AP Wire | 02/21/2006 | Supreme Court decides not to take up Michigan beach walking case

The Duluth News Tribune has an update on the beach walking case:

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to consider whether people have a right to stroll along private property aligning Great Lakes beaches in Michigan.

Justices left undisturbed a state Supreme Court ruling last year that found beach walking is a right.

New invasive species mussel threatens lakes

The Muskegon Chronicle informs us of another invasive mussel in the lakes:

An alien mussel first spotted in Lake Michigan a decade ago has colonized much of the lake bottom, creating problems that likely will surpass those caused by the dreaded zebra mussel.

Meet the quagga mussel, the tougher, more disruptive cousin of the zebra mussel. Imported to Lake Michigan in 1997 in the ballast water of ocean freighters, quaggas now blanket much of the lake bottom to depths of 330 feet, according to scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The quagga is like a frost-proof zebra mussel on steroids -- it's a heartier species that, unlike the zebras, can survive in cold water and live on the entire lake bottom. Zebra mussels thrive in the shallow, warmer waters of Lake Michigan and other inland lakes.

State agrees on limits for water use

The Detroit Free Press reports on the recent legislative efforts to govern water withdrawls from the Great Lakes watershed:

Michigan's first laws to safeguard its signature resource -- water -- from being sucked out in massive quantities were passed Thursday by state legislators.

Farmers, utilities, industry and Nestle Waters' controversial Ice Mountain bottling plant can continue their water withdrawals.

It will make Michigan the last of the eight Great Lakes states to live up to a 1985 pact to regulate large-scale water removal.

Highlights of the state's first comprehensive rules on water use:

Those who plan to start withdrawing more than 5 million gallons a day from the Great Lakes or 2 million gallons a day from inland waterways or groundwater must qualify for a permit.

New withdrawals by bottled water plants that exceed 250,000 gallons daily must get a permit, with slightly tougher standards.

Diversions outside the area surrounding the Great Lakes are forbidden, but water in containers less than 5.7 gallons is allowed.

Industries must develop conservation and management plans; companies will be encouraged, but not required, to follow them.

Tourism officials pushing Lake Huron history

The Bay City Times covers this story about increasing tourism along the US-23 corridor.

Tourism officials have come up with a new marketing twist for the trip up US-23 along the Lake Huron coastline - a lesson in maritime history. The state's Travel Michigan Web site is adding the US-23 route to its list of suggested ''maritime tours'' for tourists interested in making road trips linked to Great Lakes history.

The new Northeast Michigan tour is scheduled to make its debut Feb. 24 on the state's tourism Web site, according to Deb Pardike, director of the Alpena County Convention & Visitors Bureau. The tour is expected to cover the route between Standish and Mackinaw City, focusing on the 1913 voyage of the steamer J.F. Durston during a tremendous storm on Lake Huron, Pardike said Tuesday.

The Web page will direct travelers to points of interest along the tour and provide links to related Internet sites, such as local chambers of commerce and visitors bureaus.

People can view the current maritime tours at www.travel.michigan.org/drivingtours/.