Trout season opened across most of Ontario on Saturday, but the owner and co-host of a Canadian fishing TV show is urging anglers in southern Ontario to reconsider casting their lines. With many public boat launches closed, there is concern that limited riverbanks will be busy and anglers won’t be able to maintain physical distance. Read the full story by CBC News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200427-fishing

Margo Davis

In 2019 Republican Mike DeWine got the Ohio General Assembly to fund an unprecedented, statewide commitment to water quality branded under the moniker H2Ohio. Now, because of costs associated with the coronavirus pandemic, it’s in limbo. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200427-h2ohio

Margo Davis

April 24, 2020

This week: Gov. Whitmer’s Water Service Restoration Order Reports Are Available Online + Weak EPA Means More Water Pollution + Environmental Group Finds Elevated PFAS Levels In Creek Sediments + 10-Years Later, Still No Cleanup Plan at Air Force Base + Ignoring COVID-19, Enbridge Wants to Move Forward With Line 5 + Great Lakes Inspire Hope

Gov. Whitmer’s Water Service Restoration Order Reports Are Available Online: Cities Don’t Have Sufficient Information to Find Disconnected Homes

The Restoration Reports from water systems indicate that water service is slowly being restored to Michigan homes with over 1,500 residents getting water turned on in their homes, and we celebrate that change. We also call on the systems to ensure that they take all steps necessary to determine where residents still do not have water and ensure reconnections take place.  Statements in the reports such as cities “giving their best efforts to determine which occupied residences within their service areas do not have water service” is concerning and Freshwater Future is working with many localities to ensure this data is secured as quickly as possible. Governor Whitmer ordered water service restoration as a measure to fight against COVID-19.  Water reconnections are required to be reported to the state as well as posted online for residents. Residents can track the progress in each community by clicking here.

Weak EPA Means More Water Pollution

Weak enforcement of environmental regulations by the EPA under the Trump administration is resulting in more water pollution.  A report released this week shows that since the President took office, compliance with the Clean Water Act has declined significantly, with 62% more facilities in “significant noncompliance” compared with fiscal years 2012-2017. The EPA is initiating over 28% fewer enforcement actions. Unfortunately, many of the facilities out of compliance are located in low-income communities, putting these residents at greater risks for public health threats.  

Environmental Group Finds Elevated PFAS Levels In Creek Sediments

An environmental group, working with a group of teens in East Madison, WI discovered elevated PFAS levels in Starkweather Creek sediment. Governmental agencies assured Midwest Environmental Justice Organization (MEJO) officials PFAS levels were low in the sediment. However, reports showed significantly high PFAS levels of 21,000 parts-per-trillion. MEJO executive director, Maria Powell, PhD, calls on government officials to require more testing to determine health impacts and move forward with cleanup.

10-Years Later, Still No Cleanup Plan at Air Force Base

For a decade, an investigation of PFAS pollution at Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda, MI has been gathering data. Activists and local advisory board members are understandably upset as the Air Force receives $13.5 million only to further the investigation rather than take necessary actions to clean-up the contamination. U.S. Air Force officials state there is no imminent threat to Oscoda’s drinking water, since alternative water supplies are being provided.  However, advisories limit the amount of fish and game that can be eaten in the area and residents are to avoid contact with foamy lake water.

Ignoring COVID-19, Enbridge Wants to Move Forward With Replacement Pipeline and Tunnel

Enbridge owners press Michigan regulators to announce that a permit to replace Line 5 is not needed and that construction can begin. Opponents say permits are needed and the process should be delayed until COVID-19 ends to allow citizens to fully engage in the project. In addition, Enbridge submitted a different set of applications to State and Federal agencies for permits to construct the tunnel.

Great Lakes Inspire Hope

National Geographic Explorer, Amy Sacka reflects on how the Great Lakes inspire hope in honor of the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day. The amazing people living in the Great Lakes region give us hope, and Freshwater Future staff will continue to take and support action to protect our waters, the life source that connects us all.

Original Article

Blog – Freshwater Future

Blog – Freshwater Future

https://freshwaterfuture.org/uncategorized/freshwater-weekly-april-27-2020/

Alexis Smith

The Great Lakes are our H.O.M.E.S. They’re also the HOMES of many plants and animals. The places we enjoy visiting – like beaches, dunes, forests and wetlands – are home to fish, birds, insects, plants and other creatures. This week, your kids will be learning about Great Lakes creatures and making a diorama of a Great Lakes habitat!

