LAKE - April 2026

9

Managing lake weeds

Weeds are an important element in the overall eco system of any lake but understanding what’s growing in the water and how to treat or manage it can be the difference between a healthy lake and one slowly headed toward long-term damage.

25

Data center environment impact

The increasing number of data centers is raising questions about the impact on local waters when millions of gallons may be needed for cooling, and the drain on the electrical power grid.

20 View from above An aerial view of Dixie Lake in Springfield Township.

17

Tracking Michigan crayfish

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is actively tracking around 10 species of crayfish in Michigan, including both native and invasive crayfish that are either highly prevalent or of significant concern to an ecosystem’s overall health.

Cover credit: Photo by Timothy Mahoney of boat waiting at the Orchard Lake boat launch following severe wether warnings that had been issued last July.

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Are your lake weeds growing thicker and spreading every year? Is your lake now full of stinking muck?

These are common problems in the lakes of Michigan. Years and decades of overapplication of poisons and chemically resistant invasive weeds and algae have transformed most of our inland waterways.

There is hope... rip those weeds out and unleash the power of mother nature to reclaim your lake

There are 2 choices available: The circle of life or death

Aquatic weed harvesting adds nothing to your lake, but we shave out sometimes even hundreds of tons of biomass allowing the natural healing process utilizing the nutrients in your lake to heal, renew and stop the never-ending creation of muck on the bottom of your lake. Chemicals create death, layers of dead weeds and massive nutrient explosions which inherently always create muck and other problems

If your lake continues to get worse, you must change your direction

People are more resistant to change than almost anything else, and this is part of the problem

We offer daily rates and test harvests... If you have even a decent boat launch we can figure out a harvesting option for your lake

Call or email anytime to discuss your options, or for general information

We would love to come to your lake board meeting to talk and answer questions

Is your lake getting better or worse? We are here to help!

WEEDS

IMPORTANT PART OF ECO SYSTEM BUT MUST BE MANAGED

BY MIKE SCOTT

Weeds are an important element in the overall eco system of any lake. They provide food for some members of the lake environment and they also provide shelter from predators. But on the flip side, many lake problems start with a weed that grows quietly below the surface. For Oakland County inland lake property owners, understanding what’s growing in the water and how to treat or manage it can be the difference between a healthy lake and one slowly headed toward long-term damage.

Not all weeds or aquatic plants in Oakland County lakes are alike. It

can be difficult to tell the difference between native and invasive weeds to the naked eye. The cost of doing nothing to address lake weeds can be not only financially high but ecologically disastrous.

Clients contact water resources practice leader Paul Hausler and his team of consultants at Progressive Companies to help with a strategy to protect a lake’s ecosystem. That first contact often happens when it is clear that an inland lake has become infested by one or more aquatic plants or weeds. Like some human ailments, the effect is often not noticeable until the problem is almost beyond repair.

“We often have (new clients) contact us when weeds are causing recreational or environmental issues or the (quality of) fishing is being impacted,” said Hausler. “By then, the problem is probably worse than they realize. Every situation is different.”

Most weed removal efforts are designed around invasive weeds. Invasive weeds are non-native aquatic plants or algae that were introduced into a lake ecosystem where they did not historically exist, often by boats. Because they evolved elsewhere, invasive weeds often lack natural predators or controls in Michigan waters, allowing them to spread aggressively and outcompete native species.

On the other hand, native weeds or plants evolved with Michigan’s fish, insects, and the overall lake ecosystem. They are important for many reasons, including as spawning areas for fish, providing a nursery habitat where young fish can hide from predators, and feeding grounds for insects and small organisms. Native weeds are an important component of the lake’s food chain. Some invasive weeds can overtake native plants and not only provide an eyesore but also damage the lake’s natural ecosystem.

Some invasive weeds can form dense mats that interfere with swimming, boating and other recreational uses.

The goal in lake weed management is to “create an environment where your native weeds and plants can grow back and thrive, Hausler said. “It’s best to work with a professional who understands what they’re doing and is unbiased.” He compared his work with inland lakes to that of a financial planner for future retirees.

The basic ways to treat weeds come down to four options: chemical treatments, harvesting, a hybrid of the two, and the occasional insect solution.

The types of allowable chemical treatments are regulated by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE). The organization has more stringent chemical application guidelines compared to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said Blake Cuthbert, vice president of lake management for Aqua-Weed Control, a lake and pond management firm, so those are the guidelines that residents should follow.

Detailed information about managing lake weeds and chemical usage is available through EGLE’s Aquatic Nuisance Control department, which issues permits statewide. Its website at Michigan.gov/anc provides updated information on herbicides that are or are not approved by EGLE, details about standard permits, and how and when chemical treatment can be applied to non-native species.

When questions come up about aquatic nuisance control and water quality permitting in Michigan, much of the responsibility runs through EGLE’s Water Resources Division. Amanda Bosak, who supervises the water quality and aquatic nuisance control permits unit,

believes that lakefront property owners and those involved in making environmental decisions for a lake should be informed about the permit process and guidelines provided by the organization.

Bosak explained that her unit oversees permits related to chemical treatments and other methods used to control invasive or nuisance aquatic plants and organisms. These permits are required to ensure that any treatment conducted in lakes, ponds or streams complies with state and federal water quality standards.

“The goal is to balance effective aquatic nuisance control with protection of water resources,” Bosak wrote in an email. “Every permit application is reviewed to make sure proposed treatments will not cause unacceptable impacts to water quality, aquatic life, or public health.” Permits are required for chemical use, but not for non-herbicide harvesting.

The U.S. has a different set of regulations governing chemical applications used to remove freshwater weeds compared to other parts of the world. In particular, the European Union’s (EU) chemical and water protection laws are written to consider the impact of the “precautionary principle.” That principle is incorporated into the EU’s Water Framework Directive, which requires members to prevent pollution and achieve “good ecological status” for all water bodies rather than focusing only on chemical discharge limits.

Some members of the European Union, including Austria, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg,and Germany, have implemented partial bans or strict limits on some herbicides. The list of banned herbicides includes glyphosate or other active ingredients, especially in nonagricultural or public spaces and near freshwater.

In the U.S., any application of a pesticide or herbicide that results in measurable chemicals entering water must be permitted and comply with discharge limits under the Clean Water Act. The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting program regulates discharges from pesticide applications in a way that is consistent with the Clean Water Act, as outlined on the EPA’s website at epa.gov/npdes/pesticide-permitting. State environmental protection regulatory agencies, like EGLE, are often the NPDES permitting authority, issuing permits for activities in their state.

The EPA generally does not apply the precautionary principle as part of its requirements.

States that are considered to have more stringent laws governing herbicide applications in freshwater lakes include Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, and Vermont, among others. Chemical use in freshwater lakes is governed primarily by state agency regulations, which take precedence when they are more stringent than EPA guidelines.

Applying aquatic herbicides to freshwater in Maine is generally illegal unless a specific wastewater discharge permit is obtained from the Maine Department of

Environmental Protection (MDEP). A flyer from the MDEP states that chemical weed control in state waters “may not be applied” except in rare, permitted circumstances.

Massachusetts regulations restrict how close herbicides can be applied to surface water and sensitive areas, with limitations near drinking water supplies or surface water used for public drinking water. Defined buffer zones prohibit applications in these areas as well.

Minnesota designates certain chemical pesticides as “surface water pesticides of concern.” This designation triggers the need for best management practices and additional monitoring and protection measures when high traces of chemicals are found in the state’s waterways.

Oregon’s Department of Agriculture oversees a Pesticide Management Plan that focuses on protecting water quality in rivers and lakes from unnecessary chemicals.

Vermont residents and contractors may not apply pesticides, chemicals other than pesticides, biological controls, or other control methods in waters of the state without first obtaining an aquatic nmuisance control permit from the secretary of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. Among other requirements, residents must demonstrate that there is no reasonable nonchemical alternative.

In Michigan, each lake has different restrictions and requirements based on current information in EGLE’s database, which is updated as additional research or lake data is available.

Chemical treatment contractors require approval from 100 percent of lakefront property owners, a lakefront association if by-laws permit broad approval, or the approval of a special assessment district for an inland lake. A special assessment district can be formed if 51 percent or more of lakefront property owners approve and additional requirements are met.

Chemical treatments are particularly effective for preventing the spread of invasive species through fragmentation, according to Blake Cuthbert of Aqua Weed Control. This can happen when such invasive weeds as Eurasian milfoil, curly leaf pond weed, or starry stonewort are removed through harvesting or nonchemical weed removal. Fragments of the invasive weeds can be displaced to other parts of the lake, where they may hatch and expand rapidly.

“Some (invasive) plants can be killed systematically with the use of (herbicides) in a way that they don’t return the next year at the same level,” Cuthbert said.

Chemical herbicides do not always provide a complete solution, but it is often effective when EGLE guidelines are followed, said Jo Latimore, an aquatic ecologist and outreach specialist at Michigan State University. Chemical treatments can be difficult to apply, especially for non-professionals. An incorrect “dosage” can do more harm than good for the local ecosystem.

“Chemical treatments allow us flexibility with early detection,” Latimore said. “They can be used to target specific weeds.”

Chemical treatments can be difficult to effectively apply, especially for non-professionals, Latimore said. An incorrect “dosage” can do more harm than good, which is why anyone applying chemical treatment to Michigan lakes should follow directions provided by EGLE.

Weed harvesting involves direct human removal without chemical treatments. Mechanical equipment is most often used to cut and physically remove aquatic vegetation from above or below the water’s surface.

There are different types of mechanical aquatic weed harvesters used for this work. Most are boat-like machines with cutting blades and a conveyor system that lifts the removed material onto the boat and then off the lake for disposal. Hausler said some companies will give or sell the compost to farmers because of its value in supporting healthy soil for certain crops. Harvesting is usually first done in open water areas, such as parts of the lake near swimming docks or boat channels.

Manual hand-pulling is another harvesting method that is often used closer to shore, though it is laborintensive. Suction harvesting is completed by divers and can also be expensive and logistically difficult.

