Upper Peninsula
Environmental Coalition, UPEC
Presents the Third Annual
Celebrate the UP!!
March 18-19th, 2011
For more info,
contact UPEC
and see info below:
Back to UPEC home page
CELEBRATE THE UP! 2011
All events are FREE and open to the public!
Schedule of Presentations
print a one page
pdf of this schedule here
Print a one page Poster
for Friday eve Celebrate the UP concert here
Print a one page Poster of
Celebrate the UP Friday & Saturday event here
Kick-Off --- Friday, March 18, 2011
U.J. Noblet Forestry Building,
Atrium-room G002, Michigan Tech,
Houghton
Directions: From US 41, turn South on MacInnes Drive, turn West on E. 7th
Street, take the first drive to the left.
It is building number 18 of the Academic Buildings on this map:
www.mtu.edu/maps
7:00 – 9:00 PM “Songs of the North Country:
A concert by White Water” – Dean and Betty Premo will be joined by
local musicians Emma and Carrie Dlutkowski for this lively free
performance.
10:00 – 11:00 AM “Journey to the Wolf’s Eye: Exploring the National Park in your backyard” – Valerie Martin,
National Park Service interpreter
11:30 – 12:30 PM “The Trap Hills: A Hidden Gem of Upper Michigan’s Backcountry” – Doug Welker, educator,
geologist, wilderness ranger
1:30 – 2:30 PM “Paddling the Waters of the Western U.P.” – Dean Juntunen, paraplegic kayaker, biker, and skier
10:00 – 11:00 AM “Learning the Language of Loons: an exploration into the lives of loons” – Keren Tischler, loon conservationist
11:30 – 12:30 PM “Bats: Misunderstood Bug-eating Machines” – Dave Dillman, U.S. Forest Service Wildlife Biologist
1:30 – 2:30 PM “Bird
Migration Through the Keweenaw” – Joseph Youngman, expert birder
10:00 – 11:00 AM “Use it up. Wear it Out. Make it Do or Do Without.— Sustainable Living - Yooper Style – Rick Loduha, Associate Professor, Finlandia University Art and Design Program and co-director of the Sustainable Keweenaw Resource Center
11:30 – 12:30 PM “Is there a Moose Hunt in Michigan’s Future?” – Rob Aho, retired MDNRE Wildlife Biologist from the Baraga Office
1:30 – 2:30 PM “Sustainable Forestry and the
History of Michigan’s Forests” – Marvin Roberson, Sierra Club Forest
Ecologist
10:00 – 11:00 AM “Overview of the KBIC Fisheries Management Program” – Gene Mensch, Fisheries and Wildlife Biologist, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community
11:30 – 12:30 PM “American Indian uses of copper and minerals in centuries past” – Susan Martin, Associate Professor of Archaeology and Anthropology, Michigan Technological University
1:30 – 2:30 PM “Wildlife Filmmaking and
Photography with George Desort” – George Desort, filmmaker, photographer
9:30 AM – 3:00 PM Lunch, snacks, and
beverages will be available for purchase in the Jutila Center’s Kangas Café.
3:30 – 4:45 PM “The
U.P.’s Role in our Energy Future – the pros and cons of wind power and biofuels”
Panelists:
Mike McMaken, Green Energy Solutions, “Wind
and solar power and how they benefit you”
Auriel Van Der Laar, MTU Wildlife
Ecology and Management Senior, “Birds & Wind Power :
Why we should do the work first and construct second”
Marvin Roberson, Sierra Club Forest Ecologist, “Woody Biomass – A Viable Alternative?”
Robert Froese, Associate Professor, School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science,
MTU, “The impacts of using forest biomass for energy production”
Moderator: Doug Welker
Public Reception – Jutila Center, Room 323 (ground floor)
5:00 – 7:00 PM Join the speakers and the
UPEC board for conversation, refreshments,
and music by the KSO Woodwind Players!
print a one page pdf of
the schedule here
For list of speakers and their bios see below:
For more info, contact UPEC
1. White Water String Band
Songs of the North Country: A concert by White Water
Since 1985, Dean and Bette Premo have made music as White Water. For much of that time, their son Evan and daughter Laurel have been part of the band. These days White Water takes on several forms (duo, trio, quartet, and more). For their special concert as part of the UPEC's “Celebrate the U.P.” Dean and Bette will be joined by Emma and Carrie Dlutkowski.
For 25 years, Bette and Dean have organized and hosted the Second Sunday Folk Dance, the largest regular concert/dance event in the north country. The have been part of many music and cultural events in the U.P. and strong advocates of involving and teaching young musicians. In 1985, Drs. Bette and Dean founded the environmental laboratory and consulting firm White Water Associates. The nationally recognized firm provides services in soil and water testing, scientific consulting, and environmental education (www.white-water-associates.com).
