Between 3,000 and 5,000 wild hogs inhabit 69 of Michigan’s 83 counties. They ravage crops and forests and carry diseases.
The Michigan Wildlife Conservancy – with help from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services branch – has developed the Michigan Wild Hog Removal Program. It aims to set 100 traps – that cost $450 each – to round them up.
Want a piece of the action? The program will train volunteers to help experts find hogs and monitor traps. It encourages state groups and organizations to hold hog-trapping fundraisers and events.
See …

A couple weeks ago Echo marked its first anniversary. The evolution has been fast, the learning curve steep. It’s hard to find the time to stop and take stock of what’s been accomplished. But here’s a good excuse:
Environmental news stories written for Great Lakes Echo and other publications of Michigan State University’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism are among those recently recognized at the 2009 Region 4 Mark of Excellence Society of Professional Journalists contest.
Among the Echo winners:
Online In-Depth Reporting

First Place: Cleaning Coal – by Sarah Coefield, …

Great Lakes states have roughly $44.8 million left to hand out in energy-saving appliance rebates.
The region received $80 million in recovery funds to spur economic growth and encourage the use of energy-efficient refrigerators, washers and dryers and heating and cooling systems.
Cash for appliances programs in Illinois and Pennsylvania start later this month; Minnesota is already out of funds.
Focus on Energy representative Bobbi Fey expects Wisconsin funds to last through the end of April.
Click here for the original Great Lakes Echo story.
Follow these links for details on cash for clunker appliances …

There’s been some buzz around the “If you can’t beat em, eat em” Asian carp control strategy. One Chicago alderman wants to use carp to feed the poor. Others argue that the Asian carp diet is no replacement for policy- and infrastructure-based eradication. Either way, carp bomb Flickr group member Joel has proof that the anglers of Manistee, Mich. are ready to provide the raw material to get the carp cuisine rolling.

Joking aside, Manistee is a hot spot for Great Lakes fishing, and the city’s charter captains are as worried …

Just a heads up that the Echo crew has implemented a few features you can use to help us make the site even better.
Notice that at the bottom of “Catch of the Day” we’ve created a link for you to suggest something for that feature. It can simply be something relevant to the Great Lakes environment that you’ve stumbled across and thought that perhaps we’d want to highlight or comment upon.
We’ve established a similar link under “Great Links” where you can flag news stories and URLs that we can consider …

State programs for regulating and preventing farm runoff are falling short, according to a new report (PDF) from the Environmental Law and Policy Center and Mississippi River Collaborative.
Farm runoff is a problem because it carries nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizers into lakes and bays. Once there, the nutrients can contaminate drinking water or fuel algae blooms that muck up beaches. Bacteria that break down dead blooms use up oxygen and leave behind dead zones where wildlife can’t breathe.
State programs to control runoff don’t work as well as they …

Jeff Kart has an item over at treehugger about pelicans scarfing down Asian carp.
Apparently there are a lot more pelicans hanging around Illinois rivers since the carp invaded those streams.
These pictures on the Illinois birder’s forum certainly indicate pelican power is fueled by crunching carp.
Can pelicans be the saviors of the Great Lakes ecosystem if the carp breach the electric barrier at Chicago?
Kart, who also writes the popular mudpuppy blog, muses: “Are lots of pelicans worse or better than lots of Asian carp? Will the pelicans eat the carp, …

A  report recently broadcast by the University of Michigan Radio Consortium’s Environment Report reminded me yet again of the tightrope parents walk trying to ensure their kids’ health.
It sometimes seems that the very things we do to keep ourselves and our children safe and free from disease end up hurting them.
This report connected the use of “personal care products” while pregnant with an increase in ADHD. Researchers with the Mount Sinai Children’s Environmental Health Study concluded “behavioral domains adversely associated with prenatal exposure to phthalates are commonly found to be …

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is a big player in the Asian carp story. Echo writer Andrew Norman envisions a world in which the rest of the Army gets involved. And they’ve got a secret weapon.

Carp bombs are fun for everyone. Here’s how to make your own.

An Ohio activist dubbed “The Snake Lady” and a university researcher have been honored for their efforts to conserve the threatened Lake Erie watersnake.
Kristin Stanford and Richard King of Northern Illinois University are among this year’s 18 recipients of the recently announced U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s Recovery Champions awards.
According to a U.S. F&W press release, the pair has put in a combined 35 years of work to save the snake and its habitat. King has been working since the 1980s and identified early declines in the population and threats to …