This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Max Copeland, Great Lakes Echo
The fate of Traverse City, Michigan’s FishPass project will be decided in court. That’s after city commissioners decided not to put the question before voters in November.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/09/fishpass-november-ballot-appeals-court/
Running a Great Lakes fish hatchery requires a thorough understanding of biology, an affinity for mathematics, a solid grasp of physics and engineering, enough plumbing skills to qualify for union wages and a stomach impervious to the aroma of stinky fish.
Kris Dey has been running the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians’ fish hatchery for five years.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/09/fish-hatchery-restore-native-great-lakes-species/
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — High levels of toxic, widely used “forever chemicals” contaminate groundwater around at least six military sites in the Great Lakes region, according to U.S. Department of Defense records that an environmental group released Tuesday.
The Environmental Working Group said PFAS, an abbreviation for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, have oozed into the Great Lakes and pose a risk to people who eat fish tainted with the chemicals.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/09/ap-forever-chemicals-groundwater-military-bases/
North America has 3 billion fewer birds today than five decades ago, according to a recent scientific study.
That loss equates to more than a quarter of the continent’s entire bird population, and the research documenting the decline has shown that it may be worse than first realized.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/08/north-america-bird-population-habitat/
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Scientists have traced the genetic makeup of lake trout, a feat that should boost efforts to rebuild populations of the prized fish in the Great Lakes and other North American waters where they’ve been hammered by invasive species, overfishing and pollution, officials said Tuesday.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/08/ap-genetic-mapping-restoration-lake-trout/
Every year, Nicole and Tom Watson take a trip to Alaska. Like the typical tourist, they enjoy fly fishing and experiencing the untamed wilderness, yet their visit is no ordinary vacation. Among their duffel bags and backpacks, there’s a special piece of carry-on luggage: a carefully sealed container of fish eggs.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/08/grayling-revival-researchers-native-fish/
Before the era of plastic, freshwater mussels were the material of choice for the global button industry.
The inside wall of a freshwater mussel’s shell can range in color from pure white to shimmering lavenders and iridescent purples.
European settlers were thrilled to find an abundance of button-worthy mussels in the Great Lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/08/shell-middens-mussels-muskrats/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Chioma Lewis, Great Lakes Echo
Freshwater turtles have become less abundant in coastal areas of Greater Toronto that have significantly decreased wetlands.
That’s according to researchers in Toronto who conducted a study to assess the turtle communities in coastal wetlands of Lake Ontario.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/08/depleted-wetlands-freshwater-turtles-toronto/
Ducklings struggling to stay afloat in Lake Ontario’s Toronto harbor now have a safe place to rest with the installation of low, floating plywood docks.
PortsToronto installed duckling docks at water level in four shipping areas in June after reports of drowned waterfowl unable to climb out of the water to rest.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/08/duckling-toronto-floating-docks/
By Lester Graham, Michigan Radio
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/08/great-lakes-peril-invasives-pollution-climate-change/
For decades, Green Bay Wisconsin National Guardsmen stored munitions and trained new recruits in a stucco-clad, Chicago Street building built in 1918.
Now, the building is home to hundreds of fish babies.
The Farmory, an urban farming nonprofit, is the only indoor fish hatchery in Wisconsin.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/08/farmory-wisconsin-indoor-fish-farming-declining-fish-populations/
LAKE ORION, Mich. (AP) — State officials are investigating the deaths of hundreds of adult common carp at an Oakland County lake.
Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources said between 250 and 500 of the fish have been found dead since mid-July in Lake Orion, northwest of Detroit. Area residents reported the dead fish to the state agency.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/08/ap-state-investigating-common-carp-deaths-michigan/
As an avid angler, Great Lakes Now Host Ward Detwiler has encountered suckers, a bottom-feeding family of fish that are present in all five Great Lakes and spawn in the rivers of the watershed.
But he’s never been terribly mindful of them.
“It’s never something you’re really out looking for,” Detwiler said.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/07/suckers-scientist-best-supporting-fishes-great-lakes-food-web/
When the Milwaukee River Lake Sturgeon Reintroduction Project began 16 years ago, success wasn’t immediately apparent.
Having a solid scientific foundation for the project wasn’t the problem: sturgeon were raised in the Milwaukee River so they would return there to spawn when the time came. The problem was that lake sturgeon don’t return to a river to spawn for around 15 years.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/07/ways-see-touch-appreciate-sturgeon-great-lakes-region/
I was recently reminded of the summer I spent working a gold dredge on a remote creek in Michigan’s thumb. For eight hours each day, I knelt in waist-deep water sorting a steady flow of material moving along a two-foot-wide conveyor belt.
I was looking for treasure but not of the golden variety – our team was after an endangered freshwater mussel.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/07/fish-mussel-memory-endangered-species/
A pair of piping plovers appeared on a busy Chicago beach two years ago, and filmmaker Bob Dolgan recorded the human effort to protect the birds’ nest.
