: A Blanding's turtle stands at the edge of a wetland. Image: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Water

Michigan and Ohio receive $500,000 to study rare turtles

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By Ruth Thornton

State wildlife agencies in Michigan and Ohio have received nearly $500,000 in federal funding to study rare turtles. The grant is part of more than $7 million distributed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to benefit rare and declining fish and wildlife and their habitats across the country. Other states receiving funding under the program this year include Minnesota, Iowa, Hawaii and North and South Carolina. Michigan’s work will focus on Blanding’s and spotted turtles, two rare species that often occur in wetlands. The funding will allow researchers to understand how the populations of both species are doing, especially the survival of nests and baby turtles.

Water

Forty years on, future of contaminant plume under Ann Arbor still murky

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By Elinor Epperson

Gelman Sciences LLC manufactured medical filters for decades, but that’s not the public health issue the company is known for. Dioxane from Gelman’s Scio Township plant leaked into Ann Arbor’s groundwater, creating a plume of contamination more than 4 miles long. That contamination was discovered by a University of Michigan graduate student, Dan Bicknell, who alerted the state environmental regulator on June 26, 1984. But Gelman had been dumping the chemical since 1966. And 40 years after Bicknell blew the whistle, the plume is larger than ever.

Climate

Green infrastructure job trainings aim to support growing field

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By Elinor Epperson

As more green infrastructure projects are installed across the state, more workers are needed to maintain them. Friends of the Rouge, a Detroit-area nonprofit that manages the River Rouge watershed, is offering a short course about maintaining green infrastructure like rain gardens. The course is an opportunity for workers to expand their job skills and contribute to green projects in the metropolitan area. Cyndi Ross, the restoration manager at Friends of the Rouge, said more green projects in the city means more trained workers are needed. “It’s in demand, and the demand is growing,” she said.

Every summer, toxic algae blooms form on Lake Erie, posing a health risk to humans and animals. Image: National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science
Climate

Experts predict moderate Lake Erie toxic algae bloom

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By Gabrielle Nelson

Lake Erie’s annual algae bloom has begun to form weeks ahead of schedule off the coast of southeast Michigan, but scientists say they expect only a moderate bloom this year. “There was scum off Monroe,” said Richard Stumpf, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration oceanographer who leads the federal government’s bloom forecasting effort. “It’s not huge now, about 20 square kilometers (7.7 square miles), but it has actually started up in that area.”

Cyanobacteria, known as blue-green algae, fouls hundreds of square miles of western Lake Erie every summer, typically from July to October. The putrid, sometimes toxic, blooms pose a risk to human and animal health and the region’s tourism economy. Under the right conditions, they produce harmful toxins that can sicken humans and kill pets.

Water

Michigan program helps hobbyists safely rehome aquatic flora and fauna

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By Elinor Epperson

Don’t flush that unwanted goldfish – find it a new home instead. Home aquariums and water gardening are two of the many routes invasive species take to enter Michigan habitats. A Michigan State University Extension program provides educational materials and resources for rehoming unwanted aquatic pets. Reduce Invasive Pet and Plant Escapes (RIPPLE) works with hobbyists, retailers and gardeners to minimize the release of invasive species into the wild. Most people may not give much thought to letting one or two pets go for a variety of reasons – financial, lifestyle changes or change of seasons, for example – but Paige Filice, the program’s primary coordinator, said those numbers add up.

Image: A Michigan Department of Natural Resources technician collects a red swamp crayfish from a retention pond in Novi in August 2022. Matthew Clara/ DNR
Water

Michigan trying new approaches against invasive crayfish

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By Elinor Epperson

Researchers are exploring new techniques to remove an invasive crayfish from Michigan waters. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has been fighting an invasion of red swamp crayfish since they first appeared in the state in 2017. Aggressive attempts to trap and remove the crustacean haven’t worked. Kathleen Quebedeaux, a fisheries biologist with the DNR, said eradicating the invader will require a variety of approaches. “In order to have a more efficient means of achieving eradication, we need other tools in our toolbox,” she said.

Water

Community input sought for cleaned-up lakes, shorelines

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It’s taken over 30 years and $80 million to restore Muskegon Lake and a few nearby smaller bodies of water.

Decades of pollution and rapid urbanization created ecological problems so severe that the lake was designated a “Great Lakes Area of Concern” by the U.S. and Canada in 1987.

Water

Old Lake Michigan shipwreck visible again after burial under sand

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Look fast or you may miss an elusive 170-year-old sunken schooner off the coast of Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin.

The mostly intact shipwreck, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in early April, isn’t always visible, even though it’s in very shallow waters, said Tamara Thomsen, a Wisconsin Historical Society maritime archaeologist.