Time/Materials

This activity will take between one and two hours. 

You’ll need:

  • Computer
  • Cardboard box
  • construction paper
  • scissors
  • crayons/markers
  • Other art supplies
  • Optional: printer

Ready? Head to the Classroom!

Watch the video below to learn about Great Lakes animals and habitats.

Share the Learning

Discuss with your kid(s): Which Great Lakes habitats have you visited or seen photos of? What types of plants and animals live there? Why do you think they live there (e.g. habitat, food)? 

Activity

Print out a creature card, or draw a native Great Lakes species, and make a diorama. Check out our example!

Extra Credit

Parents: Share your kid’s Great Lakes habitat diorama on social media! And if you tag the Alliance for the Great Lakes, we might share it, too.

Deep Dive

Want to learn more? Check out these resources!

Find more Great Lakes lessons at H.O.M.E.School.

 

 

The post H.O.M.E.School Week 4: Habitats appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.

Original Article

News – Alliance for the Great Lakes

News – Alliance for the Great Lakes

https://greatlakes.org/2020/04/homeschool-habitats/

Kirsten Ballard

Wisconsin Historical Society archaeologists lead Wisconsin Sea Grant-funded effort

A century ago, Lake Michigan was a busy water highway for the lumber trade, connecting merchants in northern Wisconsin and Michigan with customers in bustling cities like Milwaukee and Chicago. While this Great Lakes lumber trade persisted into the 1920s and ‘30s, it peaked in the late 1800s. At one time, about 500 vessels traversed Lake Michigan as part of this trade, before rail and eventually trucking took over.

Shipwrecks help tell the story of the Great Lakes lumber trade. The Wisconsin Historical Society’s (WHS) highly active program in maritime archaeology documents these and other wrecks and shares its findings through a variety of educational efforts.

Now, through funding from Wisconsin Sea Grant, WHS is embarking on a new, two-year project called “Boatloads of Lumber.” One key outcome will be online learning resources tailored to a range of ages. WHS Maritime Archaeologists Caitlin Zant and Tamara Thomsen will lead the project, which also involves Wisconsin Sea Grant’s Anne Moser, who oversees the Wisconsin Water Library and education activities.

Caitlin Zant talks to Girl Scouts at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum about shipwrecks and the aquatic sciences. (Photo: Wendy Lutzke)

Said Zant, “Our program [at the Historical Society] does a lot of outreach and education, but a lot of it is focused on public presentations to a broad audience, and not really working as closely as we might with museum educators to create programming and activities for kids of all ages.”

Zant said requests have been increasing to speak to groups like 4-H, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.

Although this project, a part of Sea Grant’s 2020-22 funding cycle, has been in the planning stages for quite some time, the current COVID-19 pandemic and rapid shift to online instruction has made it even more relevant.

Said Zant, “Especially with recent events, everyone’s clamoring for this kind of content that anyone can teach to kids, to keep education going no matter what the age or no matter what the circumstances.”

The online resources will be developed in concert with museum educators, including those at museums devoted to maritime history. Collaborators include the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc, the Port Exploreum in Port Washington and the Door County Maritime Museum’s locations in Sturgeon Bay and Gills Rock.

By end of year one, Zant said that museum educators will have tested draft versions of the new resources. Feedback from the educators will help the team refine the tools, and final versions will be ready by the end of year two.

Sea Grant’s Moser will help ensure that the tools convey a cohesive message in terms of Great Lakes literacy. Shipwrecks can be a way for learners of all ages to connect with other issues affecting the Great Lakes, from aquatic invasive species and water quality to currents and sand movement.

Diving into history

A second key aspect of the “Boatloads of Lumber” project is a field school to help recreational divers and archaeology enthusiasts learn techniques to properly survey and document wrecks they may find.

After a day of diving and collecting data, students in the 2015 field school work on the site plan of the shipwreck Grape Shot. (Photo: Tamara Thomsen, Wisconsin Historical Society)

As Zant noted, her office at WHS does not go out in search of shipwrecks, generally speaking. However, they do get valuable tips from members of the public when shifting sands and varying water levels uncover parts of a wreck. With training, history buffs and divers can learn more about maritime archaeology skills like how to draw underwater.

