one on Wednesday, May 22, in Gaylord.

Following the sessions, the DNR will revise plans for each region, including the Northern Lower Peninsula, in preparation for final review at upcoming Natural Resources Commission meetings and approval by the DNR director. Final approval of the plans is expected in November 2013.

The plans are designed to help the DNR manage 4 million acres of state forest land in Michigan. Once finalized, the plans will guide DNR decisions about timber management and other activities on state forest land for years to come.

3 – Trees are making a splash in the Pigeon River.

The first trees have gone into the river as part of an instream habitat diversity project.

Stretches of the Pigeon and Sturgeon rivers are the focus of work planned for this year by Huron Pines, a nonprofit in Gaylord.

Large woody debris – like trees and branches – are placed in the river to improve habitat for fish, protect against streambank erosion, and provide habitat for bugs, turtles, birds and other wildlife.

Sites are selected to provide conservation value without interfering in river navigation.

See also: Flying Trees

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