A few years back I had an opportunity to spend a week in Traverse City, Michigan, working on some stories. During that stay, one of the "assignments" I had was to paddle a kayak down the Platte River.
    It was a great paddle along a narrow river that is framed by dense woods. A belted kingfisher joined me on my journey, staying just ahead of me, chattering all the time. A bonus of the paddle was that the takeout was in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, a wonderful playground defined in part by a massive sweep of dunes that stands over the Lake Michigan coast.
    Anyway, turns out that lakeshore officials are currently working on a revision to their general management plan. Right now the lakeshore is toying with three alternatives: one that would focus on conservation, another on recreation, and a third that would try to divide the lakeshore into high- and low-concentration areas.
    For the latest on this work, read this story from the Traverse City Record-Eagle.