Advertising at a college job fair
Wisconsin
https://www.usgs.gov/centers/great-lakes-science-center/news/glsc-visits-northland-college-job-fair-ashland-wisconsin?utm_source=comms&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=news
Musician Peter Mayer. Submitted photo
I recently attended a concert by Minnesota musician Peter Mayer and another musician. In case you don’t know, Mayer is known for his environmentally themed songs about interconnectedness and the human journey. He has produced 11 albums over 20 years and has received many artist fellowships.
Mayer wrote a song that’s a favorite of mine called “Ocean Mary.” It’s about a woman who “becomes” the ocean from touching a stream near her home. While Mayer didn’t play that song during his recent concert, I found myself thinking about it and wishing someone would write lyrics for a similar song about the Great Lakes.
Gradually, I had the audacity to realize that maybe I could help bring such a song into being if I tweaked the “Ocean Mary” lyrics a little. So, I did! Here’s the result, used with Mayer’s gracious permission. We thought you might enjoy it as a Sea Grant offering for U.S. National Poetry Month.
Great Lakes Julie
There’s a road in a river town
And on that road is Julie’s home
By her house is a deep ravine
Running there is a magic stream
Laughing over sand and rocks
It runs the length of Julie’s block
Another mile to the riverside
And a hundred more to the Great Lakes wide
Now, down in that ravine one day
By the water, Julie lay
Put her hand in the shallow stream
And Julie had a magic dream
She imagined that, inside her, stirred
All the waters of the Earth
Every puddle, every wave
And every one of the five Great Lakes
She could feel the fishes roam
In her fingers and her toes
And in her chest, the Keweenaw Current flows
Now, ever since her dream that day
People say that Julie’s changed
But they sympathize when they think
It must be strange to be the Great Lakes
She senses when the salmon swim
And waterspouts lick her skin
Canada tickles her left arm
And the moon above tugs her heart
Her front is Duluth, her back Oswego
She recollects the glaciers’ decline
Rip currents run up her spine
And lightning tingles when it strikes
She can feel the fishes roam
In her fingers, in her toes
And in her chest, the Keweenaw Current flows
And all this happened, so it seems
Because of Julie’s magic stream
But some will say that ponds and wells
And even rain can cast a spell
And every water drop you ask
Tells a tale of Great Lakes vast
So be careful when you take a drink
There’s magic in the kitchen sink!
Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/great-lakes-julie/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=great-lakes-julie
As lake sturgeon in Michigan’s Black Lake in Cheboygan and Presque Isle counties travel up the Black River to spawn in shallow waters, volunteers will be ready to guard the fish against poaching. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230407-lake-sturgeon
Thanks to over $16 million in grants from the state and federal government, the Port of Monroe will soon become the first container terminal in Michigan and the most state-of-the-art port on the Great Lakes. Read the full story by WXTZ-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230407-port-of-monroe
The Toledo shipping channel in the Maumee River is relatively shallow, so it has to be dredged on a regular basis to make it deep enough for freighters. Sediment brought up during that process is now being put to good use in a number of places including the new Glass City Metropark. Read the full story by WTVG-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230407-toldedo-metropark
Significant erosion has been found at Pennsylvania’s Presque Isle State Park. The lack of ice along Lake Erie likely increased wave action along the shores leading to the high amount erosion. Read the full story by Erie-Times News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230407-presque-isle
Conversation Café: A Place Worth Protecting seminar talks focused on protecting Lake Huron will take place throughout Michigan in the month of May, all of which include a free luncheon. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230407-luncheon-talks
An Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled Monday that Chippewas of Saugeen First Nation is — and always has been — the rightful owner of Sauble Beach after decades of litigation. The 2.5-kilometre stretch of Lake Huron shoreline was previously claimed by the Town of South Bruce Peninsula. Read the full story by the St. Catherines Standard.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230407-sauble-beach
A new immersive, hands-on course at Muskegon Community College is taking a close look at freshwater ecology. The Aquatic Ecology course introduces students to the processes that occur in local bodies of water, including the Great Lakes. Read the full story by WOOD-TV Grand Rapids.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230407-beaver-island
The beginning of April marks the opening of the 2023 Great Lakes shipping season with the first freighter arriving Tuesday night at the Port of Cleveland. Read the full story by WEWS-TV – Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230407-shipping-season
Researchers from across northwest Ohio met at the University of Toledo Lake Erie Center in Oregon on Wednesday to clean and calibrate sensors that will be going into Lake Erie in preparation for another summer algal bloom season. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230407-algal-bloom-devicea
Representatives of fifty-one Tribal and First Nations located in what is now the United States and Canada submitted a report to the United Nations Human Rights Council calling on the Government of Canada to stop violating the human rights of Indigenous peoples through its support for Enbridge’s Line 5 crude oil pipeline. Read the full story by Environmental Defence.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230407-line-5
ANN ARBOR, MI – The Great Lakes Commission (GLC) announced that it has been awarded more than $10 million to fund habitat restoration in the Great Lakes basin. The funding will accelerate projects in the Niagara River and Maumee Areas of Concern (AOCs): the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park Restoration Project in Buffalo, New York; the Collins Park Restoration Project in Toledo, Ohio; and the University of Toledo Swan Creek Restoration Project, also in Toledo, Ohio.
