For Friday, July 27, 2018

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1- They say there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

But The Nature Conservancy is giving free noon-time food next month to Saginaw Bay area farmers and conservation professionals.

The Aug. 7 event is to talk about how to overcome common obstacles to conservation practices like cover crops.

Although cover crops are popular for their effect on soil health and water quality in the Saginaw Bay watershed, the conservancy says some farmers have questions about pest issues, termination and crop insurance.

Local and regional experts and other farmers will be on hand to provide guidance at the Aug. 7 free lunch.

The event is from 11:10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Michigan State University AgBioResearch Saginaw Valley Research and Extension Center located at 3775 S. Reese Road in Frankenmuth.

Anyone may attend for free by registering in advance online or by contacting Mary Fales, TNC-MI Saginaw Bay project director, at (517) 316-2278 or mfales@tnc.org.

2 – NOAA Fisheries, a federal agency, is recommending about $4.8 million for eight Great Lakes Restoration Initiative projects to restore habitat and improve resilience in degraded Great Lakes ecosystems.

NOAA Fisheries, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, says the funding will improve water quality by restoring coastal wetland function, provide recreational opportunities for the public, and increase the resilience of coastal and Great Lakes communities to erosion and flooding.

The agency is recommending funding for four new restoration projects and continued funding for two existing regional partnerships.

A new project is slated to receive $500,000 to remove fish passage barriers in the northern region of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula in cooperation with the nonprofit Huron Pines in Gaylord.

In the first year, project partners will replace two barriers with better performing structures to reconnect 23 miles of coldwater habitat for brook trout and other native species.   

– Mr. Great Lakes is heard at 9:30 a.m. Fridays in Bay City, Michigan, on Delta College Q-90.1 FM NPR. Follow @jeffkart on Twitter #MrGreatLakes