Great Lakes Echo (https://greatlakesecho.org/category/nearshore/page/17/)
The nearshore encompasses beaches and wetlands. It extends from uplands through the coasts and into the water near the shore.
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.
Michigan lakefront property owners who want to weed their Great Lakes beaches with mechanical devices may soon have one less hurdle to jump.
Environmental experts are urging property owners to get rid of lakefront lawns and stone breakwalls in favor of a new approach to landscaping.
The invasive phragmites isn’t just a nuisance because it takes over areas of native grassland. When it dries, it’s just like a tinderbox.
