The 136-year-old historic lighthouse at Tawas Point State Park in Michigan will reopen to the public in 2024 following a successful restoration effort this year. Read the full story by MLive Media Group.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231006-lighthouse-restoration
The city of Willoughby and the Western Reserve Land Conservancy in Ohio have partnered to preserve 105-acres of natural habitat in the Chagrin River watershed with more than $1.7 million from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Read the full story by Ideastream Public Media.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231006-land-preservation
Erie Coke, which was closed in 2019 because of chronic environmental issues, left behind decades worth of pollution that pose a threat to Lake Erie. The Erie County Redevelopment Authority purchased the corporation property, tore down buildings, and completed an extensive environmental cleanup. Read the full story by Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231006-erie-coke-cleanup
The Detroit River’s reputation has become notorious over the decades due to pollution, but restoration efforts are working, and scientists want to see those improvements reflected in the river’s environmental status. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231006-detroit-river
Michigan experts are encouraging residents to squash the invasive spotted lanternfly as the destructive insect rapidly spreads throughout the Great Lakes region. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231006-squish-invasive-bug
Enbridge Energy asked a state oversight panel for help as they complain that federal regulators are unreasonably delaying a key permit for the Line 5 tunnel project under the Straits of Mackinac between Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas. Read the full story by the Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231006-line5
Steel production fell by 7,000 tons in the Great Lakes region last week, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. Read the full story by the Northwest Indiana Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231006-steel-production
As climate change pushes the Great Lakes region’s cold water lakes and rivers to a breaking point, government officials acknowledge there simply isn’t enough capacity, time and money to save them all. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231006-climate-change
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
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/2023/10/in-warming-great-lakes-climate-triage-means-some-cold-waters-wont-be-saved/
The Great Lakes region’s more than 300 bird species may provide valuable mental health benefits.
A recent study from Carleton University in Ontario shows there are fewer mental health-related hospitalizations in Michigan areas with high bird diversity.
The post Bird songs may ease the blues first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2023/10/06/bird-songs-may-ease-the-blues/
Wisconsin Water Library
https://waterlibrary.aqua.wisc.edu/banned-books-week-2023/
This week, Wisconsin Sea Grant and Midwest Environmental Advocates launched Public Trust, a new podcast miniseries that explores Wisconsin’s response to PFAS contamination. Host Richelle Wilson visits communities impacted by these toxic “forever chemicals” to understand how local residents have been affected and what they’re doing to secure their rights to clean water. The miniseries is presented as part of the award-winning The Water We Swim In podcast.
Wisconsin Sea Grant video and podcast producer Bonnie Willison traveled with Richelle to French Island and Peshtigo to conduct interviews with community members. “Many of us take clean drinking water for granted, so hearing from these Wisconsinites on the front lines of PFAS contamination is sobering. I’m glad I’m able to help bring these voices to the public through our partnership with Midwest Environmental Advocates,” said Willison.
Preview the podcast series here.
The first episode of Public Trust takes listeners to the small town of Campbell on French Island to find out what it’s like when an entire community can no longer safely use its tap water. French Island resident and local official Lee Donahue takes listeners on a tour of the neighborhood and tells the story of how local drinking water was contaminated by PFAS-containing firefighting foam used at the La Crosse Airport.
Not only are Lee Donahue and her neighbors telling their stories, they’re also actively engaged in advocating for new environmental health protections, including a statewide groundwater quality standard for PFAS. While Wisconsin has a water quality standard that limits the level of PFAS in municipal drinking water, there’s no equivalent standard for groundwater. That’s a problem for communities like French Island, which depend entirely on private wells for their drinking water.
Later in the series, Public Trust takes listeners to the communities of Peshtigo and Marinette, where for years, local residents have been engaged in a David-and-Goliath battle with a major firefighting foam manufacturer that has polluted their drinking water and created one of the largest sites of PFAS contamination in the country.
The series concludes with a trip to the northwoods, where Wisconsin Sea Grant emerging contaminants scientist Gavin Dehnert is working with the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission to look for PFAS in tribally-harvested goods like wild rice, maple sap, and walleye.
Public Trust can be found here or wherever they get their podcasts.