WHS first tried a field school approach in 2015, working with the Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association on a wreck in Door County. It was a great success.

For the current grant project, the focus will be on the Sidney O. Neff, a wooden vessel built in 1890 by a Manitowoc company. It sank in 1939 with no loss of life. Now it lies, heavily covered by invasive quagga mussels, in about 12 feet of water near the Marinette lighthouse.

Said Zant, “The Sidney O. Neff is well suited for learning because it is in a relatively protected area” with fairly shallow water. “Over the course of the project, students can come up out of the water and ask questions. We try to make [the field school] as safe an environment as possible. Sometimes people are working underwater for the first time.”

The Minnesota-based Great Lakes Shipwreck Preservation Society has been a key partner in these field schools and will also participate in the Sidney O. Neff project.

Wisconsin stories—and national, too

Thanks to the diligence of Wisconsin’s maritime archaeologists, Wisconsin has the most individually listed shipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places. (Shipwrecks, like buildings, may also be listed in groups as “districts.”)

The field of maritime archaeology excites Zant because it weaves together so many individual strands, from diving to archival research to public outreach and education. And getting shipwrecks in Wisconsin waters onto the National Register helps preserve and tell a larger story about their importance and history.

Said Zant, “Our state has been really active in using the National Register criteria… as a way to be able record these shipwrecks and then understand their historical significance not only to Wisconsin, but also to the country as a whole. They have this whole backstory that connects Wisconsin to the East Coast, and that connects the East Coast all the way out to the frontier, and it really tells this story on a more national level.”

Original Article

News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/maritime-archaeology-initiative-will-bring-wisconsins-historic-lumber-trade-alive-for-learners-of-all-ages/

Jennifer Smith

Single Systems: Great Lakes cities’ sewer designs mean waste in the waters

A big storm can overwhelm a treatment plant’s capacity, leading to storm and wastewater bypassing the plant and ending up untreated in the lake. 

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/rust-resilience-sewer-wastewater-infrastructure/

Dave Rosenthal

By Eric Freedman Capital News Service Nobody knows how many abandoned mine features such as tunnels, shafts, pits and waste piles remain on federal land in Michigan and elsewhere, but untold numbers of them pose safety and environmental threats, a new General Accountability Office (GAO) report says. The National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau […]

Original Article

Great Lakes Echo

Great Lakes Echo

http://greatlakesecho.org/2020/04/27/abandoned-mines-aplenty-but-cash-to-clean-close-them-scarcer/

Eric Freedman

...INCREASED RISK OF WILD FIRES CONTINUES INTO THIS EVENING... The combination of mild temperatures and low relative humidity readings of 20 to 35 percent will lead to an increased risk of wild fires into this evening, especially away from the Bay of Green Bay and Lake Michigan. Use caution if burning, grilling or using equipment that could

Original Article

Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service

Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service

https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F473A5CEC.SpecialWeatherStatement.125F474690C0WI.GRBSPSGRB.3b77a733acfe35fc01f412b80021d336

w-nws.webmaster@noaa.gov

...INCREASED RISK OF WILD FIRES THIS AFTERNOON INTO THIS EVENING... The combination of temperatures in the middle 50s to lower 60s and low relative humidity readings of 20 to 35 percent will lead to an increased risk of wild fires this afternoon into this evening, especially north and west of the Fox Valley. Winds this afternoon

Original Article

Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service

Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service

https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F4739D2A4.SpecialWeatherStatement.125F473A5BC0WI.GRBSPSGRB.3b77a733acfe35fc01f412b80021d336

w-nws.webmaster@noaa.gov

Shipping season on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway opened on April 1, so the Windsor Port Authority issued a message Wednesday that it remains fully open for business and fulfilling its vital role during ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Read the full story by Windsor Star.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200424-climate-change

Ned Willig

Great Lakes Learning: Model the population dynamics of invasive species at home

As the author of Great Lakes Now’s Collection of Lesson Plans, educational consultant Gary Abud Jr. is now providing more support for parents, teachers and caregivers who want to incorporate Great Lakes learning into their time with children and students. His series of writings can be found HERE along with the lesson plans and a Virtual Field Trip.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/great-lakes-learning-population-dynamics-invasive-species/

Gary Abud Jr.

