New York Sea Grant Restoration Initiative Projects

Nov 14: The New York Sea Grant (NYSG) announced that it will collaborate on four Great Lakes Restoration Initiative projects. Award-winning educators David MacNeill, a fisheries specialist, and coastal education specialist Helen Domske will be key partners in efforts to: evaluate the status of Lake Ontario's food web; develop resources for North American scientists on high-risk aquatic invasive species currently most well-known in Russian waters and where they may be found should they invade North America; extend successful aquatic invasive species (AIS) education to new target audiences; and educate a wide variety of stakeholders about the proper disposal of personal care products to help reduce unwanted chemicals in the Great Lakes system.
 
    New York Sea Grant Associate Director and Cornell Cooperative Extension Assistant Director Dr. Katherine Bunting-Howarth said, "New York Sea Grant Extension is pleased to partner with our Sea Grant colleagues, educational institutions, the National Geographic Society and others who share an interest in the Great Lakes to pursue critical research and educational opportunities in 2013 on behalf of the Great Lakes' unique environmental system."

 

    Access a release from NYSG and link to more information (click here).

 

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Patty Birkholz Appointed To Great Lakes Protection Fund Board

Nov 9: Michigan Governor Rick Snyder announced the appointment of Patty Birkholz, of Saugatuck, to the Great Lakes Protection Fund Board of Directors. Established in 1989, the Great Lakes Protection Fund (GLPF) is a private, nonprofit corporation and permanent environmental endowment that supports collaborative actions to improve the health of the Great Lakes ecosystem. The fund's board of directors meets quarterly and governs fund operations. The Governor said, "Patty is a well-known and highly regarded advocate for Michigan and its lakes. I am confident she will do great work to promote and enhance the health of the Great Lakes ecosystem."

 

    Birkholz most recently served as director of the Michigan Office of the Great Lakes. Previously, she served five terms in the Michigan Legislature, including three in the House and two in the Senate. She was the first woman in State history elected president pro-tempore. Birkholz's legislative work focused on protecting the Great Lakes and Michigan's groundwater; she championed the adoption of the historic Great Lakes Water Compact and spearheaded passage of the nation's first scientifically-based water withdrawal legislation. Birkholz holds a bachelor's degree in speech pathology from Western Michigan University, where she also completed graduate work in speech pathology and public administration. She replaces Rich Baird. Birkholz will serve a two-year term that expires October 11, 2014, and her appointment is not subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.

 

    The GLPF recently released its draft version of the Fund's 2011 Annual Report which until the close of business on Monday, November 26, 2012. In 1989, the Governors of the Great Lakes states created the Protection Fund to help them protect and restore their shared natural resources. The Fund is the first private endowment created to benefit a specific ecosystem. It is designed to support the creative work of collaborative teams that test new ideas, take risks, and share what they have learned. It is a source of financial support for groups that value innovation and entrepreneurship, focus on tangible benefits for the Great Lakes ecosystem, and learn by doing. Seven Great Lakes states contributed $81 million to the Fund's permanent endowment.

 

    Access a release from the Governor (click here). Access the GLPF website for more information (click here). Access the announcement of the draft report with commenting instructions and link to the complete 36-page report (click here).

 

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Comments On Indiana Aquatic Nuisance Species Pathway Reports

Nov 9: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) released for public comment three draft Aquatic Pathway Assessment Reports for the State of Indiana: Eagle Marsh, Loomis Lake and Parker-Cobb Ditch. The purpose of each report is to evaluate key evidence to estimate the likelihood of an aquatic pathway forming and the possibility of aquatic nuisance species (ANS) using it to reach the adjacent basin, as part of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS).

    In 2010, a temporary barrier was built to prevent adult Asian carp transfer at Eagle Marsh. However, the Eagle Marsh assessment report found that Eagle Marsh remains a high risk potential pathway due to the probability that viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHS) could spread across the basin divide. USACE GLMRIS Program Manager Jack Drolet said, "There has been significant progress on Eagle Marsh. Because this was identified early on as a potential Asian carp transfer site, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources built a temporary barrier, and the GLMRIS Team began to evaluate potential permanent control options. That report will be available soon and will provide opportunity for stakeholder input."