The funding was awarded as part of a new regional partnership between the GLC and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to restore Great Lakes coastal habitat, with a focus on areas of historic pollution more formally known as AOCs. This work directly contributes to efforts to remove the Niagara and Maumee Rivers from the list of Great Lakes AOCs.
“This is the fifth time since 2008 that the Great Lakes Commission has been awarded funding for habitat restoration, with over $76 million being directed to priority sites across the basin,” said GLC Chair Todd L. Ambs of Wisconsin. “We appreciate NOAA’s continued support and look forward to working with our federal, state and local partners on these critical projects. Restoring Great Lakes coastal wetlands and riparian areas protects the environment and human health, as well as being a great economic driver for the region.”
To celebrate its new partnership with NOAA, the GLC has released a new video highlighting the benefits of this collaboration. This video was produced by Great Lakes Outreach Media and features key partners. The video can be viewed here.
For more information about the GLC’s habitat restoration work, visit https://www.glc.org/work/habitat.
The Great Lakes Commission, led by chair Todd L. Ambs, deputy secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (retired), 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/noaa-040623
Most cemeteries are looking to provide green burial as an option, whether it’s immediately today or as part of their master plan.
The post More cemeteries offering green burials, recreational space first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2023/04/06/more-cemeteries-offering-green-burials-recreational-space/
This lesson will explore the phenomenon of light pollution in the Great Lakes and some of the citizen science efforts going on around the region. Students will explore the impact that artificial lights have on night sky visibility for star gazing, learn about how everyday people can contribute to scientific research, and engage in citizen science projects in their community.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/04/episode-2303-citizen-science-lesson-plan/
For three days in March the world came together at the United Nations in New York City to discuss ways to place water at the center of decision-making. Public officials, business leaders, and scientists from the Great Lakes region attended the conference, linking global debates about freshwater supply and management with local experience. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230405-united-nations
The federal government says it’s making Canada’s largest investment ever in protecting the nation’s sources of fresh water, including the Great Lakes. Commitments announced by the government during U.S. President Joe Biden’s visit and in the recent budget bring the federal government’s total investment to $750 million. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230405-canada-investment
A massive sewage discharge into Lake Erie over the Christmas holidays has Niagara Region reviewing policies and making improvements at its Crystal Beach wastewater treatment plant in Ontario. Read the full story by The Record.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230405-discharge
New research reveals the progress scientists at The University of Toledo are making in their ongoing efforts to capture and remove invasive grass carp from the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Science Magazine.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230405-grass-carp
On March 30, a lawsuit was filed against H. Wood Farms in Jefferson County, New York, with claims that runoff from the over 2,000-cow dairy farm has previously polluted nearby creeks that run into the St. Lawrence River. However, the Wood Farms President and Co-Owner said these accusations are false. Read the full story by WWTI- TV – Watertown, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230405-wood-farms
In their annual meeting held last week in the Ontario city of Hamilton, the Lake Erie Committee established the total allowable catches for 2023, a determination of how many walleye and yellow perch can be harvested from the lake. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230405-allowable-catches
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that February 2023 was Earth’s fourth-warmest on record. In the Great Lakes basin, this is being witnessed through less lake ice cover, which is already having major impacts. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230405-ice-cover
The National Weather Service offices across Michigan have issued Gale Warnings for parts of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron ahead of the approaching storm system. Lake Superior’s conditions are expected to be especially dangerous. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230405-storm-winds
Of the 945 charter boat guides licensed in Ohio, there are 18 who are female, and only two in Ottawa County. Earning success in a male-dominated profession is a significant accomplishment, but the discrepancies between them and their male colleagues pretty much end there. Read the full story by The Beacon.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230405-female-captains
The National Museum of the Great Lakes will explore the uncharted chapter of Great Lakes pirate history on April 19, when Arrgh: A History of Piracy on the Great Lakes comes to the Clinton-Macomb Public Library in Michigan. Read the full story by the Macomb Daily.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230405-pirates
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI1266421CE5FC.SpecialWeatherStatement.1266421D2F08WI.GRBSPSGRB.3b77a733acfe35fc01f412b80021d336
By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue
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/2023/04/great-lakes-take-global-stage/
Margaret Ellis, First Nations Graduate Assistant, Wisconsin Sea Grant. Submitted photo.