Despite their young ages, the Houghton-based “fiddlers” Emma and Carrie Dlutkowski are long-time members of the U.P. classical music scene. Both are members of the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra and chamber groups. Both started playing violin at age six. Emma has attended music camps at Blue Lake and the American Suzuki Institute and is a Suzuki Violin teacher in the Copper Country. Carrie has attended the Blue Lake Suzuki Family Camp. In 2010, she attended the Swannanoa Gathering in North Carolina to learn various fiddling styles. Both Emma and Carrie add mandolins to the instrumental mix with White Water. Working with Dean Premo, Carrie built a hammered dulcimer in 2010 and has quickly developed into a fine player.
(Note: individuals in photo are, clockwise from upper left, Dean , Bette, Emma, and Carrie..)
2. Valerie Martin
Journey to the Wolf’s Eye: Exploring the National Park in your backyard
Amidst a vast inland sea lies a remote archipelago. Travel to Isle Royale and discover why these islands and adjoining Lake Superior waters were designated as a national park.
Valerie has worked for the National Park Service as an interpretive park ranger at eleven Park Service sites, stretching from Hawaii to Maine. Captivated by the beauty and spirit of the remote archipelago of Isle Royale, she has spent the last thirteen summers working and playing there.
3. Doug Welker
The Trap Hills: A Hidden Gem of Upper Michigan's Backcountry
The Trap Hills of Ontonagon County are a wild, spectacular place, rich in history and recreational opportunities. Through photos, maps, and stories, Doug will argue why the Trap Hills are a great candidate for a designated National Recreation Area.
Doug is a long-time UPEC board member who has lived in the U.P. with his wife Marjory Johnston for the past 25 years. He has worked as a geologist, educator, and Forest Service Wilderness Ranger, to name a few. Over the years Doug has been an active hiker, backpacker, paddler, cross-country skier, and caver, and loves to work on hiking trails and go fishing!
4. Dean Juntunen
Paddling the Waters of the Western U.P.
Dean Juntunen is an enthusiastic paraplegic paddler from the boonies back of Mass City who enjoys kayaking on all types of water. His presentation will focus on the rivers of the Western UP, particularly Ontonagon County, and the Western U.P.'s Lake Superior shoreline.
5. Keren Tischler
Learning the Language of Loons: an exploration into the lives of loons
Admiration of loons pervades cultures far and wide, yet much of their behavior remains an enigma to loon enthusiasts. Through images, sounds and stories, this presentation will explore what careful observation has taught us about loons at various sites in the mainland UP and on Isle Royale. Through a lens of understanding, it is my hope that we can transform our enthusiasm for loons into action that results in their protection and stewardship of the “coast” that is common between us. I encourage you to come prepared to sketch or write during this presentation if you are so inspired.
A graduate of Northland College and Michigan Tech, where I received a MS in Forest Ecology under Rolf Peterson, I have had the privilege to observe and engage in loon studies in the Midwest, Canada and Florida for over 15 years. My current post is at Common Coast Research & Conservation, a Hancock-based non-profit organization dedicated to loon protection in Michigan.
6. Dave Dillman
Bats: Misunderstood Bug-eating Machines
Bats are misunderstood and often vilified wonders of nature. This program will explore myths and facts surrounding bats, their basic biology, their roles in the ecosystem, research efforts, and threats to their survival.
I grew up in northern Indiana and graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Biology. I served for 4 years in the US Army as a Military Policeman in Germany and during the Gulf War. My work experience includes environmental consulting for an international environmental firm, Assistant Property Manager on a state tree nursery, and as a Wildlife Biologist for the US Forest Service. My wife (an author and reviewer) and I are proud parents of our daughter and we also have a beautiful granddaughter. We enjoy hiking, movies, and our pets.
7. Joseph Youngman
Bird Migration Through the Keweenaw
An overview of bird migration through the Keweenaw and central Lake Superior, with special emphasis on raptors and waterbirds.
I'm 55 years old, lived in UP since 1977. Married and work at Chassell Township. I do lots of work on tracking breeding birds and bird migration in the UP and Lake Superior.
8. Rick Loduha
Use it
up. Wear it Out. Make it Do or Do Without.--
Sustainable Living - Yooper Style
If we want to address the question “What is Sustainable Keweenaw?” we can expect answers as diverse as the many challenges. Achieving global sustainability will necessarily be a bioregional accomplishment. We will be one of a vast mosaic of sustainable communities, and in the Keweenaw we will use a local focus that honors the rich quality of our natural environment and the unique spirit of our regional culture.
