Michigan DNR program offers class trips to state parks
Outdoors report
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Registration is open for Nature Awaits, a Michigan Department of Natural Resources education initiative that allows fourth grade classrooms to visit a state park on a free field trip.
Educators can choose from 30 state parks throughout Michigan, including VanRiper and Wells in the central Upper Peninsula. Transportation costs for public schools are reimbursed up to $1,000.
Trained DNR educators lead participants through 90 minutes of student-centered activities -- aligned with state curriculum standards and spanning a variety of subjects such as science, language arts, social studies and physical education -- during an interactive hike.
"Nature Awaits really exemplifies the main goals of the DNR," said Tracy Page, DNR Education Services manager. "It reaches students with factual science, promotes the understanding that Michigan's natural resources belong to them, and actually gets them outside and experiencing nature in a fun, fulfilling way."
Fall trips will begin in September and run through November.
To learn more, go toMichigan.gov/NatureAwaits.
More information is also available by contacting Holly Vaughn at 248-459-7917.
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Upper Peninsula Power Company is accepting proposals through Oct. 16 for the annual Bond Falls Mitigation and Enhancement Fund grant.
The goal of the MEF grant is to create improvements to aquatic and terrestrial environments within the Ontonagon River watershed. This watershed includes UPPCO's Bond Falls and Victoria Hydroelectric Projects. For more information, to to www.uppco.com/about-uppco/what-we-do.
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Near Marinette, Wis., brown trout and a few salmon were caught closer to shore both north and south of the Menominee River in waters 40 to 50 feet deep, according to the Wisconsin DNR. Smaller spoons were working best with white colored spoons producing fish.
Anglers fishing in the river were also getting some perch and bluegills fishing weed beds in the shallows out of the main river channel. A few walleyes and smallmouth were being caught upstream from Stephenson Island, especially in low light conditions.
The Michigan DNR reported this U.P. activity:
Little Bay de Noc: Anglers targeting yellow perch reported good fishing while using perch rigs baited with worms and minnows on light-action rods. Walleye anglers reported slow-to-fair fishing, with most targeting the bottom of drop-offs. Anglers trolling typically ran crawler harnesses behind bottom bouncers or inline weights. Anglers casting reported using snap-style jigs or jigs paired with soft plastics. Coho salmon fishing was slow over the past week.
Marquette: Most anglers continued to troll north of White Rocks out toward Granite Island and the Clay Banks in 80 to 160 feet of water targeting lake trout. Anglers reported catching fish throughout the water column with no clear pattern. A few anglers reported catching salmon and brown trout near Little Presque Isle and the Clay Banks area around Granite Island and the Little Garlic River in 60 to 100 feet of water. Few anglers headed out to the Sand River or Shot Point, with lower numbers of lake trout reported. Coho salmon were caught in 60 feet of water between the Lower Harbor Lighthouse and the Chocolay River, with lines set 25 to 30 feet down.
Munising: Weather conditions limited fishing activity over the past week, but boat anglers who made it out caught a few coho salmon and splake while trolling in the bay and around Grand Island. Boat anglers targeting lake trout found success at Big Reef and around Grand Island. Anglers fishing the mouth of the Anna River caught a few splake. Spawn and casting spinners were the most productive baits.
Manistique: Anglers reported good Chinook salmon fishing from the “green can” buoy located south of Manistique to Fairport. Anglers had good success trolling in water depths of 100 to 150 feet of water. Magnum-sized spoons were productive. Anglers who fished near the mouth of the Manistique River reported slow fishing, as did pier anglers.
Ontonagon River: Angling effort on the river was good over the past week. Walleye were caught in fair numbers by anglers jigging. Trolling was much less effective, with fishing in the morning hours yielding the best success.
Keweenaw Bay/Huron Bay: Anglers reported catching lake trout, along with a few coho salmon, splake, and Chinook salmon, while trolling spoons and flasher-fly rigs over the past week. Anglers jigging for lake trout reported a fair bite, finding success on both natural and artificial presentations. Fish were caught in 100 to 140 feet of water.
Lake Independence, Big Bay: Fishing activity remained slow with most anglers targeting walleye and yellow perch. Anglers did best jigging in 10 to 15 feet of water using natural bait.
Ontonagon/Silver City/Union Bay: Ontonagon saw fair amounts of angling effort over the past week. Effort from the Silver City and Union Bay access sites remained much lower than from Ontonagon. Angler reports included catches of lake trout in fair-to-low numbers. Anglers trolled across depths varying from 60 to 150 feet to find fish.