Avon Creek Restoration Project

Rochester Hills Receives $100,000 for Creek Restoration The City of Rochester Hills recently received $100,000 from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to complete the connection from Avon Creek to the Clinton River. The creek runs through the Rochester Hills City Hall property, at Avon Road and Rochester Hills Drive. Years of creek erosion made the creek deep and the bank slopes had become vertical. This prevented vegetation from growing, which in turn exacerbated the erosion … [Read more...]

Six Rivers Land Conservancy Receives Two Grants to Fund Invasive Species Control

Six Rivers Land Conservancy was awarded two grants December 18, 2018 totaling $120,000 from the Michigan Invasive Species Grant Program. Each grant will support a Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (CISMA) coordinator based in a geographic region. Six Rivers is the fiduciary for the Lake St. Clair CISMA in Macomb and St. Clair counties and for the Oakland County CISMA. The two CISMA coordinators were hired this fall and can now continue their efforts into 2020. McKenzi Bergmoser … [Read more...]

Asian Jumping Worms Hop into Michigan

Oakland University Biologist Studying Spread Of Invasive Worm in Michigan  “Anything you do to the soil in a forest is going to have ramifications for how that forest system functions ecologically.” And that, Oakland University Professor Scott Tiegs said, is why the Asian Jumping Worm’s growing presence in Michigan soil is a real concern. “We don’t know a lot yet about how these relatively recent invaders, this Asian species, are going to impact our forests,” said Tiegs, an associate … [Read more...]

Fourth Graders Eligible for Special Access to Parks and Lakeshores

Fourth Graders Eligible for Special Access to Michigan's National Parks and Lakeshores Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Michigan parks and libraries partner to offer free passes to hundreds of state parks and cultural destinations. Library card holders statewide can once again get free or discounted access to hundreds of Michigan’s state parks, historic sites, cultural attractions, campgrounds and recreation areas through the second annual Michigan Activity Pass program, sponsored by … [Read more...]

Oakland Township Parks and Recreation Summer Camps

Sponsored by Oakland Township’s Parks and Recreation Millage Oakland Township Parks Recreation Commission is excited about offering our first-ever multiple summer day camp opportunities to our resident and greater Rochester area kids and teens. EXPLORE ARCHERY camp is a new and innovative archery education program focused on introducing beginners to the lifelong sport of archery. In Explore Archery, campers earn achievement awards through active  participation in individual and … [Read more...]

Dear Crabby, Is Hunting Deer Unethical?

Dear Crabby, The wife and I were driving around this past weekend enjoying all the beautiful fall colors when we saw a family of deer dart across the road. Of course my wife was worried they wouldn’t make it across safely and screamed at me to slow down. I, on the other hand remembered that bow-hunting season for deer starts this week. So I need you to settle an argument between my wife and I. She says in this day and age deer hunting is barbaric, while I say it is all part of life’s cycle. … [Read more...]

Seasons of Fishing Hope Again Come ‘Round

For Rochester area fishermen it was a hard winter. In fact it was brutal. With nearly four months of record snow and sub-zero temperatures there was very little fishing joy going on, especially for fly fishermen. Locally, the Clinton River was frozen over in many spots and, even worse, unsafe shelf-ice made our bold winter steelheaders stay home and tie flies. Some, in acute desperation, dashed north-west to the classic Pere Marquette River but, even there, with thin results. However, things are … [Read more...]

Our Miracle River’s December Steelhead

I feel the long sought tug of a heavy fish and drive the hook of my fly solidly home. Confused, the fish jumps flipping in mid-air and jets downstream in a wild, manic dash. It rapidly pulls out sixty feet of my yellow fly line then, unexpectedly, pauses to rest. It is then that I know to give chase as best as I can, stumbling over slippery rocks and reeling as fast as I can to gain line. Still not knowing why it is being pulled the fish swims steadily back upstream, quickly passes me, … [Read more...]

Cider & Salmon

I’m all geared-up not just because the salmon are starting their annual river spawning migrations, but also because I can smell that heavenly aroma of sweet apple cider, fresh baked donuts and caramel apples drifting down from the 137-year-old cider mill just upstream. The amazing thing is that both are happening right here in Rochester Hills right now and the epicenter for all of this excitement is Yates Cider Mill. Yates is a Michigan landmark and a registered historic site and its mill has … [Read more...]

Hills awarded grant to rehab Velodrome

The International Velodrome at Bloomer Park  in Rochester Hills is about to get a much-needed facelift, thanks to a $45,000 grant from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to resurface the aging track surface. The velodrome was funded entirely by donations and built by volunteers in 2001. It was designed by Olympic track designer Dale Hughes, a lifelong Rochester Hills resident. “After 13  years the wood panels began to decompose, causing a rough ride for cyclists,” Hughes … [Read more...]