Beach Wellness, Birding Trail, and Great Lakes Success Stories

June 14, 2013 — jeffkart

As heard at 9 a.m. Fridays in Bay City, Michigan, on Delta College Q-90.1 FM. The Environment Report for June 14, 2013. Jeff Kart (Mr. Great Lakes).

1 – This year’s Beach Wellness Volleyball Tournament and Run By the Bay is Saturday, June 22, at the Bay City State Recreation Area.

The event starts at 9 a.m. at the park, in Bay County’s Bangor Township.

Volleyball teams will compete on the shores of Saginaw Bay.

There also will be a classic car cruise, along with a 5k and 10k walk and run, and a quarter-mile “kids fun run.”

Registration begins at 8:30 a.m.

All proceeds from the event will go to benefit the State Recreation Area, and maintenance of a public beach at the park.

Sponsors include the YMCA and Save Our Shoreline.

* See Beach Wellness 2013 Flyers


Courtesy photo from the 2012 Beach Wellness event.

2 – Speaking of walking, and running, you may want to check out the new Saginaw Bay Birding Trail.

The trail is a joint project between the Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy and Michigan Audubon.

It runs for 142 miles along the Saginaw Bay, from Tawas Point State Park to Port Crescent State Park.

Along the way, you can find nature preserves protected by the conservancy, and more than 200 species of birds and other wildlife.

The trail is a work in progress, supported by the Bay Area Community Foundation, Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network and Vanguard Optics.

You can find out more by contacting the Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy in Bay City.

3 – A new, interactive map highlights “success stories” on Great Lakes restoration.

What does it say about Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron?

The map comes from the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, and shows how money spent under the federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has been used to clean up toxic hot spots, restore wetlands, reduce runoff from cities and farms, and combat invasive species.

 Among 60 dots on the map is a Nayanquing Point Coastal Wetland Project in northern Bay County. About $200,000 was used to replace a failed pump structure, restore a large wetland, and improve hunting opportunities at the site.

The project resulted in increased and improved habitat for waterfowl and wetland species at the site, according to the map.

Another project highlighted is the Chesaning Dam removal, which modified a failing dam. About $1.4 million was spent, and the project gave walleye and lake sturgeon in the Saginaw River and Lake Huron access to 37 miles of spawning habitat in the Shiawassee River.

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Lake Huron Fish Research, Beach Cleanups and Phragmites Maps

May 31, 2013 — jeffkart

As heard in Bay City, Michigan, at 9 a.m Eastern,  part of Friday Edition on Delta College Q-90.1 FM. The Environment Report, with Mr. Great Lakes, Jeff Kart …

1 - State research vessels are back on Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron to study fish populations. 

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources uses four research vessels to conduct annual surveys of Great Lakes fish populations.

The vessels went back on the water earlier this month in locations throughout the lakes.

The surveys are designed to estimate relative abundance, biomass, age and growth of fish populations, along with their health, diet, survival rates, natural reproduction and movements.

On Lake Huron and Saginaw Bay, surveys are being conducted from a Research Vessel called the Chinook. The work involves assessments of lake trout, walleye, and broader populations.

The Research Vessel Channel Cat will likely join in for surveys on Saginaw Bay, the DNR says.

The Channel Cat also is used for surveys of Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie fish populations, focusing on walleye, yellow perch and lake sturgeon.

2 -Memorial Day signaled the beginning of summer … and the end of the spring kickoff of the Adopt-a-Beach program.

The program, organized by the Alliance for the Great Lakes, dispatches volunteers to clean beaches throughout Michigan and other states in the region.

Preliminary results from this year’s Adopt-a-Beach kickoff, held April 1 through Memorial Day, show that 68 teams participated in 96 locations on all five of the lakes.

The spring teams amounted to more than 1,800 volunteers who removed and catalogued close to 6,000 pounds of debris. A total of 140 health assessment forms also were completed, to help pinpoint pollution sources, according to the Alliance.

The cleanups this spring included one earlier this month at the public beach at the Bay City State Recreation Area. Data from previous beach cleanups at the state park in Bay County’s Bangor Township show food- and smoking-related items make up almost 70 percent of litter at the beach.

More beach cleanups are planned for the summer.

 3 -Satellite data has been used to map the invasive plant known as phragmites. 

phragmites map great lakes red

From the Study.

The reeds, which already ring parts of Saginaw Bay and can grow to more than 10 feet tall, pose a threat to native coastal wetlands.

Since early treatment is a key to controlling the spread of phragmites, scientists from Michigan Technological University and other partners spent three years mapping the U.S. coastline of all five Great Lakes, using satellite data and field studies.