“Harvesting doesn’t work as well with lakes that have a lot of sediment,” Hausler said.

Ty Nuottila is the owner and president of Oakland Harvesting in White Lake Township, an aquatic weed harvesting firm. He is an admitted proponent of harvesting invasive weeds rather than using chemicals when possible, referring to himself as a chemical minimalist. Nuottila believes that the majority of Oakland County lakes use some chemicals for weed removal.

“We have a short summer in Michigan, so I understand that people want (weeds) removed,” Nuottila said. “But when you kill stuff in your lake with chemicals, it’s like putting poison in there.” Nuottila adds that over time, regular chemicals can fill up the water column with harmful nutrients. One of the outcomes is the addition of “muck” at the bottom of a lake.

H“That’s just (the accumulation of) years and years of layers of dead weeds,” Nuottila said. arvesting has been around for decades, and Nuottila said he generally doesn’t cut deeper than six feet below the water. The benefits of mechanical and targeted harvesting are that it creates more oxygen, which helps to filter out nutrients. That can also help create better water, which supports the local ecosystem.

“If you’re just putting in chemicals every year, it may result in needing to dredge the lake over time, which is extremely expensive and time-consuming,” Nuottila said. Yet that may be the only type of treatment that some lakefront property owners know. There’s a natural resistance to change that we often have to overcome,”

Nuottila said. He believes many states have more stringent laws governing chemical use in lakes.

Minnesota limits the percentage of zones that can be treated unless there are variances granted under a lake vegetation management plan, which adds an extra layer of state oversight. Herbicides must be federally and state-registered and permitted by the state’s DNR for use in Wisconsin. Yet Michigan is regarded as one of the more restrictive states based on the permit and reporting requirements outlined by EGLE.

Both Hausler and Nuottila said that herbicide treatment and/or harvesting are most often scheduled one or more times from June through September. Lake associations that contract harvesters often choose to have at least one session completed by the July 4th week, which is considered the busiest water sports period of the year for most Oakland County lakes.

“That reduces the number of weeds during the max usage period,” Nuottila said. No one wants weeds to get all the way to the surface. They want as much wideopen, usable water as they can get.”

Nuottila often conducts a second harvesting period in August or early September, so that growth is scaled back to support oxygen spread for fish. He believes that most Oakland County lake budgets can accommodate two harvests per year.

“This (schedule) can open up a lake and help embrace the circle of life,” Nuottila said.

Diver-assisted suctioning is a newer form of harvesting where experienced divers will pilot dive boats to areas of the lake where they can pull weeds manually underwater, Latimore said. Some lake associations have decided to tackle diver-assisted suction harvesting on their own, provided they have members who are experienced divers.

Diver-assisted suction harvesting contracted to a third party is often the most expensive type of harvesting because of how manual and specialized the process is, Latimore said. While difficult and labor-intensive, this can be a way to avoid a common challenge with other forms of harvesting weeds – fragmented spread. When harvesting with mechanical equipment, a potential drawback is that small fragments of invasive weeds are not fully removed from the water. Those fragmented parts can actually spread and start to grow in other parts of the water, which is especially an issue with the invasive Eurasian milfoil.

“The fragments can float away and hatch elsewhere, which defeats the purpose (of harvesting),” Latimore said. “Divers have the ability to be more careful.”

Hausler believes harvesting is more effective at removing biomass from the lake. When managed properly, the amount of biomass caused by invasive weeds that might require removal is reduced over time, although regular attention and harvesting is still recommended.

The biggest disadvantage to harvesting is that it is

not very selective, Hausler said. “You might be cutting down more of the native plants than you would want to. You’ll get the invasives, but it’s hard to pinpoint (native weeds) that should remain in place.”

EGLE guidelines require firms like Aqua-Weed to place signage on each piece of owned property about human restrictions following a chemical application. Cuthbert said this often includes guidelines for lakefront property owners related to swimming, irrigation, or agricultural and livestock restrictions for a minimum of 24 hours.

“They typically don’t want people swimming in a lake following a treatment for at least 24 hours,” Cuthbert said. “The dates vary.”

Bosak from EGLE noted that the department’s review process for chemical treatments considers several factors, including the type of product proposed, application rates, timing, and the specific characteristics of the waterbody. “We consider the size, depth, flow, and existing ecological conditions of the site,” she said in an email response. “Permit conditions are tailored to minimize risks while still allowing necessary control efforts.”

Bosak emphasized that permitting is not simply a box-checking exercise. The department may require modifications to treatment plans, monitoring, or public notification before approving a project. In some cases, applications are denied if they do not meet environmental standards.

For waterfront property owners and lake associations, the regulatory framework can feel complex. Bosak acknowledged that navigating it can be challenging, but she said the structure is there for a reason.

“Our responsibility is to protect the state’s water resources for all users,” she wrote by email. “That includes today’s residents as well as future generations.”

Bosak’s perspective underscores the careful, often technical work that goes into decisions most people only notice when weeds crowd a shoreline or treatment notices appear at the boat launch. Behind those postings is a permitting system designed to weigh competing interests and keep Michigan’s waters healthy over the long term, throughout the state. She acknowledged that EGLE is a resource available to all residents.

One of the most prevalent and troubling invasive weeds is the starry stonewort, which is not actually a plant weed. It is a large, bright-green freshwater macroalgae that grows underwater. It has become prevalent in many freshwater lakes in the Midwest. Starry stonewort forms dense, thick mats on lake and pond bottoms that can grow to several feet high and six to eight feet thick.

“Starry stonewort is chemically resistant, and spreads like a virus,” Nuottila said. “They creep into voids in the lake and stay there. They’re like a cancer.”

Nuottila said he used to live on Round Lake in White Lake Township. Over the course of several years, starry

stonewort had taken over the lake, making it hard to maintain fish and engage in many recreational activities.

“It’s our role to help make your lake more resilient, so it is less impacted by invasive weeds,” he said.

Eurasian milfoil is an invasive aquatic plant first introduced to North America in the mid-1900s. Its aggressive spread makes the weed one of the most problematic invasive weeds in Michigan’s inland lakes.

This milfoil species is a submerged plant, meaning it grows entirely underwater but often forms dense mats at the surface, as opposed to the lake bottom. The weed has long, flexible stems and feathery leaves arranged in whorls around the stem, giving it a soft, plume-like appearance.

Like many invasive weeds, it spreads quickly and can take over large parts of a lake or water body when not treated. Hausler from Progressive Companies estimates that invasive milfoil can take over 80 to 90 percent of a lake’s weeds when left untreated.

“The challenge is that it just grows so much faster, and takes over the native (weeds),” Hausler said. “Plus, when it grows back, it grows faster than native plants.” He recommends harvesting as an option once the milfoil is more under control, but every situation is different. “You need to carefully manage your plan, whatever it is.”

Nuottila said that his company will regularly be contracted to harvest invasive milfoil, foxtails, water lilies, and lily pads, the latter of which can be extremely difficult to manage. One of the biggest challenges with any invasive weed is that they have no natural or native counterbalance to keep them in check, which explains their ability to spread in a fragmented manner.

“It’s like when we had the issue with zebra mussels in Michigan lakes over the years,” Nuottila said. “There’s nothing here to help keep them under control.”

Both starry stonework and milfoils are hearty and spread like “wildfire,” Nuottila said. “They just squeeze everything else out.”

Hausler said a chemical-only approach is often best suited for deeper lakes where harvesting along the lake bottoms is difficult at best, and often impossible. Depending on the lake’s profile, spot treatment may be effective. Some herbicides can help control particularly challenging invasive weeds. He adds that some weeds can build a level of resistance to herbicides over time.

A hybrid approach entails both weed harvesting and chemical treatments, and is the most common approach used by “60 to 70 percent” of the Oakland County lakes that his firm consults for, Hausler said.

Aqua-Weed also provides chemical treatment for the removal of other types of algae, which reduces water quality. Cuthbert recommends that most lakes get tested for algae regularly to determine in advance if there is an issue.

Most algae problems in Michigan are driven by excess phosphorus and nitrogen, which commonly come

from lawn fertilizers, older septic systems, agricultural runoff, or excess stormwater. Algal blooms can cause illness in humans, kill or seriously harm pets and livestock, and force the reduction of lake activities. Excess algae also robs lakes of oxygen, which harms native species and the lake’s ecosystem.

“Testing is really critical for algae because you may not always see those issues,” Cuthbert said. “It’s a big part of what we do.”

EGLE indicates that when applied properly under permits, chemical treatments that rid lakes of weeds are intended to minimize risk. Studies show herbicides like 2,4-D and fluoridone can negatively affect fish, according to the results of studies published in the National Library of Medicine and a 2022 study developed by the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

However, trace elements of many chemicals are found in fish species after regular treatment, Nuottila said. Federal and state governmental regulations may suggest that trace levels in some fish can still be safe for human consumption, but Nuottila believes Michiganders should make their own decisions about fish consumption based on personal comfort levels. He also says native fish can be adversely impacted in the short-term following an herbicide treatment.

“Fish will feel sick for a while after a treatment,” Nuottila said. “We’ll see instances of fish kills and dead snails following (multiple chemical) treatments. He referenced the fact that Upper Long Lake in Bloomfield Township, to his knowledge, has not been chemically treated for over 20 years, with lakefront association leaders instead choosing to harvest only. “You see the (positive) impact of how their fish population is,” Nuottila added.

Chemical treatments and harvesting may not be the only options for some invasive weeds, MSU ecologist Latimore said.

Some native insects have been found to help eliminate the growth of invasive weeds. The larvae of the milfoil weevil, for example, feed on the invasive Eurasian water milfoil weed. They burrow into the weed and force it to collapse when faced with large volumes.

As a result, milfoil weevils have been raised in laboratory settings over the years and used to help reduce invasive milfoil spread in lakes throughout Michigan and other parts of the Midwest, Latimore said. However, the approach doesn’t always work because the ecosystem of one lake will vary from that of others.