In the ‘climate refuge’ city of Duluth, a fight brews over the hometown utility

There has been a growing climate movement in Duluth, a city that advertises itself as an outdoor haven with access to fresh air, clean water and Lake Superior.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/rust-resilience-minnesota-climate-refuge-utility/

MinnPost

As energy use changes in the Great Lakes, so too does the world’s largest freshwater port

The Port of Duluth-Superior is one of the largest ports in the U.S., and its second largest commodity is coal.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/rust-resilience-coal-port-minnesota/

MinnPost

With turkey season and UP walleye season scheduled to start soon, the extension of the governor’s stay-at-home order with travel restrictions and ban on motorized watercraft use are worrying hunters and anglers. DNR has made adjustments for turkey hunters.

Original Article

Great Lakes Echo

Great Lakes Echo

http://greatlakesecho.org/2020/04/24/hunters-anglers-fret-over-outdoor-restrictions/

Guest Contributor

Check the new USGS Learning From Home portal for weekly lesson plans and activities, grades K – 12.

Students of all ages can always tap into the USGS Resources for Teachers for over 140 years of USGS research in the natural sciences in the form of lesson plans and activities, maps, podcasts, online lectures, videos and animations, and much more. Browse thousands of ideas for using these resources in elementary, secondary, university, and informal education settings.

Other links for learning from USGS:

USGS Geology and Ecology of National Parks

Original Article

USGS.gov

USGS.gov

https://www.usgs.gov/news/learning-home-usgs

hkoontz@usgs.gov

PFAS News Roundup: Wurtsmith PFAS remediation funds going to research not cleanup, Wisconsin DNR continues testing

PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.

Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/pfas-wurtsmith-remediation-wisconsin-new-york-michigan/

Natasha Blakely

Shipping season on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway opened on April 1, so the Windsor Port Authority issued a message Wednesday that it remains fully open for business and fulfilling its vital role during ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Read the full story by Windsor Star.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200423-port-authority

Patrick Canniff

In Illinois, Indiana and the four other Midwest states surrounding the Great Lakes, the number of water pollution cases filed by the EPA has declined during each of the past three years, according to a new analysis of agency records by the nonprofit Environmental Law and Policy Center. Read the full story by Chicago Tribune.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200423-epa-enforcement

Patrick Canniff

In Indiana, five communities have made emergency declarations due damages related to erosion, this concern is also due in part that it could also drive tourists away; millions visit Indiana’s lakeshore every year, contributing more than $350 million to the local economy annually. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200423-shorelines

Patrick Canniff

A lack of protective ice cover on Lake Erie this winter plus historic high-water levels has led to changing priorities in Pennsylvania’s Presque Isle from bolstering beach and swimming areas to instead making sure that infrastructure is safe. Read the full story by Erie Times News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200423-erosion-presque

Patrick Canniff

During a virtual meeting on Wednesday, the Michigan Public Service Commission voted to seek public comment on Enbridge’s most recent request, which asks the state to either approve its plan to site the pipeline or rule that the company already has approval. Read the full story by Bridge Magazine.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200423-line5

Patrick Canniff

For many people in the Midwest, Lake Michigan is a great source of pride and identity. Even though the lake has a critical impact on us, we fail to recognize the uncertainty of Lake Michigan’s future by not addressing or accepting the reality of climate change. Read the full story by Marquette Wire.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200423-home-lakes

Patrick Canniff

American Steamship Co. with more than a century of transportation history in Buffalo, has become the latest victim of financial struggles prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, temporarily laying off 175 workers as it seeks to keep its operation afloat. Read the full story by The Buffalo News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200423-shipping-lakes

Patrick Canniff

A leatherback sea turtle. Image credit: Alastair Rae

By Elise Ertl, University of Wisconsin-Superior

Our student blogger intern, Elise, shares a story about her experience a few years ago helping leatherback sea turtles in Costa Rica. An estimated 34,000 to 36,000 nesting females are now left worldwide, compared to 115,000 in 1980.  Elise traveled with her mother, who is a biology teacher in north-central Wisconsin. We hope you enjoy this virtual trip to the tropics!

