Great Lakes Commercial Fishing Numbers, Early Gypsy Moths & a Super-Efficient Home

Temporarily adopting the persona of “The Catfish.” 

Try these on, from Friday Edition, 9 a.m. Eastern, Delta College, Q-90.1 FM, Public Broadcasting, NPR, Excellent.

Flying Caterpillars of Defoliage

The Gypsy moths are hatching, and it’s much earlier than expected.

Staffers with the Bay County Gypsy Moth Suppression Program say they’e found have a few gypsy moth egg masses that are now hatching.

Officials say it’s the earliest time in the year that staffers have noted hatchings throughout the county.

Courtesy Bay County Gypsy Moth program

The population is still “extremely low,” but you should keep an eye out for tiny, 1/8th-inch caterpillars crawling around your neighborhood.

When these caterpillars hatch, they climb to the highest point they can reach and wait for the wind to blow them to a new area, and food.

Gypsy moth caterpillars feed on trees. They can defoliate large trees in a few weeks, invade yards and recreational areas, and become a general nuisance to people living in infested areas, officials say.

If you live in Bay County and feel the gypsy moth population on your property is increasing or have questions concerning invasive insects, you can call the Gypsy Moth program at (989) 895-4195 to make sure your area is surveyed.

A Year of Energy for $857?!

A Saginaw County homeowner has been awarded – again – for energy savings.

Connie Rynalski of Saginaw Township first saved on energy costs at her home, through various efficiency measures. Then, she was awarded an Earth Day prize of $3,000 for going above and beyond in her energy-saving efforts.

The award came from Cobblestone Homes, a Freeland-based homebuilder which conducted an Energy Challenge among almost 100 of its homeowners.

They were challenged to save the most in utility usage compared to energy use projections during a 12-month period.

Rynalski beat the energy projections for her home by the highest amount, paying $857 for an entire year of energy costs, including heating. That’s compared to more than $3,000 for a typical, 1,900-square-foot home.

Cobblestone Homes has partnered with the Dow Chemical Co. in recent years to build Michigan’s first Net-Zero Energy Homes in Midland and Bay counties.

New Commercial Fishery Assessment on the Great Lakes

How much is Lake Huron worth?

From the GLMRIS assessment

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has released a report on the valuation of commercial fisheries in the U.S. waters of the Great Lakes, Upper Mississippi River and Ohio River basins.

The Commercial Fisheries Baseline Economic Assessment is part of Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study.

The report summarizes the latest annual harvesting data from state-licensed and tribal commercial fishing operations. The data will be used to help forecast impacts from potential aquatic invasives like the Asian carp.

The report says the average commercial harvest level in the U.S. waters of the Great Lakes is estimated at 19.3 million pounds of fish, with an associated average value of $22.5 million.

The report lists Lake Huron’s commercial harvest level at 3.5 million pounds, with an associated value of $4.6 million.

Lake Huron contributes 18.3 percent to the total commercial harvest of fish on the Great Lakes and 20.2 percent to the total value of Great Lakes fisheries.

The lake has seen a decline in commercial harvest levels since 1989. The maximum harvest level in the 1990s was 5.3 million pounds, accounting for almost 21 percent of the total commercial fishing harvests on the Great Lakes.

The top harvest level since year 2000 has been about 4.7 million pounds, or about 25 percent of all commercial fish harvesting in the Great Lakes.

The report examined data from 1989 to 2009.

The study plans to release an assessment later this year on recreational fishing.

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Catfish by Denise Chan

Mussel Management, Science & Trouble in the Great Lakes

As heard on the March 30, 2012, Environment Report, part of Friday Edition at 9 a.m. Fridays on Delta College radio, Q-90.1 FM.

Mussel Management 

The state has introduced an updated plan to prevent the introduction and spread of aquatic nuisance species.

Public comments on a draft state management plan are being taken until May 1.

Beyond preventing the introduction and spread of invasives like Asian carp, the plan aims to limit the harmful effects of invasives in Michigan waters.

New actions and enhancements to existing actions are outlined in the document.

Top priorities of the draft plan include a continued push for federal action to physically separate the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins. That would involve changes to the sanitary and ship canal in Chicago.

The plan also proposes cracking down on Internet and pet shop sales of nonnative species that could cause problems in the lakes.

Comments are being taken through May 1.

You can find out more at michigan.gov.

