Great Lakes For All

The endangered Saint Lawrence river

A new report from the nonprofit advocacy group American Rivers gives welcome support to those who oppose the International Joint Commission's plan for regulating flows from Lake Ontario into the Saint Lawrence river.  Because the proposed regulations adversely affect the natural flow of the river, the Saint Lawrence is named as the fourth most endangered river in the country by American Rivers in their  annual report on America's Most Endangered Rivers.

The Watertown Daily Times has a good article on the issue. The IJC's Plan 2007, would essentially continue the 50 year pattern of regulating the flows of the Saint Lawrence without regard for environmental impact. A proposed alternative, Plan B+ would restore a more natural flow with seasonal variations. This alternative is supported by a broad coalition of environmental and government interests. Even the US and Canadian hydro-power authorities prefer the alternative.

Alexander B. "Pete" Grannis, the (New York) state Department of Environmental Conservation commissioner, said American Rivers' decision to list the St. Lawrence River as one of the most endangered is "dead on."

"The St. Lawrence is at risk in part because the International Joint Commission is poised to botch a once-in-a-generation opportunity to return to more natural water flows in the river and Lake Ontario," Mr. Grannis said in a statement.

"Instead, the IJC wants to continue a river management plan that artificially constrains water levels — a plan that has turned half the once vibrant wetlands bordering Lake Ontario into impenetrable cattail stands," he said.

You can send an email supporting Plan B+ from American Rivers website.

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Lake Erie Water Snake gets a preserve

According to the Sandusky Register, over 9 acres of prime real estate on Ohio's South Bass Island will be set aside as a preserve for the Lake Erie Water Snake. The Lake Erie Water Snake is a protected species in both Canada and the United States that lives only on limestone islands in Lake Erie. The small population is threatened primarily by habitat loss from real estate development on the popular islands. The land that was purchased for the preserve was soon to be developed.

"There was a private developer who had purchased it to build anywhere from six to nine very exclusive homes on the lot," said Lisa Brohl, Put-in-Bay Township park commissioner. Seven years of trying to find a means to designate the land as a public park and wildlife habitat paid off when the project was awarded a $1.8 million federal grant to fund the land acquisition.

The Lake Erie Water Snake is an aggressive species that will bite when cornered. It also has a habit of showing up in people's boats and lawns. Because of its "bad boy" image, promoters of the preserve are also touting its role as a bird sanctuary.

The preservation of the water snake alone would have made funding the land acquisition a tough sell, Brohl said. "Not everyone loves that snake. We want to make sure it's not just for the snake: It's for birds and people," Brohl said.

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Tires-to-energy in Erie, PA

The Buffalo News recently ran an in depth article on a proposed tires-to-energy plant in Erie, Pennsylvania. The massive plant would generate 100 megawatts of electricity by burning 900 tons of waste tires every day.

This isn't what most of us think of when we advocate for alternative energy in the Great Lakes region, and a grass-roots organization has formed to fight the plant.  Keep Erie’s Environment Protected, or KEEP, is  "concerned about the pollutants that would be pumped into the air through its 300-foot smokestack."

There's always room for reasoned debate, and the article presents both sides. But I'd have to say Greg Rubino, one of the developers, probably did his cause no favor by trying to argue that Buffalo was not downwind from Erie.

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Land for Sale: Sleeping Bear Dunes

The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) is asking,

"Where is America's hottest real estate market? It could be our national parks."

In their report America's Heritage For Sale the NPCA highlights the risks of private lands within the National Parks being developed inappropriately, and calls on Congress to increase funding to purchase these lands.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is one of ten case studies highlighted in the report. There are over 150 private inholdings in the park. It is located in a popular resort area and faces increasing pressure from residential and commercial development. The report urges the immediate purchase of 3 parcels that are available and would protect valuable environmental and cultural areas.

The report examines 55 national parks altogether, so I was a bit disappointed that Sleeping Bear Dunes was the only park in the Great Lakes region to be studied.

Funding for land acquisition in the parks has dropped dramatically in the last decade. Ironically the Land and Water Conservation Fund receives over $900 million dollars a year from oil and gas leases on the continental shelf. But only a small fraction of these funds are allocated to their intended purpose. The NPCA is calling for a reversal of that trend.

