Newly appointed Michigan State University AgBioResearch-affiliated scientists are diving deeper into the water story, working to better understand water movement and the human impact on it.

Tom Fernandez, an MSU professor in the Department of Horticulture, has spent much of his 25-year career at MSU studying how to effectively manage water in greenhouses and nurseries to increase water-use efficiency and reduce nutrient runoff.

All summer, a crew of students and other seasonal staff manned a mobile boat wash at about 40 stops around Michigan. They crisscrossed the state with their heated high-pressure washer, containment system and invasive species resources to demonstrate to boaters how to clean their vessel and trailer before they head home.

For more than 20 years, Michigan State University and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources have partnered to rebuild Black Lake’s sturgeon population. Together, they opened the Black Lake Stream Side Rearing Facility, located in Onaway, Michigan, and have supplied sturgeons to a variety of hatcheries.