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Cougar makes its way through Michigan

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It’s on the move. A cougar was caught by a trail camera on Sept. 26 in Houghton County, Mich., and a cougar was spotted by another trail camera in Ontonogan County earlier this month. These sightings, according to Michigan Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist Adam Bump, are almost certainly of the same cat. If it is the same cougar that walked past those cameras, then that cat has covered some distance, at least 50 miles from one county to the other.

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A toxic mussel management cocktail

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Zebra mussels clog pipes, take over boat hoists and slice the feet of unsuspecting Great Lakes swimmers. The invasive pests are typically managed with chlorine, but that could soon be a thing of the past. A study of potassium chloride and polyDADMAC (or, if you’re feeling adventurous, polydiallyldimethylammonium) found they are far more deadly to mussels when used together rather than separately. Essentially, the two toxins are greater than the sum of their parts, and when they’re used together fewer chemicals are needed to manage mussels. Two other mussel-killing weapons are Biobullets and Zequanox.

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Survey shows strong public support for hunting

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Just in time for the big fall hunting seasons in the Great Lakes region, a recent survey shows a high level of public support for our bright orange and camouflage-clad friends. Seventy-five percent of those surveyed nationwide said they approved of the activity and 93 percent said that target shooting is acceptable.  The study was financed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a firearms trade association. The high level of public approval has been consistent over the past two decades, according to the organization. But the survey went a step further than previous research and found that 94 percent supported the right of others to hunt, regardless of their opinion of the activity. Only 4 percent of respondents wanted to strip others of the right to hunt.

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Population of endangered Great Lakes bird remains stable

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Michigan officials listened to the sweet songs of Kirtland’s warblers throughout the state in June — and the chorus was a positive one. The population of the endangered birds remains steady, according to the annual survey by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Environment. Officials surveyed in mid-June when the birds defend their nesting territories.  Birds are detected by listening for their songs — as their singing can be heard for up to a quarter mile.  Since only males are belting out songs, populations are estimated by doubling the number of singers

The 2011 survey documented 1,805 singing males, which is approximately what the population has been in recent years.  The bird made a strong comeback after singing male populations hit a low in 1974 and 1987, when only 167  were observed. Warblers nest on the ground in Michigan, Wisconsin and Ontario —but most prominently in northern Michigan’s jack pine forests.  The population declined rapidly as modern fire suppression stopped the natural wildfires that provided the barren landscape and young jack pines that warblers love to nest in. State and federal officials now harvest and replant approximately 3,000 acres of jack pine trees a year to mimic natural processes.  Large prescribed burns aren’t safe or economical in northern Michigan, according to the state officials.

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Monitoring Lake Michigan’s wind resources with laser technology

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If a rooster perched atop a weathervane is your idea of wind technology, you’ve got some catching up to do. Laser wind sensing is the latest technology in the push to assess Lake Michigan’s wind resources. It will be used for the first time on a floating platform later this month when the Lake Michigan Offshore Wind Assessment Project launches the AXYS WindSentinel buoy. The buoy will gauge the lake’s potential for wind farming while tracking its physical, biological and environmental conditions. Because it’s so mobile, the WindSentinel buoy will provide information faster and cheaper than a traditional meteorological tower, according to Grand Valley State University’s Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center.

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Al Gore will speak at Great Lakes Week in Detroit

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The big Great Lakes Week 2011 just got a little bigger as the International Joint Commission has confirmed former vice president Al Gore as the keynote speaker. Gore will speak at the commission’s biennial meeting in Detroit Oct. 12-14.  His address is slated for  1:15 p.m. on Oct. 13. The meeting is part of Great Lakes Week: Detroit 2011, which brings together U.S. and Canadian government officials with public and private groups to explore the  lakes’ most pressing problems, potential solutions and on-going restoration.

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great lakes shirts

Great Lakes, great garb

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Wearing catchy t-shirts is one way to show off your school or favorite indie band, but have you thought about giving your regional lakescape some love? Great Lakes Proud and Great Lakes Shirts can help. Both companies are selling products with an outline of the Great Lakes, emphasizing pride for the whole region instead of an individual state like many other companies do. There are no logos, no advertisements, no political boundaries. Just water.

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Another weapon to fight invasive mussels

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Another piece of artillery is available to fight invasive mussels. In the arsenal with Biobullets is a biopesticide created by Marrone Bio Innovations Inc.called Zequanox. The biopesticide has just gotten approval for testing at the Davis Dam in Nevada on the Colorado River where quagga mussels are getting in the way of providing electricity. Zequanox is made of the bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens. Marrone researchers found it to be more than 90 percent lethal to adult mussels and 100 percent lethal to mussel larvae. And it doesn’t kill other organisms like water fleas, freshwater shrimp or brown trout.

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Online database documents beach health

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This year, Adopt-a-Beach will reach beyond the shore and into the web with a new online system that tracks litter and overall health of beaches. The system, monitored by the Alliance for the Great Lakes, allows volunteers to enter data on litter, beach conditions, water quality and recreation use for Great Lakes beaches. Data is collected during Adopt-a-Beach cleanup events, one of which is taking place on Saturday in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. The information is stored in a searchable database, allowing you to find and download the information from past cleanups. Only information from 2011 cleanups is available on the system, but the Alliance is working on adding earlier information.