Statement: National Wildlife Federation Supports Updated Plan to Stop Asian Carp

(November 21, 2018 – Ann Arbor, MI) — Yesterday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released its final draft plan to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes. The draft chief’s report of the Brandon Road Lock and Dam includes both structural and nonstructural measures including an engineered lock fitted with an electric barrier, a bubble barrier, an acoustic barrier, and a flushing lock to stop aquatic invasive species like Asian carp, while maintaining navigation for shipping. The Brandon Road Lock and Dam is located just south of Chicago and is a critical chokepoint to help stop Asian carp from continuing to swim closer to Lake Michigan.  The estimated cost of the project is $777.8 million, up from an earlier estimate of $275 million. A previous draft of the plan included water jets in place of the bubble barrier.

A summary of the final plan is available here: https://www.mvr.usace.army.mil/Missions/Environmental-Protection-and-Restoration/GLMRIS-BrandonRoad/.

Federal Register notice:

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/11/26/2018-25647/notice-of-availability-of-the-great-lakes-and-mississippi-river-interbasin-study-brandon-road

Asian carp include species of bighead, silver, black, and grass carp. After escaping from southern United States aquaculture facilities, they have spread rapidly and have reduced native fish populations in waters connected to the Mississippi River watershed, which connects to the Great Lakes watershed through the Chicago Area Waterway System. Asian carp pose a significant threat to our economy, outdoor heritage, and way of life.  In addition, the invasive species is a clear and present danger to the Great Lakes sport-fishery, which is estimated to generate at least $7 billion each year in economic activity.

Marc Smith, director of conservation partnerships for the National Wildlife Federation Great Lakes Regional Center, issued the following statement in response to the release of the updated plan:

“Across the country, Asian carp are undermining our nation’s fisheries and threaten the Great Lakes $7 billion annual sport-fishery. The Army Corps of Engineers plan to rebuild the Brandon Road Lock and Dam south of Chicago is our opportunity to put stronger measures in place to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes. The plan includes a gauntlet of technologies to prevent Asian carp from moving past the lock, while maintaining navigation for shipping. The investment in this project pales in comparison to the economic risk if Asian carp invade the Great Lakes. We intend to review the updates to the plan in detail and offer official public comment later, but at first glance this looks like the plan we need to protect our waters, our fisheries, our sport-fishing economy and our way of life.”

Contact: Drew YoungeDyke, National Wildlife Federation, Senior Communications Coordinator, youngedyked@nwf.org, 734-887-7119

Forestry division hosting open houses

Division of Forestry
Indiana Department of Natural Resources
402 W. Washington St.
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2748

For immediate release: Nov. 20, 2018

Forestry division hosting open houses

The DNR Division of Forestry will host open houses at many of its locations, Dec. 11-13, to share how the division works to protect forests.

 

At each event, division staff will provide information about recreational activities, major projects, forest resource management, and State Forest planning. Attendees will also be able to speak directly with DNR personnel or submit written comments. Some of the open houses will include a tour of facilities, guided hikes, and interpretive programs. See below for a listing of the open houses and events planned at each property.

“These open houses provide Hoosiers with a chance to receive first-hand information about how the State Forests are working to provide diverse wildlife habitat, forest products and recreational opportunities,” State Forester John Seifert said. “They also allow us to receive valuable feedback from our neighbors and users about State Forest management. I encourage everyone who has an interest to participate.”

Events and open houses include:

Owen-Putnam State Forest: Dec. 11, 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the property office, which is five miles west of Spencer and less than one mile north of S.R. 46. There will be a forester-led, short winter hike at 4 p.m. Call 812-829-2462 for more information.

Clark State Forest/Deam Lake SRA: Dec.11, 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Clark State Forest office, which is one mile north of Henryville on U.S. 31. Topics that will be highlighted include campground and gun range improvements. There will be a one-mile, forester-led winter walk at 4 p.m. Call 812-294-4306 for more information.

Harrison-Crawford State Forest: Dec. 11, 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the recently renovated property office. The office is located off S.R. 462, just past the gatehouse for O’Bannon Woods State Park. Call 812-738-7694 for more information.

Ferdinand/Pike State Forest: Dec. 12, 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Ferdinand office which is off S.R. 264, approximately four miles northeast of Ferdinand. There will be a 4 p.m. walking tour of the forest’s lakeside recreational sites. Call 812-367-1524 for more information.

