For Friday, Oct. 4, 2024

1 – Be on the lookout for Michigan Department of Natural Resources personnel conducting nighttime walleye surveys.

The DNR is checking in on young walleye this month. Fisheries managers use the surveys to determine whether walleye that hatched in the spring were born in the wild or stocked, as well as how many are present in an area. 

Information about the status of young walleye in lakes helps inform management decisions by the DNR. 

The nighttime surveys are done with electrofishing boats in shallow areas near the shoreline of lakes. Walleye that are stocked in lakes are marked with a chemical marker that can be observed within captured fish by using a microscope with an ultraviolet light.

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2 – How hot is Lake Huron? Federal agencies are expanding the number of moored heat sensors in lakes Huron, Superior and Michigan.

The work by the Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab in Ann Arbor will help scientists track the impacts of climate change. 

The future effects of climate change on the Great Lakes may include rising water levels and reduced ice cover, which can exacerbate problems like algal blooms, harm fish populations and impact infrastructure. 

Climate adaptation strategies for Lake Huron include projects under the federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to improve the condition and resilience of coastal wetlands, which help lessen the impacts of storms and flooding. 

For example, there’s been work at the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge to restore marsh and floodplain areas. Officials say that when a dam on the Tittabawassee River failed in 2020, revived wetlands at the refuge took on 10 feet of water and helped avoid flooding out thousands of residents in parts of Bay City. 

– Mr. Great Lakes is heard at 6:45 and 8:45 Friday mornings on Delta College Public Radio 90.1 FM in University Center, Michigan, near Bay City (listen live). Follow @jeffkart on Twitter #MrGreatLakes

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