    The ANS Controls Report that identifies options and technologies that may be available to permanently prevent the inter-basin transfer of ANS during flooding events at the Wabash – Maumee basins connection at Eagle Marsh near Fort Wayne, IN will be released for a 60-day comment period November 16. Comments for the three draft Indiana reports will be accepted beginning Nov. 9, 2012 and will close Dec. 7, 2012.

    Access a release from USACE with commenting instructions and link to the three reports and background information (click here).

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Deepwater Ciscoes to be Re-Introduced Into Lake Ontario

Nov 9: The "bloater" fish, a deepwater cisco, was re-introduced into Lake Ontario offshore of Oswego, bringing the fish back to the lake for the first time in nearly thirty years, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and partner agencies announced today. This historic action is the first of its kind in the Great Lakes and is the culmination of several years of collaborative laboratory, hatchery and field research conducted by federal, state, and provincial agencies. The last known fish was collected in 1983.

 

    DEC Commissioner Joe Martens said, "Lake Ontario's sport fisheries are a significant economic driver in New York State, and were valued at more than $113 million in 2007. Re-establishing bloaters in Lake Ontario will diversify the fish community, adding stability to the lake's ecosystem and sport fisheries." According to a release from DEC, re-establishing self-sustaining populations of bloater in Lake Ontario is the focus of a cooperative, international effort between DEC, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission to restore native fish populations in Lake Ontario.  This program will improve food web stability and mitigate negative impacts of invasive species; however, it will require a long-term stocking program. 

 

    Russ Strach, Director of the USGS Great Lakes Science Center, said, "The capital investment in the new research vessel demonstrates USGS' commitment to cutting-edge deepwater science in Lake Ontario.  The new vessel greatly enhances our ability to conduct ecosystem-based fishery research to address management questions important to our partner agencies.  I'm proud to see the platform used by the partnership working to restore this important native species."

 

    Deepwater ciscoes, a diverse group of species including bloater, kiyi, blackfin cisco, and shortnose cisco, were once the most abundant prey fish in the lake and supported important commercial fisheries.  Members of the whitefish family, bloaters feed primarily on invertebrates in water depths from 180 feet to 650 feet, spawning in winter at great depth, and were an important food source for native lake trout and burbot. 
 
    By the mid-20th century, populations declined dramatically in association with over-harvest and expanding populations of invasive alewife and rainbow smelt. Re-introducing bloaters will provide more food choices for predators, such as lake trout and salmon, and diversify the Lake Ontario fish community.  Lake trout and salmon that feed primarily on alewife can experience reproductive failure due to a vitamin B deficiency.  Predators that feed on native species like bloater are less likely to experience reproductive failure.

 

    Access the release from NY DEC (click here).

 

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Great Lakes Green Chemistry Conference

Nov 2: U.S. EPA announced the first Great Lakes Green Chemistry Conference, followed by the GreenScreen(tm) Training for Safer Chemicals. According to the announcement, the use of Green Chemistry and Engineering in the market strategies of businesses throughout the Great Lakes region is growing as companies look for ways to meet consumer demand for products and processes that are more sustainable. Participants will include representatives from industry, academia, government, non-profits, U.S. EPA Region 5, and those involved in the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable's Safer Chemistry Challenge Program. The conference will be held November 13-15, 2012, at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago.

 

    Participants will: Learn first-hand about the business case for Green Chemistry and Engineering and how companies can take advantage of technical assistance opportunities to help them move forward in their own effort to promote sustainability; Hear from businesses who have successfully used the framework of green chemistry who will talk about what the benefits for their businesses have been; Are public-private partnerships the wave of the future? Hear from the leaders who are building these partnerships today; and Take advantage of working sessions to identify technical assistance needs and develop resources to promote Green Chemistry in the Great Lakes region.

 

    Access complete details including registration, fees, agenda, etc. (click here).

