Large amounts of “unsightly” and smelly vegetation has been washing up on Toronto’s Cherry Beach shoreline recently, but the director of water programs at Swim Drink Fish Canada says there’s no need for alarm. Read the full story by CBC News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220826-cherry-beach

Theresa Gruninger

The Lake Erie Volunteer Science Network — a collaboration of 16 local water quality monitoring programs convened by the Cleveland Water Alliance — has published a set of standards for volunteer-collected data. The standards aim to empower communities to tell a new regional story about the health of watersheds and support smart environmental education, research, and management.  Read the full story by WaterWorld.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220826-data

Theresa Gruninger

Québec’s cold waters are and extremely low levels of pollution from industrial or urban sources is favorable for high quality algae growth. Fifteen species are now certified “Fourchette bleue” or Blue Fork 2022, a Québec certification that aims to introduce new marine products to the public while also supporting sustainable use of the resource. Read the full story by The Conservation.

 

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220826-algae

Theresa Gruninger

Coal ash contaminating groundwater near Joliet to stay, despite residents’ and activists’ concerns

Joliet, Illinois, a city of about 150,000 people southwest of Chicago, has long depended on a deep sandstone aquifer for drinking water – an increasingly strained resource that city officials hope to supplement with a billion-dollar pipeline from Lake Michigan.

But while this highly publicized search for a new source of municipal water unfolds, some residents who rely on private well water face a different threat.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/08/coal-ash-contaminating-groundwater-near-joliet-to-stay/

Sarah Aie

Rising waters, sinking feeling: From the Great Lakes to the Ohio River, climate change puts coal ash impoundments at risk

Just upstream of Alabama’s Mobile Bay sits a vast region of wetlands known as the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, home to one of the most diverse ecosystems in the United States. As well as 21 million cubic yards of wet coal ash. 

The J.M. Barry Power Plant has been a flashpoint between environmental advocates and the state utility, Alabama Power, for years.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/08/climate-change-puts-coal-ash-impoundments-at-risk/

Joshua Irvine

Bison are on the upswing again as ranchers and government officials aim to increase their populations across the United States. And that could have implications for other livestock operations.

The post In Northern Michigan, bison are teaching a lesson in sustainability first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.

Original Article

Great Lakes Echo

Great Lakes Echo

http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/08/26/in-northern-michigan-bison-are-teaching-a-lesson-in-sustainability/

Guest Contributor

New stamps celebrate NOAA marine sanctuaries’ landscapes and marine life

Ever visited a U.S. national marine sanctuary and look forward to another trip? If so, you can have inspiration through a new set of postage stamps.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuary System, the U.S. Postal Service is releasing 16 new postage stamps showing scenes from sanctuaries around the world.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/08/stamps-celebrate-noaa-landscapes-marine-life/

Tynnetta Harris

August 25, 2022
By Marie Zhuikov

The Wisconsin Idea is one of the longest and deepest traditions surrounding the University of Wisconsin. It promotes the principle that education and the influence of the university need to reach beyond the boundaries of the classroom across the state.

A new Water Resources Institute project will survey rural communities across Wisconsin to discover their perceptions about groundwater quality and quantity. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov

Associate Professor of Geoscience Michael Cardiff and his research team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are applying the Wisconsin Idea to groundwater issues. They received two years of funding from the University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute to survey rural residents about their perceptions regarding groundwater quality and quantity. The findings will be interpreted by a panel of experts who will use the results to inform future water opportunities and research directions.

“The central goal is basically understanding people’s perspectives on this issue of water availability with the idea that if we better understand stakeholders — the people who care about water — we can do a better job of making decisions that are positive and are viewed positively,” Cardiff said.

The water survey will be sent by mail in early 2023 to people who live in rural communities. “As far as we’re aware, it’s going to be the first of its kind to try and get a better handle on rural Wisconsin perspectives,” Cardiff said. “We are focusing on rural counties because 97% of our state is rural and the majority of water is beneath those counties, but we’re also trying to get some diversity represented in the counties we are surveying.” Cardiff noted that rural communities depend on groundwater for their drinking water supply because many do not have public water treatment systems.