“Bugs are picky as part of our habitat,” Latimore said. “We’ve seen some success in lakes where these weevils can survive, but every lake and (ecosystem) is different.

Another example of insect weed control is when certain species of beetles feed on purple loosestrife, an invasive weed that generally is seen above water on inland lakes. These weeds have spikey, purple flowers,

and while less destructive than other invasive weeds, can grow quickly, forcing out native plants and adversely affecting water quality.

“These are options that some lake associations use, especially when they prefer to avoid using chemicals,” Latimore said.

Finding and removing invasive weeds early is important because there is the potential that they may not have spread and thus won’t need labor-intensive, expensive strategies for removal, Latimore said. Some lake enthusiasts will drop a buoy into the water when they identify a possible invasive weed for further investigation by an expert. Latimore said that is the approach that lakefront property owners have taken for Lake Ellen, located in the upper peninsula’s Mansfield Township.

“They’ve been able to keep a large portion of the lake free from milfoil layer for many years,” Latimore said. “That can happen when you’re vigilant.”

There are ways to help prevent invasive weed spread. Some launches around Michigan and throughout Oakland County have preventive boat wash stations that offer high-pressure air and/or a vacuum that can be used to clean off the boats.

The challenge, Hausler said, is a lack of oversight.

“Most (boaters) aren’t going to use (wash stations), especially if they don’t have property on that lake,” he said. A few lakes statewide may have these stations manned during busy summer boat days, which can be paid for through a fee to boat launchers. But that system is costly and impractical for most lakes to maintain.

Gull Lake in Kalamazoo is one example where a manned boat launch has helped to stem the tide of some invasive weeds, Hausler said. The Gull Lake Quality Organization operates a free, high-pressure hot water boat wash station at Prairieville Township Park to help prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species, according to the Fall 2024 GLQO Watershed Journal newsletter. Gull Lake is known for its healthy population of trout, salmon and other fish, Hausler added.

While property owners around Lake Ellen have been proactive, many lightly populated or remote lakes in northern regions of Michigan are in poor shape because invasive weeds have taken them over, Nuottila said. Fish populations generally fall if invasive weeds become prevalent in a lake.

“This is what would happen in Oakland County for most lakes that aren’t (treated),” Nuottila said. “The invasives would just take over.”

He indicated that some lakefront property owners aren’t even aware that issues like a mucky bottom and fish kills are a result of overgrown invasive weeds.

“People have been losing their lakes for decades,” he said. “It’s amazing what we can get used to with a lake full of weeds.”

Yet not every invasive weed is a sign that drastic

treatments are needed, Latimore said. Some lakes have conditions where invasive species do not spread rapidly.

“People should remember that if an (invasive) weed is not naturally spreading and harming the ecosystem, you can live with them,” Latimore said.

Native weeds in general are an important component of a lake’s ecosystem. Native weeds and aquatic plants supply oxygen for native fish. Hausler and Latimore indicated that some inland lakes may need to consider removing native weeds as well if doing so creates a healthy balance for property owners and the ecosystem.

In a state like Michigan, where inland lakes and Great Lakes shoreline are central to both the economy and quality of life, that balance is not abstract. Treatments that are too aggressive can harm fish, invertebrates, and native plant communities. Too little management can allow invasive species to spread, choking waterways and limiting recreation, Latimore added.

Native species like lily pads and pond weeds may be removed using chemicals or harvesting as well, but are generally done for mainly recreational purposes, such as swimming, boating, and water skiing, Cuthbert said. Aqua Weed Control will chemically treat lily pads only in certain areas, such as around docks and to open channel paths for boats. The Holly firm only treats other native plants a maximum of 100 feet from shore at a maximum depth of five feet.

“We try to leave native plants where we can,” Cuthbert said. “You want to promote them because they are good for the habitat.”

Lakefront property owners may wish to remove invasive weeds and cut back overly abundant and dense native weeds so they can use the water more efficiently for warm-weather lake activities such as boating, skiing, fishing, and swimming. But weed control is critical to the lake’s long-term health, Latimore said. That also includes removing invasive weeds so that native weeds can thrive. Fish avoid areas where native weeds have been taken over by invasive weeds. That puts them at risk.

“If you lose native plants, that cascades and they lose habitat,” Latimore said. “Native plants provide spawning habitat for native fish.”

There are other legal issues to consider when disposing of invasive weeds around Oakland County’s inland lakes. One is to secure all approvals needed for chemical or harvested efforts. Michigan’s riparian laws give ownership of parcels of lakes, including the bottom lands, to lakefront property owners. State law requires that bottomland owners provide approval before certain weed removal actions are taken.

Approval is also required from EGLE.

“Homeowners often own the portion of the lake in front of their property, perhaps in a pie-shape

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depending on the size and shape of the lake,” Hausler said. “Landowner permission is required.”

To help secure the approvals needed for such work, some lakefront owners and associations set up special assessment districts that require public hearings and approvals, Hausler said. EGLE can then acknowledge the legal authority to schedule an inland lake treatment once requirements are met. Hausler said that some lakes might also have deed restrictions that need to be addressed, such as Lake Sherwood in Commerce Township.

Mechanical harvesting generally does not require riparian approvals because it does not involve the use of chemicals.

Hausler admits that ongoing education is key and comprises much of his firm’s work. An inland lake specialist can offer recommendations backed by research that provide lake stakeholders with the best possible options for managing invasive and native weeds.

U“The majority of fish use native weeds as part of their life cycle, so you want to have the right balance,” Hausler said. “You can use too many chemicals that offset the balance of the lake. Once you lose (that balance), it is hard to get it back. The average person won’t know that. Managing the weeds in your lake is more complicated than most people think,” he added. nfortunately, there are no quick fixes to lakefront weed control. It is a timeconsuming, strategic, and often costly process. Latimore said developing a relationship with EGLE professionals like Bozak or members of her team at Michigan State or other state universities is beneficial because they can confirm information and requirements and aren’t biased toward any specific options.

“Then the benefit there is that with the state is that they aren’t selling you anything, so they’re looking out for (a lake’s) best interests. It’s a great resource,” Latimore said.

She recommends that lakefront property owners and lake enthusiasts learn how to identify invasive plants, and if they see something that looks questionable, take a sample, snap photos, and get them reviewed by inland lake experts. Researchers and water ecologists don’t mind reviewing weed samples even if they are native.

“Early detection makes all the difference,” Latimore said. In other words, if boaters or swimmers see something, they should say something. Without constant oversight and knowledge, managing the invasive weed population is difficult and potentially a costly and time-consuming endeavor.

“There’s not a (foolproof) long-term solution,” Nuottila said. “It sometimes feels like a war or battle you can’t fully win, but if you have a good plan, your lake will be better off. You have to remember that lakes will never be a swimming pool,” he added. “You want some weeds. The question is which to keep and how much to treat them.”

There are several hundred species of crayfish in North America, but one invasive species of crayfish is getting an outsized amount of attention from water biologists and agencies around Michigan and Oakland County. That’s because officials are doing everything possible to prevent the spread of red swamp crayfish, which cause havoc on local ecosystems.

Most other crayfish in Oakland County are native to the region, but invasive species are under constant surveillance by state agencies and researchers.

Crayfish are not technically fish. They are categorized as crustaceans, which makes them more closely related to lobsters, crabs and shrimp. Crayfish do not have a backbone and are invertebrates. They are identifiable by their hard outer shell, also known as an exoskeleton, 10 jointed legs, and two large claws. The most common fish in Michigan, like walleye, trout, perch, and bass, are vertebrates. While crayfish have gills, some species can survive long periods outside of water.

Among the hundreds of crayfish species are relatively consistent features and characteristics. Crayfish generally eat a lot and serve as food for many other aquatic or land species. As one Michiganbased expert put it, crayfish are a “diversity hotspot” with the country’s ecosystems because of the chaos they offer – both good and bad.

considered one of the state’s foremost experts on the species. Most of those crayfish species are native to the state, but a few are invasive. Invasive species generally find their way to Michigan from other parts of the world with the help of humans who move them to water for one of many reasons.

A crayfish does not have to originate in Michigan to be considered “native.” Roth says “invasive” species are defined as such based on the adverse impact they have on the ecosystem. The majority of crayfish species in Michigan are native. Invasive species are introduced from other areas of the world by humans, with some being more harmful than others.

“(A species) is invasive if they do harm to the ecosystem or the economy of a region,” Roth says. That can include damaging a commercial fishing community, which is possible in Michigan but more common in other parts of the world. “A species can be non-native and not invasive. It mostly depends on their impact.”

MICHIGAN CRAYFISH

“They are an active species,” said Brian Roth, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Michigan State University. “They eat many things, and many living things eat them. (Native) species are necessary to our water (environments) in Michigan.”

NATIVE / INVASIVE

BY MIKE SCOTT

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is actively tracking around 10 species of crayfish in Michigan, said Kathleen Quebedeaux, a fisheries biologist with the state agency. Those 10 species include both native and invasive crayfish that are either highly prevalent or of significant concern to an ecosystem’s overall health.

It is generally accepted that there are over 500 crayfish species worldwide, and around 350 to 400 species that live in U.S. That means the U.S. is home to nearly 70 percent of the world’s known crayfish species, representing the highest diversity on the planet for the freshwater crustaceans, according to a 2024 publication released by the Virginia Cooperative Extension, which incorporates fishery and wildlife departments at Virginia State University and Virginia Tech.

Both native and invasive crayfish species are found in lakes and water bodies throughout Michigan and Oakland County. While this region may not have hundreds of crayfish species, it does have more than 50 currently living in Michigan, Roth said. He has been studying crayfish for more than 25 years and is

Not all crayfish in Michigan are prevalent in southeastern Michigan, because many inland lakes in the region are shallow compared to lakes in other parts of the state. Many crayfish species can’t thrive in lakes with weedy and sandy water bottoms, but those that burrow into these areas do. They are commonly seen along lake and riverbanks.

