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Find Kid-Friendly Fishing Holes
Michigan’s fishing season opens April 1, and licenses for residents are available now. Priced at just $2, an all-species license for kids under age 17 is a pretty small investment for a year’s worth of outdoor fun on the water, especially if you can increase the odds of catching an actual fish in said waters. Enter the Family Friendly Fishing Waters map, which shows young anglers easily accessible fishing locations across the state that have a high likelihood of catching fish — among them Veronica Valley Pond in Leelanau County; Skegemog Lake in Antrim, Grand Traverse, and Kalkaska counties; and the Manistee River’s Rainbow Bend section in Manistee. You can filter the locations by what type of fish you want to catch, what kind of fishing you’re looking for (boat, pier, shore), what amenities you like (swimming, restrooms, etc.), and entrance fee. Another perk: You can also print off certificates to commemorate your kid’s first and/or biggest catch. (One warning before wetting that line: Any adult actively helping a kid catch fish must have her own license — $26 for residents.) Search “Family Friendly Fishing Waters” at www.michigan.gov
ELPC Pushes Biden Administration to Kill Proposed Cut to NoMi Marine Sanctuary The nation’s only freshwater marine sanctuary — Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, in Lake Huron, near Alpena — has been in the proverbial hot seat since a Trump administration review proposed reducing its size by 90 percent. Last week, however, the Environmental Law & Policy Center and 16 Great Lakes organizations teamed up to ask U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo that her department formally withdraw and close the Trump administration’s review. “It’s time to close the books and finally bring this misguided proposal to a well-deserved end,” said Howard Learner, executive director of the ELPC. The 4,300-square-mile sanctuary is a destination for tourists and school children interested in the Great Lakes maritime history shared through its visitor center and tours, as well as scuba divers eager to explore the sanctuary’s famous Shipwreck Alley, a stretch of Lake Huron bottomland that serves as the underwater graveyard to a large number and variety of ships. For both local economic and environmental reasons, maintaining the sanctuary’s current boundaries has drawn support from a variety of sources: environmental, conservation and outdoor recreation groups, current Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and former Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, Michigan’s Congressional delegation, and local public officials and economic development groups. The ELPC’s written request was consistent with President Biden’s direction to all agency heads to review agency actions, says Learner, adding that “The Department should act to soon remove any doubt or cloud over the legitimacy of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary’s current boundaries and the many shipwrecks and fisheries protected within them.”
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Stuff we love
Local Author-Illustrator Team Nab 2021 Gwen Frostic Award
The state’s Gwen Frostic Day isn’t until May 23, but this year, northern Michiganders have good reason to celebrate early: Old Mission Peninsula residents Karen Bell-Brege and Darrin Brege were just awarded the Michigan Reading Association’s 2021 Gwen Frostic Award. The prestigious award goes to people that have had a powerful influence in literacy for students, teachers, and administrators in Michigan, Karen Bell-Brege tells Northern Express, adding, “We are so excited!” The author-artist husband-wife team has published 14 monster books for kids — the bestselling “Mick Morris Myth Solver” series 1-6; a “Ghost Board Posse” series 1-3; the bestselling Michigan picture book “Bigfoot and the Mitten”; the award-winning “Monsters First Day at School” picture book; a “Sketch the Myths” sketchbook, and the recent “Your True North Michigan” gift book — plus hugely popular mash-up posters. Learn more about the creative couple and find any of their books at www. karenanddarrin.com and numerous local bookstores in northern Michigan.
bottoms up CBC’s Michigan Beach Blonde — Resurrected Like a primary color, blonde or golden ales are basic and ubiquitous in the American beer scene. At Bridge Street Tap Room, that scene is enriched by an active tap containing Michigan Beach Blonde ($6/pint, 5% ABV), a sturdy, clear and gilded beer produced by Grand Armory Brewing in Grand Haven. Yes, you heard right. Michigan Beach Blonde is indeed produced in Grand Haven. But, yes, this froth has local roots, relying on a recipe from the recently-gone-butnever-forgotten Charlevoix Brewing Co., which closed in 2020 after a five-year run. This sparkling glass of ale gets down to beer basics, with neither hops nor malts stealing the thunder. Their respective powers are refreshingly united and tastefully balanced in this wholly approachable delicious-with-anything offering. Pair Michigan Beach Blonde with one of Bridge Street Tap Room’s excellent soft pretzels — hot, bathed in butter, and accompanied by the delicious, one-of-a-kind Mike’s Mustard, another Charlevoix recipe we love. Find Charlevoix’s Bridge Street Tap Room at 202 Bridge St., Charlevoix. (231) 437-3466, www.bridgestreettaproom.com.
Northern Express Weekly • march 22 & 28, 2021 • 5