For a second part of the study, the researchers will examine news stories, research reports, county plans and public comments with a technique called natural language processing, which allows computers to read and extract meaning from text. The computers will be instructed to analyze and summarize articles that contain terms such as “water quality.” Cardiff explained this is another way to tune into conversations surrounding water issues in various communities.

Michael Cardiff (Submitted photo)

This project was an unexpected benefit from the social isolation that Cardiff experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic. “It was a great chance to pause and consider the impact of my work,” he said. “I came to the conclusion that I love the technical aspects of the work I do, but one of the reasons I’m in hydrology is that it’s important that the work has positive outcomes – both for people and the planet. I felt there was a niche to make more connections with people about what’s going on with water resources and understand their perspectives so we can have productive conversations throughout the state.”

Collaborating with Cardiff on the project are Bret Shaw, associate professor in life sciences communication and Ken Genskow, professor of planning and landscape architecture. Both are at UW-Madison. Shaw will ensure the survey questions elicit useful information and that they are understandable. Genskow has experience bridging the gap between water science and social science. He’ll bring his experience working with rural communities on issues such as nitrate contamination in groundwater.

They will be aided by students Catherine Christenson and Campbell Dunn.

This project is also receiving additional funding from the U.S. Geological Survey.

The post Research survey aligns the Wisconsin Idea with water first appeared on WRI.

Original Article

News Release | WRI

News Release | WRI

https://www.wri.wisc.edu/news/research-survey-aligns-the-wisconsin-idea-with-water/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=research-survey-aligns-the-wisconsin-idea-with-water

Marie Zhuikov

In the Finger Lakes, a bitcoin mining plant billed as ‘green’ has a dirty coal ash problem

The village of Dresden is nestled amid charming vineyards and the placid blue waters of Seneca Lake, the largest of Upstate New York’s Finger Lakes. 

Wineries, breweries, dairy farms, and state parks dot the lake’s shoreline, making it a picture-perfect vacation destination.

But for local residents, the three auburn-colored smokestacks of Greenidge Generation’s plant towering above the trees are an unnerving reminder that their natural resources are at risk.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/08/bitcoin-mining-plant-dirty-coal-ash-problem/

Sruthi Gopalakrishnan

Leaking landfills: Unregulated coal ash poses a buried, brewing threat to Lake Michigan and beyond, new lawsuit says

At almost 300 sites on the Great Lakes and coast to coast, unregulated buried and landfilled coal ash is putting water supplies at risk, alleges a federal lawsuit filed August 25. 

This threat is in addition to contamination from up to 700 coal ash repositories that are covered by 2015 federal coal ash rules.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/08/unregulated-coal-ash-poses-brewing-threat-to-lake-michigan/

Diana Leane and Sarah Aie

PFAS News Roundup: Eliminating “forever chemicals,” reporting obligations broadening

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/2022/08/pfas-news-roundup-eliminating-forever-chemicals-reporting-obligations/

Kathy Johnson

The 2021 publication advanced understanding of VHSV, an invasive pathogen affecting fish, in Wisconsin waters

A journal article that grew out of Wisconsin Sea Grant-funded research has been honored with a Publications Award from the American Fisheries Society (AFS), presented today at the society’s annual meeting in Spokane, Washington.

The society honors one outstanding paper from each of its journals annually with this award. “Widespread Seropositivity to Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia Virus in Four Species of Inland Sport Fishes in Wisconsin” was published last year in the Journal of Aquatic Animal Health. Its authors are Whitney A. Thiel, Kathy L. Toohey-Kurth, David Giehtbrock, Bridget B. Baker, Megan Finley and Tony L. Goldberg.

In this July 2016 photo taken near Wauzeka, Wis., Whitney Thiel draws blood from a brown trout while Tony Goldberg observes. (Photo: Bryce Richter, UW-Madison)

The team’s work revealed a more accurate and complex picture of Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia Virus (VHSV) than previously understood. They found evidence of VHSV farther inland than anticipated, as well as “hot spots” and “not spots”—affected and unaffected bodies of water—that were surprisingly close together.

Said Thiel, who completed her master’s degree at UW-Madison in 2019, “I was surprised and flattered when I heard about the award. What a great feeling to know our research, something we all worked so hard on for so many years, is appreciated by the scientific community.”