Rick Loduha’s professional experience includes production design, exhibit design, modular furniture design, modular architecture, architectural renovation and sustainable design education. Rick presently leads the Integrated Design program at Finlandia University – International School of Art + Design, a unique program that spans product design, interior architecture and sustainable design systems with emphasis on achieving sustainable community. Rick is also co-director of Finlandia’s Sustainable Keweenaw Resource Center (SKRC), an online/on-the-ground resource library addressing “What is sustainable Keweenaw?”
9. Speaker on the proposed Michigan Moose Hunt
10. Marvin Roberson
Sustainable Forestry and the History of Michigan's Forests
Michigan's forests are very different than they once were, and very different than they could be. This talk will focus on why that is, and how our current management prevents full recovery of Michigan's forests.
Born and raised in Michigan. B.S. and M.S. in Forest Ecology from University of Michigan. UP resident since 1989. 20 years with Sierra Club, at State, Regional, and National levels. Current resident of Marquette County.
11. Gene Mensch
Overview of the KBIC Fisheries Management Program
Gene will talk about the creation of the KBIC Natural Resources Department, and how things have progressed over the years. His focus will be on KBIC coldwater fish hatchery establishments and cooperative agreements with multiple management agencies, late 1980's to present.
Fisheries and Wildlife Biologist for KBIC Natural Resources Department (2001-
present)
B.S. Degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Management, Lake Superior State University
(1996)
M.S. Degree in Biological Sciences with Fisheries Emphasis, Michigan
Technological University (2001)
Baraga High School graduate.
12. Susan Martin
American Indian uses of copper and minerals in centuries past
Martin tells the story of how native Americans discovered, used and manipulated copper and other elements and minerals for uses as tools, decorations, pigments and more over many millennia of Upper Peninsula history.
Susan R. Martin is Associate Professor of Archaeology and Anthropology at Michigan Technological University. Her interests include resource uses and technological achievements of American Indians, and the history of anthropology in the Great Lakes region.
13. George Desort
Wildlife Filmmaking and Photography with George Desort
Wildlife filmmaker and photographer George Desort will discuss the challenges and rewards working with nature, specifically his time on Isle Royale. He will present samples of his latest work and will have his gear on hand for demonstration. His work has appeared in Audubon, National Geographic, Backpacker, The New York Times, and PBS affiliates across the country.
14. Mike McMaken
Wind and solar power and how they benefit you
Mike will discuss current technology in residential and commercial wind and solar power systems, and why these renewable energy sources are important.
Mike McMaken, owner of Green Energy Solutions, began this company in 2008 after over 20 years in the home building industry. Mr. McMaken began researching green building for the company’s new projects, realizing there was a demand for green products but no one offered installation services. After training all over the United States, and assisting townships in creating zoning for wind and solar power, he has become an expert in the site evaluation process. Now Green Energy Solutions performs residential and commercial installations in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Ohio.
15. Auriel Van Der Laar
Birds & Wind Power : Why we should do the work first and construct second
Wind-power has great potential to help us 'go green' but what many fail to realize are the ramifications of the placement of these turbines. Auriel will talk about the efforts going on in NW Ohio trying to understand how turbines affect major bird migratory flyways and how what is being learned there applies to the U.P.
Auriel Van Der Laar is a senior at Michigan Technological University studying Wildlife Ecology and Management. Hailing originally from Helena, Ohio she has been involved with birds and their conservation from a young age and this interest led her to Black Swamp Bird Observatory (bsbobird.org), which is currently working to understand the affect that wind energy may have on birds and their migration. Auriel is also involved helping lead the Michigan Tech Birdbums, Michigan Tech's Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society and trying to find the time to enjoy the beauty of the U.P between classes.
16. Marvin Roberson
Woody Biomass - A Viable Alternative?
Marvin will discuss issues relating to the use of woody biomass as a biofuel, and why that use may have some negative ecological impacts.
Born and raised in Michigan. B.S. and M.S. in Forest Ecology from University of Michigan. UP resident since 1989. 20 years with Sierra Club, at State, Regional, and National levels. Current resident of Marquette County.
17. Robert Froese
"Forest Biomass Utilization and Alternative Future Forests"
Robert is an Associate Professor in the Michigan Tech School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science. He has a BS and MS in Forestry from the University of British Columbia, and a PhD in Forestry, Wildlife and Range Sciences from the University of Idaho. His research program at Tech involves inventory, simulation modeling, silviculture and management of forest resources for multiple values, including biomass utilization and carbon sequestration.
18.
Rob Aho
Is
there a Moose Hunt in Michigan’s Future?
Mr. Aho is a retired MDNRE Wildlife Biologist from the Baraga Office.
print a one page pdf of
this schedule here
***