“All crayfish are ecosystem engineers,” Roth says, indicating they have an outsized impact on plant and species life around them.

Crayfish are omnivores, which means they eat both plants and animals. Omnivores have flexible diets, allowing them to consume a wide range of food sources. This increases their adaptability, making it easier for crayfish to thrive in new environments. As a result, crayfish generally eat aquatic plants, algae, insects, snails, detritus, which is small decaying organic matter, and dead fish.

“Crayfish can quickly become abundant wherever they show up,” Roth added. Crayfish species native to Michigan and Oakland County are important to the health of freshwater lakes, rivers, streams, and ponds.

The two most relevant invasive crayfish species in the state are red swamp crayfish and rusty crayfish. Like other invasive crayfish species, they can have a broadly adverse impact on aquatic plants and insects.

“They eat everything, and everything eats them,” Quebedeaux said. Snakes, for example, feed on crayfish, while three native burrowing species eat various insects and other small organisms, such as snails, dead fish, and detritus, along with plants and algae — all of which support a healthy ecosystem.

Beyond consuming high volumes of food, invasive crayfish species tend to eat as much protein as possible, Roth added. Fish eggs have high amounts of protein. Since other animals also need protein, crayfish are a desirable meal for not just aquatic-only species, but minks, raccoons, birds, and more, he adds.

The adverse impact on aquatic plants from invasive crayfish is often overlooked, he added. When crayfish eat aquatic plants, species that use such plants as habitat have to find new places to live and breed. That can cause a level of stress that makes it hard for other species to reproduce or even survive. Native aquatic plants can help keep water clear, healthy nutrients in place, and provide important protection for many species – all of which is good for county lakes.

“Aquatic plants are exceptionally important in our ecosystem,” Roth said. “They have very positive effects on everything around us. We don’t want to get rid of them.”

Rusty crayfish are widespread and have been in Michigan for multiple decades, Quebedeaux said. That species is large and often competes with other fish species for food. They can be aggressive toward other species and are generally destructive to their ecosystems, she added. Rusty crayfish arrived in Michigan largely because of their use as bait. Despite being invasive, the state allows residents to transport rusty crayfish because of their high numbers.

“We think it will cause more help than harm to allow (rusty) crayfish to be transported for one reason or another,” Quebedeaux said. “We don’t have a lot of tools to remove them because of how many there are. So, we try to manage their population as best as possible.”

Despite that allowance, rusty crayfish are a regulated species. They appear to have a long history in Michigan, but the population has been rising over the last few decades. Roth says that his department at MSU uncovered data from the 1970s that suggests the population of rusty crayfish has increased exponentially over the last 50 years.

“They have really expanded their range to almost every major river ecosystem in the state,” Roth said. “That was a surprise to us when we dug into the data and really compared the numbers.”

With Roth’s help, MSU conducted a study from 2014-

2016 that included more than 90 bodies of water in the state, including lakes, ponds, rivers and streams, which helped to verify the increase in numbers. It lends further proof to the DNR’s decision to manage, rather than eradicate red swamp species. Yet there are other reasons as well. Rusty crayfish stay underwater 100 percent of the time, which makes it more difficult for them to spread to new environments.

They can travel through connected bodies of water but won’t climb out of the water to travel on land. As a result, rusty crayfish don’t commonly spread much from one Michigan lake to another.

The other main invasive species – the aforementioned red swamp crayfish – is a different story. Red swamp crayfish are able to survive outside of water for days, which makes them a popular pet. Their ability to survive outside of water means they can be shipped anywhere in the world. That makes them more apt to spread quickly if not closely monitored.

In fact, red swamp crayfish will move themselves on a local level, especially during damp or humid days. Roth can recall days when he has seen red swamp crayfish get out of a pond on a golf course and walk across a fairway in an attempt to travel to another part of the course, and potentially a different body of water.

“They can walk up to an hour per day, and that’s an issue,” Roth says. “We do not want to have these invasive crayfish moving around on their own. It’s a worry.”

Unlike their rusty crayfish cousins, red swamp crayfish have been prohibited in Michigan since 2014. This means it is illegal for anyone in Michigan to knowingly possess, introduce, import, sell, or offer the species for sale as a live organism, except under certain circumstances.

They first appeared in Michigan in 2017 and are only known to be present in several waterbodies in Oakland County, including ponds and streams. The DNR is actively involved in an eradication campaign against red swamp crayfish, which are native to the southern U.S. and Mexico. These crayfish are often boiled for human consumption and have historically been used as live bait.

Quebedeaux said red swamp crayfish arrived in Michigan for several reasons: interest in their use as live bait, demand in the food trade, and breeding as exotic pets. Some red swamp crayfish display bright colors that appeal to collectors.

They have even been marketed nationally to primary and secondary school teachers as a teaching aid. In that scenario, a teacher may not know how dispose of a red swamp crayfish. Some teachers are not aware that red swamp crayfish are banned in Michigan. Crayfish are considered useful for classrooms because they are durable, observable and instructionally versatile organisms for life-science education.

The North American Association for Environmental Education has identified the use of live crayfish in classrooms as a pathway for the introduction of invasive crayfish into our local waterways. To help address this issue, the association created its Investigating Crayfish and Freshwater Ecosystems curriculum to teach students about Great Lakes ecosystems, the significance of native crayfish, and the ecological threats posed by invasive crayfish.

“The aquarium hobby really likes them because of how colorful they look,” Quebedeaux said. Unfortunately, many hobbyists soon discover that red swamp crayfish are extremely destructive aquatic pets. “They eat everything in the tank and are very good escape artists,” Quebedeaux said. “Some owners will let them go, and they don’t realize how destructive that can be.”

That is one way invasive species like red swamp crayfish get introduced into a foreign ecosystem and cause havoc. Red swamp crayfish are considered even more aggressive than other crayfish species. They can consume food in a manner and volume that is detrimental to their ecosystem. The DNR website describes red swamp crayfish as having the ability to aggressively outcompete native crayfish for food and habitat. The invasive species also have a high reproductive rate and engage in “destructive burrowing along shorelines that can destabilize banks and infrastructure,” the website states.

“They are also destructive to water quality,” Quebedeaux said, adding that their activity can promote harmful algae blooms. “They like to burrow, which can lead to soil erosion. We’re always on alert for new populations of red swamp crayfish.”

Their burrowing may be noticeable to humans because, unlike other types of crayfish, red swamps will build “sloppy” burrows and may not even stay there for more than a day or two. The temporary habitat of a burrowing crayfish is called a “chimney,” and can be recognized by the presence of many silver dollar-sized or larger holes, Roth said. “Sometimes their burrows will look like someone just had an upset stomach,” he added. “It can be obvious.”

“That burrowing can cause a ton of erosion,” Roth said. “It leads to bank slumping and sediment release into the water, which we know is bad for aquatic plants and species. We have a ton of water infrastructure around the state, and burrowing and erosion cause issues with that infrastructure everywhere,” Roth said. This is a “common” problem in places where red swamp crayfish are present.

Michigan DNR is exploring the use of environmental DNA testing to help determine the presence, spread, and source of invasive red swamp

crayfish in hatchery ponds and connected waters. While the results of this monitoring are not publicly available, it’s being considered by the DNR as a tool for research and management strategies.

The fact that red swamp crayfish have not spread pervasively beyond manmade ponds and a few other waterbodies is a relief, according to the DNR. While Roth believes the invasive species may exist in more areas of the state than the DNR has confirmed, red swamp crayfish populations are known by the DNR to exist in Kalamazoo, Livingston, Macomb, Oakland, Van Buren, and Wayne counties.

“We want to keep (red swamp crayfish) in these areas,” Quebedeaux said. “We want to educate residents about these harmful species so they can be aware of them as well and the destruction they cause.”

Despite some telltale signs, crayfish are notoriously hard to identify, Roth said. Red swamp crayfish are most often characterized by raised red bumps on their large claws. Humans have to look closely to confirm their identity, because some types of native crayfish have a similar look and can only be identified by their raised black claw bumps. It’s why red swamp crayfish can be mistaken for less harmful, native species.

The Michigan DNR confirmed the presence of invasive red swamp crayfish in a new area last summer - an outdoor muskellunge rearing pond at Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery in Mattawan, Van Buren County. The agency releases information on red swamp crayfish when needed in an effort to keep residents informed.

Two other crayfish species are prohibited in Michigan, even though the DNR does not believe they currently exist in the state. They include the common yabby, a harmful freshwater crayfish native to Australia, and the marbled crayfish. There have been documented sightings of marbled crayfish in a pond in Ontario, Canada. Because marbled crayfish can reproduce through self-cloning, they are often sought after by fish collectors and hobbyists.

“That’s our number one worry outside of the red swamp crayfish,” Quebedeaux said.

Three of the native species — the Great Plains mud bug, painted hand mud bug, and digger crayfish — are primarily burrowing species. They spend most of their time underground and rarely venture into open water, Quebedeaux said. That is beneficial because their presence helps turn over soil in inland lake environments. These burrowing species can also provide habitat for other important endangered species.

“They all have big claws that allow them to dig and burrow,” Quebedeaux said. “We won’t see them

VIEW FROM ABOVE

Dixie Lake

Located in Davisburg, Michigan, Dixie Lake is a private, 107-acre spring-fed lake known for its irregular 3.8-mile shoreline and two central islands. As an all-sports water body with a maximum depth of approximately 29 feet, it offers residents exclusive access to boating, water skiing, and swimming. The lake is particularly well-regarded for its quiet weekday atmosphere and "untapped" fishing opportunities, where anglers can find largemouth bass, northern pike, and various panfish.

even on warm, rainy days.” In fact, both native and invasive crayfish thrive in streams, rivers, lakes and other wetlands.

Native crayfish species have adapted to the local environment over time and thrive in both slowmoving streams and faster-moving lakes. That makes them difficult to contain, but they don’t cause environmental issues. Both Quebedeaux and Roth described most crayfish species as “escape artists,” portraying them as easily escaping aquariums, natural burrows, and everything in between.