The map shows the locations of large stands of phragmites located within six miles of the water’s edge.

The greatest amount of phragmites were found in Lakes Huron and Erie.

The study results were published in a special issue of the Journal of Great Lakes Research.

Read the study: “Mapping invasive Phragmites Australis in the coastal Great Lakes with ALOS PALSAR satellite imagery for decision support.”

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Posted in beaches, fish, invasive species, Lake Huron. Tags: , . 1 Comment »

A Tally of Renewable Energy in Michigan, and Beach Trash in the Great Lakes

February 21, 2013 — jeffkart

Mr. Great Lakes (Jeff Kart). As heard at 9 a.m. Fridays in Bay City, Michigan, on Delta College public radio Q-90.1 FM.

The Friday, Feb. 22, 2013, broadcast:

1 – More than $1.8 billion has been invested since Michigan’s renewable portfolio standard was signed into law in 2008.

toxic butts beaches cigarette butts trash

Photo by ToxicButts

 

The figures come from a third annual report (pdf) by the Michigan Public Service Commission on a public act that established a standard of 10 percent renewables by 2015.

For 2011, Michigan’s estimated renewable energy percentage was 4.4 percent, up from 3.6 percent in 2010.

For 2012, renewables are expected to have reached 4.7 percent, according to the Commission. During 2012, more renewable energy came online in Michigan that ever before, officials say.

Michigan added 815 megawatts of new wind capacity last year, and now has a total of 978 megawatts from 14 operating wind farms, located in spots including Michigan’s Thumb.

The report says that compared to building a new, conventional coal-fired facility, most renewable energy contracts have been significantly lower in price. The cost of renewable energy contracts also has come in below previous estimates.

Voters in November rejected a ballot proposal to raise Michigan’s renewable standard.

Gov. Rick Snyder has planned public meetings across the state this year to discuss Michigan’s energy future.  One is planned for Delta College’s Lecture Theater from 1-5 p.m. on March. 4.

An agenda for that Delta meeting includes presentations by Dow, Clean Water Action, and Consumers Energy, and time for public comment.

2 – The totals are in from the Adopt-a-Beach program.

In 2012, hundreds of teams and thousands of volunteers spread out on the five Great Lakes to clean up litter and conduct environmental monitoring as part of the Alliance for the Great Lakes’ program.

Those teams included one from Saginaw Valley State University. That team worked on the public beach at the Bay City State Recreation Area in Bay County’s Bangor Township.

By the numbers, 327 coastal areas were visited in 2012.

A total of 42,351 pounds of trash was removed by 12,618 volunteers on 372 Adopt-a-Beach teams.

Litter removed from beaches in 2012 was made up mostly of food-related items, at 43 percent.

Cigarette filters came in second, at 34 percent. Cigar tips made up 6 percent. Plastic bags made up 5 percent.

This year’s Adopt-a-Beach events kick off in the spring.

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Fighting Phragmites by Satellite, Exotic Earthworms, and State of the Great Lake Huron

December 20, 2012 — jeffkart

As heard Dec. 21, 2012, 9 a.m. Eastern on Delta Q-90.1 FM, unless the world ends. 

Photo by Steve Jurvetson

Photo by Steve Jurvetson

1- A project that used satellites to map Great Lakes wetland may go a long way to help control phragmites.

Towering, invasive plants known as phragmites have sprouted up along shorelines throughout the lakes, including in Saginaw Bay.

The map, created over a three years, shows the locations of large stands of phragmites located within about six miles of the water’s edge throughout the five Great Lakes, according to officials from Michigan Technological University.

Lakes Huron and Erie had the greatest amount of phragmites.

The map is the first of its kind. The lead author, with the Michigan Tech Research Institute in Ann Arbor, says the data will allow resource managers to visualize the extent of the phragmites invasion in the Great Lakes, and strategically plan efforts to manage existing populations and minimize new ones.

What’s more, the map can be used to create models that predict future invasion areas, and target control efforts.

(For more, see the Journal of Great Lakes Research.)


2 – A new State of the Great Lakes report is out, offering a look at water quality and quantity, recovery efforts, and other issues.

The annual report comes from the Michigan Office of the Great Lakes, and covers the year 2012.

This year’s State of the Great Lakes report (pdf) focuses on Michigan efforts to improve water quality, best use water resources, fight aquatic invasive species, and restore degraded areas.

Sections detail efforts to protect and restore coastal areas. Experts are featured from estate and federal resource agencies, Michigan Sea Grant, universities, and environmental organizations.

