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Liz Drum / National Park Service
Grand Sable Dunes
A portion of Grand Sable Dunes is eroding into Sable Creek and Lake Superior, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore officials say. Fourteen acres of the area has been closed to visitors.
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Cody Wetton / Michigan Department of Transportation
Peregrine Falcon Box, Houghton/Hancock Lift Bridge
A father peregrine falcon stands watch atop a nest box occupied by three falcon chicks on July 15. The box is one of two attached to the Houghton-Hancock Lift Bridge in 2012. The young birds were too old to be safely banded.
Part of Michigan's Grand Sable Dunes closed due to erosion
Phil Ford, reporting for WLUC:
A portion of the Grand Sable Dunes is closed to the public because of safety concerns. A section of the dunes is eroding and collapsing and has recently become unstable.
More info from Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
Rittenhouse cookbook now available
Our newest book title, "The Old Rittenhouse Inn Cookbook" officially launched on Wednesday in Bayfield, with more than 100 people in attendance. Written by second-generation innkeeper Mark Phillips, the book pairs stories of the historic B&B and Mark's Rittenhouse childhood with beloved recipes and cocktail concoctions. We posted an album from the launch on Facebook.
+ The Ashland Daily Press' Amber Mullen has a recap of another book event in Bayfield this week, featuring five local authors.
Baby falcons fill nest box at Houghton/Hancock Lift Bridge
The Michigan Department of Transportation posted an update on the bridge's peregrine falcon chicks, with photos of the bridge workers' up-close view of the species' recovery.
The trio of peregrine falcon chicks at the Houghton-Hancock Lift Bridge are starting to leave the nest.
The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) installed two nest boxes - one each on the north and south bridge towers - in spring 2012 and a pair of peregrine falcons showed up the next spring. The falcons got a prime nesting spot and MDOT got a top-flight pigeon patrol.
According to head bridge operator Robert Paavola, the number of pigeons on the bridge has plummeted dramatically since the falcons took up residence and chased them away.
No longer federally endangered, the peregrine falcon remains an endangered species in Michigan.
+ Paul Sundberg's lovely Photos of the Week.
+ LSM Editor Konnie LeMay spoke with WKAR's Peter Whorf about our Best of the Lake awards.
+ Two Harbors, Minnesota, unveiled a lakeside webcam. (Visit our webcam page for more views from around the Lake.)