“They are really good at hiding as well,” Roth said.

A main goal for both the DNR and Roth’s team at Michigan State is to eradicate red swamp crayfish, provided there are volume benefits without damaging the environment. “We’ve haven’t eradiacted them fully, but we have gotten close,” Roth says about red swamp crayfish.

To do that, researchers and scientists implement self-sustaining controls in water bodies where the invasive species is present. One of the challenges is that some of these water environments, such as retention ponds and golf course ponds, are not in pristine water condition.

The question that researchers are regularly asking themselves is, “Can we manipulate the system to support native crayfish without doing damage?” Roth says.

Residents can harvest native crayfish with a valid fishing license. They are edible but not commonly consumed in this region. “Even native crayfish are not commonly eaten in this part of the country,” Quebedeaux said.

However, the most common way to make and serve crayfish is by boiling them. Roth spent some time earlier in his career in Louisiana and is familiar with “crawfish boils,” which are popular in parts of the Southeast and the Mississippi River basin. “Crawfish boils are fun, and they taste good,” Roth said. “Eating them is not as integrated into the culture up here, but they are popular may places down south.

One of the most common ways to prepare crayfish for a meal is to boil and prepare them. After up to five minutes of boiling, seafood enthusiasts can twist and peel off their tails, usually dipping them in butter or sauces. Crayfish tails are also served on rice, pasta, and other items, although more prevalent in the South.

“We encourage people to enjoy native species up here, and that includes crayfish,” Roth said. “You just need to (research) how to prepare them.”

Because crayfish native to Michigan are not harmful to the local environment, they may be used as bait according to state law. However, Quebedeaux

recommends that if released, any crayfish should be returned to the same body of water where they were caught.

The good news is that crayfish native to Michigan are generally doing well, according to Quebedeaux. They help limit invasive activity and protect important native habitats for other species. Native crayfish thrive along natural shorelines but struggle in waterbodies with concrete or other manmade banks, she added.

“Natural banks are good,” Quebedeaux said. “They help maintain water quality and protect wetlands.”

Roth said that residents should report any activities or instances of potential invasive crayfish to the DNR. Above residents should understand the dangers of introducing invasive crayfish to new environments, especially if acquired at a bait store or aquarium shop. Operators of those businesses should know if a crayfish species they are carrying is native or invasive, but it is up to consumers to help prevent the spread.

“Invasive crayfish should not be introduced into our natural systems, period,” Roth said. One of the ways to humanely euthanize a crayfish that doesn’t belong in this region is to stick it in a Ziploc bag and place it in a freezer for a few hours. That method won’t cause the crayfish pain and doesn’t require a detailed cleanup process.

Maintaining aquatic plants also helps the ecosystem and removing such plants can make it easier for invasive crayfish to thrive. Roth understands that many lakefront property owners would ideally remove some aquatic plants for a better view of the lake from their house, or to provide more room for water skiing and other lake-specific sporting activities. But removing natural barriers can harm the water table, causing further issues for local residents.

“You want to make sure you aren’t removing plants that need to be there,” Roth said. “Too many organisms rely on them, including native crayfish.”

The Michigan DNR publishes the official Michigan Fishing Regulations Guide, which is commonly referred to as the state’s fishing guide. It includes all the rules and legal information you need to fish in Michigan waters. The guide’s regulations section includes rules on using crayfish as bait and harvesting them for personal use. It discusses lawful bait use and restrictions on invasive species. For example, the guide states: “native crayfish may be taken in waters open to fishing and used (with some restrictions), but nonnative invasive species (like red swamp crayfish) are prohibited for bait use.”

CRAYFISH OF MICHIGAN

Crayfish are members of the order Decapoda, or 10-footed crustaceans, which also includes shrimp, crabs and lobsters. There are approximately 700 species of crayfish worldwide. Of the 10 crayfish species known in Michigan, eight of them are native and two are invasive.

Primary burrowers. Can be found in complex burrows in wet meadows, near vernal pools. Often multiple individuals of this gregarious species inhabit a complex.

Primary

be found in deep burrows near ditch lines, wet fields, and other upland environments with slow water nearby.

PAINTEDHAND

MUDBUG

Information gathered from the Field Guide to Michigan Crayfish

Kelley Smith

Michigan State University

Lucas Nathan

Aquatic Species And Regulatory Affairs Unit Manager, Michigan Department of Natural Resources

Tracy Page

NORTHERN CLEARWATER

Habitat: Open water (tertiary burrowers), preferring coarse substrates as shelter. Will occupy vegetation if rusty crayfish are present.

Habitat: Primary burrowers. Can build deep and some times complex burrows. Typically occupies ditch lines, wet fields, and upland environments bordering slow or stagnant waters.

Aquatic Education Coordinator

Michigan Department of Natural Resources

Kathleen Quebedeaux

Fisheries Biologist

Michigan Department of Natural Resources

Will Budnick

Michigan State University

Habitat: Secondary burrowers. A generalist but prefers sluggish to stagnant waters. Burrows are often simple and shallow where documented in Michigan.

Habitat: Open water (tertiary burrowers). Often found under structures such as rocks and logs. Smaller individuals often use vegetation; larger individuals use vegetation when rusty and northern clearwater crayfish are present.

Habitat: Secondary burrowers. Prefers sluggish to stagnant waters. Burrows are often simple and shallow in the

THE IMPACT OF DATA CENTERS

WATER QUALITY, ENERGY CONSUMPTION

BY MARK H. STOWERS

Every time you search the internet for information, from “how to make Detroitstyle pizza” to “tell me about Michigan turtles,” or stream your favorite show or even send an email, those requests are routed to the nearest, fastest-available data center through a global network that prioritizes low latency (speed) and proximity to you, drawing from many locations, such as Ohio, Oregon, or even Ireland, rather than one single place. As the world continues to rely on the World Wide Web for information, commerce and more, data centers become increasingly essential, valuable, and relied upon to keep the world moving forward.

But what exactly is a data center? It’s a dedicated, specialized facility that houses computer systems, servers, storage and networking equipment to process, store, and distribute large amounts of data, forming the backbone of digital services such as streaming, cloud computing and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The United States currently has more than 38 percent of the entire world’s data centers. DataCenterMap.com notes that the US has 3,779 facilities, with Virginia (561) Texas (383) and California (283) hosting the most. Michigan has 61, while Illinois has 195, and Ohio has 191.

The push for larger data centers is a race with China. Experts have stated that there is a need for at least one super data center to be built daily to keep up with the current demand. This “intelligence explosion” continues to multiply the need for more data centers. China ranks behind the United States, as datacentermap.com notes, with 364 data centers. The site lists 10,513 data centers across 174 countries. The U.S. has 3,779 of those. The site’s global database includes information from data center operators and service providers offering colocation, cloud and connectivity services. They cover everything from hyper-scale to edge data centers, in both smaller and tier one markets in popular metros.

Data centers come in different sizes depending on what they are intended to accomplish. Micro data

centers require less than one megawatt of power and have less than 10 racks of servers. Small data centers require one to five megawatts and have anywhere from 500 to 2,000 servers and are less than 20,000 square feet. Medium data centers require 30-50 megawatts of power and are often 10,000 to 100,000 square feet. Large/hyper-scale data centers need 50 to 100-plus megawatts, have 3,000 to 10,000+ racks and are 100,000+ square feet to millions of square feet.

Megawatts (MW) is a primary measure, indicating total IT load, cooling and infrastructure power. Racks are measured in standard rack units (U); large centers have thousands of racks. Square footage ranges from small rooms to massive campuses, often tens of thousands or millions of square feet. Density (kW/rack) details how much power (kilowatts) is packed into each rack (low: <4kW, high: >16kW).

According to datacentermap.com, Michigan currently has 61 larger data centers, spanning from Alpena to Grand Rapids, Lansing and Detroit. Smaller data centers have existed in the state for more than two decades. The first “large data center” was built in 2017 by Switch in Caldonia, near Grand Rapids. The Pyramid is one of five Switch data centers geographically distributed across the country, serving each latency zone. The nearly two-millionsquare-foot property, formerly a Steelcase furniture building, was built because of the attractiveness of the Mitten State’s tax incentives, which had been voted in just two years earlier to attract the data center. State lawmakers rushed a data center tax break bill through the legislative process in 2015 to attract the project to Michigan.

The company said at the time it was weighing multiple location options. Following the state’s adoption of those new tax breaks, Switch’s founder and CEO Rob Roy said at the time, “Without the tax incentives, Switch couldn’t build in Michigan. None of the clients would ever come.”

At the time, former state Senator and Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof was quoted in a datacenterknowledge.com article, “In the legislature,

we took very seriously our commitment to creating public policy that would enable and encourage new companies like Switch to make Michigan the most competitive state in the region for economic development.”

Last January, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed House Bill 4906 into law as Public Act 207 of 2024, amending the Michigan General Sales Tax Act. The new law extended the current sales tax exemption for data center equipment through 2050, but only for qualified data centers. These include data center operators that invest a minimum of $250 million and create 30 jobs paying 150 percent of the local median wage. The law also established new exemptions for enterprise data centers (private, purpose-built facilities owned and operated by a single organization to house its critical IT infrastructure for running business applications and processing data), including additional benefits for facilities that locate on brownfield redevelopment sites or any former industrial power plant property. These exemptions would run through 2065. The law also includes stronger environmental standards, such as requiring at least one green building and sourcing 90 percent of electricity usage from renewable energy. Exemption certificates are to be issued by the Michigan Strategic Fund (MSF), and no new certificates will be issued after 2029.

The subsidies have worked, attracting interest from data center developers looking to do business in Michigan. At least 35 other states have or are considering similar incentives.

But was this the opening of Pandora’s box? These data centers never sleep, running constantly, creating noise, generating heat that must be cooled by air conditioners or a liquid system some using millions of gallons of water daily, and requiring incredible amounts of electricity to operate. U.S. Department of Energy statistics show that in 2023, data centers consumed 4.4 percent of all electricity generated, and by 2028, that could triple. Just using ChatGPT to write an email uses about 10 times as much electricity as a regular Google search.

