Echo

Little Things, Big Problems: Aquatic invaders

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Last year, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative began producing a series of educational videos about invasive species in the Great Lakes for the National Park Service. New videos are being uploaded this spring, and you can watch the entire “Little Things, Big Problems” series here on Echo. This video discusses invasive species in Lake Michigan and how they are affecting the food web and the health of birds.

Echo

Which Great Lakes communities have the best parks?

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ParkScore measures how well the 50 largest U.S. cities meet their residents’ need for parks. The rating system evaluated the parks of several cities from Great Lakes states on size, ease of access and city investment. The ratings are designed to help local communities identify where parks are needed and improve services for existing parks. On the Parkscore website, cities are rated  on a scale of zero to five park benches. For example, one bench means the city’s park system needs major improvement, while five benches indicate an excellent park system.

Echo

PSA: Use the bathroom before you swim

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Throughout the summer Great Lakes Echo will feature an occasional series of public service announcements produced by Michigan’s Ottawa County Health Department  to promote clean beaches. This one reminds swimmers not to treat lakes like a bathroom. Though the card features a child with a dirty diaper, children aren’t the only cause of the problem. A recent survey from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention showed that swimmers of all ages contribute to water contamination. Human waste in water can lead to recreational water illnesses, spread by contact with contaminated water in lakes, rivers, oceans and even chlorinated pools or hot tubs, according to the center.

Echo

Photo Friday: Lake Michigan sunrise

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Catherine Egger, a real estate agent and Echo reader, was up with the sun when she captured this photo earlier this summer. She shared the Lake Michigan sunrise with some geese at the SS Badger Carferry dock in Manitowoc, Wisc.  

Echo

PSA: Leave your pets at home

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Throughout the summer Great Lakes Echo will feature an occasional series of public service announcements produced by Michigan’s Ottawa County Health Department  to promote clean beaches. This one  encourages beachgoers to leave their pets at home. “As far as pets go, it is the problem of owner’s not picking up after their pets,” said Kristina Wieghmink, communications specialist for the health department. “It’s the excrement washed into the water that causes a potential health risk.” Echo recently reported that abandoned pet waste can lead to human health hazards.

Echo

Photo Friday: Sea cow

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Photographer Tim Trombley of Great Lakes Photography is another reader who answered Echo’s call for photos this summer. He entitled this picture “Sea Cow,” as the pattern of the rocks along the shallows of Lake Superior resembles the markings commonly seen on cows. “I’m always so amazed by the clarity of the water in Lake Superior, as seen in this photo,” Trombley said. “A kayak is the best way to spend time on this lake when the conditions permit.”

Echo

Photo Friday: Snake Island

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Earlier this summer Echo put out a call for Photo Friday submissions, and Terry Heatlie was one of the readers that responded with a photograph taken this July. The photo was captured from the shoreline of Bois Blanc Island in Lake Huron, located southeast of Mackinac Island, Mich. Heatlie, a habitat restoration specialist, pointed out that Snake Island, seen in the horizon, actually appears as a peninsula due to Lake Huron’s low water levels.