Margaret Ellis is the latest person to fill the First Nations Graduate Assistantship with Wisconsin Sea Grant and the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Cofrin Center for Biodiversity. Ellis has all the qualifications that look good on paper, plus others that are just as meaningful.
Ellis has a master’s in global Indigenous nations studies with an environmental focus from the University of Kansas and is working toward a Ph.D. in education at UW-Green Bay in First Nations entrepreneurial and small business operations.
“I have the skills; I have the knowledge. My master’s degree was years ago, but you know, I’ve continued to live my life in a certain way that reflects a responsibility to earth and water,” Ellis said.
She also has connections to the Wequiock Creek Natural Area, a 76-acre property with forests, wetlands and prairie she will work on along the lower bay shore area of Green Bay. The area is being restored and is culturally significant to the Oneida, Potawatomi, Ho-Chunk and Menominee nations. Ellis, a member of the Oneida Nation, has been visiting Wequiock Creek since she was a child.
“It was a free place to go and it was beautiful,” she said. “There’s a little waterfall there and so my family would always go there to picnic or just walk around. I was excited to find that connection to the project. I want to bring a voice back to that land and reconnect those nations with the Wequiock area.”
In addition to continuing the tradition of organizing a spring tobacco blessing, Ellis will be helping the Cofrin Center to develop interpretive signage and plant signage featuring Indigenous viewpoints and language. “It’s really about supporting restoration efforts for the natural area and ensuring that the Indigenous knowledge and voice are represented by all the nations that once used the land,” she said.
Wisconsin Sea Grant staff members walk the dry bed of Wequiock Creek. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant
In between her degrees, Ellis co-founded Kenco Tribal Marketing Initiative, a full-service marketing and procurement agency serving tribal businesses, plus she owns Mirax, LLC, an apparel business for nonprofits and Native nations. For her Ph.D. dissertation research, she is building off this to create a small business model that is based on the Oneida Thanksgiving Address. Ellis explained that the address gives thanks to all the elements that are on Earth and in the cosmos – water, the sun, plants and the animals. “I want to support small businesses in creating something that keeps those elements in mind. It’s all about sustainability and conscious consumerism,” Ellis said.
Through her business success, academic achievements, and community grassroots efforts Ellis achieved the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development 40 under 40 Award, which recognizes Native American citizens for outstanding leadership and community contributions.
Julia Noordyk, Wisconsin Sea Grant water quality and coastal communities specialist, is Ellis’s supervisor. She’s thrilled that Ellis accepted the position.
“Margaret is such an impressive person. She has a lot of positive energy that she’s willing to share. She’s determined to bring the voices of Indigenous women to the table and integrate business practices that protect water resources. I am hopeful that through this position, Sea Grant can help support her academic and professional goals,” Noordyk said.
Ellis recently posted an announcement about her Sea Grant graduate assistantship on social media. She said, “The post just went crazy! I had so many shares, comments and likes. It made me think it’s a sign that I’m in the right place.”
The post Margaret Ellis: Bringing a voice back to the land first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/margaret-ellis-bringing-a-voice-back-to-the-land/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=margaret-ellis-bringing-a-voice-back-to-the-land
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI1266421C7130.SpecialWeatherStatement.1266421CE6C4WI.GRBSPSGRB.3b77a733acfe35fc01f412b80021d336
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Office of International Programs team of Joel Groten (Upper Midwest Water Science Center), Molly Wood (Water Mission Area [WMA], on detail to OIP), and Brian McCallum (WMA) participated in a reconnaissance trip to Itaipu Binacional, Foz do Iguazu, Brazil and Paraguay, during March 25 – April 3, 2023.
