Great Lakes For All

Tundra Swans trumpet climate change

According to report in the London Free Press, Tundra Swans are choosing to winter on Lake Erie rather than fly south.

The prevalence of such year-round waterfowl is a sure sign the area's winter has become milder, said Scott Petrie, director of the Long Point Waterfowl and Research Fund. Open water encourages the migratory fowl to stay put, and a growing number have added zebra mussels -- a foreign invader now common in the lakes -- to their diet, he said.

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Canada considers protecting Lake Sturgeon

According to the Owen Sound Sun Times, Canada may protect the Great Lakes Lake Sturgeon under the Species at Risk Act (SARA).

You'll probably never see a starlet tearfully hugging a baby sturgeon. After all, it's a fish with a tube for lips and a hide covered in bony plates and tooth-like protrusions...

But the lake sturgeon was dealt a hard blow between about 150 and 100 years ago, when it was killed as a net-wrecking pest, then as a source of food. In some areas, sturgeon were dried out and their oily bodies were burned to power steam boilers on boats.

Now the federal government, through the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, is considering whether or not the lake sturgeon should be protected under the Species At Risk Act. They want to hear from people one way or the other.

The public comment period on the designation goes through April 25. You can dowload a consultation workbook (PDF) from the SARA website. You can also dowload a 118 page assessment (PDF) that was prepared by the Committee on the Status of Endengered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) that will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about Sturgeon. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife service maintains a very informative website on the Lake Sturgeon that is a bit more user friendly.

The argument for listing the species under SARA made in the COSEWIC report is familiar:

Populations appear to be declining in parts of the Ottawa River, and disappearing from many of its tributaries due to dams. There has been a recent decline in the population in the St. Lawrence River probably due to over-exploitation despite recovery efforts. The direct and indirect effects of dams, chemical control of sea lamprey, contaminants and invasive species currently threaten populations.

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Will Ohio and Wisconsin sink the Great Lakes Water Compact?

It's been a while since I've given an update on progress in the long road to adoption of the Great Lakes Compact, a bi-national agreement designed to protect Great Lakes water from export and diversion. It needs to be adopted by all the States and Provinces bordering the Great Lakes, and then approved by the U.S. Congress. Ontario and Quebec have already ratified the agreement, so its up to the 8 Great Lakes States now.

So far that's been like herding cats. The compact was negotiated and unanimously approved by the Council of Great Lakes Governors in 2005 before being turned over to the States for ratification. Only Minnesota and Illinois have completed the process which requires passage by both houses of Congress and the Governors signature. Indiana and New York each just need a Governor's signature, and progress is being made in Michigan and Pennsylvania.

But according to a recent report by AP reporter John Flesher, legislators in Ohio and Wisconsin are threatening to make changes to the negotiated agreement that could scuttle the deal altogether.

The compact is being sharply debated in Ohio, where some fear it would erode landowners' water use rights, and in Wisconsin, where critics say it unfairly would prevent communities just outside the drainage basin from using the Great Lakes.

Most agree that if Ohio or Wisconsin approves a substantially altered agreement, it would require renegotiation of the terms.

"They say they're making minor changes, but in fact they're blowing up the agreement," said Noah Hall, a Wayne State University law professor who advised the governors...

Resuming bargaining would "do little but open a can of worms," said Chuck Ardo, spokesman for Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell.

"If any state does anything different than the other states, then it's basically dead," said Rep. Tom Huntley, who sponsored the compact in Minnesota.

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Historic freedom schooner may have been found

Archaeologists are working to determine if a ship wreck along Indiana's Lake Michigan shore is that of a freedom schooner that picked up fugitive slaves for transport to Canada. It is known that bounty hunters overpowered a freedom schooner in the area and burned it to the water line. Fox News Chicago produced a short video on the investigation.

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IJC finds its voice

According to reports in the Canadian Press and Associated Press, the International Joint Commission (IJC) has expressed "disappointment and frustration" to the U.S. and Canadian governments over the lack of progress under Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA).

It's been more than 20 years since the last update to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, and despite mounting evidence that some problems are at the point of no return, there seems to be little sense of urgency to save the "binational treasure," said Herb Gray, a former deputy prime minister and Canadian chairman of the International Joint Commission.

The comments come among a flurry of bad press surrounding the IJC. In January Great Lakes United released its report "A Way Forward" which was critical of progress under the GLWQA and of the IJC.

Unfortunately, there is currently a strong and near unanimous opinion that the IJC is not adequately fulfilling its responsibilities.

The full report (PDF) goes on to provide a succinct summary of the history behind the IJC's current challenges. The conclusion is right on the money.

When speaking out strongly on behalf of the Great Lakes, the public profile of the IJC among the broad Great Lakes community and the media grew, but the governments stepped back from the IJC and increasingly questioned the credibility of its recommendations
because it had become too much of an advocate. And conversely, when the IJC stepped back from this leadership role, many in the Great Lakes community and the media became less engaged with IJC processes as they saw their involvement as unproductive and, as a result, not worth their time.

