With Memorial Day fast approaching, many Michiganders are preparing to re-open cottages on the state's more than 11,000 inland lakes. If you're lucky enough to have a summer place on the water or live lakeside year-round, the way you landscape and manage your property can have a big impact on water quality and lake-dwelling wildlife.

More than 60 scientists, natural resource professionals, outdoor recreation enthusiasts and others gathered in Muskegon on Monday for the Freshwater Dune Summit, organized by MEC and our partners at Heart of the Lakes and West Michigan Environmental Action Council.

MEC and allies have argued for more than two years that commercial fish farms have no place in our Great Lakes. This week, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette agreed.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality last week delayed its expected decision on a permit for the Back Forty Project, an open-pit gold, zinc and copper mine proposed for the western Upper Peninsula. Back in September, the agency indicated in a preliminary decision its intent to approve the request from Aquila Resources, opening a final window for the public to weigh in before the final decision set for Dec. 1. The deadline for that final decision has now been pushed back to Dec. 29.

Editor's note: The following guest post was written by Stanley "Skip" Pruss and originally ran on the blog of 5 Lakes Energy, where he is principal and co-founder. It is re-posted here with permission.

Editor's note: This post is by MEC intern Matthew McLaughlin

Today was a big day in the ongoing effort to protect our fisheries and fresh water by keeping factory fish farming out of the Great Lakes.

Gov. Rick Snyder today took an important step toward protecting Michigan's communities and waterways from oil spills by issuing an executive order that creates a Michigan Pipeline Safety Advisory Board.

Late last week, MEC and several of our partners and members submitted formal comments on the draft document, "Sustaining Michigan's Water Heritage: A Strategy for the Next Generation," created by the Office of the Great Lakes (OGL) at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

Crafting a 30-year strategy to position Michigan's abundant (and awesome) water assets in a national and global context is no easy feat. MEC is grateful to Governor Snyder for asking for such a plan, and to Jon Allan and his team at the Office of Great Lakes (OGL) for pulling a laudable draft of one together.