The post Podcast Miniseries Highlights Stories of Wisconsin Communities Impacted by PFAS Pollution first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/publictrust/
Oregon, Ohio – At its Annual Meeting, held this week on the shores of Lake Erie in Oregon, Ohio, the Great Lakes Commission (GLC) elected a new chair and vice chair and passed resolutions calling for reform of U.S Army Corps of Engineers project partnership agreements and increased funding for dredging of small harbors in the Great Lakes basin.
“It’s my honor to be elected chair of the Great Lakes Commission,” said new GLC Chair Mary Mertz, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. “In my role as director of the ODNR, I’m proud to be implementing our H2Ohio campaign to restore and create wetlands in key locations across Ohio, focusing on the Lake Erie watershed. I look forward to bringing this energy to protecting our other incredible bodies of water in the Great Lakes basin.”
Timothy Bruno, coordinator of the Great Lakes program at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, was elected vice chair of the GLC. The 2023 Annual Meeting featured a conversation with award-winning journalist Dan Egan on his recent book regarding phosphorus and its role in creating harmful algae blooms (HABs) and “dead zones” in waterways including Lake Erie. Great Lakes Commissioners also heard from an expert panel on HABs, as well as panels on other topics including community restoration and protection, bird conservation and dredging and water levels in Great Lakes channels. During meeting breaks, students from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Conservation Teen Advisory Council presented their work on Great Lakes topics.
The Annual Meeting was the last for Todd Ambs in his role as chair. Ambs, a longtime Great Lakes conservationist, former deputy director of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and leader of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, will remain a commissioner representing the state of Wisconsin.
“It has been an honor to serve as chair of the Great Lakes Commission over the last two years. For 68 years, this commission has engaged in such important work – to do all that we can for the benefit of the most significant surface freshwater resources on the planet – our Great Lakes.”
The GLC will next convene in Washington, D.C. for its Semiannual Meeting and Great Lakes Day in March 2024. More information will be available on www.glc.org in advance of the meeting.
The Great Lakes Commission, led by chair Mary Mertz, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, is a binational government agency established in 1955 to protect the Great Lakes and the economies and ecosystems they support. Its membership includes leaders from the eight U.S. states and two Canadian provinces in the Great Lakes basin. The GLC recommends policies and practices to balance the use, development, and conservation of the water resources of the Great Lakes and brings the region together to work on issues that no single community, state, province, or nation can tackle alone. Learn more at www.glc.org.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/news/am-100523
Thanks to our Climate Smart grants, Fox-Wolf is expanding! We have recently welcomed three new staff to help implement these projects across the watershed. Tim, Skylar, and Hanna bring a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm to our team, and we are so pleased they’ve chosen to be part of protecting our waters!
The post Welcome Tim, Skylar, and Hanna! appeared first on Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance.
Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance
https://fwwa.org/2023/10/05/welcome-tim-skylar-and-hanna/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=welcome-tim-skylar-and-hanna
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois
Illinois wants Spire to show it shouldn’t be held in contempt over its embattled pipeline — St.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/10/energy-news-roundup-vision-green-energy-underserved-communities-nationwide-burst-clean-energy-jobs/
Michigan experts are encouraging residents to squash the invasive spotted lanternfly as the destructive insect rapidly spreads throughout the Great Lakes region.
In simpler terms: See it, squish it, report it.
The post Michigan officials urge public to “squish” invasive bug first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2023/10/05/michigan-officials-urge-public-to-squish-invasive-bug/
For our Diving Deep for Solutions series, we commissioned author and journalist Kari Lydersen to examine big issues facing the lakes today and how our expert team at the Alliance for the Great Lakes is growing to meet the moment.
In 2014, harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie contaminated Toledo’s water system, leaving residents without clean drinking water and leaders scrambling to deal with the public health emergency. It was a symbol of the greatest water pollution threat facing big swathes of the Great Lakes region, even after hundreds of millions of dollars were spent on mitigation efforts sparked by the Lake Erie crisis.
Agriculture is one of the major industries and employers in the Great Lakes basin, producing more than $15 billion in livestock and crops per year. But with current farming methods, the ecosystem can’t handle the massive amounts of runoff from fertilizer – manure and chemical – which pollutes waterways with phosphorus and nitrogen that feed algae blooms. These algal blooms can become toxic – which we have observed in Lake Erie – and can also create “dead zones” by robbing water of oxygen when algae decays.