Upper Midwest Water Science Center
Upper Midwest Water Science Center
https://www.usgs.gov/centers/upper-midwest-water-science-center/news/usgs-office-international-programs-team?utm_source=comms&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=news
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI1266421C450C.SpecialWeatherStatement.1266421C7194WI.GRBSPSGRB.670272ffdeab82d92d5ab990673d0435
The review found that the impact occurs at the local, regional and larger scales.
The post Light pollution is a migratory deathtrap first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2023/04/05/light-pollution-is-a-migratory-deathtrap/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI1266421B5534.SpecialWeatherStatement.1266421B8734WI.GRBSPSGRB.c77a44b1fba293a01a7f5700f7bf5c43
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI1266421B14C0.SpecialWeatherStatement.1266421B546CWI.GRBSPSGRB.3b77a733acfe35fc01f412b80021d336
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI1266421ADF3C.SpecialWeatherStatement.1266421B0070WI.GRBSPSGRB.e640bd7c2e54aa963bb0f5d153a31c55
Andrea Densham is a Senior Strategic Advisor to the Alliance for the Great Lakes.
The post Plastic Pollution Season 2, Episode 14 appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
https://greatlakes.org/2023/04/plastic-pollution-season-2-episode-14/
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/2023/04/frogs-salamanders-fairy-shrimp-appearing-vernal-pool/
Join Great Lakes Now Wednesday, Apr. 5 at 12 p.m. for a conversation on sustainability and fighting climate change with University of Michigan President Santa Ono.
Ono has put sustainability and fighting climate change among the top priorities for his administration. In addition to several programs and initiatives that are being expanded or developed, the university is serving as the lead institution for the University Climate Change Coaltion that convenes 23 leading North American universities to work toward climate action on campus, in communities, and at a global scale.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/04/sustainabilityfightingclimatechangeono/
Habitat restoration can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, years of time and the collaborative effort of engineers, scientists and designers. It may be better to just start from scratch.
The post Creating habitat to help fish reproduce is costlier, but more effective than restoring it first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2023/04/04/creating-habitat-to-help-fish-reproduce-is-costlier-but-more-effective-than-restoring-it/
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.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that February 2023 was Earth’s fourth-warmest on record.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/04/great-lakes-moment-decreasing-great-lakes-ice-cover-consequences/
The price tag to build a new mine near Marathon, Ontario has escalated, but Generation Mining is primed and ready to start construction pending the arrival of key government permits. Read the full story by Northern Ontario Business.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230403-mining
Smelt anglers are gathering this spring for what could be their last outings at a favored spot along the Milwaukee, Wisconsin lakefront. A dredge containment facility is being built at the site. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230403-cdf
The groups behind Chicago’s planned overhaul of a key portion of the iconic Lakeshore Drive have revealed the latest renderings of a project that’s set to add much-needed protective barriers and green space along the city’s Lake Michigan shoreline. Read and hear the full story by Archinect.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230403-chicaco-lakefront-project
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources will continue conducting its annual fish surveys using electrofishing methods. Read the full story by Ludington Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230403-electrofishing
Lake Erie barely froze this year, causing major issues for ice anglers. Read the full story by Spectrum News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230403-ice-fishing
One of the world’s last grand Edwardian passenger steamships will make a triumphant arrival at the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston, Ontario later this year. Read the full story by Ottawa Business Journal .
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230403-historic-ship
Located on the shore of Lake Michigan, Orchard Beach State Park hasn’t had a beach since 2017. That’s when high water levels came up to the 100-foot bluff that the park sits atop and began eating away at it. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230403-beach-restoration
The Canadian Environmental Law Association is giving the federal government a thumbs-up for moving ahead with a Winnipeg-based special agency to oversee the protection of the country’s fresh-water supply. The association “supports the federal investment in advancing science and knowledge on fresh water, and the distribution of those funds to a range of high-priority watersheds across the country, including the Great Lakes.” Read the full story by the Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230403-winnipeg
A new study by researchers at Northwestern University shows that people who live in neighborhoods along Chicago’s interstates — particularly I-290, I-90 and I-94 — and in communities directly next to Lake Michigan are exposed to more air pollution than residents in the rest of the city. Read the full story by WTTW -TV – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230403-air-pollution
April 3, 2023
By Marie Zhuikov
When Jonathan Gilbert, director of biological services with the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, received a report about levels of PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) in wolves taken during the 2021 hunting season in Wisconsin, he was flummoxed. The scientific report contained terms and measurements that he, even as a biologist, didn’t understand. Gilbert’s quest for answers led to a larger project that is testing maple syrup, walleyes and lake water for PFAS in areas of the Midwest where Ojibwe tribal members harvest food.