In addition to serving as the paper’s first author, Thiel presented the group’s work at the Great Lakes Fish Health Committee meeting last year, where it was well received. “I think others are grateful for the insights into inland VHS prevalence that this wide-scale surveillance effort has provided,” she said.

Goldberg, who holds the John D. MacArthur Chair in the Department of Pathobiological Sciences at the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, also noted that the publication sparked discussion with others in the field. “I suspect it was an eye opener because it changed our vision of what VHSV is, from a lethal and geographically restricted pathogen to a sometimes not-so-lethal pathogen with a far wider distribution than originally suspected.”

For the study, blood samples were drawn from fish in a non-lethal way. (Photo: Bryce Richter, UW-Madison).

The work has implications for mitigating the virus’ spread. Said Goldberg, “VHSV is not ‘everywhere.’ Rather, there are antibody-negative water bodies very close to antibody-positive water bodies, so the risk of spread is still there. In other words, our paper should not be interpreted as an excuse to throw up our hands. There’s still a lot of prevention that can be done.”

Looking ahead, he anticipates that researchers working in other regions will find similar patterns in VHSV occurrence. In the meantime, Goldberg is pleased by the AFS honor and credits former graduate student Thiel’s role in the effort. “I’m very proud of what Whitney did during this project. There’s no doubt in my mind that we would not have been able to do a study like this without a stellar–and Sea Grant-funded–student like Whitney.”

Find previous Sea Grant coverage of this work here, and the team’s journal article here.

The post American Fisheries Society honors journal article based on Sea Grant-funded research first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/afs-honors-journal-article/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=afs-honors-journal-article

Jennifer Smith

At Pere Marquette Beach in Muskegon, Michigan, Meijer announced the launch of two drones to clean up microplastics—small fragments of plastic in the environment resulting from broken down trash and debris—that have been polluting the Great Lakes shoreline. Read the full story by WOOD-TV — Grand Rapids, MI.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220824-cleanup-drones

James Polidori

A circulating petition in Haldimand County, Ontario, is asking Conservation Ontario to streamline the process to allow property owners to conduct restoration work to remedy increased erosion to the Lake Erie shoreline. Read the full story by The Hamilton Spectator.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220824-lakeerie-erosion

James Polidori

Members of the Ojibwe Tribe in northern Wisconsin and Minnesota have stewarded land that grows wild rice for centuries. Now, chiefs and scientists with the tribes are working with the Department of Natural Resources and the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission to protect the remaining rice lakes from further damage. Read the full story by the Green Bay Press-Gazette.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220824-ricelake-protection

James Polidori

Flint, Michigan, was unaffected by the water main break that affected 23 southeast Michigan communities due to Flint’s secondary water source from the Genesee County Drain Commission, a recent upgrade to the city’s water system. Read the full story by MLive.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220824-watersupply-upgrades

James Polidori

Property owners in Porter, Indiana, are seeking to undo a 2018 Indiana Supreme Court ruling that proclaimed the shoreline of Lake Michigan to be owned by the state and held in trust for the enjoyment of all Hoosiers. Read the full story by The Times of Northwest Indiana.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220824-lawsuit-publicshoreline

James Polidori

A bilingual children’s book is now available at Grand Haven State Park, Michigan, to educate children on water safety measures due to increasingly frequent drownings along the West Michigan shoreline. Read the full story by the Grand Haven Tribune.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220824-watersafety-education

James Polidori

Great Lakes Water Authority officials announced that a replacement pipe scheduled to be delivered Tuesday to the site of a major water main break in Metro Detroit has been delayed until the end of the week. This delay could postpone repair efforts and cause another boil water advisory if water pressure is impacted by repairs. Read the full story by WDIV-TV — Detroit, MI.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220824-watermain-repairdelay

James Polidori

On Thursday morning, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Lt. Governor Jon Husted, Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Mary Mertz, and members of their staffs boarded boats to enjoy the lake they have worked hard to protect. They fished for perch, cast for walleye, and searched for ways to further collaborate in their efforts to preserve Lake Erie. Read the full story by the Fremont News Messenger.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220822-ohiogov-lakeeriefishingtrip

Hannah Reynolds

How do you make Lake Erie “smart”? The Cleveland Water Alliance (CWA) set out to do just that. Inspired by smart cities where you can get real-time traffic updates or find a parking space on your phone, they wondered… ‘what could the lake tell us?’ Now, the CWA is impacting public health and safety while attracting good-paying jobs to Cleveland. They are diving into the water economy. Read the full story by WKYC-TV – Cleveland, OH.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220822-smartlakeerie-clejobs

Hannah Reynolds

The Great Lakes Seaway Partnership today announced the tonnage report for traffic through the St. Lawrence Seaway through July, showing a continuation to a steady 2022 shipping season. Read the full story by KIWA – Sheldon, IA. 

