The Cost of Great Lakes Invasives, and BaySailing Events

As heard Friday, June 1, 2012, on Friday Edition, Environment Report, Q-90.1 FM, Delta College, NPR-member station …

Photo by Arthur Felig

Set Sail

BaySail has announced a series of events for the summer.
BaySail is a Bay City nonprofit that operates two Appledore schooners. The ships are used for educational and public sails on Saginaw Bay.

This summer’s public schedule includes “Legends of the Saginaw Sails,” departing from the BaySail dock in downtown Bay City’s Wenonah Park.

The sails offer a history lesson on the Saginaw River, on an Appledore schooner, sailing from the downtown out to Saginaw Bay. Some departures also feature live maritime music by the band Hoolie of Bay City.

Sails are scheduled for Saturdays and Sundays in June, August and September, with lunch included.

An Appledore schooner also will be participating this summer in Tall Ships events in Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia and New York.

Scholarships for secondary school students also are available for overnight voyages this summer to Nova Scotia and other destinations.

For more information, see baysailbaycity.org.

 

Invasive$ Report

A new report on aquatic invasive species quantifies their costs to businesses and consumers in the Great Lakes region.

The report, by the Anderson Economic Group, was commissioned by The Nature Conservancy.

It says the tab for businesses and consumers totals hundreds of millions (with an m) dollars per year. Those include costs for removal, maintenance and management of species like zebra and quagga mussels. Meanwhile, state and federal governments are spending millions more for efforts to control the impact and prevent the spread of invasives in the Great Lakes.

Some figures from the report include:

• The cost of controlling zebra mussels at one water treatment facility equals about $353,000 a year. There are 381 such facilities across the basin.
• Michigan’s cost for maintenance, control and prevention of aquatic invasive species in 2009 and 2010 totaled $3.1 million.
• More than 100 power plants that use water from the Great Lakes also are spending a total of $130 million a year to remove invasives.

What is the largest Great Lakes industry affected by aquatic invasives? The report says tourism and recreation, which employs more than 90,000 people and generates an estimate $30.3 billion (with a b) annually in revenue.

The full report can be found online at nature.org/greatlakes

-30-

Adopt-a-Beach along Saginaw Bay, and a Gust of Great Lakes Offshore Wind Support

As heard on the April 6, 2012, Environment Report, part of Friday Edition at 9 a.m. Fridays on Delta College radio, Q-90.1 FM.

Alliance for the Great Lakes

A statewide Adopt-A-Beach program is looking for help in the Saginaw Bay area.

Via windpoweringamerica.gov

Statewide coordinators for the volunteer program are holding informational sessions throughout the state.

One will be held on April 21 at the Bay City State Recreation Area, during the park’s Wetland Wake-Up Day events.

The Adopt-a-Beach program uses volunteers to collect data on beach conditions. That data is shared with local, state and regional health officials, and used by the Alliance for the Great Lakes to help set standards for coastal areas.

The session planned for Bay City is an introductory training session by the Alliance. It will be held on April 21, 10 a.m. to noon, inside the Saginaw Bay Visitor Center, located at the Bay City state park.

For more information, see the Alliance website at greatlakes.org.

Great Lakes Offshore Wind Energy Consortium

Plans for offshore wind projects have received a gust of support in the Great Lakes.

The governor of Michigan recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with 10 federal agencies to enhance the coordination of offshore wind projects in the lakes. Gov. Snyder was joined by the governors of Illinois, Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania.

The aim is to promote the efficient, orderly and responsible evaluation of offshore wind proposals for the lakes, according to the Great Lakes Commission.

The agreement (pdf) is modeled after similar ones signed between 10 states on the East Coast and the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The agencies in the Great Lakes agreement include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and other agencies that have regulatory roles or federal interests related to permitting offshore turbines in the lakes.

The Memorandum of Understanding will establish a Great Lakes Offshore Wind Energy Consortium to coordinate and expedite the review of proposals for offshore wind projects.

According to the Obama administration, offshore wind energy resources in the Great Lakes could yield tremendous economic and environmental benefits. Offshore wind in the lakes has the potential to produce more than 700 gigawatts of energy. That’s about one fifth of the total offshore wind potential in the United States.

-30-

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.

-30-

What’s in Your Water? & How Wetlands Help (Video)

As heard on Friday Edition, Jan. 27, 2012, at @9 AM Eastern. A radio transcript with video? Yes!

Screen capture

Glass Half Full?

What’s in your drinking water?

If you live in this region, your tap water most likely comes from Saginaw Bay, via a water treatment plant.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has just released a tool with information about pollutants that are released into local waterways.

The Discharge Monitoring tool allows you to search and map water pollution by local area, watershed, company, industry sector, and pollutant.

