Echo

Canada leads U.S., 3-1, on Great Lakes pollution hot spot cleanups

By |

The rise of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative in the U.S. has begged the question: what is Canada doing to restore its 2,904 miles (4,797 counting islands) of Great Lakes shoreline? The Toronto Star, Canada’s biggest newspaper, asked that of its own government in a February editorial responding to the states’ $2.2 billion Great Lakes plan:

“So, where is Canada’s plan?” they ask. “Troublingly, it seems our federal government is not nearly as concerned about the health of the lakes.” But, sweeping strategic plans aside, Canada actually leads the U.S. on Great Lakes restoration in at least one measure.

Echo

Carp bomb: Beach landing

By |

Frank Dutiri sends us this carp bomb, which perpetuates a few themes that have emerged from our submissions so far: Asian carp (click for news) are big, and have a taste for human young. But this big boy strikes another sinister, unsettling tone with me. We’re so worried about all the plankton that’s going to get sucked into those big mouths. But if they’re executing beach landings like this, what the heck is going to come out? Don’t forget to make your own Asian carp bombs and submit them Great Lakes Echo.

Echo

Carp and Compacts: Two big retirements affect Great Lakes policy

By |

Last week brought two big retirement announcements with Great Lakes political implications. The first came from U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak. The Michigan Democrat recently found himself in the center of the health care debate because he threatened to break with his party and vote against the bill over abortion rights. Stupak eventually voted for health care reform. But in 2008, Stupak broke with both parties and cast one of only 25 votes against the Great Lakes Compact, an agreement between the Great Lakes states that prevents most water diversions and promotes water conservation.

Echo

The carp plot thickens

By |

Here at Great Lakes Echo we’re very aware of the Asian carp invasion.  We don’t write much about it because so many people are doing such a great job covering that story, but we do like to keep tabs on new developments. Using the “Suggest a Catch” link at the bottom of our Catch of the Day feature, a reader called our attention to this story in the Metro Times:

Fishing for truth: Did government agencies help create the Asian carp crisis? A lot of blame has been tossed around in the past months.  Irresponsible fish farmers let the carp get into the rivers.  The shipping industry cares more about making a buck than preserving a fragile ecosystem (or the fishing industry). Preventative measures were insubstantial.  Now a new batch of players has been thrown into the ring.    Apparently government agencies moved Asian carp north years ago, and have been keeping mum on the issue.  In the 1970s, the government funded Asian carp research in our neck of the woods. Carp came to Illinois from Arkansas by the truckload to clean up manure and sewage.  An Illinois ecologist says none of the fish escaped.  Not everyone is so sure.

Wildlife

Wild Pig Poll: Should we trap ’em?

By |

Between 3,000 and 5,000 wild hogs inhabit 69 of Michigan’s 83 counties. They ravage crops and forests and carry diseases. The Michigan Wildlife Conservancy – with help from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services branch – has developed the Michigan Wild Hog Removal Program. It aims to set 100 traps – that cost $450 each — to round them up. Want a piece of the action?

Echo

Professional group recognizes reporters at Knight Center for Environmental Journalism

By |

A couple weeks ago Echo marked its first anniversary. The evolution has been fast, the learning curve steep. It’s hard to find the time to stop and take stock of what’s been accomplished. But here’s a good excuse:

Environmental news stories written for Great Lakes Echo and other publications of Michigan State University’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism are among those recently recognized at the 2009 Region 4 Mark of Excellence Society of Professional Journalists contest. Among the Echo winners:
Online In-Depth Reporting

First Place: Cleaning Coal – by Sarah Coefield, Elisabeth Pernicone, Yang Zhang and Rachael Gleason

Third Place: Public Pools, Public Health – by Haley Walker, Alice Rossignol and Emma Ogutu

Best Independent Online Student Publication

Second Place: Great Lakes Echo

Online Feature Reporting

Third Place: Lake Huron sinkholes – by Sarah Coefield

Recognition of the Knight Center’s print publication, EJ Magazine:

Non-Fiction Magazine Article

First Place: Food Not Waste: Three Decades at the Center of a Movement – by Haley Walker

Second Place: When Grass Isn’t Green: Marijuana farms on public lands aren’t kind to the environment – by Andrew Norman

Best Student Magazine

Second Place: EJ Magazine

Recognition of the Knight Center’s television production efforts:

Television In-Depth Reporting

First Place: The Night Shift – by Sarah Coefield, Mary Hansen, Marla Kalmbach, Lou D’Aria

Here at the Knight Center we’re proud not only of these quality reporting efforts, but of the diversity of media they represent.

Echo

Carp bomb: Harvesting for carp cuisine

By |

There’s been some buzz around the “If you can’t beat em, eat em” Asian carp control strategy. One Chicago alderman wants to use carp to feed the poor. Others argue that the Asian carp diet is no replacement for policy- and infrastructure-based eradication. Either way, carp bomb Flickr group member Joel has proof that the anglers of Manistee, Mich. are ready to provide the raw material to get the carp cuisine rolling.

Echo

Upending the basin: Talk to us

By |

Just a heads up that the Echo crew has implemented a few features you can use to help us make the site even better. Notice that at the bottom of “Catch of the Day” we’ve created a link for you to suggest something for that feature. It can simply be something relevant to the Great Lakes environment that you’ve stumbled across and thought that perhaps we’d want to highlight or comment upon. We’ve established a similar link under “Great Links” where you can flag news stories and URLs that we can consider for inclusion. Each day we strive for 10 Great Links that are diverse in subject and in geographic location.

Echo

Report: Voluntary farm runoff regulations don’t work

By |

State programs for regulating and preventing farm runoff are falling short, according to a new report (PDF) from the Environmental Law and Policy Center and Mississippi River Collaborative. Farm runoff is a problem because it carries nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizers into lakes and bays. Once there, the nutrients can contaminate drinking water or fuel algae blooms that muck up beaches. Bacteria that break down dead blooms use up oxygen and leave behind dead zones where wildlife can’t breathe. State programs to control runoff don’t work as well as they could because they are either underfunded or aren’t mandatory, the report says.

Echo

The Pelican solution

By |

Jeff Kart has an item over at treehugger about pelicans scarfing down Asian carp. Apparently there are a lot more pelicans hanging around Illinois rivers since the carp invaded those streams.

These pictures on the Illinois birder’s forum certainly indicate pelican power is fueled by crunching carp. Can pelicans be the saviors of the Great Lakes ecosystem if the carp breach the electric barrier at Chicago? Kart, who also writes the popular mudpuppy blog, muses: “Are lots of pelicans worse or better than lots of Asian carp? Will the pelicans eat the carp, and the native fish that make up a $7 billion fishery in the lakes?”