The air is hot and humid. The summer breeze smells of sea salt and wet sand, something the trees experience all the time. How luxurious for the trees — moisture-laden air, golden, sunny rays and fertilized ground. Their trunks are weathered, yet untouched and strong. The soil materializes to a dark, moist brown that I could imagine seeping through my toes as my feet begin to sink.

I envy the Costa Ricans their way of life. They seem happy, carefree and to enjoy living a simple life. One of their sayings, “Pura Vida,” means pure life, better translated to, “don’t take life so seriously,” or, “take it easy.” I wish life could always be thought of in this way. I want to relax and take life slowly, one step at a time. That’s not the kind of life that I am used to, but is something for which I deeply long.

Something else I deeply cherish is Costa Ricans’ regard for nature. In Costa Rica, harming or killing any animal is illegal, including the minute mosquito or spider.  I think of it as a recognition of the delicate balance of the ecosystem that can be found in the rainforests of their country. As one Costa Rican explained, “We are just one small part of nature. Nature is our home. We must respect every living creature as we respect ourselves.” Every hour I spend learning and exploring the grounds of Costa Rica, the more I fall in love with the people and their values.

Elise Ertl and friend. Submitted image.

I am on my way to Pacaure Reserve, a small research center for leatherback sea turtles, the largest species of sea turtle. I am sitting in the back of a van whipping down a long winding road. I pull out my water bottle and take a sip of my warm water to try and ease the nausea of motion sickness. Don’t throw up. Don’t throw up.

I wish my spinning head would still. I am aware that alongside the road waterfalls flow over bright green vines, clay and rock, but my head blends it all together.

We finally veer off the never-ending bending road, and I never thought I would be so happy to feel the bumpiness of a gravel surface. Any road is better than the previous one! The spinning slowly subsides the more I focus on the view outside my window. This area is not like what I had seen so far but rather dry and could probably use a good day of rain. The van pulls up alongside a river where two men wait for us with their two boats. Normally, I would not hop in a boat with a strange man, but these men smile, laugh, and obviously care about my safety as they hand me a life jacket.

The boats are nothing fancy, made of tin and painted dark green with metal seats. Knowing the boats are a bit tipsy, the man reaches for my hand and I reluctantly take his offer. I tumble into the rocky boat, catching myself and scorching my hand on a hot metal seat. My skin turns bright red and feels like it is on fire. I am an inch away from sticking my hand in the water to find relief when I feel my wrist snatched.

A Costa Rican crocodile. Image by Craig Hemsath.

“No, no, no,” the man says, looking at me with wide eyes and gaping mouth. “Keep your hands inside the boat at all times. There are crocodiles everywhere.”

An alarm goes off in my head. “There’s crocodiles everywhere!?” I say as my expression begins to match the man’s. I look around and sure enough, every 10 feet along the river edge, crocodiles lurk. Dark brown, yellow-eyed crocodiles and their babies await their next meal. “Thank you,” I say as he lets go of my wrist, and we both sigh in relief.

The boat ride is stunning, and I even grow to like the crocodiles soaking up the sun on the sand pits of the water’s edge. Birds whose songs I do not recognize are singing louder and louder in a call and response to one another. I see one peculiar black, skinny beak sticking up from the water, moving from one area to the next. The man driving my boat is a native, and I ask him what that animal with the long sharp beak is called.

An anhinga. Image by Craig Hemsath.

He responds, “That is an Anhinga. They eat crocodiles.” Alarmed at first, I find comfort in the thought that this small but mighty bird is my protector against the crocodiles.

The boats stop by a short sand pathway that leads to our final destination, the Pacuare Reserve. As we walk up the shore with our gear on our backs, the first thing we notice is a small brown building with a concrete patio out front. People are gathered at the picnic tables, eating a meal of rice, black beans and fried plantains. What we don’t know is that meal would become the same one we would eat for the next two weeks. Everyone gathered introduces themselves as the researchers of the project and the ones who will be helping us with our sea turtle research. They all look fresh out of college and happy to be spending their time on this reserve.

Soon after meeting the researchers, the owner of the reserve shows us where we will be staying. Long, tan and skinny yurts reminiscent of a Girl Scout camp stand before me, except this time, the spiders will be enjoying their stay with us, since we cannot kill them here. To avoid ants and other animals coming into the yurts, we are told to make sure there is absolutely no food in our bags, and to come back to the concrete patio as soon as we are ready. We are starting our training right away.