Searches using the tool result in “Top Ten” lists that identify facilities and industries that are discharging the most pollution, and what water bodies are impacted.

So to answer the question, top pollutants discharged to the waters in Bay City include ammonia, chlorine and phosphorus.

You can search your city at epa.gov/pollutantdischarges.

WaterLogged Wetland

Michigan researchers are the subject of an environmental documentary.

Film crews recently followed scientists from Central Michigan University and the University of Notre Dame as part of a documentary on efforts to preserve and restore Great Lakes coastal wetlands.

Wetlands serve as a filter for pollution before it enters the Great Lakes.

They also provide breeding and migratory habitat for wildlife, and can be crucial for flood control.

About half of the historic coastal wetlands in the Great Lakes have been lost, according to CMU’s Institute for Great Lakes Research.

The university is leading a $10 million federal research project to protect coastal wetlands in the lakes.

CMU and other universities involved are measuring the ecosystem health of every coastal wetland in the Great Lakes basin, and searching for trends in health and water quality.

Researchers from a total of 10 universities have been collecting samples of water, vegetation, invertebrates, fish, amphibians and birds.

-30-

Mich Enviro Report: Rifle River Stats, Net Metering & Saginaw Bay Phosphorus

As heard Dec. 9, 2011, on Delta College Q-90.1 FM …

1.

Members of the nonprofit Huron Pines group in Grayling at pouring over stats from a study done this year of the Rifle River watershed.  

The group spent time photographing and measuring the area this year. A total of 245 road and stream crossings sites were surveyed, along with 405 streambank erosion sites.

In roadside ditches and publicly accessible lakes, a total of 214 incidents of invasive species were recorded. In addition, 86 small dams were located via aerial photography and GIS analysis.

Huron Pines plans to use this information to prioritize restoration projects for the next two years.

The information also will be used to build a Rifle River Watershed Management Plan textbook. The book will be a resource for local planners and other interested in watershed protection.

2.

More people are generating power from renewable resources in Michigan.

A new report from the Michigan Public Service Commission shows that the number of net metering customers increased from 254 in 2009 to 628 in 2010.

Solar power was the most popular, with 300 additional generators in 2010. Wind accounted for 74 additional generators in 2010.

The Net Metering & Solar Pilot Program Report is based on customer participation data provided by Michigan utilities.

The commission says Michigan has seen tremendous growth in the number of solar installations due to net metering and utility solar pilot programs in the state. There are about 8.9 megawatts of solar installations in Michigan.

3.

What’s the state of Michigan’s environment?

A triennial report from the state DNR and DEQ documents changes in environmental trends including land use, animal and fish populations, invasive and endangered species, air pollutant levels and water quality.

For Saginaw Bay, the report says that between 1993 and 2009, average phosphorus levels were at their lowest in 1996 and 2005 and at their highest in 1998. Phosphorus is a nutrient that contributes to algal blooms in the bay.

State official says it appears that mean total phosphorus levels are decreasing in the bay, but a trend can’t be identified as of yet.

A number of actions have been taken to reduce phosphorus levels in the Saginaw Bay watershed. That includes a Bay county ban on most residential phosphorus fertilizers that took effect in 2009.

A statewide ban on phosphorus-based fertilzers goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2012.

— Photo by Jason McDowell

-30-

Mich Enviro Report: SBCI Meeting, State Parks Gold Medal & Green Infrastructure

As heard Nov. 25, 2011, on Delta College Q-90.1 FM …

1.

Local and state environmental officials are planning a meeting in Bay City about Saginaw Bay issues.

Cladophora algae. Via wisc.edu

The regional meeting of the Saginaw Bay Coastal Initiative is set for Monday, Nov. 28, at the Bay County Fairgrounds Canteen Building. It is set to run from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.

On the agenda is an update on treatment projects conducted this year in Bay and Huron counties for phragmites, an invasive reed.

Also scheduled is a report on efforts to delist the bay for impairments related to beach closings and unwanted algae.

The Saginaw River and Bay were listed as a federal Area of Concern in the late 1980s.

But recent research indicates that beach closings due to bacteria have actually decreased in and around the bay.

State officials also say muck that has fouled shorelines along the bay is not an appropriate indicator of excessive algae.

2.

Michigan State Parks are the best in the nation.

State parks and recreation areas, like one in Bay County’s Bangor Township, recently received a Gold Medal from the National Recreation and Park Association.

Michigan beat out three other states for the top honor: North Carolina, Florida and Missouri. The news was highlighted in a recent dispatch from Huron Pines, a nonprofit in Grayling.

The gold medal recognizes the Michigan park system for long-range planning, resource management, and agency recognition.

In its application, the state Department of Natural Resources touted innovation, such as a lower-priced Recreation Passport now available when people renew their vehicle registrations. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder recently appointed a blue-ribbon panel to guide the state parks system into the future.

