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Economic and Environmental Sustainability
BIA's Mission: Economic and Environmental Sustainability

Community Broadband Meeting Tonight

The BIA's Broadband Committee together with the Joint Townships Telecommunications Advisory Committee (JTAC) has a community meeting on broadband this evening at 5:00 at the BIC Center. A proposal...

ACD Team on Island for fiber broadband plan

Work supported by the Rural Readiness Grant awarded to your BIA continues this week with a team from Advanced Communications & Data (ACD), a Lansing-based ISP, working to finalize a plan for an...

Fall bird migration underway

Island birding expert Pam Grassmick reports that the fall migration of birds is now underway, with thousands of species making their way south along the Great Lakes flyway. Most of this remarkable...

Island Whacked by 18-Hour TDS Outage

Yesterday, those on the island relying on TDS for phone and internet service were cut off from the world once again—no phone, no internet, and no 9‑1‑1 access—from approximately 8:00 a.m. until 9:15...
Community Broadband Meeting Tonight

Community Broadband Meeting Tonight

The BIA’s Broadband Committee together with the Joint Townships Telecommunications Advisory Committee (JTAC) has a community meeting on broadband this evening at 5:00 at the BIC Center. A proposal to build a community -owned Island-wide fiber network will be discussed covering what it would cost, how it could be financed and what would be necessary to make it happen. There will also be an update on the horizontal directional drilling operations ongoing now on the north shore at the St. James Campground and soon at the CMU Campground, look at when that work will finish and the under-lake cable laying will begin, along with a what completion of that project will mean (and won’t mean for the Island). There will also be updates on TDS, Merit and the interim project to bring faster service to key Island locations.

The meeting will start at 5:00 with a 20 to 30 minute presentation. Then,there will be time for questions and comments, and an opportunity to complete a survey about your views on the proposed community project. If you aren’t abled to attend the meeting, you can complete the survey online at your convenience anytime before the end of the month.

If you’d like to stay up to date on the community fiber project, you can sign up for occasional email updates here.

A Noah’s Ark for whitefish?

Scientists are weighing what they call a “Noah’s Ark” strategy to save Michigan’s collapsing whitefish populations. Once abundant in lakes Michigan and Huron, whitefish have plummeted as invasive zebra and quagga mussels have transformed the lakes. Quagga mussels now...

Fall bird migration underway

Island birding expert Pam Grassmick reports that the fall migration of birds is now underway, with thousands of species making their way south along the Great Lakes flyway. Most of this remarkable journey happens at night, when cooler air helps birds conserve energy...

Iron Belle Trail forges ahead

Iron Belle Trail forges ahead

Michigan celebrated another milestone Friday in building the Iron Belle Trail, the state’s signature 2,000-mile route stretching from Detroit’s riverfront all the way to Ironwood in the western Upper Peninsula. A ribbon cutting on Belle Isle opened a new 5.8-mile...

Irish Féile in the books as another success

Irish Féile in the books as another success

The Irish Féile drew full-house crowds who enjoyed a weekend packed with music, dancing, and cultural traditions, despite weather that disrupted travel and forced multiple schedule changes. Friday’s boat cancellation, along with periods of rain and gusty winds,...

Island Whacked by 18-Hour TDS Outage

Island Whacked by 18-Hour TDS Outage

Yesterday, those on the island relying on TDS for phone and internet service were cut off from the world once again—no phone, no internet, and no 9‑1‑1 access—from approximately 8:00 a.m. until 9:15 p.m. The 18-hour blackout left the community incommunicado. There was...

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