The problem will only get worse with climate change, which is expected to cause more severe rains and warmer temperatures, meaning more runoff and conditions even more conducive to algal blooms. Meanwhile climate change is also expected to increase the intensity of agriculture in the region, as the growing season gets longer and new crops can be grown further north than before. Pesticide and herbicide use is also expected to increase due to shifting pest pressures linked to climate change. Increased usage of these products may lead to additional surface and groundwater pollution.
Hence, there is no time to waste in addressing the crisis of agricultural pollution in the Great Lakes. The Alliance for the Great Lakes has long been a leader on this issue, including in pushing for the agreement between Michigan, Ohio and Ontario, Canada to reduce phosphorus runoff into Lake Erie by 40% by 2025.
It is clear that ambitious target won’t be met, and the Alliance and others are demanding more aggressive policy and a more holistic approach to the crisis.
Tom Zimnicki, Alliance Agriculture and Restoration Policy Director, noted that the agencies involved in the Lake Erie agreement “would be hard-pressed to identify any kind of quantifiable reductions that have been made from agricultural sources” in phosphorus pollution, despite hundreds of millions of dollars spent, mostly to pay farmers to voluntarily implement practices meant to curb runoff, like foregoing tilling, planting grass near waterways, and planting cover crops.
“We haven’t really seen voluntary programs work anywhere,” said Sara Walling, Clean Wisconsin’s Water and Agriculture Program Director, formerly the Alliance’s Senior Policy Manager for Agriculture and Restoration. “That’s not specific to the Great Lakes, it’s a fallacy everywhere. We’re just throwing money at the problem without accountability to make sure practices are implemented correctly, that they actually function as intended to, and are maintained over time.”
The failure to make significant progress through voluntary measures and incentives underscores the need for federal action on agricultural pollution. This includes regulating farm runoff as a point source of pollution – in the same way releases from factories or power plants are regulated.
“Every other industry has standards around pollution prevention and risk mitigation for impacts to human health,” said Zimnicki. “Agriculture shouldn’t be any different. There are nuances to agriculture that make it more complicated than just saying, ‘Here is this manufacturing facility, let’s control what is coming out of that pipe.’ But there are things we can be looking at.”
In 2019, Ohio adopted a program known as “H2Ohio” to reduce nutrient pollution and address other water quality issues. Alliance Vice President of Policy and Strategic Engagement Crystal Davis was part of the technical assistance program for the effort. Davis – who is based in Cleveland – noted that there are multiple measures that could be adopted to quantify phosphorus in waterways, rather than just hoping best practices will reduce pollution.
“There’s edge-of-field monitoring, smart buoys in the water that can tell you how much pollution is in our waterways, we have a myriad of options,” she said.
Following a federal lawsuit, Ohio was required to develop a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for phosphorus – or “a pollution diet” as Zimnicki put it – for the Maumee River, a major tributary of Lake Erie. In September, U.S. EPA approved Ohio’s TMDL, however the plan lacks important conditions needed to improve water quality goals.
Not only does agricultural pollution pose a major economic and ecological threat to the region, it also can lead to environmental injustices. In the case of the Western Basin of Lake Erie, downstream ratepayers in Toledo bear the brunt of the health and financial impacts of agricultural pollution despite most of that pollution being generated upstream. The financial impacts of pollution exacerbate an ongoing water affordability crisis for lower-income residents of the City.
As the Alliance documented in Ohio, low-income customers struggle to pay a disproportionate amount of their income for water, and are especially burdened when pollution necessitates more infrastructure investments – that are billed to customers, or when they need to buy bottled water because the tap water isn’t safe.
“We don’t have adequate representation from impacted and downstream communities,” noted Davis. “Equitable stakeholder engagement is paramount to the development of a strong plan that holds polluters accountable while making significant progress on phosphorus reduction goals,” Davis said.
A recent study by the Alliance for the Great Lakes and Ohio Environmental Council found that to achieve Lake Erie water quality targets, Michigan would need to increase funding by $40 to $65 million a year and Ohio by $170 to $250 million per year, on top of current spending. Such funding should also be secured long-term, rather than subject to approval in every budget cycle, the report emphasized.
