Great Lakes Echo (https://greatlakesecho.org/category/nearshore/page/16/)
The nearshore encompasses beaches and wetlands. It extends from uplands through the coasts and into the water near the shore.
Ecologists encourage property owners to plant their beaches to reduce erosion and provide wildlife habitat. Upshore gardens can prevent pollution and runoff. And maintaining native plants impedes invasive species.
Wildlife researchers cut the population of gulls on Lake Michigan beaches by sterilizing their eggs. The birds tried hatching them instead of laying new ones.
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Although Kathleen Stachowski now resides in Montana, the Great Lakes, and Lake Michigan in particular, will always hold a special place in her heart. Born and raised in Michigan City, Ind. near Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Stachowski’s life has always been tied to the dunes and the lake. Her childhood was filled with family trips to the lake and the dunes, seeing it then as a place of both wonder and solace. “The dunes had a truly wild feel in those days and not many people went there,” she recalled.
Mr. Great Lakes (Jeff Kart) reports from Bay City, Michigan’s Delta College Q-90.1 FM.
This week Kart discusses renewable energy investments and the trash count from the Adopt-a-Beach Great Lakes cleanup program. Text at Mr Great Lakes
Clearing an invasive plant choking Lake St. Clair Metropark yielded impressive dividends: Rare birds and plants have returned. Next up: Diversion and treatment of stormwater that has closed a nearby beach.
It was first found in the St Lawrence Seaway and then Lake Erie. Now it has been identified on Lake St. Clair. The species forms thick mats and can cause skin, oral and gastrointestinal problems.
The dunes are much younger and move more quickly than previously thought.
That finding has implications for protecting them.
Legislation to authorize specialty fundraising plates for Sleeping Bear Dunes, the Girl Scouts and other pet causes are gathering dust in Michigan Senate and House committees.
The lower the water in the Great Lakes, the larger the stretch of uncovered shoreline for phragmites to invade. And the longer water levels stay low, the more phragmites spreads.