Down at the patio, the researchers split us into groups and take us down to the beach. On our way, I notice signs written in Spanish lining the rocky trail, showing pictures of the different types of Tortugas (turtles) that come to nest on this beach. We are here to document the number of leatherback sea turtles that come to nest, measure their length and width, collect their eggs and relocate them to safe place on the beach where poachers and predators cannot find them.

Our training begins with a group activity to build the best, and most accurately sized, leatherback sand sea turtle. We start sculpting turtles out of the moist sand, having no idea how big these turtles really are. Our sand modeling done, the researchers teach us how to properly measure a turtle, but note that our turtles are only three feet long, when the average leather back turtle is six- to seven-and-a-half-feet long.  My group can’t imagine a turtle longer than an arm’s length.

The instructors teach us everything we need to know to assist the researchers. As we learn, I realize how ingenious these creatures are. Leatherbacks implement a defense against predators by laying different-sized eggs. The first 100 or so eggs are fertilized and about the size of a billiard ball, while the next 30 to 50 eggs are unfertilized and ping-pong-ball-sized. By placing fake eggs on top, the mother leatherback increases her young’s chance of survival.

The researchers tell us we are now ready to begin our first night shift out of 14, but none of us realizes how unprepared we are for what we are about to witness.

Night after night, we scour the beaches, hoping our group will be the next to help the half-ton, egg-bearing mother leatherback sea turtle deliver her young to safety. As the days go on, the outlook becomes more and more grim as we have not seen any turtles, but both of the other groups had seen and helped one, if not two, already.

It’s my group’s final night shift at the reserve. After walking down the beach, I gaze over the darkened water, only seeing as far as the moonlight allows. The sound of the ocean waves swaying so gracefully makes me feel as if I could close my eyes and lie down to drift away. Taking in a deep breath of fresh, warm air, I almost don’t care if I see a turtle or not. As magnificent as it would be, I have so much magnificence already in front of me — a vast ocean joined by never-ending rainforest — and I am standing on the centerpiece. Bioluminescent algae make the water glow in the dark and the sands sparkle in every direction. In the night, I hear waves, and I feel wind. I even smell the alarming and musky scent of a jaguar.

Life doesn’t stop at night. When the Earth falls silent and the lights turn off, the creatures of the night awake. Not monsters and ghosts, but hidden gems that gleam in daylight’s absence. A new world is brought alive without the sun’s perpetual shadow.

Our group leader, Laura, interrupts my wandering thoughts with a hushed voice telling us to crouch down. When my eyes settle, I see a massive creature emerging from the many-thousand-mile trip she endured across the ocean. The group falls silent in awe and disbelief. Two front flippers rise from the ground in tremendous effort to pull herself through the sand and up toward the trees lining the beach edge. Ten seconds between each pull forward and nine seconds of heavy, laborious breathing. I can hear the air being inhaled through her nostrils and exhaled with every task, leading to her utter exhaustion.

She reaches the top of the beach and turns her body to face the ocean. Using her two back flippers, she forms a scoop and begins to dig and dig until her flippers can reach no farther, and falls into a trance to begin the laying process.

We slowly move closer to the mother sea turtle. The nearer I get, the more I realize she’s been here longer than any of us have been alive and her ancestors longer than humans have been on Earth. Sea turtles truly are dinosaurs of the sea.

We use a red light to not awaken or disturb her. If she were to see white light, she would think it is daytime and descend back to the water to lay her eggs another time.

We take the measurements of her five-ridged shell. Her length measures six feet, seven inches. Her width from front flipper to front flipper measures six feet, ten inches. We place a large, sturdy bag into the dug-out hole behind the mother turtle just before she begins to lay, and we count. One, two, three, four, one after another, billiard-ball-sized eggs stack slowly filling up toward the top.

We count 83 eggs and then she lays 30 unfertilized, golf-ball-sized eggs over her children as a blanket of disguise against potential predators. The temperature of the upcoming days will determine the sex of the baby turtles. If temperatures are warm, females will be born, and if temperatures are cooler, the turtles will be male.