The Farm Bill and federal pollution laws like the Clean Water Act offer opportunities to regulate agricultural runoff. Some farmers are encouraged to use riskier and more polluting practices since crop insurance covers their losses. Mandates and incentives for runoff reduction could be built into crop insurance, Alliance experts note. Walling said that’s especially appropriate since the government pays for federal crop insurance costs.
“We as the public should be expecting more payback, if you will,” she said. “Not in actual dollars but in more environmental responsibility from the recipients. That’s not happening now.”
The federal government has the biggest role to play in restructuring things like crop insurance, farm subsidies and pollution-related mandates. Especially given the political and economic significance of farming in the Great Lakes states, the states “do need the federal government to come in with a heavier hand and give them a ‘thou shall’ rather than a ‘please,’” said Zimnicki.
The Alliance emphasizes that it is in farmers’ best interest to curb agricultural pollution and protect the Great Lakes, as well as their own bottom lines. And along with mandates, government support is crucial.
“Most farmers do want to leave the land in better shape than the day they took it over,” said Walling. “But there isn’t as much technical support available to help them. Even if something like planting cover crops is shown to benefit their long-term profitability, there’s a cost to making that change: buying that cover crop seed, planting it, changes in their yields as they work out the kinks. Their profit margins are so small, they can’t internalize those costs.”
Green Bay in Wisconsin has also faced severe nutrient pollution from farming and algal blooms that harm the tourism and sport-fishing that is so popular in the region, including Wisconsin’s beloved Door County.
“The entire economy is built around tourism, and access to the lake is the central piece,” said Walling. “Not having solid water quality is going to continue to affect the economic engine.”
In the Fox River basin that feeds Green Bay, many farmers and community leaders have joined the effort to reduce runoff through voluntary measures and educating their peers. Farmers using sustainable practices invite colleagues to tour their farms and learn.
“We’ve seen a lot of good buy-in,” said Walling. “They’re going above and beyond in their conservation, and also being that mouthpiece, inviting other agricultural producers onto their farms, to share information to try to generate more comfort across the agricultural community.”
Ultimately, farming in the Great Lakes isn’t going anywhere, so the way we farm has to change for the lakes and people to stay healthy. This issue won’t be solved by cracking down on a few bad actors, but by making the Great Lakes a leader in agriculture that actually protects clean water.
As Walling, Zimnicki and other Alliance leaders noted, concrete steps to achieving this goal include:
These actions and more will be the focus of the Alliance’s federal and state advocacy agendas to reduce agricultural pollution over the next five years.
“The private agriculture sector needs to step up and demonstrate that it is able to operate without polluting our drinking water, just as other industries are required to do,” said Brammeier. “
“Ultimately, companies in the agricultural supply and distribution chain need to acknowledge that clean water is a critical measure of whether they are operating sustainably. The health of the Great Lakes can’t be an afterthought.”
The post Complicated Crops: Agriculture is a major economic engine in the Great Lakes, and poses the greatest threat to their waters appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
https://greatlakes.org/2023/10/complicated-crops-agriculture-is-a-major-economic-engine-in-the-great-lakes-and-poses-the-greatest-threat-to-their-waters/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
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/2023/10/enbridge-federal-review-of-line-5-tunnel-permit-is-inexplicably-lethargic/
Hydrilla, called “one of the world’s most invasive aquatic plants,” by Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy officials, has been found for the first time in Michigan waterways. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231004-hydrilla
In Michigan, the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy is now a leader in softening the shoreline by using ecological principles and practices to achieve stabilization and safety while enhancing habitat and improving aesthetics. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231004-ralphwilson
Archeologists, historians and divers are trying to digitally capture more than 1,000 shipwrecks at the bottom of the Great Lakes before they become unrecognizable after a combination of invasive mussels and climate change have accelerated their deterioration at an alarming rate. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231004-ghosts
In Ohio, a donated wetlands area will benefit the Otsego Local Schools classrooms and community — but Lake Erie will get the biggest benefit. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231004-otsego
Thousands of water utilities across the Great Lakes region and nationwide will decide in the next three months whether to join two multibillion-dollar, class-action settlements against the largest producers of toxic PFAS chemicals that have tainted drinking water supplies. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231004-pfas
A water levels forecast could help coastal communities deal with the highs and lows of the Great Lakes, not only for things like habitat and ecosystem restoration, but also for navigation, infrastructure and city planning. Read the full story by WUWM – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231004-waterlevels
A cyanobacteria bloom formed on Muskegon Lake near downtown Muskegon, Michigan, on Monday, Oct. 2, turning the water along the shoreline green with algae scum. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231004-algaebloom
More and more these days, conservationists are struggling over whether and how to intervene in the face of rapid human-induced ecosystem changes. In Michigan, the wolves of Isle Royale in Lake Superior are one example. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231004-isleroyale
Fall means popular splake fishing on Lake Superior. And the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is asking anglers to help them understand better how the fish live in the largest Great Lake. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231004-hybrid
We’ve all heard that no two snowflakes are alike. But few people know that most are similar enough they can be classified.