3.

A new report examines efforts by U.S. cities to combat stormwater-related pollution with green infrastructure.

That includes one area in Michigan.

The report is timely because the Environmental Protection Agency is considering changes to its stormwater management requirements.

And you may also have noticed that the U.S. has seen many extreme weather events in recent months. Such events, and even a little rain in the Bay City and Saginaw area area, can result in sewage overflows into the Saginaw River.

Among the 14 cities listed in the report is the Detroit Metro Area and Rouge River Watershed. The peer-reviewed report comes from the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The report says the 14 cities have improved their ability to manage stormwater and reduce runoff pollution, saved money and beautified their landscapes in the process.

How? With green infrastructure, which stops runoff pollution  by capturing rainwater and either storing it for future use or letting it filter back into the ground. Examples include green roofs, street trees, increased green space, rain barrels, rain gardens, and permeable pavement.

The report is called Rooftops to Rivers II.

For more information, see nrdc.org/rooftops

-30-

Mich Enviro Report: Reptiles and Amphibians along Saginaw Bay & State Park Passports

As heard on Delta College radio, Q-90.1 FM … on Friday, 11-11-11 …

1.

A new visitor passport system is bringing in more money to Michigan state parks. 

According to Great Lakes Echo, Michigan Recreation Passports now allow almost 2 million vehicles access to all state parks.

The passports cost $10 per year and can be purchased when people renew their vehicle registrations.

Under the old system, annual visitor permits were more than $20 each.

But more people are purchasing the less-expensive yearly passes.

In the year since the passport program took effect, it has raised almost $19 million..

That money has paid for improvements to many state parks, including repairs to water and electrical systems, bathrooms and shower facilities.

The money generated under the new system is $7 million more under the previous system, in 2010.

2.

How many reptiles and amphibians live in the Saginaw Bay area?

The Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy is working to conduct a broad survey of Saginaw Bay coastal habitats to document what reptiles and amphibians live there.

The conservancy says that amphibians and reptiles are particulary sensitive to water contamination and habitat disturbances.

The number of critters living in coastal habitats can often indicate environmental problems.

In that regard, the survey is being done to evaluate the integrity of local and regional ecosystems.

The results will help local and other decision-makers to determine how to best protect these animals and, if necessary, restore their habitats.

So far this year, portions of more than 30 square-miles of shoreline across the bay have been surveyed, according to the conservancy.

Twenty-three species were identified. The Blanding’s Turtle, a state Species of Special Concern, was observed in several locations. Also, the rare Four-toed Salamander was documented for one of the first times in the Thumb area.

The Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy project is being funded by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality through  a grant from the  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

3.

Mark your calendars.

There’s an informational meeting scheduled for Monday, Nov. 28, on Saginaw Bay coastal activities.

The meeting will provide an update on activities from the past year, including shoreline locations of treatment projects to control phragmites, an invasive plant, in Bay and Huron counties.

Also on tap is a report on beach closings and algae problems in the bay.

Further details, including a location for the Nov. 28 meeting, are to be announced soon.

You can check with the Bay County Environmental Affairs office, or tune in here for more information.

- Photo by Matt M.

—

Mich Enviro Report: Dow Making Solar Shingles & EPA Targeting Saginaw Bay

As heard Friday, Oct. 21, 2011, on Delta College public radio Q-90.1 FM …

Photo via Dow Chemical/Saginaw Future

1.

Solar shingles made by the Dow Chemical Co. are rolling off the line in Midland.

The company says it will bring its POWERHOUSE Solar Shingle to U.S. markets this month, starting in Colorado and moving into targeted states next year.

According to Dow officials, the POWERHOUSE Solar Shingle combines the performance and protection of a conventional asphalt roof with an integrated photovoltaic system that powers the home. The shingles can save a homeowner money and are an alternative to rack-mounted systems.

Dow officials say the POWERHOUSE system can be installed when a homeowner is purchasing a new home, or replacing an existing roof due to repair or replacement.

Dow is partnering with national homebuilders, developers and professional roofing contractors to bring the POWERHOUSE Solar Shingles to U.S. homeowners.

About a dozen states have been targeted for introduction of the POWERHOUSE product between now and the end of 2012.

How much will a solar roof cost you? A Dow vice president says an asphalt roof with POWERHOUSE Solar Shingles can be thousands of dollars less expensive than other integrated solar products.

The POWERHOUSE  Solar Shingles are being manufactured at a small facility in Midland. Dow Chemical has begun construction of a new, large-scale facility in the city, and expects to create  up to 1,275 jobs between now and 2015.

2.

Ongoing algae problems in the Saginaw Bay watershed are being targeted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

EPA Chief Lisa Jackson said during a stop in Detroit last week that her agency has set several priorities for projects in Michigan, including work to reduce algae in Lake Huron’s Saginaw Bay watershed.