Then in recent weeks there has been a storm of protest over the refusal of the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) to release a report, commissioned by the IJC, entitled "Public Health Implications of Hazardous Substances in the Twenty-Six U.S. Great Lakes Areas of Concern". The suppression of the report was first reported by the Center for Public Integrity, and it has since been widely reported that it was suppressed for political reasons.

So I suspect the IJC is speaking out now to counter some of this bad publicity, and, to be fair, out of genuine frustration. After all, a report it released in late 2006 recommended significant changes to the GLWQA which have been largely ignored. In recent testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, Irene Brooks, acting U.S. chair of the IJC highlighted the lack of progress in addressing the toxic legacy of the Areas of Concern. In general she concluded:

The future of the Great Lakes is uncertain. That’s why the Commission believes the time has come to make bold binational commitments and to accelerate actions to restore and protect the Great Lakes.

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Inside North America's largest coal fired power plant

Ontario's Nanticoke power plant is the largest coal burning power plant in North America, Canada's biggest source of greenhouse gases, and Ontario's leading contributor to acid rain. The Toronto Star recently ran an in depth account of the aging Nanticoke power plant and the environmental issues of power generation.

For years, it's been on death row, first sentenced by the Ontario government to dismantlement in 2007, then 2009, and now 2014. In the meantime, it continues to operate like that 15-year-old Honda Civic that never lets you down. It dutifully responds when summoned, cranking out electricity that, for most of us, is a lifeline.

When you arrive home after a long day and flip on the lights, you are connected to Nanticoke. Turn on the coffee maker the next morning and Nanticoke helps brew your java. And every sweltering summer day, when you collapse in an air-conditioned room, you can thank Nanticoke.

It's as essential to our daily lives as the water flowing from our taps and the trucks collecting our garbage.

Don't think from this introduction that the article gives the facility an environmental free pass. It does a good job of detailing the environmental effects of this huge coal burning power plant,the strategies used to mitigate them, and less polluting alternatives.

I found this inside look at a facility fascinating. The article is accompanied by a short video that is well worth seeing.

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Bush budget shortchanges Great Lakes

President Bush's recently unveiled 2009 budget shortchanges the Great Lakes, according to an AP report. The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition analyzed the budget proposal and concluded that the presidents request of about $300 million for Great Lakes programs was a reduction of over $50 million from what was appropriated for 2008. That means less money for sewage upgrades and the ongoing battle against invasive species.

"The White House budget fails the Great Lakes and the millions of people who depend on them for their jobs and their way of life," said Jeff Skelding, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition.

There is also a $50 million reduction in funds for harbor dredgeing. $140 million was appropriated this year but the President is proposing to slash that to less than $90 million.

"The lakes are already suffering with extremely low water levels," said Patrick J. O'Hern, president of the Great Lakes Maritime Task Force. "Now is the worst imaginable time for any reduction in Great Lakes dredging funds."

Although I appreciate the hard work of these folks have done analyzing the president's budget, I do wonder how relevant it is. It seems highly unlikely that the 2009 budget of an extremely unpopular lame duck president has any chance of approval, or that Congress will show fiscal restraint in an election year. If anything, perhaps the president has done us all a favor by providing an opportunity to rally the residents of the Great Lakes in their support.

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Lake Erie: Beyond the Surface

WKYC in Cleveland is producing a television series on Lake Erie. Lake Erie: Beyond the surface examines the importance of Lake Erie and the many challenges it faces. The first half hour program is available for viewing on their website in four segments. The first segment begins with this line:

Lake Erie. It is the greatest natural resource in our region, but its fate and our future are anything but certain.

I thought the show did a good job of reviewing the basic challenges of pollution and invasive species, and the competing interests of industry, tourism, and environmentalists. Over and over again they mention that Lake Erie is Ohio's greatest natural resource, a message that bears repeating.

Follow the link above to view the segments. You'll have to scroll down a bit to see the video segments listed.

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The Great Lakes: The Natural History of a Changing Region

Noted Canadian author, Wayne Grady, has given the Great Lakes community a wonderful gift with his book The Great Lakes: The Natural History of a Changing Region.This is a very comprehesive book covering the geology, ecology, and history of the region, as well as the challenges it faces in the future.

After introductory chapters on the history and geology of the Great Lakes, Grady spends the core of the book looking at three ecological zones that characterize the region. The boreal forest of the north, the central Great Lakes-St. Lawrence forest, and the Carolinian forest that typifies the southern Great Lakes region. In one chapter he discusses the unique landscapes of wetlands and dunes, and in another the aquatic ecology of the lakes themselves. He wraps up the book with a look at the impact of invasive species and the challenges facing the Great Lakes in the future.

The scope of the book is rather encyclopedic, and at times it does read a bit like an ecyclopedia. But just when your feeling a bit overwhelmed by the scope of Grady's knowledge, he tantalizes you with a fact that is so intriguing that you really want to keep reading to discover more. For example, did you know that the beaver is the only mammal whose growth is indeterminate? They just keep growing!

The book is nicely illustrated, primarily with the wonderful photographs of Bruce Litteljohn. To be honest, I would have welcomed a more lavish presentation of this fine photography.

The Great Lakes: The Natural History of a Changing Region is a serious and substantive work that manages to also be entertaining and engaging. I don't think you could ask much more of any book.

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