Michael Notaro with the University of Wisconsin-Madison is teaching Wisconsin school children the similarities in snowflakes to share the wonder of nature and information about the Great Lakes climate, but also to expand an international environmental database.
An “ordinary dendritic” snowflake crystal. This means it has six branches. Image credit: The Bentley Collection, UW- Madison.
The database is called GLOBE, which stands for Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment. This environmental education youth citizen science program began in 1995 and is run by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). It is sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of State. According to Notaro, more than 40,000 schools in 127 countries participate by inputting data such as temperature, wind speed, soil moisture and bird migration from their communities into the online GLOBE database.
Notaro, director for the Nelson Institute Center for Climatic Research, said his Sea Grant-funded Snow-GLOBE Youth Citizen Science Collaborative project helps address a lack of climate science education in the classroom.
“There’s very little time allocated toward the topics of weather and climate, particularly climate change,” he said. “Also, a lot of educators have expressed discomfort in terms of their training and teaching related to climate. So, I’m trying to provide the tools for the teachers, the training for the teachers, and also the opportunities for the students to learn how to become citizen scientists – that they themselves, even as a young person, can support some of the missions of NASA, NOAA and other agencies.”
Darien Becker, environmental educator with Welty Environmental Center (right), instructs two interns from Beloit Memorial High School on how to identify snowflakes using the Snow-GLOBE protocol. Image credit: Aaron Wilson, Welty Environmental Center.
He’s currently working with eight schools and three environmental centers across Wisconsin in Beloit, Racine and Door County. The children measure snow depth, snowfall amounts and their liquid equivalents. This data has a home in GLOBE already. What doesn’t have a home is snowflake classification. Notaro would like to change that.
The children take photos of snowflakes with their cellphones and a special lens, which Notaro provides. “They start with a wooden board with black velvet. The flake falls on it. Then you use a clip-on macro lens to take a photo and a high-precision ruler to estimate the crystal’s diameter. I also provided information like images from the Bentley Library,” Notaro said.
The Bentley Collection is housed at UW-Madison’s Space Science and Engineering Center. It contains photomicrographs (photos taken through a microscope) by Wilson Bentley, a homeschooled Vermont farm boy who developed a passion for studying water in all its forms. Snowflakes were his specialty, and he sold collections to universities across the United States, including UW-Madison.
Based on the shape of the crystal, the students can classify what type of snowflake it is. Some of the options include columns, hexagons, two branches, four branches, and the typical Christmas-card version with six branches.
Notaro said the photography activity is a hit. “Kids are interested in their cell phones, as we know. Kids are interested in photography. This connects those interests to science.”
A plate snowflake with simple extensions. Image credit: The Bentley Collection, UW-Madison.
Such data will help track what’s going on with snow in Wisconsin. Notaro’s goal is to expand the project to more middle schools, high schools and environmental centers in Wisconsin and across the Great Lakes.
“Ideally, I hope to find a school where there are three or more teachers interested in participating,” he said. “That helps with the longevity of their involvement. And then I usually set up a professional development workshop near them. I’ll order GLOBE equipment, so I supply all the equipment that they need. Then I provide training and calibration instructions and work with the school.”