Freshwater Science

Speaking of invasives, the National Science Foundation is out with a new report on freshwater mussels and the consequences for ecosystems.

According to research by the University of Oklahoma, almost 70 percent of freshwater mussels are considered threatened in some way.

Researchers say mussels need plentiful water to thrive, and healthy fish to reproduce.

In the Great Lakes, freshwater mussel populations have been harmed by invasive zebra and quagga mussels, native to Eastern Europe.

At the moment, the human need for water is the biggest danger to freshwater mussels, researchers say.

Habitat destruction, fragmentation from dams, and an intense drought in the southern plains have all contributed to destruction of mussel beds, according to the report.

Water filtering done by freshwater mussels provides a benefit for humans.

So one future priority in research is to come up with monetary values for the services that freshwater mussels provide.

Photo: For decades, freshwater mussels were harvested and made into fancy buttons. Credit: Illinois State Museum.

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Beach Cleaning, River Restoring & Asian Carp Stopping

Lots of ‘ings’ on this edition of The Environment Report. Heard Fridays @ 9 AM on Q-90.1 FM, Delta College:

Photo by z287marc

Friday, March 2, 2012 (audio):
1 

Beach boosters are planning another wellness event for June at the Bay City State Recreation Area.

This year’s Beach Wellness event, on June 23 at the Bay City state park, will include a run and walk, volleyball tournament and classic car cruise.

The event is a fundraiser to help keep the shoreline clean at the Bay City state park.

There will be 10K and 5K runs, a 5K walk; and a kids quarter-mile run.

The tournament will feature four-person volleyball teams competing on the public beach at the Bay City state park.

The sixth annual Beach Wellness event is being organized by the Save Our Shoreline property owners group.

Registrations are now being taken by members of Save Our Shoreline.

2

Efforts to restore rivers in Northern Michigan are being highlighted by a nonprofit Grayling group.

The group, called Huron Pines, has published a new website that show a variety of river restoration accomplishments in Northern Michigan.

On the website, you can search for road and stream crossings, and streambank erosion sites by watershed and county.

The group says many accomplishments listed at the site have involved completing BMPs, or Best Management Practices, at problem sites.

These practices involve methods that reduce the movement of sediment, nutrients, chemicals and other pollutants from the land to the water.

Examples are tree and shrub plantings, and culvert or bridge replacements at road and stream crossings.

The website address is www.northernmichiganstreams.org.

3

National Geographic recently featured a familiar fish as its Freshwater Species of the week.

It was the Asian carp, which comes in varieties like silver and bighead.

So far, only a few of the carp have been found in the Great Lakes, and efforts are ongoing to keep them from an becoming established species in the lakes.

The Obama administration has committed more than $50 million to a 2012  Asian Carp Control Strategy.

That includes increased efforts to monitor and catch carp iin rivers that connect to the Great Lakes.

Officials also will be testing scent-based lures, an acoustic water gun and improved electric barriers.

The U.S. government has already spent more than $100 million on keeping the bighead and silver Asian carp from invading the Great Lakes.

Just this week, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a petition by Michigan and other states to install nets in Chicago area rivers and speed up a study on a permanent separation of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins.

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Asian Carp Plan: Separate the Great Lakes-Mississippi Basins for $4 Billion with Four Barriers

What do you think of this? A Great Lakes Commission report on how to stop Asian carp. To be defeated by a bird with a fish in its mouth or a bad kid with a bucket?

Too Far? New Plan to Separate Basins, Stop Asian Carp, Costs Billions (Video)

Photo by Paul Schultz

 

Mich Enviro Report: Great Lakes Restoration & Asian Carp Control Comments

As heard Friday, Dec. 23, 2011, on Delta College Q-90.1 FM …

Merry Christmas

1.

Michigan and other Great Lakes states are receiving a total of $300 million for environmental restoration projects under a 2012 federal budget bill passed recently by Congress.

The Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition is praising the bill, which is waiting to be signed into law by President Obama.

The bill would provide $300 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to clean up toxic pollution, restore wildlife habitat, stop invasive species and reduce polluted run-off from farms and cities, according to the coalition.

Also included in the budget is almost $1.5 billion to help communities across the U.S. address sewage overflows with low- and no-interest loans.

Of that, Michigan is to receive about $63 million.

The money for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative in 2012 is virtually the same as in 2011.

2.

What are the best ways to keep Asian carp and other invasives out of the Great Lakes?

