270 Projects Approved For Great Lakes Initiative Funding

May 28: U.S. EPA's Great Lakes National Program Office invited 270 finalists to submit applications for a total of $161,450,000 in competitive grant funding under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI). In response to its November 2009 request for grant proposals (RFP), EPA received more than 1,000 proposed projects from state, tribal, and municipal agencies, non-governmental organizations and other eligible entities aimed at restoring and protecting this national treasure. GLRI grants will fund projects that address the most important Great Lakes priorities, including reducing toxic contaminants, restoring the Great Lakes Areas of Concern, protecting beaches and beachgoers, keeping out invasive species and reducing polluted land-based runoff.

    Finalists may submit final applications immediately so that grants may be issued and work can begin this summer. Successful projects will focus on achieving results in the five priority areas identified by a Federal interagency task force as vital for restoring the Great Lakes. Each preliminary proposal was subjected to a rigorous review and ranking by multiple reviewers from EPA or other federal agencies. In February 2009, President Obama proposed $475 million for the GLRI and Congress appropriated full funding in October. Grants are expected to be awarded later this summer. Michigan had 99 projects approved for final applications.

    Access a release and link to a list of projects by states and by program areas and additional information on the finalists and the RFP (click here).

Binational Public Engagement For GLWQA Amendments

May 27: The Governments of Canada and the United States (the Parties) recognize the importance of engaging the Great Lakes community as they proceed with the negotiations to amend the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA). Therefore, to ensure broad and meaningful public engagement, the Parties are inviting public input on a number of substantive issues being addressed during the negotiations.   

 

    The parties have established a series of binational public webinars on the issues at various times on June 7, 8, and 9. The issues include: Governance including Place-Based Approaches and Science Coordination; Climate Change Impacts and Habitats and Species; Toxic Substances; Nutrients; and Ship-Source Pollution and Aquatic Invasive Species. They are interested in receiving input and comments on all issues and have established a separate website for comments on all issues.

 

    Access complete information with details on times and web links for each webinar and for submitting comments (click here). Access the GLNPO GLWQA website for additional information (click here).

New Website For International Upper Great Lakes Study

May 27: The International Upper Great Lakes Study has launched a completely redesigned website. According to an announcement, the key goal of the new design is to allow the public easier access to important information and Study documents. For example, the Study Board, Technical Working Groups and Public Interest Advisory Group all have new pages where the interested public can find information about membership, mandate, meeting minutes and progress reports. The latest information regarding the Study is available in a "Highlights" area, and the "Media" section archives helpful documents, including "On the Level" (the Study newsletter), news releases, and detailed factsheets about key aspects of the Study. The site also provides easy access to all documents related to the St. Clair River report that was published last year, including the final report, summary documents, supporting technical reports and public comments.

 

    Access the new website (click here). Access several WIMS blog postings on the Upper Great Lakes Study (click here).

No Asian Carp Found In Latest Sampling Operation

May 25: The Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (RCC) wrapped up a the sampling and data collection operation on the Little Calumet River in South Chicago on Tuesday (May 25). Fisheries biologists from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and other supporting agencies collected just over 100,000 pounds of fish during the week long operation. Over 40 species of fish were collected though no Bighead or Silver Asian carps were found.  

 

RCC co‐chair John Rogner said, "We will now look at the entire body of evidence collected thus far, including eDNA sampling results and all of our conventional sampling with nets and electrofishing gear to see if we can draw ay further conclusions about the risk of invasion and establishment of Asian carp in Lake Michigan through the Chicago Area Wateway System." The safety zone restrictions established on the Calumet River and Little Calumet River between mile marker 321.5 and 326.5 have been lifted by the U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port. IDNR fisheries said it will restock the area with a variety of sport fish species in the future. Over 250 people from more than 20 local, state and federal agencies contributed to the sampling and data collection efforts.

 

    Access a release from RCC (click here). Access photographs and b‐roll footage from the operation (click here). Access further information on the Asian Carp RCC and Asian carp control efforts (click here).

Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Accountability System

May 25: The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) Accountability System is an internet-based system designed to track GLRI projects in order to assess the GLRI's effectiveness. The Conference Report accompanying Public Law 111-88, House Report 111-316, requires EPA to develop a process that "ensures monitoring and reporting on the progress of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative" (GLRI). A video has been prepared to demonstrate the features of the Great Lakes Accountability System (GLAS) data input screens. The 28 measures listed in the GLRI Action Plan will be tracked through GLAS.

