The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has taken a step toward placing the coaster brook trout, which once thrived in the upper Great Lakes, on the endangered species list.

A petition filed by two groups in 2006 made a strong enough case to justify a formal review, the service said Thursday in a Federal Register notice. The Sierra Club and the Huron Mountain Club sued the agency in December for failing to act earlier. Officials blamed the delay on budget restraints.

Once a species is listed, the government must devise a recovery plan that sometimes includes designating protected habitat.

Kennecott Minerals Co. has received state permits to construct a nickel and copper mine beneath the Salmon Trout headwaters in Marquette County. It also needs a permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Opponents of the mining project have raised concerns about its possible effect on the coaster brook trout.

Link

Great Lakes states must protect every drop they can

Water quality can no longer stay in the back seat to worries about the water quantity of the Great Lakes. There is too much going wrong

Dying for clean water

Too often we focus on just “water,” worrying about drought and scarcity. But the health of the world depends on it being “clean,” too.

Keep drugs out of water with research, monitoring, treatment

The Associated Press did a great job in its recent investigation of the ubiquitous presence of pharmaceuticals in the drinking water of 24 metropolitan areas, including Detroit and encompassing more than 41 million people.

Adverse impacts associated with exposure to these drugs have been observed in fish and other aquatic species. Even though the concentrations are very low, a potential exists for harm to people.

Learn how to guard against invasive plants

Now that spring has officially arrived, people are starting to think about adding plants to their landscapes.

That makes this a good time to learn more about invasive plants.

“Invasive Plants 201: A Workshop for the Thoughtful Gardener” will be 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. March 29 at the Michigan State University Management Conference Center, 811 W. Square Lake Road, Troy. Among the topics will be the definitions of invasive species, characteristics of invasive plants and how to control their spread. There will also be talks on selection of herbaceous perennials and other plants.

Local sandwich love runs wide and deep, judging by the impassioned responses we received when we asked Free Press readers to help us find metro Detroit’s best-tasting meals between sliced bread.

Our hunt began after Esquire went in search of the best sandwiches in America and found two in our own backyard: a boisterous barbecued brisket at Zingerman’s Deli in Ann Arbor and a wonderful grilled-three-cheese at Café Muse in Royal Oak.

They were indeed delicious, but what about all the others?

Find out about the others here

The sandwich photo gallery – Try not to drool on your keyboard…..

Sign of the times… Think global buy local Michigan!

“I think it’s a sad thing. It’s an Ann Arbor-based store. It’s a pride and joy of Ann Arbor.” – area resident Lori Lowe reacting to news that Borders is exploring a merger or outright sale.

Borders appears to be ready to put up a “for sale” sign, following months of Wall Street chatter that a merger with a rival or private equity takeover could be the bookseller’s best chance for survival.

Such a deal would mean that for only the third time since 1971, when Tom and Louis Borders opened their 800-square-foot used books store in downtown Ann Arbor, the hometown retailing giant now know as Borders Group Inc. would face new ownership.

Link

Steven Book will spend much of the next three weeks watching television in a 40-foot-long RV in San Antonio, Texas. But that’s not what makes the gig a dream come true.

As one of four winners of the Coke Zero Ultimate Dream Job contest, the Michigan State University sophomore will be watching every game of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and blogging about them for NCAA.com.

Read the rest in the LSJ

Check out the blogs here

Stuck at work?
WATCH EVERY GAME FROM THE 2008 NCAA DIVISION I MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP ONLINE FOR FREE!

MLive video game blogger Man Zero does the right thing and tells us:

There comes a time in every video game blogger’s career when he has to man up, admit he was wrong and take back the cheap jokes he made about a beloved college mascot.

So hats off to Michigan State’s Sparty, who got the most votes in the EA Sports Cover Mascot Challenge and will grace the cover of NCAA Football 09 for Wii. EA says he got the lion’s share of more than 700,000 votes.

Read Man Zero’s blog over at MLive.com for all the details, get links to check out the game, download Sparty wallpaper and more!

Jack Lessenberry over at the Metro Times tells us:

‘Environmental conditions are worse here, perhaps, than in any other part of the country.’

Here’s something you may find nearly as interesting, and a bit more significant, than the price of career-killing call girls. The federal Centers for Disease Control ordered a massive study of health conditions and environmental hazards in the Great Lakes states, including Michigan. The report was finished last July.

But you didn’t get to read it. Neither did anybody else.

That’s because our government suppressed it, initially without saying anything to anybody about why.

Get the full story here

AJ’s Cafe in Ferndale, MI goes for Guiness Book Record

Oh, ‘Danny Boy,’ the record book is calling – via the Freep

By the time the event was wrapping up, around 5 p.m. Monday, more than 100 people wedged into A.J.’s Café broke into the last of roughly 1,000 performances.

Foley’s Pub and Restaurant in NYC bans ‘Danny Boy’

NYC pub owner bans `Danny Boy’ in March – via Yahoo! NEWS

It’s depressing, it’s not usually sung in Ireland for St. Patrick’s Day, and its lyrics were written by an Englishman who never set foot on Irish soil.

Those are only some of the reasons why a Manhattan pub owner is banning the song “Danny Boy” for the entire month of March.

March 23 – The Boathouse, 449 Water. St, Saugatuck, MI

The Hackensaw Boys first began playing their joyful blend of old-time tinged music on the streets of Charlottesville in the autumn of 1999. Far from limiting themselves to the old-time canon, however, the Hackensaws have been first and foremost a band of songwriters. Their music, while drawing upon the spirit of the mountains, is sophisticated and informed by the best elements of punk rock and classic country music. As one reviewer put it: Imagine the Carter Family meets the Ramones, and you begin to get the picture.

Over the past several years, the Hackensaw Boys have gained a solid following among fans who might not normally seem to be drawn to old-time music. The band has toured with Modest Mouse, De La Soul, Cake and the Flaming Lips and backed up dissimilar artists, including roots-rock act Cracker. The band has had enthusiastic crowds in Europe and Scandinavia, as well as the Pacific Northwest in the United States. People all seem to respond to the band’s hard-driving sound. The Hackensaw Boys are performing at:

The Boathouse of Saugatuck on Sunday March 23, Easter Evening at 8pm with opening act Delilah DeWylde and the Hollow Bunnymen, The trio features the local talents of Delilah DeWylde, Lee Harvey and Mark Schrock.

The Boathouse MySpace Page

The Hackensaw Boys Website