Jackson says that over the next two years, her agency will prioritize efforts to reduce phosphorus pollution to Saginaw Bay. Ohio’s Maumee River and the Lower Fox River in Wisconsin also will be targeted.

Phosphorus runoff from farms, failing septic systems and sewage overflows has been blamed for causing algal blooms in Saginaw Bay.

Jackson said the area will receive special attention as part of a federally funded Great Lakes restoration program.

The Saginaw River and Bay were listed as federal hot spot, or Area of Concern, in the late 1980s.

(See also: Toxic Algae Bloom in Lake Erie Worst in Decades)

-30-

Mich Enviro Report: Phragmites, Purple Loosestrife & Teaching in Bay City

As heard Sept. 30, 2011, on Q-90.1 FM, Delta College …

1. An environmental teaching conference is coming to Bay City.

The Michigan Alliance for Environmental and Outdoor Education is holding its 23rd Annual Conference from Oct. 7-9 at the Delta College Planetarium in downtown Bay City.

The event will bring together teachers, naturalists, and outdoor recreation leaders from throughout the Midwest.

This year’s conference will explore the concept of sustainability and ways to address the concept in teaching practices. Topics to be discussed include earth science and technology, Michigan agriculture and freshwater studies.

Field trips also are planned aboard the Appledore schooners, operated by BaySail, and to the Saginaw Bay Visitor Center at the Bay City State Recreation Area.

2. Invasive reeds are being doused along Saginaw Bay.

The reeds are a plant called phragmites, which have sprouted up along large parts of the bay shoreline in recent years. Bay County officials say aerial spraying to control the plants will be done along the the shoreline at the county-owned Pinconning Park  and Fraser Township’s Linwood Scenic Park.

The aerial treatment will be done by helicopter, weather permitting, sometime during the next several weeks.

A herbicide mixture will be used to treat areas with dense stands of phragmites, which can grow to be more than 10 feet high.

There will be a 24-hour water use restriction in the treatment areas with signs posted against swimming and wading at the sites.

Phragmites is a perennial wetland grass.

It thrives in coastal and inland environments, chokes out native habitat for birds and mammals, and makes it difficult for humans and wildlife to access the water bodies it surrounds.

A chemical released through the plant’s root system also can kill fish.

3. Other invasive plants have already been removed by Huron Pines Invasive Species SWAT Team.

The group says it’s removed every blossom of purple loosestrife on the North Branch of the Au Sable River.

In August and September, the team covered more than 20 acres of riverbank, pulling and digging out single and small groups of plants. They also clipped blossoms from large areas to prevent seeds from entering the river.

The team of volunteers received assistance from the North Branch River Keepers.

Purple loosestrife is a perennial herb native to Eurasia.

It decreases native vegetation, can alter a wetland’s structure and function, and forms a dense monoculture where it grows.

— Photo by Liz West/CC

-30-

Mich Enviro Report: Bay County Wind Turbine, GLRI Money & a Hall of Fame

As heard Friday, Sept. 9, 2011, on Delta College Q-90.1 FM …

1.

Bay County officials expect to save on utility costs with a newly installed wind turbine.

The 4-kilowatt vertical axis turbine was installed recently at the Bay County Community Center in Bay City.

The equipment was paid for with a federal energy efficiency grant totaling almost $600,000, and installed by Affordable Green Energy of Essexville.

This is the second wind turbine installed on Bay County property and funded by the grant. The first was earlier this year at the county’s Juvenile Home in Hampton Township.

Besides the two turbines, the grant also has paid for energy-saving equipment at the Bay County Building and Bay County Civic Arena.

Altogether, Bay County officials say they expect to save 20 percent on utility costs with equipment purchased through the grant.

2.

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is funding a number of new projects in Michigan.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced awards of about $4.7 million in grants through the federally funded initiative.

The newly funded projects include money for mapping harmful algal blooms on the Great Lakes. These blooms affect water quality in Saginaw Bay and can result in beach closings.

Central Michigan University also is receiving money to establish gull exclusion zones at public beaches.

And funding is going to the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for sediment reduction in the Sebewaing River Watershed.

The 12 grants in Michigan are among 70 grants totaling nearly $30 million that EPA has awarded this year under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

3.

Who would you nominate to the Michigan Environmental Hall of Fame?

A nonprofit called the Muskegon Environmental Research and Education Society has formed a Michigan Environmental Hall of Fame.

Society officials tell The Muskegon Chronicle it’s the first of its kind in the state.

The Hall of Fame is taking nominations for the first class to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in the spring.

Nominations are due by Feb. 20.

Michigan environmental groups are being recruited to help spread the word about the hall of fame and the nomination process.

— Photo via AGE

-30-