During the wolf season, hunters volunteered their wolf remains to GLIFWC for PFAS testing. Gilbert said about 40% of the wolves had detectable levels of these chemicals. He was given Gavin Dehnert’s name as someone who could help answer his questions about the PFAS report. Dehnert, an emerging contaminants scientist, specializes in PFAS. Dehnert works for Wisconsin Sea Grant, a sister agency to the University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute (WRI).
“So, I called him up and we had a nice conversation and he answered all my questions and educated me quite a bit on this,” Gilbert said.
Gilbert needed to present the wolf data to the Voigt Intertribal Task Force – a group composed of 10 of the 11 Ojibwe tribes that harvest from Ceded Territories in parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. The task force ensures safe harvest limits and is advised by GLIFWC. Gilbert invited Dehnert to attend the meeting.
Dehnert said, “We spent probably two to three hours just listening to the questions they had, concerns they had – big questions they were really hoping to answer.” Those questions involved PFAS levels in fish, wild rice, and maple syrup and other things tribal members harvest on a regular basis.
“Gavin kept saying, ‘Well, we don’t know, we don’t know.’ But he took what he heard there, and he wrote up a grant proposal to test the waters in rice lakes and in walleye lakes, and to test the sap of maple trees. That’s exactly what the tribes were telling him they were really concerned about,” Gilbert said.
The three-year tribally driven project, “Quantifying PFAS bioaccumulation and health impacts on economically important plants and animals associated with aquatic ecosystems in Ceded Territories,” was recently funded by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Water Resources Research Act Program, the same program through which WRI is funded.
The project has three goals: 1) Assess aquatic environments for PFAS contamination in the Ceded Territories, 2) Determine the accumulation of PFAS in different plants and animals and 3) Understand the health impacts from PFAS exposure. In addition to Dehnert and Gilbert, the project involves Emily Cornelius Ruhs with the University of Chicago, Sean Strom with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and Christine Custer and Robert Flynn with USGS.
Dehnert said that part one of the project will explore lakes where there’s high harvests of walleye and other fish species and wild rice in Ceded Territories. Researchers will look for the presence of PFAS and determine the levels.
Part two involves understanding the bioaccumulation of PFAS in harvestable goods. “If we know that it’s in the water source where these walleye or wild rice are living, we want to be able to have some sort of correlation between how much PFAS is in the lake water and then how much is then getting into the fish and wild rice,” Dehnert said. Gilbert stressed that they don’t know how much PFAS moves from the water into fish and plants. They will also test vats of maple sap harvested by tribal members.
Part three will look at impacts on organisms that live in the aquatic environments, focusing on tree swallows. This part, led by Ruhs, will explore how PFAS can impact the immune function of tree swallows in different life stages, from nestlings to adults. The swallows are considered an indicator species for contaminated water because they feed near their nesting area almost solely on aquatic insects. Researchers will take blood samples from the birds and look at white blood cell count and antibodies.
Part one will begin this spring with sampling of maple sap and lake water in 25 lakes.
Dehnert is looking forward to the project.
“It’s not focusing on just science for science. There’s a true actionable side to it. That was why we chose the plants and animals that were highly harvested by these tribes. If you’re finding high concentrations of PFAS in these types of harvestable goods, they are going to disproportionately impact the tribes because they are relying on them for their sustainability and food consumption. Sometimes in science people might look at different plants and animals that don’t really have a cultural tie. So that, to me, has always been why we got so excited about this project,” he said.
News Release | WRI
https://www.wri.wisc.edu/news/new-project-tests-ceded-territories-for-pfas-at-request-of-tribes/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-project-tests-ceded-territories-for-pfas-at-request-of-tribes