The result: a documentary film. Dolgan shared some of his footage with Great Lakes Now, which can be seen in this segment:
GLN’s Nick Austin spoke with Dolgan about his work chronicling “Monty and Rose,” the plover pair that’s inspired so much conservation of habitat in Chicago.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/07/birds-film-bob-dolgan-chicago-piping-plovers/
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Wolf pups have been spotted again on Isle Royale, a hopeful sign in the effort to rebuild the predator species’ population at the U.S. national park, scientists said Monday.
It’s unknown how many gray wolves roam the island chain in northwestern Lake Superior.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/07/ap-scientists-births-isle-royale-wolves/
On first attempt to reach Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Research Biologist David Fielder, he wasn’t monitoring fish populations or water quality. He was busy with a perch basket lunch.
The yellow perch is a staple of Great Lakes commercial and recreational fishing, and Friday fish fries.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/07/yellow-perch-low-populations-wisconsin-michigan-fishing/
Piping plovers, a small white-and-gray shorebird with striking orange legs, are making a comeback this summer – on the beach and at the bar.
The plover has been on the federal endangered species list since 1985, when the Great Lakes plover population dropped to about a dozen pairs.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/07/birds-brews-piping-plover-conservation-beer/
Collecting data for scientific research across large geographic areas can be challenging, but researchers have found an easy solution – the public.
The Huron River watershed covers 900 square miles, and the Huron River Watershed Council has been collecting data from the watershed for years. Yet collection from such an expansive area would not have been possible without the help of an army of dedicated citizen, or community, scientists.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/great-lakes-everyday-people-science-public/
For some, getting to contribute to scientific research might sound like a far-fetched possibility.
Jason Frenzel, stewardship coordinator at the Huron River Watershed Council, is one of the countless people working to change that assumption.
The HRWC is one of many organizations in the Great Lakes region that offer people, most with little prior scientific training, the opportunity to participate in science.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/citizen-science-opportunities/
I Speak for the Fish is a new monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor Kathy Johnson, coming out the third Monday of each month. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/fish-vernal-pools-baby-salamanders/
When biologist Jillian Farkas stepped into the position of piping plover coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in January 2020, there was no way she could have predicted just how unprecedented the coming season would be.
Her role involves coordinating dozens of scientists and volunteers across six states, two tribes and multiple government agencies—all to help preserve the endangered Great Lakes population of piping plovers.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/piping-plovers-recovery-population/
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The state Department of Natural Resources issued new consumption warnings Wednesday for fish taken from the Yahara chain of lakes and waterways in Dane and Rock counties after tests showed elevated levels of PFAS contamination.
The advisories apply to fish taken from Wingra and Starkweather creeks, lakes Monona, Kegonsa, Waubesa, Upper and Lower Mud lakes and the Yahara River downstream to the Rock River.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/ap-wisconsin-dnr-pfas-fish-consumption-warning/
There’s a bird emergency in the Great Lakes region, according to the National Audubon Society, but the nonprofit bird conservation organization is hoping to change that.
“This really is a bird emergency,” said Nat Miller, Audubon Great Lakes’ director of conservation. “We don’t think that’s hyperbole. As often is the case, birds currently serve as an indicator for larger environmental problems and today they’re telling us it’s a critical time now to act to save the wildlife, water and way of life in the Great Lakes region.”
In an effort to reduce this alarming trend, scientists and conservationists with The National Audubon Society recently released a wide-ranging and comprehensive blueprint to address climate change, pollution and other detrimental man-made effects on Great Lakes wetlands and coastal areas – and their bird populations.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/birds-wetlands-coastal-great-lakes-habitat-restoration/
Oxygen levels have dropped in hundreds of lakes in the United States and Europe over the last four decades, a new study found.
And the authors said declining oxygen could lead to increased fish kills, algal blooms and methane emissions.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/ap-hundreds-lakes-united-states-europe-losing-oxygen/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Brandon Chew, Great Lakes Echo
More fishing trips could cause more damage to native fish populations in the Canadian portion of the Great Lakes than aquatic invasive species, according to a recent study.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/new-anglers-great-lakes-fish-populations-invasive-species/
I Speak for the Fish is a new monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor Kathy Johnson, coming out the third Monday of each month. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/i-speak-for-the-fish/
The brief Black Lake sturgeon season which garners so much attention each year is over, but not for everyone.
The public face of the season usually begins and ends on a bitter-cold Saturday morning after six anglers spear their fish. After that, it’s over for citizens of Michigan and other states who travel for the opportunity to catch a big, long, tasty prehistoric fish.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/black-lake-sturgeon-fishing-indigenous-culture-conservation/
Microplastics act like a chemical sponge, soaking up contaminants such as persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/chemical-impact-microplastic-pollution/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
As daylight lengthens and water temperatures slowly begin to warm, walleye overwintering in Lake Erie take their cue that it is time to spawn.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/walleye-frenzy-detroit-river/
DETROIT (AP) — Now that’s a whopper — a very old whopper!