 

    Access an Introduction to the GLRI GLAS (click here). Access the video demonstration (click here). Access the GLRI Action Plan (click here). Access the GLRI website for more information (click here).

Groups Praise Senators For Asian Carp Control Efforts

May 24: Conservation and environmental groups praised U.S. senators for taking action to stop the movement of aquatic invasive species like the Asian carp between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. In a letter to the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, Great Lakes senators are urging Congress to direct the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study how to build a physical barrier between two of North America's largest freshwater ecosystems. The groups signing the letter included:

Alliance for the Great Lakes; Environment Illinois; Freshwater Future; Great Lakes United; Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition; National Wildlife Federation; Natural Resources Defense Council; Prairie Rivers Network; and Sierra Club.

 

    The letter from the Senate Great Lakes Task Force to EPW Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Ranking Member James Inhofe (R-OK) is signed by Great Lakes Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ronald Burris (D-IL), Bob Casey (D-PA), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Al Franken (D-MN), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Herb Kohl (D-WI), Carl Levin (D-MI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Arlen Specter (D-PA), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and George Voinovich (R-OH).

    Jack Darin, director of the Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter said, "We applaud Sen. Durbin for his leadership in seeking a long-term  solution to the threat posed by Asian carp, and other invasive species, to Lake Michigan and our Illinois River system. For right now, we have little choice but to try to find and kill Asian carp, but the study Sen. Durbin and the other senators are calling for gives us hope for a permanent fix that won't require repeated poisonings of the Chicago River system."

    Among other items, the Senators request in their letter that the EPW Committee include in the next Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) now under consideration a provision to "authorize the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to implement measures recommended in the Efficacy Study, authorized under section 3061 of WRDA 2007, authorize a study to separate watersheds, authorize measures to prevent the movement of aquatic nuisance species, purchase real estate, and provide improvements to making Barrier I a permanent barrier."

    In a separate release, Senator Durbin said, "Asian Carp has the potential to do great damage by threatening the native fish and natural wildlife of the lake and in turn, the economy of the entire Great Lakes region. I am glad to join my colleagues from the region in calling for this study and other measures to be included in the next Water Resources Development Act. We must continue working together to find a solution that will protect our lakes, while preserving jobs and promoting economic activity in the region." The issue of providing a permanent barrier via separating watersheds has been highly contentious between the State of Illinois and other Great Lakes states.

 

    Access a release from the groups and link to their letter and related information (click here). Access a release from Sen. Durbin that includes the letter from the Senators (click here).

Asian Carp Sampling Effort Officially Underway

May 20: A release from the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (RCC) indicates that a five-mile section of the Little Calumet River in South Chicago is now closed to all traffic for a period of four to six days as sampling efforts for Asian carp get underway. The closure is necessary for biologists to safely and effectively apply the fish toxicant Rotenone to a more than two-mile stretch of the waterway at T.J. O'Brien Lock and Dam as a part of ongoing Asian carp sampling efforts by RCC. The length and location of the application and fish removal area was chosen to maximize the opportunity to capture Asian carp by including a variety of habitats along a substantial length of river channel that has had a high frequency of positive eDNA detections. 

  
    The release indicates that in addition to the Rotenone action, simultaneous electrofishing and commercial netting will take place between the downstream block net and Acme Bend. Electrofishing and netting will allow for an expansion of the area sampled and a comparison of conventional methods with Rotenone sampling. The waterway will be treated in one day, and the fish recovery phase of the operation will last for four to five days. During that time, the FWS, Illinois DNR, and other participating agencies will aim to recover as many fish in the application area as possible to determine the abundance and type of fish present in the treated area.

    The release says, "Knowledge of the population size and location of possible Asian carp in CAWS is important data that will inform biologists and decision makers on selecting and prioritizing appropriate future actions to keep Asian carp from moving into Lake Michigan." The RCC includes representatives from the City of Chicago, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. EPA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

    Access a release from RCC (click here). Access further details on implementation of this new sampling and monitoring plan and the updated Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework (click here).