Interested educators can contact Notaro at mnotaro@wisc.edu.
“This upcoming winter we’ll be able to get some data collected. The goal is building up the schools and the resources toward data collection. I hate to say it, but hopefully, it snows a lot,” Notaro said.
The post Hoping for snow: Wisconsin snow data project captures snowflake images and students’ attention first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/hoping-for-snow-wisconsin-snow-data-project-captures-snowflake-images-and-students-attention/
Climate change means that the Great Lakes region’s trademark red, orange and yellow fall leaves will be more intense for a shorter period in the next decade.
The warming climate will also cause the leaves to change later in the season, scientists say.
The post Changing climate changes colors first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2023/10/04/changing-climate-changes-colors/
Not many of us have seen the birth — and death — of an entire ecosystem, right in our own backyard. But when Tom Mace was 9 or 10 years old, he and his best friend did.
Tom grew up less than 100 feet from the wetlands in Menasha. After a day of catching bait for fishing, he and his best friend came home with two buckets of leopard frogs. When his mom insisted that the creatures couldn’t stay in the buckets overnight, they released them into the wetlands nearby. The next year, “you could hardly hear anything for all the chirping of the frogs.”
The frog population boomed, and the mosquito population dropped. The year after that, black bass moved in and nested, feeding on the frogs. But he never got to see what would have happened in the following year. Instead, a developer filled in the wetlands and built a neighborhood. It killed all the frogs, and the next year the bass left too.
“We lost the wetlands, lost the frogs, lost the bass,” Tom said. “So that’s the sad story of why you don’t fill in wetlands.”
Tom Mace, retired environmental scientist
Tom understood what this experiment was teaching him, and it launched him into a long career in environmental research and monitoring. From the rivers in northern Maine to the mountains of Mexico, and from the glaciers and sea ice of the arctic to the dry land of the American southwest, Tom watched the data accumulate steadily.
“I’m a data and measurement guy,” he said. “There’s data there. Real honest to goodness measurements.” One of his last tasks before retirement was to look ahead to the year 2080 to identify future vulnerabilities. If we don’t make changes to the ecosystem now, what is at risk of damage or loss in the future?
Now that he has moved back home to Menasha, he can’t help but apply this kind of thinking to the same wetlands and lakes he loved as a boy. “I can see how things are, how they used to be (because I grew up here), and I can look ahead based on what I know about changing climate.”
He worries about the blue-green algae that blooms in Lake Winnebago, and whether a large bloom could one day overwhelm our ability to screen toxins out of the drinking water for 200,000 people. He worries that too much vegetation in the water will create anoxic zones – areas of the lake without dissolved oxygen. “Fish can swim out of small zones, but a big zone means dead sturgeon.” And he doesn’t want to see that.
What Tom does want is to preserve all of the natural resources of this community for future generations. And he hopes that everyone is able to find common ground in that goal and not wait any longer to get started.
“If we had understood this in the 1970s, we would have a lot less to do,” Tom noted. “And if we wait until 2050, we’ll be in real trouble.”
“Is Fox-Wolf going to have a big enough impact to cause change?” Tom asked. It depends on whether or not people are willing to act on what we know.
He encourages everyone to look at the data and use their critical thinking skills. “We can’t undo everything,” he said, “but we can change what we’re doing now.”
Watershed Moments is a new publication of Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance, sharing the stories of how your donations have impacted lives in our community. Read our latest project updates, make a secure online donation, or become a member at www.fwwa.org
The post Watershed Moments: We Lost the Wetlands appeared first on Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance.
Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance
https://fwwa.org/2023/10/03/watershed-moments-lost-wetlands/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=watershed-moments-lost-wetlands
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Indiana
What to do if there are PFAS in your Indiana drinking water — Louisville Public Media
So far, Indiana Department of Emergency Management has found unhealthy levels of PFAS in 19 drinking water utilities.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/10/pfas-news-roundup-can-we-get-rid-of-forever-chemicals/
By John-Paul Chalykoff, Algoma University
is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.
Language is foundational to Indigenous communities, including my own, and a vital connection to our cultures.