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is taking public comments.

The Corps has released a paper that identifies various options for keeping aquatic invasives like the carp from entering the lakes via pathways like the Chicago Area Waterway System.

The Corps is examining controls for Asian carp and other invasives as part of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study.

The identified controls range from those currently in use, such as aquatic herbicides and introduced predatory fish species,  to controls that are in research and development.

The paper says possible controls include modifying flow conditions, including plugging the man-made Chicago shipping canal that connects to Lake Michigan.

Interested members of the public are being asked to review the list contained in the paper and provide comments or further information.

To comment, see glmris.anl.gov. The deadline is Feb. 17.

— Photo by Alex Hern

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Mich Enviro Report: Pinconning Park, a Camping App & 39 others like Asian Carp

As heard on the July 8, 2011, Friday Edition, Q-90.1 FM, Delta College. Channeling Mel Torme’ …

 

1.

Pinconning Park is expanding. 

Bay County, which owns the park in Pinconning Township, has been awarded a $464,000 federal grant to acquire 54 acres of coastal property next to the park.

In addition to the grant, the county plans to spend about $10,000 for demolition and scrap metal removal on the land, known as the Prindle Property.

The county also has applied for $350,000 Michigan Land Trust Fund grant in connection with the expansion project.

Pinconning Park is open year round. The park features 50 modern campsites and six log cabins.

It’s located along Saginaw Bay, and is known as a good spot for walleye fishing.

2.

Speaking of camping, there’s a new mobile app for Michigan campers.

It’s called the MI Camping and Recreation Locator app and is available for free. There are versions for the iPhone, Android and Blackberry.

The app allows users to find information on places to camp, boat, hike and swim.

State parks are listed, along with state forest campgrounds and boat launches. You can search by proximity, region, and city. Activities for various locations also are included.

Find more information online at michigan.gov.

3.

As reported earlier, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working on a feasibility study of options and technologies to prevent the transfer of Asian carp between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River.

A public comment period has ended, and more than 900 comments were received, the agency reports.

Comments were taken online and at a dozen public meetings through the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins.

This month, project managers plan to release a white paper with a list of 40 high-risk aquatic species.

These species, including Asian carp, are poised to potentially transfer between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins through the Chicago Area Waterway System.

Officials say risks from each of the species, and their potential to disperse and become invasive, will be discussed.

For more on this issue, see http://glmris.anl.gov/.

—

- Photo by Alan Light

Michigan Enviro Report: Christmas Bird Count, Solar in Bay City, Asian Carp Comments

From the Dec. 17, 2010, Friday Edition Environment Report on Delta College Q-90.1 FM:

1.

Photo Credit: Steve Ryan, Flickr

Citizen scientists are out and about in Michigan for the annual Christmas Bird Count.

The count began this week and lasts until Jan. 5.

According to Michigan Audubon, data gathered by volunteers during the count is used to assess the health of bird populations, and to guide conservation action.

This year’s count will be held in spots including Oscoda, Bay City, Higgins and Houghton lakes, Huron County and Tawas City.

Some history: In the 1980′s Christmas Bird Count data documented the decline of wintering populations of the American Black Duck. After that, conservation measures were put in place to reduce hunting pressure on this species.

Last year, the count was instrumental in documenting range shifts of birds due to climate change.

Anyone from experienced birders to parents and kids can participate in the count. For more information, see michiganaudubon.org.

2.

A new solar array is gathering energy from the sun at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality office in Bay City.

State officials say the 10-kilowatt array will help make the office more energy efficient.

The array includes a total of 44 panels, which sit atop a structure at the north end of the property.

The building already generates power from 50-kilowatt wind turbine, visible from the Independence Bridge.

The latest improvements may earn a building an upgraded Platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council, under a program known as LEED. The solar panels will not only gather energy from the sun, but also pull power from parking lot lighting at night, officials say.

The solar array was funded by federal stimulus money. It came from a vendor in Novi and was installed by a contractor from Flint.

3.

If you’re concerned about Asian carp in the Great Lakes, listen up.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is taking comments until March 31 on the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study.

In other words, the Corps is studying ways to prevent invasive species like Asian carp from swimming between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins.

That includes exploring a physical separation of the two basins.

Public meetings on the study are planned for Jan. 27 in Traverse City and Feb. 3 in Ann Arbor.

But you also can make comments online.