Martin State Forest: Dec. 12, 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Martin State Forest main office off U.S. 50, approximately four miles northeast of Shoals. Visitors can view the newly renovated Martin Lake shelter house or join the forester at 4 p.m. for a short winter hike. Call 812-247-3491 for more information.

Morgan-Monroe/Yellowwood State Forest: Dec. 12, 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Training Center at Morgan-Monroe State Forest off S.R. 37, approximately six miles south of Martinsville. There will be a tour of the renovated visitor center at 4 p.m. Call 765-342-4026 for more information.

Jackson-Washington State Forest/Starve Hollow SRA: Dec. 13, 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Starve Hollow Forest Education Center off S.R. 135, approximately two miles southeast of Vallonia. There will be a tour of the Starve Hollow lake restoration project at 4 p.m. Call 812-358-3464 for more information.

Salamonie River/Frances Slocum State Forest: Dec. 13, 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the property’s main office located on S.R. 524, approximately six miles east of Wabash. Call 260-782-0430 for more information.

Green-Sullivan State Forest: Dec. 13, 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the property office on S.R. 159, approximately 1.5 miles south of Dugger. There will be a 4 p.m. tour of the campground and lake restoration project. Call 812-648-2810 for more information.

Property staff is also available during normal business hours. Go to the Division of Forestry’s webpage (dnr.IN.gov/forestry/3631.htm) for contact information.

The Division of Forestry promotes and practices good stewardship of natural, recreational and cultural resources on Indiana’s public and private forest lands. This stewardship produces continuing benefits, both tangible and intangible, for present and future generations.

To view all DNR news releases, please see dnr.IN.gov.
Media contact: Marty Benson, DNR Communications, 317-233-3853, mbenson@dnr.IN.gov.

Creating a Welcome Environment for Hard Working Bees

While clearing invasive plants at a Nature Preserve in Avon, a species of bee never seen in Indiana before has been detected. The discovery of the bee is particularly exciting as, over the past decade, there has been a fall in bee numbers across the country. Loss of natural habitats and the use of pesticides have contributed to this decline. As bees play a key role in our ecosystem and crop development, improving local environments and encouraging them to visit plants in fields and gardens is vital.

Paying Attention to Pollinators

There are over 200 native bee populations in Indiana, some of which, no doubt, will have been spotted over the summer in Indianapolis during the third annual Pollinator Count. Projects like this help to raise awareness of pollinators and how important they are to local ecosystems and the food that we eat. By making a few simple changes in the garden, such as planting native flowers, reducing the use of pesticides, and providing shelter in a small pile of untreated wood, hard-working, native bees are encouraged to keep visiting.

Pollinating Indiana’s Crops

Although Indiana’s most valuable farm produce, corn and soybeans, are wind or self-pollinating, other important crops like tomatoes rely on wild bees for pollination. Indeed, tomato farmers whose plants receive regular visits from bumble bees may have 50% of tomatoes grow twice as large as normal. Unlike honey bees, the wild bees are able to access the pollen hidden in anthers in their flowers.They use a method called sonicating which involves biting the anthers and then buzzing against them until they release their pollen. Up until recently it was believed that this was a learned behavior but a recent study shows that it is in fact an instinctive ritual. Apart from tomatoes, the most commonly grown fruit in Indiana is the apple. As an important source of food for bees, trees are often overlooked, however they provide thousands of attractive, pollen-filled flowers, and rely on birds and insects for cross pollination.

Though the nation’s bee population has been in decline, discovering a native bee new to Indiana, and raising awareness of the importance of wild bees, offers hope for sustaining numbers and the quality of the crops that they pollinate. By keeping a check on pollinators and removing threats from outdoor spaces, Indiana offers a welcoming environment in which bees can thrive.

Post contributed by Lucy Wyndham

 

Photo Credit: Aaron Weed

Scientist: PFAS has been contaminating Michigan population for years

Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press Published 12:28 p.m. ET Nov. 13, 2018 | Updated 5:41 p.m. ET Nov. 13, 2018

GRAND RAPIDS – Angry and frightened.

Those are not words one often hears from a state government scientist.

But that’s how a Michigan Department of Environmental Quality official said he felt after realizing — eight years ago — the scope and strength of the state’s problems with PFAS chemicals, which have contaminated water supplies and endangered the health of residents at sites around the state.

“In 2010, I began to feel that I was at the edge of the abyss looking into hell with the weight of the world on my shoulders,” Robert Delaney testified Tuesday at a PFAS meeting in Grand Rapids organized by U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich..

However, “my fear and anger turned to conviction and determination,” Delaney said at Grand Valley State University.