A 240-pound (108.8 kilograms) sturgeon that could be more than 100 years old was caught last week in the Detroit River by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/ap-240-pound-fish-sturgeon-detroit-river/
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded grants to Central Michigan University and Clarkson University to continue monitoring coastal wetlands and fish contaminants throughout the Great Lakes basin.
Central Michigan will receive $10 million to monitor approximately 1,000 wetlands over the next five years.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/ap-epa-great-lakes-grants-central-michigan-clarkson/
The rules that govern fishing in the Great Lakes – commercially and for sport – are about to change, perhaps dramatically. That’s because Great Lakes fish are a shared resource, and because of profound changes in fish populations, there is less to share.
It’s difficult to know exactly what will change.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/native-rights-where-great-lakes-tribes-fish-how-much/
By Ben Goldfarb, Hakai Magazine
This story originally appeared in Hakai Magazine and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.
In the world of competitive sportfishing, the name Arostegui is royalty.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/microfishing-angling-recreational-fishing/
Waterfowl hunters began buying them nearly a century ago. Just after that, collectors joined the fun.
Since its inception in 1934 when Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act into law, the duck stamp (as it’s commonly known) has garnered more than $1 billion for habitat conservation in the national wildlife refuge system.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/duck-stamp-impacts-great-lakes-nationwide-refuge/
By Lester Graham, Michigan Radio
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/scientists-bottom-food-web-great-lakes/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network.
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/lawsuit-michigan-wolf-advisory-group-stacked-with-hunting-advocates/
As the pandemic wears on, antidepressant use is on the rise.
Claims for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors increased by 17% in Canada between 2019 and 2020, according to one report. In the United States, the number of prescriptions filled per week for antidepressant, anti-anxiety and anti-insomnia medications increased 21% between Feb.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/fish-study-pandemic-antidepressant-freshwater-ecosystems/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/report-lake-michigan-more-storms-less-fish/
As spring comes to the Great Lakes region and icy roads and sidewalks become a distant memory, a new study shows the salt we apply over the winter can linger in summertime rivers at alarming levels.
The University of Toronto study measured chloride in four Greater Toronto Area rivers and found it was high enough in many locations to put at least two-thirds of aquatic life at risk during early stages of their development.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/salt-levels-wintertime-de-icing-toronto-rivers-summer/
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Chippewa tribal officials in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan have blasted the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for putting on what they say was a poorly planned wolf season during which state-licensed hunters blew past their quota in a matter of days.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/ap-chippewa-tribes-blast-wolf-hunt/
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — The number of lake trout that are reproducing in Lake Champlain is up, meaning there is less of a need to stock the fish this year, biologists say.
A stocking program begun in the 1950s by Vermont, New York, and the federal government through the Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife Management Cooperative has in recent years been stocking 82,000 yearling trout in the lake annually.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/ap-biologists-lake-trout-champlain/
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Powerful gusts linked to global warming are damaging water quality and creating a hazard for fish in Lake Erie and perhaps elsewhere in the Great Lakes, according to researchers.
Extremely high winds occasionally churn up deep water with low oxygen and high levels of phosphorus in Erie’s central basin and shove it into the shallower western section, creating a hazard for fish and insects on which they feed.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/ap-scientists-climate-whipped-winds-great-lakes-hazards/
Last year when the Midland dams gave way, more than 21 billion gallons of water rushed into the Tittabawassee River. More than three and a quarter billion gallons of that ended up in the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/wetlands-property-damage-save-lives-floods/
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Payments for dead wolves. Unlimited hunting of the animals. Shooting wolves from the air.
Wolf hunting policies in some states are taking an aggressive turn, as Republican lawmakers and conservative hunting groups push to curb their numbers and propose tactics shunned by many wildlife managers.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/ap-us-states-wolf-kills-pushed-by-republicans/
When Chris Wilson speared a 63-inch, 61-pound sturgeon, it was only moments after he lugged the fish out of his shanty before a small crowd appeared. Some trotted over from nearby shanties and one man rode up on an ATV – he wasn’t fishing but simply spending the morning checking out the season.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/sturgeon-spearing-conservation-efforts-fish/
Two simple, white signs marked “WPSC” on small posts are all that mark its existence to most of the public. The posts sit on either side of a narrow road that turns to gravel then disappears shortly after into the woods and is the gateway to the oldest continuously operating – and most storied – waterfowl hunting club in North America.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/winous-point-conservation-research-history-oldest-hunting-clubs/
With warming temperatures, fluctuating water levels and a series of extreme storms, Lake Superior is undergoing dramatic alterations amid climate change.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/future-lake-superior-climate-disruption-climate-change/
Warming waters are hard on some fish, such as walleye, and more favorable to others, such as smallmouth bass. With so many environmental stresses, it’s difficult to gauge the future of individual lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/michigan-inland-lakes-ice-fishing-fish-less-ice/
