Upper Peninsula • Marquette: Fishing has been slow. Those going out of the Lower Harbor caught a few splake or a couple Menominee however most caught nothing. Night anglers have caught burbot. Most were using minnows for splake and burbot or a single egg and waxworm for whitefish. Those ...

“But the sun came up and the sun went down; spring was waiting beneath the frozen ground and I’ll be seeing you around, so it goes.” — Kim Richey/William Paul Deasy When I stepped closer and reached for her arm, her hand and forearm were buried in the cold, deep snow. I closed my hand ...

ISHPEMING — Some of Bryan DeAugustine’s days — make that a lot of them — are spent walking the halls of NICE Community Schools, where he is superintendent. Other days are spent off the ground, such as on a mountain summit in Wyoming or on an ice cliff not far from Lake ...

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to providing Michigan citizens the opportunity to share input and ideas on policy decisions, programs and other aspects of natural resource management and outdoor recreation opportunities. One important avenue for this input is at ...

GAY — The multi-agency Buffalo Reef Task Force is moving forward on several fronts in its efforts to protect the underwater natural reef off the Keweenaw Peninsula from being smothered by migrating copper mine tailings. The problem was created roughly a century ago, when dark-colored mine ...

“There’s a blizzard coming on, how I’m wishing I was home, for my pony’s lame and he can’t hardly stand.” — Harlan Howard The plaintive sound of simple chords played on a piano can open up my heart and mind on these cold winter days. The sound fills the room and moves through the ...

“I was waiting for the sun, and then I walked on home alone,” — Gary Louris and Mark Olson When I opened the curtains, I was heartened to see the sun beginning to reach its long arms up to the tops of the trees from the horizon. I knew it wouldn’t be warm like a summer day, once it ...

MARQUETTE — It’s not the most sought after game fish, and it’s professionally managed even less. However, the burbot is an important part of the Great Lakes ecosystem, and any research probably will help people better understand this species. A major breakthrough has taken place in ...

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon set a record for the number of campers at state parks last year, and the number of day-use visitors was the second-highest ever, according to a report by the state's Parks and Recreation Department. The report said 2.9 million people camped at a state park in ...

By JOHN PEPIN Michigan Department of Natural Resources LANSING — As a boy, Dan Eichinger could be found with a spinning rod in hand, haunting the tree-lined banks of the Middle Branch River, trying to avoid the stream’s suckers in favor of a tug on his line from a big brown ...

Editor’s note: This is the sixth and final part of a series on stormwater management and why it is important. The series was created with the help of the Superior Watershed Partnership of Marquette. In Marquette, the city government has been proactive in managing stormwater runoff to Lake ...

“Some quiet evening, I sit by your side and we’re lost in a world of our own.” — Ben Raleigh and Sherman Edwards It was that instant mashed potato flake kind of snow, soft and fluffy, and it was piling up high as the nighttime moved slowly past. I was looking out the upstairs window ...

“Sooner or later you will find a way to feel like sunshine even on a cloudy day, to feel like morning in the dead of night, sooner or later, it’s gonna be alright.” — Kevin Cronin The sound I heard shimmering through the air was abrupt and loud, like the crack of a high-powered rifle ...

Editor’s note: This is the fifth of a six-part series on stormwater management and why it is important. The series was created with the help of the Superior Watershed Partnership of Marquette. By Kim Eggleston For the Superior Watershed Partnership Special to the Journal Fixing our ...

GWINN — When the weather warms, Matt Couture probably will be seen driving around Gwinn proper in what some people might consider an old jalopy. Not every car, though, has a movie prop of a .45 Colt revolver to shift gears. What was once solely a 1931 Ford Model A sedan is now a “rat ...

MARQUETTE — Shelldon needs a new home. One of the most popular attractions at MooseWood Nature Center is Shelldon, the large snapping turtle whose prehistoric appearance delights many visitors, especially when it stretches its long neck above the water surface. However, his tank is ...

Editor’s note: This is the fourth of a six-part series on stormwater management and why it is important. The series was created with the help of the Superior Watershed Partnership of Marquette. MARQUETTE — Everybody’s seen discarded cigarette butts in the street and not thought much ...

“And everything looks worse in black and white.” — Paul Simon Most any river has a voice and a soul and, like a person, has depth and warmth and cold, but also like people, there are some that seem more alive than others. This river is most certainly one of those living places where ...

“Take a look at all the detail in a single little thing, just a single little snowflake or a tiny insect wing. Tell me who could make the clouds and make ‘em move across the sky? Who could make your mind and put it here to wonder why.” — Steve Forbert From the time I was a young kid ...

By CHRISTIE BLECK Journal Staff Writer SKANDIA — Culling the predator herd is a fact of life in ecosystems, and that concept was at the heart of the recent U.P. Predator Challenge. Sponsored by the West Branch Sportsmen’s Club Inc., the event took place Jan. 17-20. Teams of one or ...