Hawaii’s Version of the Asian Carp Story

Snorkeling in Oahu.

Hawaii is a part of the United States. That’s what my AT&T rep quipped when I asked about iPhone coverage. So I’m covered here for phone and Internet access. And I’m more than covered when it comes to the problem of invasive species. If you think we have it bad in the Great Lakes with the Asian carp situation, think again. We have it easy compared to Hawaii, where invasive species threaten to blot out the eco-tourism economy like a dinosaur-scrubbing asteroid.

On the long flight here, my wife and I had to fill out an agricultural declaration form promising we wouldn’t bring in or take out plants, animals or any agricultural materials. Immediately, I was reminded of trips I’ve taken to foreign countries where similar forms had to be filled out. And I thought of my snide AT&T rep.

It turns out that Hawaii has a huge issue with invasive species, dwarfing our Asian carp problem by comparison (I suppose it depends on your perspective).

As noted by About.com:

“Despite the efforts of more than 20 state, federal, and private agencies, unwanted alien pests are entering Hawai’i at an alarming rate – about 2 million times more rapid than the natural rate. In 1993, the federal Office of Technology Assessment declared Hawaii’s alien pest species problem the worst in the nation.

“Hawaii’s evolutionary isolation from the continents, and its modern role as the commercial hub of the Pacific make these islands particularly vulnerable to destruction by alien pests. Gaps in current pest prevention systems and a lack of public awareness add further to this serious problem.”

Public awareness is right. Among tourists, and apparently some of the folks who live here. Hawaii is a beautiful place, but its isolation makes me wonder about a lot of things:

• Why isn’t there more recycling here? I haven’t seen a recycling container since I arrived. I can’t imagine they have a lot of extra room for landfilling trash.

• How much attention is being paid to the importance of maintaining the delicate ecology here and making sure visitors — and residents — don’t screw it up?

The wife and I went snorkeling on Tuesday. We saw dolphins and fish and one sea turtle and had a great time. But they fed hamburger buns to the fish. That’s a no-no, according to the Hawaii Ecotourism Association:

“Avoid feeding fish or other wildlife,” the HEA says in a Green Travel Tips guide.

“Feeding wildlife alters their natural behaviors and can upset the natural balance of the reef or the ocean environment.”

At least the folks aboard the boat we took out for snorkeling used a pre-installed anchor, so as not to damage the reef.

On the invasive species front, stinging Little Fire Ants from South America and birds known as Japanese White-Eyes are two poster children for the islands.

One more thing: I found out this morning that the Alliance for the Great Lakes is teaming up with musician Jack Johnson (who has a solar-powered studio in Hawaii) to raise funds to protect our freshwater seas.

The Alliance will get $1 for everyone who watches this video to the end. The Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation also is matching dollar donations up to $2,500 until Oct. 15. See www.greatlakes.org/allatonce for details.

Asian carp almost ruined my weekend

Ray Jr. walks on the water of Torch Lake.

Where is Mr. Great Lakes? The biggest story of the year just broke. One Asian carp caught in Illinois. Yawn. I already wrote that story, more than once. It’s about as surprising as a sunrise. On to bigger things, like global warming and climate change. I’m going this weekend to some family property near Torch Lake. And my brother-in-law Ray is bound to be shirtless. It’s a sign that global warming needs more attention.

Oh no. Not the same old global warming story. No, this is about “Days of Ray,” as in days Ray (and Ray Jr.) will be shirtless, in years to come, because of rising temperatures brought on by human-induced climate change. If you think one Asian carp is bad, try thinking about the impending effects of climate change on the Great Lakes (and try seeing Ray shirtless).

Don’t just believe me. Believe the scientists. Oh, most of them are just in it for the money, and more research dollars, right?

It turns out that scientists who oppose government policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions generally lack the expertise of scientists who warn that human activity is causing global warming, Yale 360 recently pointed out.

Researchers at Stanford University analyzed the publishing background of close to 1,400 academics. Almost all, 97 percent, of published climate scientists agree that human activity is responsible for a warming climate. The scientists who have signed public statements opposing efforts to stave off the worst effects of climate change just don’t have the expertise. Would you hire a transmission guy to fix your brakes? Not me. You’d be able to keep going full-speed ahead, but you’re eventually going to crash.

The findings are consistent with surveys in 2009 and 2004. Remember the warnings galore about Asian carp invading the Great Lakes?