For Friday, March 24, 2023

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1 – The Little Forks Conservancy in Midland is working on a new Nelson Woods nature preserve. 

The conservancy was awarded a $30,000 grant from the Charles J. Strosacker Foundation.

The funding will help with accessibility at a new nature preserve along the Tittabawassee River just upstream from downtown Midland.

Nelson Woods will be the Little Forks Conservancy’s fourth nature preserve along the river between Midland and Sanford. 

The conservancy is working with a landscape architect to assist design trails, a parking area and river overlook. 

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2 – The Midwest Climate Adaptation Science Center is launching a survey this year, The Detroit News reports. 

The survey is meant to gauge what people in Michigan and other Midwest states know about climate change and what strategies they support to adapt. 

According to climate impact assessments gathered by the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and a federal agency, average temperatures have increased by 2.3°F  in the U.S. Great Lakes region since 1951. 

They’re expected to increase by up to 6 degrees by 2050 and up to 11 degrees by 2100. 

The assessments also say winter temperatures have been rising faster than temperatures during other seasons. 

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3 – What’s in store for spring? 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says climate change is driving wet and dry extremes in the United States. 

The agency recently released a U.S. Spring Outlook for April through June. 

Forecasters predict above-average precipitation this spring across the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and into parts of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast. 

Below-average precipitation is most likely for the Southwest and parts of the Pacific Northwest. 

More information on the U.S. Spring Outlook is online at noaa.gov. 

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– Mr. Great Lakes is heard Fridays at 9:30 a.m. in Bay City, Michigan, on Delta College Public Radio 90.1 FM (listen live). Follow @jeffkart on Twitter #MrGreatLakes

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