In Oakland County, there are 29 data centers and counting. Michigan has 43 global data centers with 15 of those located in Oakland County including DT1 Detroit Data Center, Southfield Data Center, Detroit DTA Center (DC1), DTW02 – FNSI – Detroit Data Center, Southfield Data Center NW (DC2), Southfield Data Center W (DC3), Verizon Detroit 2, Detroit 1 Data Center, Internet 123 Data Center, Detroit 4 Data Center, Southfield SFJ1 Data Center – all located in Southfield. There is also the Detroit North Data Center in Auburn Hills, Detroit Data Centers TYM1 and TYM2 and the DTW02 – FSNI – Detroit Data Center in Troy. There is one in Royal Oak, the Royal Oak MI Data Center. The

complete list can be found at datacenters.com.

The Southfield City Council just approved a $1.5 billion data center just south of 696, near the Farmington Hills line. The site plan was approved in mid-December 2025, despite objections from two dozenplus Southfield residents. The project will be the first data center built by California-based developer Metrobloks. Plans call for 217,030 square feet, 100 megawatts of electric power, and occupancy of 12.9 acres of a mostly vacant site along Inkster Road north of 11 Mile. DTE would first have to “deliver power” to the site before construction could begin, possibly in 2027 or 2028. The data center would employ a closed-loop water system, which would use significantly less water than larger "hyper-scale" data centers. The facility is expected to create 35 full-time jobs and 150 to 200 construction jobs.

In Lyon Township, Project Flex is underway. Officials did not return calls or emails regarding the project, but a press release on the township website details the data center project. The project site, South Hill Business Park West, is a 172-acre area zoned I-1 Light Industrial and I2 General Industrial between Milford Road and South Hill Road. The proposed data center will include six buildings totaling approximately 1.8 million square feet of floor area and a utility substation. As of December 11, 2025, the site plan has not been completed because the applicant has not submitted hard copies of the updated plans and supporting information required by the conditions of approval. Once the township receives the information and reviews it for completeness in accordance with the conditions of approval, the plans will be approved and will be valid for two years, until September 8, 2027. Once the final site plans have been submitted for review, the applicant must apply for a detailed engineering review and obtain approvals from all applicable agencies prior to commencing construction.

Data centers have been the target of protestors at the Michigan State Capitol.

Organizers of the events describe their foundational beliefs as “Michigan needs to slow down and do this right. That means ending special tax breaks for Big Tech data centers, pausing new projects until their environmental, economic, and public health impacts are fully studied, and ending backroom deals by requiring full public hearings at the MPSC. It also means standing with local governments and townships that choose to say no.”

Michigan communities are also seeing a rush of data centers, but they understand they need time to make the best decisions and prepare. Springfield Township passed a six-month moratorium on data center proposals. The Springfield Township Board of Trustees approved a plan that prohibits any data center proposals from being accepted for review, considered, approved, or

otherwise allowed during the 180-day time frame. They also reserved the right to extend the time frame if necessary. In a press release from the township, supervisor Ric Davis explained, “at the December 11, 2025, meeting of the Springfield Township Board, we passed a resolution establishing a temporary moratorium on data center applications. This action gives us the time we need to study the impact of these facilities, engage with public safety and utility partners, write enforceable, fair, and protective zoning ordinances and standards, and ensure community input is part of the process.

“With this moratorium in place, we are in a far stronger position than many other communities that were forced to react to data center proposals without time to develop thoughtful, comprehensive ordinances. We are using this time wisely — to plan, to coordinate, and to prepare for development that serves the best interest of Springfield Township,” according to Davis.

The city of Pontiac and Bloomfield Township have joined the ranks of communities enacting moratorium.

Michigan is a target for data centers due to tax incentives, a northern climate that helps reduce cooling costs, access to water and rural areas for locations.

The first large-scale, hyper-scale data center is the massive "Stargate" project in Saline Township in Washtenaw County, a $7 billion joint venture by OpenAI, Oracle,and Related Digital for AI development spanning 575 acres, with 250 acres to be developed. It is projected to be the largest investment in Michigan history, with construction starting in 2026 after recent regulatory approvals for power supply.

However, the township didn’t want the data center, and the rezoning was voted down twice, according to township attorney Fred Lucas.

“The data center people came in and made a proposal for a conditional rezoning, which was denied by the planning commission and by the township board. They (along with the landowners) filed suit in Washtenaw County Circuit Court, and after some discussion with separate counsel, the board agreed to enter into a consent agreement back in October,” Lucas said.

Ground has been broken on the site off of US-12 for the industrial zoned site, but not before the parties involved hammered out a consent judgment that actually benefited the township.

“The township didn’t want it. The county board didn’t want it,” Lucas said. “One of three things could happen with the lawsuit. Number one, we could lose and we could end up with data center without a lot of the protections we built into the consent judgement. We could win but we could still have ended up with a data center. Zoning does not apply to schools and other governmental entities. The data center that the

University of Michigan is proposing isn’t subject to local zoning. Even if we won, we could have ended up with a data center but end up with a data center that provided no revenue to the township or other protections that we built in. The developer indicated to us that even if their client went away, they would look for another one for this site, even a school. The township made the decision to settle the lawsuit.”

The consent judgment, found on the township’s website, salinetownship.org, provides significant protection for the township. The site can be used only as a data center, with no expansion or solar farms on the property. Two hundred acres of wetland, open space and agricultural land will be preserved for agricultural use, and nearly 48 acres of wetlands and woods are protected by a conservation easement. The center cannot use an evaporative cooling system and will limit water use to restrooms, humidity, landscaping, fire protection and general maintenance. If any nearby wells or ponds go dry as a result of water usage by the data center, the tenant will pay all costs to restore the ponds and wells. A Farmland Preservation Trust Fund to assist farmers was created with an initial $2 million, with another $2 million to be added within a year. A Community Investment Fund of $2 million will be established for use by the township for community investment projects such as playgrounds and other amenities for children. Local fire departments will receive funding from the data center, including $7 million for Saline, $500,000 for Clinton Township, and $500,000 for the Manchester Fire Department, to be used at their discretion.

The developer cannot sell or lease the project to a non-profit, charitable, or other tax-exempt entity. If the data center is decommissioned, the developer will demolish it at its expense and will grade and restore the land. A surety bond of at least $5 million and no more than $10 million will be posted by the developer, and the amount will be reviewed by the township engineer every two years. One of the key requirements is that sound emitted from the operation of the data center will not exceed 55 decibels at all property lines. This would be equal to the sound of a running refrigerator.

“We listened to the concerns of the residents and we incorporated all of that and made it more restrictive than they actually first proposed,” Lucas said. “We figured if we’re going to have to deal with this, we might as well get some money out of these guys. The board decided to deal with the devil they know rather than one they do not know.”

Lucas noted that the landowners were not going back to farming and were even looking at making it a housing development.

“This is a $7 billion-dollar investment when all is said and done. This is the best of a bad situation for the

township. It was the least offensive and provided the greatest amount of protection we could give to the residents,” Lucas said.

He also explained that the center will “generate an enormous amount of taxes just from the real estate tax basis, it’s going to provide a tremendous amount of money for both the county and the township and other entities that rely upon local tax and that’s with an industrial development tax break.”

One of the main problems will be the energy needed to run the Stargate facility that is expected to open in 2027. The power needed to run the facility which Consumers Energy officials forecast to be 2.65 gigawatts in new demand in the entire area while DTE officials are negotiating for a three gigawatts’ worth of data center capacity on top of the Saline Township proposal. The entire state of Michigan’s peak electrical demand is near 18 gigawatts. That energy demand could surge by 39 percent. The Stargate Project’s need will be at least 1.4 gigawatts of the 2.65. The 1.4 gigawatt number is equivalent to more than one million homes.

DTE has stated it can ramp up production at existing power plants, buy power on the open market, and build battery storage facilities that can be recharged during off-peak hours to meet the need. But in the long-term, both DTE and Consumers officials have said that they’ll likely build new fossil-fuel plants as they absorb new demand. The utilities insist they can do so while meeting Michigan’s 2040 deadline to achieve 100 percent clean energy but no specifics have been offered.

Spokespeople for both utilities said they will reveal further details next year, when they file what’s known as integrated resource plans with the Michigan Public Service Commission.

“We look forward to working with stakeholders and the commission to chart the best path forward for our customers and the state,” DTE spokesperson Jill Wilmot said in a press release.

Ryan Lowry, DTE Corporate Communications, said, “DTE will serve the proposed Saline data center project with our existing power plants and renewable energy resources, combined with the additional battery storage that the data center customer will pay for. Depending on the number of additional data centers that decide to come to Michigan, and the size of their operations, the construction of new generation plants, both renewable and baseload, may be needed. Generation plans are addressed under the state’s integrated resource planning (IRP) framework, which we look forward to continuing to partner on with the Michigan Public Service Commission and other interested parties.”

Lowry also noted the broader customer base will be protected from data center cost to the grid.

“We appreciate the Michigan Public Service

Commission's review and approval of our special contracts for Oracle’s data center project. These contracts protect our customers — including ensuring that there will be no stranded assets — while enabling Michigan's growth. DTE Energy has an obligation to serve any customer, including data centers, that come into our electric service territory in southeast Michigan. That’s why we’ve been so focused on making sure our broader customer base is protected with these contracts to ensure they will not subsidize data center rates. We acknowledge there’s a range of viewpoints and emotions about this decision. We remain deeply committed to supporting our customers and the communities we serve by delivering the safe, reliable energy they depend on each day.”

Matt Helms, Public Information Officer for the Michigan Public Service Commission, declined an interview for this article but did offer a statement.

“The MPSC’s role in data centers is limited to the consideration of utility power supply contracts to serve data centers. We will continue to monitor these contracts in our role as a knowledgeable, impartial regulator committed to consumer protection, fairness and transparency, to ensure that the costs of serving data centers are borne by the data centers and not other ratepayers.”

