As monstrous as it may seem, Michigan’s recent record-breaking 49.8 pound flathead catfish catch  doesn’t measure up to record-breaking flatheads from other Great Lakes states.
The largest is Indiana’s 79.8 pounder.
Michigan’s record breaker was caught May 22, by Rodney Akey, on the St. Joseph River, in Berrien County.
Pennsylvania is the only Great Lakes state with a smaller flathead catfish (48.6 pounds) on record. New York doesn’t list one.
There is no established population in Ontario.
Michigan’s relatively small record breaker may be the result of the state’s groundwater fed streams,  said Todd Kalish, …

 
This infographic produced by the United States Geological Survey makes it easy to visualize why water is not to be squandered.
It displays just how much of the Earth’s water is available for use. It’s not as much as you’d think when you look at it in relationship to the size of the Earth.
The largest of three spheres represents all the water on Earth, salt and fresh. The second largest represents just freshwater.
Think that’s small? Consider the tiny little speck just above Florida. It represents the volume of freshwater actually available …

 
Ontario lawmakers are introducing an act to restore and protect the Great Lakes.
The Great Lakes Protection Act would establish a Great Lakes Guardian Council with members from provincial and local government, the First Nations and the sectors of science and agriculture.
A Great Lakes Community Action Fund would provide $1.5 million for community projects designed to help the Great Lakes.
It would also allow the provincial minister of the environment to implement problem-solving targets, requirements and initiatives.
The action comes at a time when critics say a proposed federal budget bill in the …

Billboards in the Great Lakes region will soon feature a Louisiana high school senior’s prize-winning painting of a “silent invader.”
Monika Daniels’ painting of a largemouth bass swimming through zebra mussel infested waters will be used to remind Great Lakes boaters how to prevent the spread of invasive species.
Daniels won an art contest held by Wildlife Forever, a Minnesota-based nonprofit conservation group that supports environmental education. This is the first year the group’s K-12 State-Fish Art Contest had a category dedicated to invasive species.
Contestants also write an essay explaining what they’ve …

Here at Echo we have a special fondness for satellite imagery.
Sometimes outer space offers the best vantage point from which to get a sense of Great Lakes issues. Check out this view of the ice break up on Lake Erie and the subsequent agricultural runoff bringing the nutrients that feed the lakes algae headaches later in the summer.
Want more? NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey are customizing local landscape images for six U.S. citizens who enter the “My American Landscape” contest.  Just send them an e-mail describing the landscape …

Federal officials are giving out $10 million in grants to reduce phosphorus in the Great Lakes. The element is tied to the production of algae, which can be toxic to wildlife and people.
The funding is part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, launched in 2010 to tackle a diverse set of environmental problems.
High levels of phosphorus are often due to farm runoff and poorly treated sewage, according to the initiative’s action plan. The grants are aimed at farmers who are looking for more efficient conservation programs for their land and …

As more invasive species attack the state parks, more hands are needed to fight them.
The Michigan and Indiana recreation officials are calling for volunteers to help remove invasive plants from the state parks and recreation areas.  
“It is a great opportunity for families and friends to enjoy the outdoors, improve the conditions of parks and be engaged in its protection,” said Laurel Malvitz-Draper, stewardship coordinator for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Volunteers search for and pull invasive plants such as non-garlic mustard, Japanese bittersweet, shrubs, common buckthorn and vines.
Invasive plants …

 
After three prototypes and multiple tweaks to his robotic fish, Xiaobo Tan is planning to deploy the water-monitoring device this August.
 

 
“Things have been going slower then what we expected, but we are making good progress overall,” said Tan, associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Michigan State University.
Great Lakes Echo covered the early development stages of Tan’s robofish in 2009. His latest prototype can submerge, something the initial robofish couldn’t do.
It is almost capable of transferring sensor signals in real time, another new development. The robofish …

Last week we asked you to nominate the best beer made from the waters of the Great Lakes watershed.
And what a great job you did. The Echo staff is inspired to turn that list into a shopping list. One disappointment: The nominees didn’t reflect the binational nature of the watershed. They don’t make beer in Canada? If you’ve got a favorite made from Canadian waters of the Great Lakes watershed, make sure to add it to the original post.
And as far as that goes, the nominees were very Michigan heavy. …