Over the past two years, the attention of the Administration, Congress, and the American people has turned increasingly toward the 2016 centennial of the National Park System. A variety of initiatives, including Centennial Challenge legislation now under consideration in Congress, have the potential to bring together the citizens of this nation around a great, common purpose—preparing our National Park System for its second century.

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Great Lakes satellite images

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has a rich site with satellite imagery of the Great Lakes Region. I won't pretend to understand all the options available, but I had a fun time looking around. The image above is a true color MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) image of the entire region taken on April 5 at 18:39 GMT (2:39 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time). You can click on the photo to see the full resolution image. I should warn you it's quite large, but it is also incredibly detailed.

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Offshore wind in Wisconsin

Wisconsin has joined the offshore wind power bandwagon. I've previously posted on proposals to explore the potential for harnessing the Great Lakes offshore winds in Michigan, Ohio, and Ontario. Now, according to an article in the Fort Mill Times, Wisconsin will study the potential of offshore winds on Lakes Michigan and Superior.

The study, approved by the States Public Service Commission on the recommendation of Governor Jim Doyle, will look at the economic potential and environmental impacts of offshore wind farms.

"There's enough unanswered questions that it's a matter of public policy. We should explore it," said Eric Callisto, commission Chairman Dan Ebert's executive assistant. "The economics have to dictate this makes sense. But right now we're in something of an information vacuum."

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IJC ignores health of Lake Ontario wetlands

As reported in the Globe and Mail, it appears a new proposal for regulating water levels on Lake Ontario being proposed by the International Joint Commission (IJC) continues the historic neglect of the health of Lake Ontario's wetlands.

In the 1950s, when the current plan for managing outflows was drafted, the environment wasn't a top-of-mind issue, and the goal was to reduce water-level fluctuations for flood control, shipping, and hydropower development. But the approach has degraded more than half the lake's wetlands, an extensive area of riparian habitat about 133 square kilometres in size.

Lake Ontario water levels are easier to control than those of the other Great Lakes because a hydroelctric dam on the Saint Lawrence river controls outflows. This has led land owners and others to lobby for their own narrow economic interests at the expense of the long term ecological health of the Lake. Thankfully some have a broader view:

New York Governor David Paterson issued a letter highly critical of the IJC to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, urging her to force the organization to adopt rules with more priority on the environment.

The IJC will hold a series of public hearings and information sesssions on the new proposals between now and July 11. You can see the schedule, read the proposal, and even submit comments on their website.

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10 billion gobies in Lake Erie

I found a brief notice about a new goby control method being developed on the website of Ontario radio station CD98.9 (of all places).

Scientists at the University of Windsor and the Ministry of Natural Resources are working on a new goby trap. It would lure female gobies by using a new time-release tablet laced with the scent of male goby urine. The research project is expected to take between 3 and 5 years to complete.

One astounding fact from the article: "There are 10 billion gobies in Western Lake Erie alone."

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Walleye migration

I'm not a fisherman, so an article in the outdoors section about walley usually wouldn't catch my attention. But this article in the Detroit Free Press by Eric Sharp goes beyond the usual "where they're biting and when" and provides some interesting information about walley migration patterns through the Detroit river.

Fisheries scientists have found that the millions of fish that pass through the Detroit River from the end of March to May each year come from a variety of places.

Some are Lake Huron fish that drop downstream to spawn in the river or even as far south as reefs and tributaries on Lake Erie and then make the trip back north. Some are heading for Lake St. Clair and tributaries like the Grand and Belle rivers in Ontario and the Clinton and Huron rivers on the Michigan side.

Some spend the rest of the year in Lake Erie, migrate to the western end to spawn in the river and then start moving east again to spend the fall and early winter off New York and Pennsylvania.

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Great Lakes dune stamps

According to Jeff Alexander, writing in the Muskegon Chronicle, the U.S. Postal Service will soon release a new stamp series illustrating life in the Great Lakes' dunes.

A new line of stamps set for release later this year features 10 Great Lakes dunes stamps, each one depicting different animals, insects and vegetation found at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, west of Traverse City.

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Sponsored by:

      

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