It is well documented how residential schools in Canada and boarding schools in the U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/10/im-working-to-revitalize-an-indigenous-language-and-bring-it-into-the-future/
Lianne Leddy grew up with stories of the uranium mining that poisoned her Anishinaabek community in Ontario.
Now, she’s retelling these stories through Serpent River Resurgence, her new book based on documents and interviews from family and friends who lived through the environmental crisis.
The post Serpent River Resurgence documents uranium pollution of First Nation community first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2023/10/03/serpent-river-resurgence-documents-uranium-pollution-of-first-nation-community/
Out of three locations around the world, the Great Lakes region was chosen to host a new Department of Defense study. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, or DPAA, is actively engaged in the Missing in Action Recovery and Identification Project. Its goal is to locate and repatriate the remains of military personnel in conflict areas to provide closure to their families.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/10/tracing-for-human-remains-on-shipwrecks-with-environmental-dna/
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.
For over 100 years the Detroit River was perceived as a working waterway that supported industry and commerce.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/10/great-lakes-moment-detroits-new-ralph-wilson-park-will-provide-habitats-for-a-healthy-ecosystem/
A study by the University of Minnesota and Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa found that 117 chemicals from DEET bug spray, antidepressants, hormones, antifungals, antihistamines, antibiotics, and heart medications are found in fish and water in lakes across Northeastern Minnesota. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-minnesota-fish-chemicals
The Winnebago Water Level Assessment Team provides a collaborative opportunity for stakeholder representatives and experts to develop realistic and achievable water level recommendations and related goals that reasonably balance the top priorities of multiple system users and the health of the lakes.
Meeting details:
Date: September 27, 2023
Time: 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm
Facilitator: Katie Reed, Winnebago Waterways Program Coordinator, Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance, katherine@fwwa.org, (920)851-6472 & Jessica Schultz, Executive Director, Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance, jessica@fwwa.org
Location: Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance office in Appleton (see agenda for address)
CLICK HERE for the meeting agenda
CLICK HERE for the meeting notes and presentation slides
To visit the WWLAT website for other meeting notes and updates, CLICK HERE.
Winnebago Waterways is a Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance recovery initiative. Contact us at wwinfo@fwwa.org
The post WWLAT MEETING: Sept. 27, 2023 appeared first on Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance.
Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance
https://fwwa.org/2023/10/02/wwlat_2022_09_29-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wwlat_2022_09_29-2
Based on 2023 trawl surveys of state waters it conducts annually, the Ohio Division of Wildlife is rating this year’s walleye hatch as exceptional. That marks the fifth time in nine years dating back to 2015 that the walleye hatch has earned the division’s highest ranking. Read the full story by The Columbus Dispatch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-ohio-walleye-hatch
In a September 6 survey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service detected no evidence of invasive silver carp eDNA in the St. Joseph River near Berrien Springs, Michigan, after routine testing this summer turned up a single, positive sample. Read the full story by WXMI-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-carp-edna-update
Beaver Island, the largest island in Lake Michigan, is regarded among scientists to be one of the most ecologically pristine and biologically diverse spots in the Great Lakes region. Locals and scientists from Central Michigan University work to protect its unique habitats. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-beaver-island
The Lake Ontario – St. Lawrence River Plan 2014 determines how much water should be released from Lake Ontario into the St. Lawrence River by the Moses-Saunders Power Dam in Massena, New York. In September, the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board deviated from Plan 2014 to provide higher and more predictable water levels on Lake St. Lawrence and the upper St. Lawrence River but in October has gone back to following Plan 2014 directives as Lake Ontario levels continue their seasonal decrease. Read the full story by the Niagara Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-ontario-water-levels
The Lake Express car ferry, designed to bypass Chicago area traffic, connects Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Muskegon, Michigan. In its 20th season, the high-speed catamaran is expected to have a banner year, experiencing increased traveler volumes in spring and summer even prior to the closure of the S.S. Badger car ferry in August. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-lake-express
The Platte River State Fish Hatchery in Benzie County, Michigan has stocked over 2 million salmon weighing over 79 tons this season. Coho salmon egg take will occur at the Platte River State Fish Hatchery around the third week of October and last for several weeks. Read the full story by WPBN/WGTU-TV – Traverse City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-fish-hatchery
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources plans to stock adult Arctic grayling in select Upper Peninsula, Michigan lakes this fall as part of an effort to reintroduce the once iconic fish. The Arctic grayling was abundant in northern Michigan until the 1930s when intense logging wiped out its shaded spawning habitat. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-arctic-grayling
October 1 marks the 135th anniversary of a tragedy in the waters of Lake Huron off the shore of the thumb of Michigan that resulted in the loss of five crew members of the barge St. Clair who died despite the heroic efforts of the U.S. Life-Saving Service Station in Harbor Beach, Michigan. Read the full story by the Huron Daily Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-st-clair-barge
The boundaries for two mosquito species, the yellow fever mosquito and the Asian tiger mosquito, are moving northward into the Great Lakes Basin, bringing with them the ability to transmit diseases of public importance including Zika, dengue, and yellow fever, according to a study by the Environmental Protection Agency. Read the full story by The Daily Telegram.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-invasive-mosquitoes
All are invited to attend the last in a series of three events designed for birders of all skills and abilities. Join “Everyone Can Bird: World Migratory Bird Day,” 9:30-11:30 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 14, at. Hawk Ridge in Duluth.