After around 45 minutes, we close the bag and allow her to fill the hole back up with sand. She soon departs back down toward the water. I hear her take one last breath, this time sounding of relief, and watch her fade away to spend her life in the mysterious sea.

I realize I have just experienced a small slice of her life, and I am forever grateful to have been a part of something so special.

We remove the eggs from the original hole dug by the mother and relocate them to one of our own making with the exact same measurements of 28 inches deep, which we dug in a safer spot. We place the eggs bottom to top, largest to smallest.

I can’t help but think of the long, dangerous journey these baby turtles will embark on once they hatch, and hope they live to experience a life like their mother. I hope these turtles return to this same beach at the Pacuare Reserve to lay their eggs. I hope another young person like myself will get share the chillingly beautiful experience of hearing a mother sea turtle’s breath, and I hope they will cherish being a part of such a pivotal moment in her life. Maybe one day, my child and one of this mother sea turtle’s children will meet on this very same beach, and share the same experience we had today.

As we head back to the reserve, I’m overwhelmed to have witnessed something so grand and so beautiful. I want to stay here forever and feel this again and again like it was the first time, but tonight is my last night and tomorrow, we leave.

The people here are immersed in these surroundings every day. They live in nature, nature doesn’t live around them. They take moments to slow down and remember what is truly important in life and what is worth valuing, such as the endangered leatherback sea turtles. That is now something I strive for day after day, and I hope one day, I too will find myself saying “Pura Vida” on the sunny, tan beaches of Costa Rica.

 

Original Article

Blog – Wisconsin Sea Grant

Blog – Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/dinosaurs-of-the-sea/

Marie Zhuikov

COVID-19 has pushed thousands of teachers, executives, journalists, students, health care providers and others to video-chat platforms. While they learn to navigate the technology, they might want to check behind themselves. Their background delivers as much of a message as their words.

Original Article

Great Lakes Echo

Great Lakes Echo

http://greatlakesecho.org/2020/04/23/covid-19-causes-many-to-look-over-their-shoulders/

David Poulson

Shrinking Shorelines: Climate change-related erosion threatens Great Lakes coasts

Increasing erosion on the Great Lakes shoreline is threatening beaches, parks and other recreation areas used by people across the region.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/rust-resilience-climate-change-shoreline-erosion/

Indiana Public Broadcasting

This year’s Earth Day is a special one, and not just because it’s the 50th anniversary of the event. The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t entirely stopped festivities being organized for April 22, and numerous organizations have arranged for ways people can engage with Earth Day without compromising safety. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200422-earth-day-participation

Samantha Stanton

The Environmental Protection Agency recently signed a $2.5 million agreement to clean Michigan’s Detroit River and create new habitat for wildlife. The money will be used to clean contaminated river sediments and create homes for fish and wildlife in a cove area at a park being built along Detroit’s waterfront. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200422-detroit-riverfront

Samantha Stanton

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, announced recently that Lakes Michigan, Huron, St. Clair and Erie set new monthly mean water level records for March 2020, which were previously set in 1986. Read the full story by the Harbor Light.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200422-new-monthly-water-level

Samantha Stanton

An MLive series explores coal-ash management in Michigan and what happens when the ash, a form of industrial waste known to contain toxins, escapes into the environment. The series also discusses how Michigan’s major utility companies plan to deal with the waste once they no longer have power plants at those locations. Read the full story by MLive.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200422-coal-ash-landfills

Samantha Stanton

Traverse City-based nonprofit Conservation Resource Alliance (CRA) received $200,000 in Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to support Wild Roots, a mass reforestation pilot-program aimed at restoring northern Michigan’s native forests with 100,000 trees and shrubs over five years. Read the full story by The Ticker.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200422-glri-grant-award

Samantha Stanton

A committee is being put together by the U.S. Coast Guard’s Ninth District headquartered in Cleveland to explore whether another vessel is needed to help with ice breaking in the Great Lakes. The process is expected to take at least a couple of years. Read the full story by Cheboygan Daily Tribune.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200422-cheboygan-ice-breaker

Samantha Stanton

At a Flint, Michigan City Council committee meeting today, Flint’s mayor will ask the council to reconsider a delay in moving forward with the construction of a secondary water system. Read the full story by WSMH-TV – Flint, MI.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200422-flint-city-council

Samantha Stanton