 

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RFP For Great Lakes Fish & Wildlife Restoration Projects

Nov 1: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS or Service) is accepting project proposals to protect, restore and enhance Great Lakes fish and wildlife habitat under the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act (Act). The Service requests interested entities to submit restoration, research and regional project proposals for the restoration of Great Lakes fish and wildlife resources, as authorized under the Act (16 USC 941c). The purpose of the Act is to provide assistance to states, tribes, and other interested entities to encourage cooperative conservation, restoration and management of the fish and wildlife resources and their habitats in the Great Lakes Basin. The deadline for proposal submission is Monday, December 17, 2012.

    Supported in part by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), approximately $2 million in funding is projected to support projects this fiscal year. Available funding and project awards are subject to final Congressional appropriations for fiscal year 2013. Project funding is available to support Great Lakes Basin restoration, research and regional projects. Local watershed associations, municipalities, tribes, states and non-governmental organizations are encouraged to apply. All project proposals will be compiled, reviewed and ranked by the Proposal Review Committee, and final funding decisions will be made by the Service in the summer of 2013.

 

    Access complete details and background information from FWS (click here).

 

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Healthy Water Solutions Coalition Formed To Stop Asian Carp

Oct 24: More than a dozen Illinois organizations announced the formation of a new coalition committed to stopping the two-way transfer of invasive species -- including Asian carp -- between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River basin. Robert Hirschfeld of Prairie Rivers Network, a founding member of the new Healthy Water Solutions (HWS) coalition said, "Stopping Asian carp and other invasive species is an economic and ecological imperative. But it is also just one piece of a greater plan for improved water quality, flood control, recreation and transportation in Illinois."

 

   HWS was formed in response to the need for Illinois residents and organizations to promote locally focused solutions, rather than wait for Federal agencies and regionally contentious lawsuits. Jared Teutsch of the Alliance for the Great Lakes, also a HWS coalition member said, "HWS exists to complement the work of federal and state agencies, while recognizing the importance of local action to help move issues like invasive species forward when they are stalled by outside forces. We encourage the state of Illinois, the city of Chicago and other governmental groups to work with the rest of the region to fashion a modern solution to the growing problems of invasive species and decaying water infrastructure."

    According to a release, the new coalition will advocate for reinvestment in the Chicago River system, a critical piece of infrastructure that affects the waters of the entire state. Jack Darin, director of the Sierra Club's Illinois Chapter said, "The Chicago River system can be so much more than a conduit for our wastewater. The threat posed by the Asian carp and other aquatic invaders is also an opportunity to restore the Chicago River and make it a clean, healthy resource that attracts wildlife, people and economic development."

    Invasive species protection promises to provide benefits to Chicago and Lake Michigan, as well as businesses and communities around the state. Invasive species cost the economy hundreds of millions annually. The spread of Asian carp threatens the Great Lakes fishery -- calculated at $7 billion annually, with billions more generated through tourism and recreation. The groups said that while Asian carp are the public face of invasive species, they are among 39 species labeled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as "high-risk" to transfer between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins and inflict significant damage to new habitat.

 

    HWS re-envisions the Chicago River as a system that not only prevents the transfer of all aquatic invaders, including Asian carp, but better serves its functions of moving people and goods and managing stormwater -- all while improving water quality. Henry Henderson, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's Midwest Program and a former commissioner of the environment for the city of Chicago said, "Chicago and the rest of the region will not thrive until we address its failing water infrastructure. Re-imagining Chicago's waterways is at the core of the vision that the HWS coalition will bring to help move us all toward a modern system that enhances our environment, economy and quality of life."

 

   Margaret Frisbie, executive director of Friends of the Chicago River said, "The Chicago River is the lifeblood of the city. And it flows through so many urban and suburban communities playing the role of natural and recreational resource and catalyst for community revitalization. Through HWS we are committed to improving and protecting the Chicago River at the same time we solve the aquatic invasive species problems we face." HWS will work with the region's leaders on a plan for separation that satisfies public needs without severing Chicago's vital connection to the lake.

    Access a posted release from HWS including a listing of initial members (click here). Access the HWS website for more information (click here). [#GLakes]

 

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