The MPSC decided that both DTE and Consumers Energy may create a new rate class for data centers in the future, and the changes apply to new customers with a load of 100 megawatts or more, including both data centers and other very large industrial customers. Those contracts will be a minimum of 15 years and stipulate that even if the facility does not use the amount of energy expected, they will pay at least 80 percent of the contracted capacity. Consumers is looking for a data center rate increase while DTE is looking to negotiate individual contracts with data centers.

In regard to the Saline Starship Data Center, DTE asked for the MPSC to approve special contracts that when approved “will not increase rates, rate schedules or the cost of services to customers.”

The MPSC also stated, “In short, the Commission conditioned its ex parte approval of the special contract on commitments from DTE Electric that no costs of serving the data center customer will be borne by other DTE customers.”

Michigan’s data center tax break law requires the facilities to get 90 percent of their electricity from clean energy within six years after being built.

Environmentalists say they’ll be closely reviewing data center electricity contracts to make sure they comply.

But on January 9, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a Petition for Rehearing with the MPSC concerning DTE’s ex parte approval of two special contracts to service the new Saline Township data

center. She wants transparency and not heavily redacted contracts that offer little insight to the DTE and MPSC agreements.

“I remain extremely disappointed with the Commission’s decision to fast-track DTE’s secret data center contracts without holding a contested case hearing,” said Nessel. “This was an irresponsible approach that cut corners and shut out the public and their advocates. Granting approval of these contracts ex parte serves only the interests of DTE and the billiondollar businesses involved, like Oracle, OpenAI, and Related Companies, not the Michigan public the Commission is meant to protect,” Nessel said.

Nessel further explained, “The Commission imposed some conditions on DTE to supposedly hold ratepayers harmless, but these conditions and how they’ll be enforced remain unclear. As Michigan’s chief consumer advocate, it is my responsibility to ensure utility customers in this state are adequately protected, especially on a project so massive, so expensive, and so unprecedented. As my office continues to review all potential options to defend energy customers in our state, we must demand further clarity on what protections the commission has put in place and continue to demand a full contested case concerning these still-secret contracts.”

Aside from protecting current customers from underwriting the costs of powering these data centers, another critical issue with data centers is the practice of keeping them cooled.

Most rely on water, using either a closed-loop system or evaporative cooling. One of Michigan’s most precious resources is water, and data centers – depending on how they are cooled – can use an expansive amount of it.

There is also a major concern about the environmental impact on water once it is used to cool these data centers.

Evaporative cooling, a water-intensive process that uses water vapor to cool equipment, can release contaminants into sewer systems or into rural processes that include holding ponds, potentially endangering the environment by releasing harmful, concentrated nitrates that could possibly work their way into aquifers. Although some say that used cooling water can just be sent to local wastewater treatment facilities but not all systems are capable of filtering out the nitrates.

The Saline Township data center will use closed-loop technology, in which cooling water is recycled through the system, reducing the facility’s water use to that of a typical office building. However, this requires more electricity to repeatedly cool the water.

Douglas Jester is Managing Partner at 5 Lakes Energy, where he specializes in economic analysis and modeling for energy policy, and in expert witness

testimony before utility regulatory commissions. He’s been an expert witness in cases involving data centers and has also managed data centers.

“Those tax exemptions are very valuable and I think all of these big data centers are going to comply with the requirements to be eligible,” Jester explained. “Basically, if you go back a couple of decades, data centers were aircooled – essentially giant air conditioners that pulled the heat out and discharged it into the air but now the energy density of the computers is so high that they cannot be air-cooled. They must be liquid-cooled. It can be water, it can be something else.”

Jester also explained there are other alternatives to liquid cooling. “With dry cooling, they’re not using water at all on the side of discharging the heat. That’s all being done into the air through heat exchangers. And alternatively, it could be used as heat for somebody else if, say, hypothetically somebody wants to put a greenhouse next to a data center or something, the heat can be discharged in a way that it’s usable. Data centers of this size produce an enormous amount of heat, so I’m not suggesting that I think they’re going to use up this heat in productive uses. I’m just telling you that it’s technically feasible. There’s a data center proposed in Lansing from a company called Deep Green. It’s a United Kingdom company. And what they’re proposing is that the heat from the data center go into the downtown Lansing district heating system.”

Oakland County state Senator Rosemary Bayer (DWest Bloomfield) has been involved in legislation protecting residents when it comes to rates for these data centers. But she is also a member of the Great Lakes Legislative Caucus which includes all of the states and provinces that touch the Great Lakes. She specifically deals with water and data centers as chairman of the Water Use Committee.

“I introduced the first three bills associated with data center regulation we are starting to work on it here in Michigan, and other states are doing things. I mean, it’s a very fast-moving industry, and law is not a fast-moving industry. Our challenge is trying to stay in front of it as best we can as there are multiple issues for us here in Michigan,” Bayer said. “When they first came, it was odd, because about three months before the first one showed up to talk to us about it, I had been reading articles about things that were happening on the eastern coast of the United States. Virginia is having a lot of problems. They’ve got way too many. They’ve had aquifers drop. And then you start reading about what’s happening on the west side. It’s worse. I said, ‘You know what, guys, we’re going to need to learn about this.’ And everybody just said, you put it on the list kind of thing. Nobody got to it until there’s one at the door – big data companies, and they wanted a data center. We got in some pretty strong fights about it here in the legislature because people didn’t know enough. Your position was based on a

very small amount of information, and so we’ve been struggling with that. But I think we’re starting to get our heads around it, and partly because of my work, to be honest. I’m working in understanding what are the issues and what can be done. And what should be done.”

She noted, “It’s our job to protect the resources that we have, whether they’re people resources or water or fresh air or whatever. We have to do all those things at once and not knowing very much about the industry. We didn’t do a great job. We ended up with one bill that I strongly opposed. It was a tax break bill for them. And that was a big problem for me. I said, “It was one of the world’s richest companies, the most profitable companies, the highest revenue companies in the world knocking on our door and asking for all the electricity they want and all the water they want and giving us basically nothing back. I didn’t like that. I strongly opposed that. And it went through.”

In looking at water usage by data centers if they use it for cooling, Bayer is a staunch protector of Michigan’s water.

“If you evaporate water, it’s gone, and we don’t know how to make more water. We live in a water state and we have aquifers that have dried up because people are not paying attention to the water that’s underground and the realization that most of us get our water from underground,” she said. “In southeast Michigan, most of us get our water from the Great Lakes Water Authority, and that water comes from the lakes and the connectors to the lakes, but the rest of the state is mostly groundwater, so the stakes are the Great Lakes themselves. And forty percent of the water renewal that goes into the Great Lakes every year comes from our groundwater so you know all the water is tied together and we have to be careful. That’s the first issue: if you have choices of how to cool these hundreds of thousands of computers that generate so much heat, you don’t have to do it using evaporation of water. There are other alternatives. It just happens that the least expensive option is to cool them with evaporation. And the reason they want to come to Michigan is we have lots of water.”

Bayer is pushing for regulations to be put in place.

“One of the bills that I introduced this week puts a hard limit on how much water anybody can use in a day. One of the data center companies told us that their expectation is up to five million gallons of water a day evaporated in one data center,” she said.

She explained that potato growers use no more than two million gallons for daily irrigation during the growing season.

“We have to have some kind of prescription on how much water you can use or consumptive use at all, in any case, because in Michigan, because of the way our systems are set up in the Constitution that we have, I can’t say that potato growers can use three million

gallons, but other people who do other things, can’t. Right now, we just wrote a bill that caps it at two million because that’s a safe place. None of our current users are going to have a problem with that. We’ll see what becomes law. But in the end, we don’t want anyone to burn away millions of gallons of water a day. In a data center, you can use what’s called a closed-loop system, and this is what the Capitol runs on and what my house runs on, a system called groundwater heat pumps.”

The water used to cool data centers becomes heated, which increases the concentration of nitrates in the water. Higher levels of nitrates are a proven threat to human health.

In Oregon, Amazon data centers filtered the used water and sent it to farms, but the process backfired. Too much of the nitrate-laden water was used for irrigation, and the nitrates filtered back into the aquifer, essentially poisoning drinking water. When that aquifer water was reused in the data center, the nitrate concentration increased even more.

Environmental groups in Saline have flagged major problems in the developer’s wetlands permit application to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE). They claim the filings, which cover culvert installations, stormwater outfalls and the destruction of more than 10 acres of wetlands, contain incorrect information, vague mitigation plans, and incomplete site details. The permit also “temporarily impacts” a stretch of a tributary of the Saline River.

Discharges from the cooling systems could contain glycol and contaminate local waterways and cause habitat loss for threatened species such as the Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake, Indiana bat, and Mitchell’s Satyr butterfly, according to the Economic Development Responsibility Alliance of Michigan, a nonpartisan group focused on protecting land, water, and taxpayer rights.

Warmer water temperatures often boost microbial activity and nitrogen cycling. Add in evaporation and nitrates become highly concentrated, creating a biohazard when released. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy is keeping a close eye on data centers’ water usage and dispersal.

Jeff Johnston, EGLE Public Information Officer, explained, “Data centers in Michigan are subject to the same environmental laws and permitting requirements as other industrial or commercial facilities: Depending on location and operations, they may need permits for air emissions, water use, wastewater discharge, or impacts to wetlands and streams. These permits are designed to protect public health and the environment. Like any other facility permitted by EGLE, data centers would be subject to inspections and routine oversight to ensure compliance with environmental laws.”

THREATENED PLANET

Threatened Planet is a newsletter of curated information gleaned from over 30 print and online news sources where reliable information is provided on the health of the environment and the efforts to remedy problems facing the planet. We constantly monitor a diverse list of sources – the major daily newspapers in the country and in Europe, a variety of scientific journals and government websites, along with newsletters from environmental groups, as well as a wide-ranging list of other reliable print and online news outlets. For those concerned about the environment, we do the legwork by aggregating relevant information from a wide swath of sources and attempt to offer links mostly to those sources not restricted by a paywall. Those interested can sign up for the newsletter at ThreatenedPlanet.com.