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220822-grainshipments-greatlakes-stlawrence

Hannah Reynolds

A new Beaver Island passenger ferry is expected to be built in the next three to five years after the state of Michigan budgeted $14 million for the vessel, according to officials of the Beaver Island Boat Company which operates the ferry service between Charlevoix, Michigan and Beaver Island in Lake Michigan. Read the full story by Mlive.com.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220822-beaverisland-ferry

Hannah Reynolds

An Ontario family paddled for 195 kilometres downstream on the St. Lawrence River this summer, in pursuit of a mission to canoe all the way from Guelph, Ont., to the Atlantic Ocean. Their canoe journey started six years ago, when some members of the family decided to explore the rivers near Guelph, their hometown. Read the full story by CBC News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220822-ontariofamilypaddles-stlawrenceriver

Hannah Reynolds

There have been more beach advisories issued this week along parts of Lake Superior. The Minnesota Department of Health says the only current advisory to not enter the water is at Twin Points Public Access Beach, north of Gooseberry Falls State Park, which began on Tuesday.  The alert is due to water testing finding elevated E. coli bacteria levels. Read the full story by Fox 21 Online.  

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220822-ripcurrentrisks-ecolioutbreaks

Hannah Reynolds

The Great Lakes Water Authority announced that the boil water advisory, which has been in effect for seven communities since a water main break was discovered on Aug. 13, has been lifted. Only one business in Greenwood remains under a boil water advisory. Read the full story by The Detroit News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220822-watermainbreak-boiladvisorylifted

Hannah Reynolds

The 2022-23 school year is just around the corner. For a group of 10 undergraduate students, a big corner in their academic careers has already been rounded—a 10-week Sea Grant summer internship probing freshwater science topics, which recently concluded.

The undergraduates were selected through a competitive process that drew interest from students across the U.S. and territories. Sea Grant staff, and collaborators from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division Laboratory; Lake Michigan Stakeholders; and Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission provided mentorship and helped advance work on projects that:

  • Shared dangerous current information with Great Lakes beachgoers.
  • Communicated about Wisconsin farm-raised and wild-caught fish.
  • Expanded the voices heard in the Wisconsin Water Library.
  • Advanced the goals of the Lake Michigan Stakeholders nongovernmental agency.
  • Conducted a literature search on the linkages between mental health and climate change to prepare for future work.
  • Explored a mutual shared history and sense of place in Great Lakes communities
  • Coordinated on GIS projects to understand ecosystems.
  • Considered manoomin harvest in the context of climate adaption and resilience.
  • Assessed the risk of spreading aquatic invasive species in the used-watercraft marketplace.

Meet the interns who made a difference this summer. They answered some questions about the experience, and then threw in a comment about their preferred superpower:  

woman standing among fall leaves

Korynne Wilson. Submitted photo.

Korynne Wilson will be a junior at Beloit College this fall, majoring in biology and double minoring in public health and education. She spent the summer acting as an ambassador for water safety and water quality on Milwaukee’s Great Lakes beaches, having conversations with beachgoers. Wilson said it was rewarding to provide people with water safety resources that they may not have had before, especially families with young children. When not on the beach, Wilson undertook equity-related projects within Milwaukee, including addressing transportation barriers to lakefront recreation areas. Going into the medical field, Wilson said the internship opened her eyes to just how much lack of access and resources to water is a public health and safety issue, predominantly affecting minority populations. If Wilson had a superpower, she would be most satisfied with teleportation.

