Some communities are exploring green job initiatives as an opportunity for ex-prisoners to rebuild their lives. The Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative (MPRI), a statewide effort led by the Department of Corrections that does job placement for former prisoners, provide a pathway out of the incarceration cycle for an increasing number of former prisoners.

President Obama’s effort to jumpstart long-overdue cleanup projects could be in trouble. Insiders wonder if the new Congress will set the budgetary needle closer to zero. But it will take more than money for the lakes to reach their potential.

Cleanup efforts are still underway more than six months after 819,000 gallons of heavy crude oil spilled into the Kalamazoo River, covering wildlife and the nearby environment with sludge.

Researchers recently hosted a workshop on agricultural contamination in the Great Lakes region, discussing why rates of agricultural nutrients are on the rise.
Echo will give readers a glimpse of the workshop in a three-part video series.

It’s not easy being old–the Barney Devine served Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources missions on Lake Michigan and is now close to retirement at the age of 74. Construction just finished on the boat’s replacement, the Coregonus.

Vampire, blood-sucker, parasite – take your pick. The terms have all been used to describe the sea lamprey. It’s a behavior ruining more than the invader’s reputation. Some native lamprey species co-exist peacefully in the lakes.

New information about sand dunes along Lake Michigan is expected to improve protection of archeological sites, researchers and planners say.

Here is an opportunity for Congress to show some Great Lakes leadership.

But the proposal’s deadline is 20 years away and it lacks funding for critical infrastructure.

Nancy Michelli keeps a surgical mask in her car.
But she isn’t afraid of other people’s germs making her sick; it’s how they smell.
It isn’t body odor she is talking about. Instead, the California woman is protecting herself from the fragrances people carry in their clothing, skin and hair from hair products, laundry detergent and perfumes.

Michigan deer hunting is a $1 billion-a-year industry but last year license sales dropped 4 percent from previous years.

The state is attempting to boost hunting tourism with new campaigns like advertising that targets out-of-state hunters.