For Friday, April 17, 2020

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1 – Your questions on fishing in Michigan can be answered at coffee talks with the state Department of Natural Resources. 

Like many activities these days, the talks are being held online, so you’ll need to bring your own java. 

The next talk is a Zoom webinar,  on Thursday, May 7, from 6:30-7:30 p.m.

You can register online by visiting bit.ly/LetsTalkFish2020.

The DNR Fisheries Division hosts Conversations & Coffee to let anglers meet with managers and biologists, discuss local issues and management activities, and get specific questions answered. 

On May 7, DNR staff also will share 2020-2021 information about local and statewide regulation changes impacting anglers in Lake Huron. 

The webinar is hosted by Michigan State University Extension and Michigan Sea Grant. It also will be livestreamed on Facebook and recorded for later viewing on YouTube.

More information is in this press release. 

2 – The Alliance for the Great Lakes is hosting a HOMES schooling program. 

That’s HOMES, for Lakes Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior. 

The program is a series of online lessons about the Great Lakes for kids in grades K-8. 

The sessions began April 6, and new lessons premiere every Monday morning. 

Each week explores a different topic with a quick video. After the “classroom” portion, students can apply their knowledge with a fun, hands-on activity they can do at home. 

For educators and those who want to learn more, there also are resources to dig deeper. 

Topics will include geography, the water cycle, habitats, food webs, boats and plastic pollution.

You can sign up for weekly email reminders. See GreatLakes.org for more information on the HOMES program. 

 

3 – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it plans to use $20 million in funding for fiscal year 2020 to further address problems affecting the Great Lakes.

Those include Areas of Concern, invasive species control and prevention, excess nutrients and habitat restoration.

Areas of Concern are “hot spots” of legacy pollution in the lakes, and include the Saginaw River and Saginaw Bay. 

The additional $20 million was allocated to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. 

The EPA says $7.5 million will go to significant sediment remediation and habitat restoration projects to help remediate, restore and delist Areas of Concern in the U.S. 

Specific projects and areas to be targeted haven’t been released, but the Saginaw River is listed as a priority watershed in the initiative’s most-recent Action Plan. 

– Mr. Great Lakes is heard Friday mornings in Bay City, Michigan, on Delta College Q-90.1 FM NPR (now streaming). Follow @jeffkart on Twitter #MrGreatLakes

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