Great Lakes Echo (https://greatlakesecho.org/author/jeffgillies/page/6/)
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.
The Marina City towers on the Chicago River are sometimes called “corn cobs” for their vegetal resemblances. I’m sure “carp cobs” will be an easy adjustment once this Asian carp invasion hits full swing. This carp bomb is brought to you by Katie Coleman and the Environmental Law and Policy Center. Remember, we want to show off YOUR Asian carp photobombs. Read all about how it works here.
Worry wanes over the chance of flooding brought on by the melting ice bridge at the southern tip of Lake Huron. But a few freighters heading through the St. Clair River have gotten stuck in ice chunks that are gathered up like “sand bunched in an hourglass,” Tammy Stables Battaglia writes in the Detroit Free Press. The hourglass metaphor is apt. You can see it in action here:
The city of Mason, Mich. may be 70 miles from the nearest Great Lake, but that’s not stopping them from drafting a resolution supporting Asian carp control. Here’s what the city can expect if their words aren’t heeded:
Thanks to Christie Bleck for the submission. Do you have a picture that could use a hulking invasive fish in it? Here’s how to get in on the action.
There’s a lot of talk about stopping climate change. But the climate is already changing and even the most ambitious mitigation plans still predict some warming.
Some forward thinkers in Wisconsin are helping brace the state for what’s ahead.
The first Great Lakes Restoration Initiative-backed grants are lining up. Michigan and Ohio announced their plans to use $2.9 million to buy 1,600 acres of Great Lakes coastal wetlands, sand dunes, forests and beaches. That $2.9 million comes from $4.75 million in GLRI funding funneled through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program. The other $1.8 million will go to Wisconsin for land acquisitions in Houghton Falls and Mashek Creek. Here’s the breakdown:
Bete Grise Wetlands Acquisition, Michigan: $1.7 million
Houghton Falls, Wisconsin: $1.4 million
Kelleys Island Monagan Road Preserve, Ohio: $476,750
Mashek Creek Acquisition, Wisconsin: $398,000
Lake Erie Bluff Preservation Project, Ohio: $732,600
The grants require a 1:1 state match.
A huge mass of ice at the southern tip of Lake Huron has the Canadian Coast Guard worried, according to the London Free Press and Port Huron Times Herald. Ice builds up there every year, but a warm spell could break up the mass into chunks too big to flow through the St. Clair River. That happened in 1984 and caused big problems.
The Times Herald has a cool interactive panoramic photo of the ice from the Blue Water Bridge. But suckers for satellite imagery should check out NOAA’s Great Lakes Coast Watch for a bird’s-eye view.
This summer, Echo ran a five-part series on a controversial study of a possibly human-driven drop in Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. The $3.6 million, International Joint Commission-funded study started in 2004 and a final report of the results came in Dec., 2009. The study looked at erosion in the St. Clair River, which runs between Lake Huron and Lake Erie. The researchers found that the “head difference” between the two lakes — that’s a measure of how high the Lake Huron surface is above the Lake Erie surface — has dropped 9 inches since 1963.
Think we need to stop the Asian carp to preserve the beauty of the Great Lakes for future generations? Flickr member gbensinger indicates that the future generations aren’t scared. I’m pretty sure that fat slug up there is a common carp, which already sneaked into the lakes. But who’s to say that they won’t adapt to the arrival of their Asian kin by bulking up to hideous proportions? Probably scientists!
Some Great Lakes biologists speculate that the Asian carp might not thrive in some of the lakes because zebra mussels and other invasive species have already trashed the lakes’ lower food web. Maybe there aren’t enough of the microscopic plants and animals the carp need to keep them happy. But as Flickr member outside perspectives reminds us, they’ll adapt. And this time, their prey is bipedal. Ready the pressurized air canisters!