Designed with accessibility in mind, the event will provide American Sign Language interpretation, stationary birding options, binoculars and spotting scopes for use. Expert birding guides will lead discussion and aid observation. The Friends of the Lake Superior Reserve, Hawk Ridge, Lake Superior Reserve, Wisconsin Sea Grant, Embark Support Employment and the Minnesota Land Trust sponsor the “Everyone Can Bird” series.
Birders practicing their craft on World Migratory Bird Day a few years ago. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant
Free transportation is available, departing from the Superior Public Library (530 Tower Ave.) at 9 a.m. People driving themselves should access Hawk Ridge on East Skyline Parkway from Glenwood Ave. and continue past the first overlook on the paved road another half mile or so on the gravel road to another overlook. Look for Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory signage and the count platform. Accessible parking is available near the welcome table and Hawk Ridge merchandise trailer. Look for parking guidance via signage.
This event will include an “Eyes on the Skies” educational program from 10-11 a.m. in the outdoor classroom at Hawk Ridge, located up a gravel trail from the bird viewing location along the road. Learn about the history of the fall migration along the tip of Lake Superior and how to identify common raptors. In bad weather, the “Eyes on the Skies” program will be held indoors at the nearby Lester Amity Ski Chalet. An additional “Eyes on the Skies” program will be held at 11 a.m. outdoors on Hawk Ridge as part of Hawk Ridge’s Duluth Community Day events.
Registration is encouraged but not required. Learn more or register at https://go.wisc.edu/wwi6l1. These activities are designed with access in mind. People who would like to request additional accommodations should email Luciana.Ranelli@wisc.edu or call Luciana at 715-399-4085 at least 10 days before the event.
“Everyone Can Bird” is part of Duluth Community Day at Hawk Ridge. Both programs celebration World Migratory Bird Day, the raptors migrating through Hawk Ridge and people out enjoying nature together. For more on the family activities happening on Oct. 14 from 9:30-11:30 a.m., visit hawkridge.org.
The post Everyone can bird final outing on Oct. 14 first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/everyone-can-bird-final-outing-on-oct-14/
Spring flooding can be a concern across much of the upper Midwest. The USGS excels at measuring stream discharge, or the volume of water moving through a stream per unit of time, which helps us monitor flooding in real-time.
Upper Midwest Water Science Center
Upper Midwest Water Science Center
https://www.usgs.gov/centers/upper-midwest-water-science-center/news/2023-quarter-4-usgs-stream-discharge-and-national?utm_source=comms&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=news
A warm welcome to new Upper Midwest Water Science Center Director, Steve Peterson.
Upper Midwest Water Science Center
Upper Midwest Water Science Center
https://www.usgs.gov/centers/upper-midwest-water-science-center/news/welcoming-new-upper-midwest-water-science-center?utm_source=comms&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=news
Below are all products released by the Upper Midwest Water Science Center in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2023 (July 1, 2023 - September 31, 2023)
Wisconsin
https://www.usgs.gov/centers/upper-midwest-water-science-center/news/upper-midwest-water-science-center-products-2?utm_source=comms&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=news
