East Lansing
Managing forest may help boostsnowshoe hare
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Forest management practices may be able to help boost Michigan's snowshoe hare population, which researchers say is declining in part due to climate change.
Gary Roloff, an associate professor in Michigan State University's Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, led the research as part of a multi-year study funded by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. He said the decline is particularly evident in Michigan's Lower Peninsula.
"Snowshoe hares are an important ecological and cultural species in Michigan," Roloff said in a statement. "Ecologically, hares are prey for animals such as bobcat, fisher, marten, coyote and raptors. Culturally, hares are part of Michigan's hunting heritage.
"When hunters have been asked why they stopped hunting hares, the consistent message has been there are too few hares in an area to make it worthwhile."
Researchers looked at more than 130 sites in the state where snowshoe hares usually are found. They announced this week that snowshoe hares have disappeared from nearly half of the sites in the Lower Peninsula and more than a quarter of the sites in the Upper Peninsula.
Subtle changes to forest management could help the animals, Roloff said. The study found that snowshoe hares prefer high-density stands with lots of vegetation cover, and they'll use knocked-down trees for shelter. Piling some trees could help improve habitats for the animals.
The DNR said the research will help in updating forest management policies.
"The advice we have been able to provide about snowshoe hares was limited prior to this research, but if conditions line up right on given years, we could have an impact on the population," said Dwayne Etter, wildlife research specialist at the DNR's Rose Lake field office.
Researchers plan to continue to look into how other animals, such as the moose and ruffed grouse, may be affected by climate change.
East Lansing
Grant to help farmers, workers with disabilities
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - A four-year, $720,000 grant will help Michigan State University Extension and Michigan Easter Seals assist farm operators and workers with disabilities and health issues.
The funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture AgrAbility program was announced this week.
The money will support education, networking, assistance and marketing. It aims to help those with problems such as arthritis, back injury, stroke and heart issues.
As part of the effort, faculty members and students of the Michigan State University College of Engineering will design and build equipment to help workers.
Ann Arbor
University moves ahead on North Hall demolition
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - The University of Michigan is moving forward on plans to demolish its more than century-old North Hall to make way for a $261 million science building.
The Board of Regents plans to vote Thursday on the $9 million demolition of North Hall and the Museums Annex, The Ann Arbor News reported. Last year, officials said the 48,500-square-foot North Hall would be too costly to repair.
The building, the second oldest on University of Michigan's Ann Arbor campus, was decommissioned at a ceremony in July. Built between 1899 and 1900, it was the site of ROTC programs since 1940.
In February, the Board of Regents approved the new Biological Science Building project. The College of Literature, Science, and the Arts proposed building a new teaching, research and museum facility for the biological sciences and some campus museums.
The Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, and the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology are located in the Edward Henry Kraus Building, which was built in 1915.
"That has reached its limit in terms of ability to allow contemporary research and the number of researchers it can support," according to a document about the project.
The Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology also has space in the Alexander G. Ruthven Museums Building, which "has even greater limitations to meet the needs for contemporary research and has very significant deferred maintenance needs."
The Ruthven Museums Building also houses the Anthropology, Natural History, Paleontology and Zoology museums. The proposed demolition will make way for the 300,000-square-foot Biological Science Building, with a connection to the Life Sciences Institute Building.
Demolition is proposed to begin in January. Overall construction is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2018. Funding is expected to be provided from resources of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts and the Office of the Provost.
Marquette
3 lawmakers propose blocking electric hikes
MARQUETTE, Mich. (AP) - Three congressional lawmakers from Michigan have introduced legislation that could block a proposed $100 million electric rate hike in the Upper Peninsula.
The bipartisan bill put forward Monday would require the Federal Energy Regulatory Committee to disapprove a decision by another regulator if a review finds that it causes "unjust and unreasonable rate increases" for families and businesses.
U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow and U.S. Reps. Dan Benishek and Gary Peters introduced the legislation that would give authority to FERC to overturn rate hikes approved by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation. They say a recent NERC decision would force consumers in the Upper Peninsula to pay for 99 percent of the Presque Isle Power Plant's operating costs.
FERC previously found that customers should be responsible for 14 percent of the costs.
Ann Arbor
Man convicted of conspiracy in Detroit shooting
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - A Washtenaw County jury has found a 24-year-old man guilty of conspiracy but not murder in the killing of a 28-year-old man scheduled to testify in a Detroit freeway shooting case.
The Ann Arbor News reports Lawrence Mathews was convicted of charges including conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. He was acquitted of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Brandon Charles of Ypsilanti Township in January 2013.
A jury earlier found Mathews' cousin, 32-year-old Willie Wimberly, guilty of first-degree murder and other charges in the killing.
Charles was one of two people wounded following a traffic confrontation on Interstate 94. He had been scheduled to take the stand in the preliminary examination of Wimberly and another man charged in the shooting.
Flint
Man sentenced to life in 2 slayings
FLINT, Mich. (AP) - A Flint man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole after pleading no contest to killing a 12-year-old girl and her mother.
The Flint Journal reports 45-year-old Michael Poole Sr. was given the mandatory punishment on Monday. He earlier entered the plea to two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of 44-year-old Yolanda Hill and her daughter Cherish Hill-Renfro in their apartment in July 2013.
A no contest plea is treated the same as a guilty plea during sentencing.
Police say Poole admitted to choking and killing both victims. He was staying with them at the apartment at the time of the killings.
Detroit
Conviction stands for dad in girl's disappearance
DETROIT (AP) - The Michigan appeals court has affirmed the murder conviction of a Detroit man whose 2-year-old daughter has not been found.
The court says there was "sufficient circumstantial evidence" to support D'Andre Lane's convictions. He was charged with first-degree child abuse and murder committed during another felony.
Lane claimed Bianca Jones was abducted during a carjacking in 2011, but investigators soon became skeptical and believed that Bianca was killed with a stick because she wet herself and wasn't toilet-trained.
In a 3-0 decision last week, the appeals court rejected challenges to evidence introduced at trial. Lane is serving a no-parole sentence.
Kalamazoo
Man gets 30-60 years in death
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) - An 18-year-old Kalamazoo man will serve at least 30 years in prison for his involvement in a gang fight that claimed the life of a middle-schooler.
Rashad Perez was sentenced Monday to 30 to 60 years in prison for the May 26 shooting death of 13-year-old Michael Day. The Kalamazoo Gazette reports he was convicted last month of second-degree murder, felony use of a firearm and conspiracy to commit murder.
Published: Wed, Nov 19, 2014