Research and composition of the Threatened Planet newsletter is the work of Austen Hohendorf.

Security waved environmental protection laws and regulations to build a border wall through a national park in Big Bend. (Ryan Chandler/NBC News)

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A new study finds many of North America’s birds are in a state of accelerating decline, researchers say that’s a sign of a deeper biodiversity crisis. (Sarah Kaplan/The Washington Post)

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A company is seeking FCC approval to test an idea to reflect sunlight to Earth at night, possibly powering solar panels. Critics say it could be bad for people and wildlife. (Kenneth Chang, Hiroko Tabuchi/The New York Times)

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Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer says Trump agreed to deliver federal funding to help with costs of ice storm recovery efforts. (Simon D. Schuster/Bridge MI)

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An Army Corps project could wipe out one of Florida’s last thriving coral reefs. (Nicolás Rivero/The Washington Post)

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Scientists studying sea level rise have been underestimating how high water is - meaning hundreds of millions more people are already living dangerously close to the rising ocean. (Sachi Kitajima Mulkey, Mira Rojanasakul/The New York Times)

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The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) agrees to share climate risk data with farmers following lawsuit ensuring it’s publicly available long term.(Frida Garza/Grist) ▾

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) new water sample records detect toxic “forever chemicals” in public drinking water for 151 million people - roughly half of Americans who rely on the utilities. (Austin Fast/USA Today)

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The National Weather Service is now predicting “intensity” when forecasting for severe storms and tornadoes. (Matthew Cappucci/The Washington Post)

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An assessment on the health of nature in the United States killed by Trump was independently released by group of experts. (Catrin Einhorn/The New York Times)

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Elected leaders in Texas are concerned after Homeland

Consumers Energy is seeking federal approval to pass $42 million in operating costs to run a Michigan coal plant onto utility customers following Trump orders to keep it open. (Lucas Larson/Mlive)

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President Trump ordered the military to purchase more energy generated by coal companies, experts warn it could raise electricity prices and drive significant pollution. (Evan Halper/The Washington Post)

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is erasing the scientific “endangerment finding” - that climate change endangers human health – which served as legal basis for federal climate policy, ending the government’s legal authority to control pollution and set limits on greenhouse gas emissions. (Lisa Friedman/The New York Times)

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Cubans are increasingly adopting electric vehicles as the fuel crisis worsens following the US blockade to the country. (Reuters)

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A coalition of scientific and history organizations sued the Trump administration saying removal of information about civil rights, climate change at national parks amounts to illegal censorship. (Matthew Daly/The Associated Press)

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The Supreme Court agreed to take a case examining whether states and cities can sue fossil fuel companies over harm caused by climate change. (Justin Jouvenal/The Washington Post)

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The Trump administration threatened to pull the US out of the world’s leading energy agency unless it abandoned its focus on tackling climate change. (Brad Plumer/The New York Times)

METRO INTELLIGENCER

Metro Intelligencer is a monthly column devoted to news stories, tidbits and gossip items about what's happening on the restaurant scene in the metro Detroit area. Metro Intelligencer is reported/ created each month by Gigi Nichols who can be reached at GigiNichols@DowntownPublications.com with news items or tips, on or off the record.

Café Cortina Celebrates 50 Years

Café Cortina, is celebrating its 50th Anniversary with “A Timeless Table,” a year-long tribute to five decades of culinary excellence, family legacy, and community connection. Founded in 1976 by Rina and Adriano Tonon, Café Cortina began as a rustic country trattoria tucked inside a former apple orchard in Farmington Hills. Long before farm-to-table became a national movement, the Tonon family was quietly cultivating their own ingredients, honoring Italian agricultural traditions, and creating a dining experience rooted in warmth, authenticity, and human connection. Today, under the leadership of the family’s second and third generations — including Chef Ernesto Antopia and Café Cortina’s tenured culinary and hospitality team — the restaurant remains a popular destination for elevated Italian cuisine and immersive hospitality. The celebration begins with the 50th Anniversary Founders Dinner Series: La Notte Di Famiglia on Monday, March 16th.This one-night celebration features: historic dishes recreated from Café Cortina’s earliest opening days; family storytelling from founder Rina Tonon and special guests; and wine pairings from Tonon family’s ancestral region of Vittorio Veneto. The 50th Anniversary will continue throughout 2026 with a series of immersive events, including:The Culinary Evolution — a collaborative dinner with chefs and wineries for the Annual Spanish Dinner, June 29; Cortina in Fiore — an outdoor food, wine, and arts festival for three days in Traverse City, September 1719; Una Notte d’Oro — a black-tie Golden Gala celebrating Detroit’s creative community, culinary arts, and Café Cortina’s enduring legacy, November 2. 30715 W. 10 Mile Road, Farmington Hills cafecortina.com

Cardoon Cafe and Provisions to open this spring

Cardoon Cafe and Provisions, a European-style bakery, café, deli, and provisions emporium, will open in this spring in Sylvan Lake. The all-day, counter-service concept is owned by Nicole and Tim Ryan—the team behind Sylvan Table—and led by Executive Chef Scott Martinelli, bringing “a neighborhood European sensibility focused on traditional baking, preservation, and seasonal cooking to the community.” Cardoon draws inspiration from classic European bakeries and neighborhood cafés, offering a menu rooted in old-world techniques and farm-to-table ingredients. The concept blends bakery, deli, and café cultures into a single space, designed for everyday visits— from morning coffee, pastry, and breakfast plates, to lunch sandwiches, afternoon charcuterie and cheese, and early

evening drinks. The owners describe Cardoon as “a place where you can grab everything needed for your upcoming dinner party, and also enjoy a glass of wine and bowl of pasta before hurrying home after work.” Cardoon will feature a full-service deli, with fine meats and cheeses sliced to order, as well as a selection curated, and cut to the size of your preference. The food program highlights European bakery and deli classics, including schiacciata (Tuscan bread) and panuozzo (Italian pizza bread) sandwiches, fresh pasta, pizza, rustic breads, viennoiserie, and pastry. Signature offerings will include porchetta schiacciata, a Danish-style hot dog, mortadella and pesto panuozzo, Swedish cardamom buns, and a rotating selection of housemade sausages and cured-in-house charcuterie. Seasonal ingredients sourced from regional farms will guide the menu throughout the year. The beverage program will feature an all-day café menu centered on coffee, alongside a curated selection of beer, wine, and cocktails.

From French fare to French fries

Hamlin Pub is gearing up to open its first downtown Detroit location at 313 Park Avenue, taking over the space formerly occupied by the Statler Bistro. The neighborhood pub has partnered with Vicari Restaurant Group, the former owner of the Statler Bistro, to bring its casual, sports-friendly concept to the heart of the city. The Statler Bistro, a French-American fine dining restaurant, opened in December 2021 and occupied half of the first floor of the City Club Apartments at the corner of Washington Boulevard and Park Avenue, facing Grand Circus Park. After facing increased competition and declining sales, the restaurant closed in summer 2025. Founded in Michigan in 1992, Hamlin Pub has grown into a popular local pub brand with 11 metro Detroit locations. The downtown outpost marks the brand’s first location within the city limits and is expected to open April 3. The menu features classic American pub fare, including burgers and fries, tacos, wings, sandwiches, pizza, and salads, along with a rotating selection of draft beers, wines, and signature cocktails. With multiple TVs throughout the space, the pub is designed for game-day crowds. 313 Park Avenue, Detroit hamlinpubs.com

An ode to Hudson’s

Pine Hall, a cocktail bar and neighborhood tavern, will be Union Square Hospitality Group’s (USHG) first project in Detroit. Located on the 12th-floor rooftop of the Hudson’s Detroit building, developed by Bedrock, Pine Hall marks USHG’s debut in the city following its expansion announcement late last year. The bar is slated to open this spring. Pine Hall pays tribute to The Pine Room, the iconic wood-paneled restaurant once housed in the J.L. Hudson Department Store 1208 Woodward Avenue, Detroit

A) Oxford Multi includes: Cedar, Clear, Long, Squaw, Michelson & Tan Lakes

B) Waterford Multi includes: Cemetery(Middle), Dollar, Greens, Maceday, Lotus, Lester, Van Norman, Williams, Mohawk, Wormer, Schoolhouse, Silver, Upper Silver & Loon Lakes

C) The Loon Lake control structure also controls Mohawk, Wormer, Schoolhouse Silver & Upper Silver Lakes

D) The Van Norman control structure also controls Green, Maceday, Lotus & Lester Lakes

E) Lake Angelus, Huron River, and Clinton River levels are not under the jurisdiction of this office

F) The Dawson Mill Pond and Sylvan-Otter Lakes are controlled by the Price Dam

G) Crystal Lake is controlled by the Walter Moore Dam

H) Lake Louise and Huff Lake are controlled by the Ruth Johnson Dam

I) Waumegah Lake reading in N.G.V.D (1983)

J) Some Winter Levels are set by Court Order. Others reflects customary drawdown

Angelus( Bevins( Big1017.400.351017.301016.700.70 BunnyRun( BushLake913.72-0.01913.60N/A0.12 Cass( CedarIsland( Cemetery&Dollar(WML)( ClintonRiver-M-59( Commerce( Crystal( DawsonMillPond( Duck( Fox( HuronRiver( Indianwood( Lakeville( Long(CommerceTwp.)( Loon(WML)( Louise-Huff( Middle&LowerStraits( Mohawk(WML)( Oakland-Woodhull( Orchard( Oxbow( OxfordMulti( Pontiac( Schoolhouse(WML)( Scott950.900.28951.00N/A-0.10 Sylvan-Otter( Tipsico( Union( UpperStraits930.900.10930.80N/A0.10 VanNorman(WML)( Walled&Shawood933.250.05932.80932.101.15 Watkins( Waumegah( White( Williams(WML)(