For Lake Huron, the report notes several items:

  • The highest phosphorus concentrations in Lake Huron are in Saginaw Bay, where shoreline beach muck problems have persisted.
  • The lake’s food web has “changed dramatically” in the past decade, and the most productive zones have shifted from offshore to nearshore areas, affecting which fish species dominate the lake.
  • The Nature Conservancy is working to identify watershed-based priorities to help conserve migratory river-spawning fish in the basin.

3 - Earthworms introduced from Europe may be adversely affecting the forested ecosystems of Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge in Saginaw County.

That’s according to a study published in the most recent Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management.

The Journal article is on a study involving the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The study showed that the Shiawassee Refuge had the second-largest mean biomass of exotic earthworms of six Upper Midwestern refuges surveyed.

According to an abstract, the invasion of exotic earthworms into forest of the Upper Midwest region is a concern, because the worms act as ecosystem engineers and can modify existing systems.

Those modifications can degrade habitat used by some migratory birds.

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Posted in beaches, fish, GLRI, invasive species, Lake Huron, Saginaw Bay. Tags: , , , . Leave a Comment »

New Great Lakes Beach Monitoring Tool, and Compact Water Project

August 23, 2012 — jeffkart

As heard Aug. 24, 2012, on Friday Edition, Q-90.1 FM, Delta College, NPR-member station (starts at 4:50) …

1

Measurements of high bacteria levels at Great Lakes beaches aren’t always correct. 

That’s according to a University of Michigan researcher who is helping develop a more accurate forecasting tool.

The new tool could significantly reduce the number of days that Great Lakes beaches are closed due to inaccurate assessments of E. coli bacteria levels, says David Rockwell.

He estimates that almost one of every four beach closings due to high bacteria levels are incorrect on the Great Lakes, due in part to the time it takes to generate results from current testing methods. Rockwell says those mistakes would be corrected with his E. coli forecasting tool.

The new tool is called the Forecast Decision Support System. Testing has shown the tool is more accurate than current beach-monitoring  methods about 70 percent of the time.

The U of M testing method was developed with $140,000 from the federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

The tool is being tested this summer at five beaches, including the Bay City State Recreation Area in Bay County’s Bangor Township.

photo cool blue rule

Another cool blue measuring tool. By Scott Akerman.

The forecasting tool uses equations to forecast water-quality four times per day. Forecasts are generated using almost 100 environmental variables, including rainfall amounts, cloud cover, wind direction and speed, the direction and speed of currents in the lake, and wave heights.

The forecasts taken this summer will be compared with actual E. coli bacteria levels measured by water samples to further test the accuracy of the tool, officials say.

Other testing is taking place at North Beach Park and Grand Haven State Park in Ottawa County, and Memorial and Metro beaches in Macomb County.

— More U of M Great Lakes research

2

Where does Great Lakes water go, and how does it flow?

Michigan Technological University and Arizona State University are leading a three-year research study to develop a way to track water flows and water use in a watershed.

The Great Lakes provide the foundation for billions of dollars in economic activity and are a direct source of drinking water for tens of millions of people, including residents of the Saginaw Bay region, Michigan Tech researchers note.

The Virtual Water Accounting project is being undertaken to comply with terms of the an international Great Lake-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact, which restricts water diversions from the Great Lakes and requires state and provincial management of water resources.

To comply with the Compact, U.S. states and Canadian provinces must determine whether a proposed new withdrawal and consumptive use may have a significant adverse impact to the water resource and whether the proposed use is reasonable considering economic development and environmental protection.

The project will examine how water moves through the watershed, the minimum water levels needed to sustain ecosystems, and how water is used by the region’s economy, researchers say.

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Another Tool

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Michigan is Top 20 in Wind, Aging Sewers Blamed for Beach Closings

August 16, 2012 — jeffkart

As heard Aug. 17, 2o12, on Delta College Q-90.1 FM …

1. Michigan is a Top 20 state for wind energy. 

But the wind power industry is facing uncertain times, says a new U.S. Department of Energy report.

The Wind Technologies Market Report says 2011 capacity additions have risen from 2010 levels and a further sizable increase is expected this year.

Still, key federal tax incentives for wind energy are set to expire at the end of this year, which could slow new construction in 2013.

The report lists Michigan as 11th in the U.S. when it comes to wind energy capacity. The state has a standard that requires utilities to increase their renewable generation to 10 percent by 2015.

The report also mentions construction of the Thumb Loop Transmission Project, which is ongoing and will provide additional capacity for wind power generation in the state. Several wind projects are operating and under construction in Michigan’s Thumb.

Department of Energy officials say wind power additions Increased in 2011, with roughly 6.8 gigawatts of new capacity added in the U.S., and $14 billion invested.