Two women sitting outdoors

Emma Kraco (right) with mentor Eat Wisconsin Fish Specialist Sharon Moen, who is with Sea Grant. Photo: Jennifer Smith

Spring 2022 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Emma Kraco put her biology degree and extensive experience working with aquaculture systems to use as part of the Eat Wisconsin Fish initiative. The initiative connects consumers, fish farmers and commercial fishers through information about local fish available for purchase in Wisconsin. It seeks to create a safe and sustainable seafood supply to meet consumer demand, as well as foster informed consumers who understand the health benefits of seafood consumption and how to evaluate the safety and sustainability of the seafood they buy. Kraco led data management efforts that fuel directories and the map on the Eat Wisconsin Fish website. She said, “The most rewarding thing was connecting with local producers and hearing their needs. I loved being able to connect people to resources to make their work easier.” The internship also sparked future goals, with Kraco saying, “This opportunity has inspired me to continue to hone my skills in science communication. I believe that having the chance to connect with producers in this way has made me a better scientist. This internship also tipped the scales on my decision to pursue a master’s in geographic information services.” Finally, if possessing a superpower was a reality, Kraco said she would be breathing underwater “without all the pesky gear.”

Smiling woman outdoors, wearing glasses

Maya Reinfeldt. Submitted photo.

Over the course of 10 weeks, Maya Reinfeldt explored the collections and programming of the Wisconsin Water Library with a critical eye towards ensuring multicultural perspectives and approaches. One project was the expansion of the Maadagindan! Start Reading! Book Club, which serves librarians and educators and is focused on children’s books about Ojibwe culture and the Great Lakes. (go.wisc.edu/e964d6). The book club resumes in the fall and Reinfeldt put plans in place for those upcoming talks. She is a 2002 International Relations and Russian Literature degree-holder from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Reinfeldt said the internship, “Solidified my conviction that cultural and linguistic diversity and exchange be a facet of any career I may develop. In my professional and academic career thus far, nothing else has felt more purposeful, hopeful and fulfilling (than the internship).” She said her superpower of choice is, “Not getting tired while biking to work!”

The Lake Michigan Stakeholders organization is made up of professionals in the fields of environmental management, academic research, education, community outreach, outdoor advocacy, agriculture and private industry. Its members collaborate to promote and celebrate the health and viability of Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan basin through stewardship and education. Sea Grant forged a partnership with the group and supported two interns this summer—Hali Jama and Isabella Blanco—who in turn supported the goals of Lake Michigan stewardship and education.

Smiling woman

Hali Jama. Submitted photo. 

Jama will be a junior this fall at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she is majoring in business, an academic path she recently broadened. “Honestly, a year ago today, my plan was to pursue business and business only, but since working with Wisconsin Sea Grant, I have added environmental studies as a minor,” she said. “I am excited to continue to learn and immerse myself in work that makes a difference.” Through a concurrent internship, Jama also produced Sea Grant podcasts on environmental justice. Her No. 1 pick for a superpower is teleportation. “I am a very time-strict person, and if I could just snap my fingers and be where I am supposed to be then my life would be much easier.”

 

 

Smiling woman

Isabella Blanco. Submitted photo.

The second Lake Michigan Stakeholders intern, Blanco, said, “My experience with Wisconsin Sea Grant has been an informative and engaging look into water education and management in Wisconsin. By collaborating with the Lake Michigan Stakeholders, I have worked on their communication strategies and developed environmental equity toolkits.” The rising senior who is majoring in environmental science at the University of California Los Angeles went on to note, “The most rewarding aspect of this experience has been being able to plan Lake Michigan Day and reach out to organizations in Wisconsin about collaborating with Lake Michigan Stakeholders.” Like her fellow Lake Michigan Stakeholder intern, Blanco selected teleportation as a dream superpower. “I would be saving gas emissions and traveling the world!”

 

Smiling woman with long curly hair.

Genesis Perez. Submitted photo.

Genesis Perez is a recent graduate of the Inter American University of Puerto Rico, Arecibo Campus with a degree in biotechnology and minors in biology and chemistry. She said, “The most rewarding part of my internship was definitely being able to work more independently and create my own research project from scratch. It was such an interesting process from going to just a broad idea to getting to the point of having specific research questions.” That research project centered on the intersection of mental health and climate change. The goal of the project was to build understanding of how climate change is impacting mental health in Wisconsin, especially in the state’s northern coastal communities, and ways that community outreach can be responsive to mental health. And a superpower? “If I had a superpower, it would be teleportation. This would be handy because commuting is tiresome at times, and I would love to just appear where I need to be! Plus, the benefit of just appearing in a new city for a weekend would be exciting,” said Perez.

Smiling woman wearing glasses

Jaycie Hudson. Submitted photo.

For Jaycie Hudson, August is winding down, but planning for the future continues to ramp up. She said the internship, “Gave me has some really strong experience in researching a specific topic and doing something meaningful with the information. This internship has helped me prepare for applying to graduate school, because I now feel more comfortable coming up with research topics and reaching out for help to actualize them.” She credited the support from Katie Williams and Tom Hollenhorst, with the EPA in Duluth, Minnesota. “They have been flexible and willing to teach me things outside of just the internship. I have learned a lot more than I expected, and I can see how I will be able to use the skills from the internship in the future,” said Hudson, a rising senior at the University of Minnesota Duluth. She is majoring in biology and community health, and through the internship Hudson developed existing and new tools and platforms for crowdsourced local knowledge and sense of place in the Great Lakes Basin. The work explored how crowdsourcing with public participation geographic information systems and social media analysis can reveal local knowledge and history as well as local community values, placed-based memories and experiences. Zooming in on those local memories would be easier using Hudson’s superpower of choice—microscopic vision.

The final three interns were Mansi Patel, a 2022-23 junior at the University of California Santa Barbara who researched activities associated with a variety of Great Lakes ecosystems; Justin Azure, a chemical engineering major at the University of Minnesota Duluth who researched the history of manoomin and its importance to Indigenous people, and helped plan events and workshops; and Isabella Noyle, who will be a 2022-23 senior at Concordia College, and who collected data on the risk of moving aquatic invasive species from place to place via the sale of used recreational watercraft.

The post Summer scholars benefit from mentoring during internship first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/summer-scholars-benefit-from-mentoring-during-internship/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=summer-scholars-benefit-from-mentoring-during-internship

Moira Harrington

...PATCHY DENSE FOG MAY POSE A HAZARD TO MOTORISTS EARLY THIS MORNING... Patchy dense fog may impact the early morning commute. Poor or rapidly changing visibility may result in locally hazardous travel conditions. If driving, be alert for abrupt changes in the visibility,

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=WI126406EAD2FC.SpecialWeatherStatement.126406EB8D50WI.GRBSPSGRB.3b77a733acfe35fc01f412b80021d336

w-nws.webmaster@noaa.gov

...PATCHY DENSE FOG MAY POSE A HAZARD TO MOTORISTS EARLY MONDAY MORNING... Patchy dense fog is expected to develop across the area during the early morning hours. The fog could reduce the visibility to less than 1/4 mile in places, resulting in locally hazardous travel conditions.

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=WI126406EA2EEC.SpecialWeatherStatement.126406EAFCC8WI.GRBSPSGRB.3b77a733acfe35fc01f412b80021d336

w-nws.webmaster@noaa.gov

...PATCHY DENSE FOG WILL CONTINUE ACROSS CENTRAL AND EAST CENTRAL WISCONSIN EARLY THIS MORNING... Areas of fog will impact travel over central and east central Wisconsin early this morning. Patchy dense fog, with visibilities of 1/4 mile or less, can be expected at times. The fog will continue through 8 am or 9 am before mixing out.

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=WI126406DB9CD8.SpecialWeatherStatement.126406DC7220WI.GRBSPSGRB.494cf03b682e092eb57578d83349b4a7

w-nws.webmaster@noaa.gov

Professor emeritus of environment and sustainability at the University of Michigan Don Scavia explains why voluntary measures to control the nutrient runoff from farms that fuels the blooms haven’t worked and are unlikely to, and called on the EPA to shift its focus from practices to outcomes. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220819-alagl-blooms

Theresa Gruninger

Work is underway on two projects meant to bolster the flood resiliency of parks in the Cayuga County village of Fair Haven, New York, in response to flooding along Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. Read the full story by The Citizen.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220819-flood-resiliency

Theresa Gruninger

This summer Juliann Krupa, Volunteer Engagement Manager, and Oliva Reda, Volunteer Engagement Coordinator, set out to clean beaches and meet volunteers around the Great Lakes region. They cleaned up trash, heard from communities, and built new connections. We chatted with the Volunteer team to hear some of the highlights of their travels so far, the program’s goal to collect a half million pounds of litter, and what’s next for the Adopt-a-Beach program. 