Wind power also comprised 32 percent of U.S. electric generating capacity additions in 2011, up from 25% in 2010.

2. Aging infrastructure is partly to blame for a rise in Michigan beach advisories and closings.

That’s according to the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association, which represents  nearly 600 Michigan companies.

An association spokesman notes that the number of monitored public beaches with advisories or closings has continued to increase each year between 2005 and 2010, according to the most recent formal report available from the Michigan Department of
Environmental Quality.

So far this year, there have been about 100 beach advisories or closings, up from less than 90 in 2011.

This points to the increasing need to fix the state’s aging underground water and sewer systems, the association says.

There are bills moving through the state House and Senate that would provide easier access to funding for municipalities to pay the cost of evaluating and separating their combined storm and sanitary sewer systems. The legislation supports a $1 billion sewer bond program approved by voters in 2002, but there hasn’t been much action on the bills since May, when they were referred to committees.

The association calls the state’s aging underground infrastructure “a hidden menace” that becomes more costly to repair each year that repairs are delayed.

Bay County has seen several contamination advisories or closings at public beaches in the last two months.

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Posted in beaches, water, wind. 1 Comment »

Army Corps: Federal Beach Grooming Permits Still Required

July 19, 2012 — jeffkart

plus other stories on deer hunting and a Great Lakes Advisory Board. 

As heard July 20, 2012, on Friday Edition, 9 a.m. Eastern on Q-90.1 FM, Delta College …

1

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is reminding beachfront property owners that federal permits are still required for shoreline maintenance.

The state of Michigan recently made changes to its permitting process for beach grooming. But a federal Army Corps process is still in place, according to spokeswoman Lynn Duerod.

On the Great Lakes, the Corps regulates sand leveling and the grooming of sand or vegetated areas between the ordinary high-water mark and the water’s edge.

A new state act allows for those activities to take place without a permit. But the federal requirements remain.

The Corps says property owners who have obtained regional permits for sand leveling and grooming of sand in nonvegetated areas in the past do not have to reapply to continue these activities.

For those without federal permits, the Corps has a “short form’ application available, which generally takes a couple of weeks for approval, according to the agency.

For more information, call the Detroit District office of the Army Corps at 313-226-2218.

Applicants may submit the permit applications to:

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Detroit District, Regulatory Office
(CELRE-RG)
477 Michigan Avenue, Room 603
Detroit, Michigan 48226-2550.

2

Landowners will soon have a database of hunters looking to cull deer from private property.

The Hunters Helping Landowners program was signed into law recently by Gov. Rick Snyder.

The program is modeled after another in Indiana and allows hunters to voluntarily enroll to harvest anterless deer on private property in up to two counties.

According to Michigan United Conservation Clubs, the program is meant to help landowners who have deer damage issues or disease concerns on their property.

The program is still in the works, and the database has yet to be launched.

The list will be available via the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The database is due to run until 2017, unless it’s reauthorized.


3

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is creating the federal government’s first-ever advisory board on Great Lakes issues.

The advisory board will support federal agencies with the implementation of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and an updated Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, according to EPA.

The new board will provide advice and recommendations to EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson.

EPA will consider candidates from a broad range of interests including environmental groups, businesses, agricultural groups, foundations, youth groups, academia and state, local and tribal representatives.

EPA plans to solicit nominations and establish a board of 15 people this summer.

The board will focus on issues including cleaning up toxic hot spots like the Saginaw River and Bay, combating invasive species, and protecting watersheds from polluted runoff.

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An Ugly Great Lakes Beaches Report and Beautiful Nature Contest

June 28, 2012 — jeffkart
photo great lakes beach sand report

Photo by derekp

AS HEARD June 29, 2012, on Friday Edition, The Environment Report, Q-90.1 FM, Delta College, Michigan:

1 -

Next week is the week of July 4, Independence Day. Time to hit the beach.

That is, unless the beach is closed due to high bacteria levels.

In 2011, America’s beaches saw the third-highest number of closing and advisory days in more than 20 years, according to a report released by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

And things aren’t getting much better: The second-highest number of closing and advisory days occurred the year before, during 2010.

Beach closings and advisories are often blamed on stormwater runoff and sewage pollution.

In the Great Lakes, beaches were hard hit in 2011, with 11 percent of water quality samples exceeding public health standards, and indicating the potential presence of human and animal waste. The national average 3 percent lower.

For the first time this year, the NRDC report includes a map searchable by ZIP code, covering more than 3,000 beaches nationwide (www.nrdc.org/beaches). The data comes from government reports.

Bay County beaches were closed or under advisory for a total of 29 days in 2011.