Alliance: What was the catalyst for taking a cleanup road trip this summer?  

Juliann: After two years of the pandemic, Olivia and I wanted to make an intentional effort to get out and connect face-to-face with people and groups around the region. The Alliance for the Great Lakes works to represent the entire Great Lakes region. So that means all the way from New York to Minnesota. We felt it was essential to get on the ground in many places, reconnect with partners old and new, and hear directly what issues people are talking about in various regions.  

Olivia: It was helpful for us to see a lot of the locations that we may send different Adopt-a-Beach groups that cleanups happen at, or a lot of times, volunteers will reach out wanting some recommendations in a particular area. So, it’s helpful for us to see some of these locations and help potential volunteers as they’re also seeking out participation in programs. 

Alliance: Were you able to ask the volunteers questions about why they got involved? 

Olivia  Yes, we did. It’s super helpful to speak to volunteers on the ground in their areas. We learned a lot about what volunteers care about in each area. So, it’s beneficial to see the locations ourselves and hear from local communities and volunteers about what’s most pressing for them in those areas.  

Alliance: Were there any interesting volunteer stories or volunteer adventures this summer?  

Juliann: We had one experience in Rochester, NY, where we met a volunteer at a cleanup. Afterward, they offered and were willing to show us around some sites where they had seen a lot of plastic pollution build-up.  

Olivia: For our first Spring Kick-Off cleanup this year, we had one of our corporate cleanups with Merz Pharma at Racine Zoo Beach. It was pouring rain, and it was not the warmest either, but they were real troopers. Moments like those emphasize how awesome our volunteers are and how they’re willing to help rain or shine.  

Alliance: Let’s talk about September Adopt–a–Beach a little bit. The date is approaching. Are there any specific goals you hope to achieve this year? 

Juliann: September Adopt-a-Beach is the most important day of action for the Great Lakes. Thousands of Adopt-a-Beach volunteers will clean and celebrate Great Lakes shorelines as part of the International Coastal Cleanup, which is held on the third Saturday of September each year.  

The Alliance is the Great Lakes coordinator for this effort. We hope to have around 5000 volunteers across the Great Lakes on September 17th working to keep their coastlines clean and collecting data on what they find that goes back into our regional coastal litter dataset.  

This year we’re working to reach our goal of collecting half a million pounds of litter from Great Lakes shorelines. So, we’re close, and hoping September Adopt–a–Beach will bring us over that number.  

Olivia: We’re hoping to reach this goal and will shine a powerful spotlight on the magnitude of plastic pollution and continue to educate and inspire people to take action on this issue.  

Alliance: For people who are thinking about volunteering for cleanups like September Adopt-a-Beach to do their part to keep our beaches and shorelines clean, how can they get involved? 

Olivia: It’s super easy to get started with us. There are a couple of different options to get involved with September Adopt–a–Beach; you can find a cleanup to attend in your area. So, you can go to adopt.greatlakes.org and find a cleanup near you to attend and register. 

Juliann: You can also become a team leader by hosting a cleanup with us. So, you can choose a date and beach location where you would like to lead a cleanup and invite your community members to attend. We have a lot of resources available to support you. 

Olivia: We also have a virtual team leader training coming up that you can attend and get some tips on the process of being a team leader and leading a cleanup. 

Alliance: What is the biggest takeaway from your summer road trip experience? 

Juliann: It was a great learning experience for both of us. We learned a lot more about the Lakes, and it was great to make new connections and rekindle old relationships. We’re inspired by how much advocacy and action there is for the Lakes and how many people care about this resource and human health. 

Juliann and Olivia are not done touring the Great Lakes region. They have additional stops planned for the rest of August and September and look forward to keeping the conversations going over the winter. 

The post To the Beach: Adopt-a-Beach Cleanup Road Trip Recap  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/2022/08/to-the-beach-adopt-a-beach-cleanup-road-trip-recap/

Michelle Farley