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Keep your eye out for good nature photos this summer.

And bring your camera.

The Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy, based in Bay City, is holding a 2012 Nature Photography Contest.

Each photo category will feature first, second and third place winners, with cash prizes.

The deadline to submit photos is Sept. 30.

Winners are to be announced in early November.

Photos must be taken within the Saginaw Bay Watershed, which covers 22 counties.

If you’re looking for inspiration, the conservancy owns 10 nature preserves that the open to the public.

The  nonprofit recently moved its offices from The Bay City Times building in downtown Bay City to a spot on East Midland Street.

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First Grey Water Re-Use in Saginaw Bay Region, and Sewage Relief

June 21, 2012 — jeffkart

As heard on Friday Edition, June 22, 2012, on Delta College public radio, Q-90.1 FM

Delta College to get region’s first grey water re-use facility

photo grey water example

Photo by R. Schade

Environmental improvements are on tap in the Saginaw Bay region.

The Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network has awarded a series of new grants. The group, known as Saginaw Bay WIN, is funded by area foundations.

The new grants include money for a Vassar Dam removal project on the Cass River, and the region’s first commercial grey water re-use facility at Delta College.

Funding also has been approved for a nature-based kindergarten program at Bullock Creek Schools, in cooperation with the Midland-based Chippewa Nature Center.

WIN is starting up a brand new small grant program, too. More details are coming in the next few months, group leaders say.

Additionally, the WIN group has existing funding available for projects that address land use, water resources, agriculture, energy efficiency, wildlife habitat and regional marketing.

Sewage Relief Spelled with an $$$

What will it take to curb sewage overflows into the Great Lakes?

A steady stream of money.

A new report by the Alliance for the Great Lakes looks at the success of the federal Clean Water State Revolving Fund in helping finance sewer improvement projects. Experts say improvements are needed throughout the basin to old sewage systems that overflow during rains, in areas including the Saginaw Bay region.

The Revolving Fund program provides low-interest loans and flexible financing to help local governments carry out wastewater management projects and green infrastructure development, Alliance officials say.

For every federal dollar appropriated to the program, states kick in 20 cents. The fund grows as a result of repayments, interest earnings and other proceeds.

In 2011 , almost 19 billion gallons of combined sewage and stormwater was dumped into the Great Lakes by wastewater treatment plants. The report highlights two communities, including Grand Rapids, Michigan, that have achieved large decreases in their overflow volumes with the use of Revolving Fund money.

The Alliance is pushing for continued federal funding to the program. Federal money allocated yearly to the fund has decreased since 2011 and another cut is proposed for 2013.

Bonus: Midwest Energy News

A waste-eating bug for nuclear power? (Michigan State U. research on Geobacter)

Posted in beaches, delta college, Saginaw Bay, water. Leave a Comment »

Adopt-a-Beach and Comment on Warblers

June 14, 2012 — jeffkart

Photo by Ludovic Bertron

As heard Friday, June 15, 2012 …

1 -
The beach season is off to a cleaner start in the Great Lakes.

Volunteers in the Adopt-a-Beach program say the two months of work this year, in April and May, netted more than 8,000 pounds of debris.

The spring kickoff involved 81 teams at 102 locations on all five Great Lakes, including on Saginaw Bay.

A total of 2,400 volunteers helped remove and catalog 8,059 pounds of debris along the shoreline.

At the beach at the Bay City State Recreation Area, trash collected during a May event included plastic bags, plastic bottles, beverage cans and cigarette butts.

The Adopt-a-Beach program, run by the Alliance for the Great Lakes, is done in part to help pinpoint potential pollution sources.

An upcoming Adopt-a-Beach event is planned for June 22 at the Bay City State Recreation Area, with a team leader from Saginaw Valley State University. (Register here)

Another is being organized for Sept. 21 at the Recreation Area, located in Bay County’s Bangor Township.

2 -
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is taking public input on Kirtland’s warbler management.

The DNR will host a public meeting on June 27 in Roscommon. Comments also are being taken by email.

Officials are working on a Kirtland’s warbler operational plan to direct future management of the bird and its habitat on state lands.

A multi-agency conservation strategy is also being completed.

The Kirtland’s warbler is a federally endangered species.

The birds arrive in Michigan from the Bahamas in May and nest in a few counties in Michigan’s northern Lower and Upper peninsulas.

The Kirtland’s warbler nests in young stands of jack pines.

Most nesting sites are on state and federal land.

Habitat is managed mostly through logging, replanting or seeding.

Besides the DNR, other agencies that manage Kirtland’s warbler habitat include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Forest Service.

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Posted in beaches, birds. 1 Comment »
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