Robert Delaney (Photo: Paul Egan/Detroit Free Press)

Delaney, a geologist and veteran DEQ specialist, began raising concerns about the threat of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in 2010. In 2012, he said, he sent former department director Dan Wyant a 93-page report that detailed the threat to Michigan’s drinking water and residents. That report was largely ignored and not made public until 2017.

Delaney testified  he made recommendations in the report about how to limit public exposure to PFAS chemicals, but “I didn’t get any feedback until this year on it.” He said he was “just trying to get somebody to listen,” but Wyant — who resigned in 2016 in the wake of the Flint lead-in-drinking-water crisis — “really didn’t understand environmental science or issues.”

Wyant did not respond to an email and a phone message left at his Cassopolis office.

Despite the inaction on Delaney’s report, Michigan is now seen as a leader in confronting what is a nationwide problem after Gov Rick Snyder issued a November 2017 executive order to create a PFAS action response team.

The PFAS family includes thousands of chemicals that are widely used in products such as firefighting foam, waterproofing, nonstick pans and anti-stain coatings on upholstery. These chemicals don’t break down in the environment and have been linked to cancers, reproductive problems and other health issues.

State officials have warned people not to eat both fish and deer from around the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda Township in northern Michigan after PFAS was found in high levels in a white foam increasingly coating the surface and shores of waters surrounding the base. PFAS drinking water contamination is also a huge issue around Rockford in western Michigan, near a former Wolverine World Wide shoe manufacturing site. High levels also were found this year in drinking water near a paper mill in Parchment, in the Kalamazoo area.

On Tuesday, Delaney stressed he was not speaking for the state or the DEQ, but “as Bob Delaney, state employee, scientist, father and citizen.”

“The current crisis we are facing … has troubled me for years,” Delaney testified. “I believe that we are currently suffering as a people because of a lack of protection of our population, especially the fetus, from dangerous chemicals.”

More:Labs will test Michigan deer for PFAS at hunter’s expense 

More: AG’s Office accused of foot-dragging on PFAS pollution crisis

More: DNR: Do not eat deer taken near contaminated former Wurtsmith base

Delaney said that “until 2010, I was under the false impression that when it came to chemical contamination of the environment that at least America had things under control.”

Delaney began testing drinking water wells at Wurtsmith in 2010. After readings showed extremely high levels of PFAS, he began researching the health risks associated with the chemicals.

“The deeper I got into these issues, the more frightened and angrier I became,” Delaney said in written testimony. “I realized that I had been duped into thinking that we were being protected by our laws. We have been contaminating our population for years.”

On the state’s response to PFAS, Delaney said “nothing is perfect,” but Michigan is one of a few states now “shining a light” on the problem.

Delaney said far more information is needed on the health impact that PFAS and other chemicals are having. He said “understanding how we could get ourselves into such a mess is important,” but more important than pointing fingers is working together, including with business and industry, to find solutions.

“I don’t know how much it will cost to address just the PFAS crisis and whether we can afford it, but I do know that no nation can afford to poison its children.”

Delaney testified that a DEQ work group was formed late in 2010 or early 2011 and it produced a “white paper” — prior to his 2012 report — with recommendations on how to deal with the PFAS problem, but not much happened with those recommendations.

Asked after the meeting why the department didn’t act on those recommendations, Delaney said he can only speculate, but he believes it’s because the Michigan economy was still in the doldrums in 2010 and the state was concerned that businesses were leaving Michigan because of overregulation.

“It wasn’t like the director was some bad person who wanted to poison (people),” Delaney said. “They’re responding to public will.”

Asked whether the DEQ director shouldn’t either understand environmental issues or rely on someone who did understand them. Delaney said: “That’s what you would expect.”

Peters called the meeting to help inform the federal government on how to address the PFAS crisis. The meeting included testimony from state, local and national health and environmental officials, as well as Belmont resident Sandy Wynn-Stelt, who has elevated levels of PFAS in her blood after drinking the water for years near Rockford.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency declined to participate in the meeting, though the agency sent a letter, Peters told reporters.

Peters said after the meeting the PFAS issue is urgent and one of the first things that needs to happen is the establishment of nationwide federal standards.

“People can’t wait,” Peters said. “This is not something that we can sit around and wait five years for a standard to be created.”

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4.

Indiana DNR Grassland Habitat Workshop

FREE ADMISSION AND TOUR: 2 dates/locations to choose from!

DATE: Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018
TIME 2–5 p.m. CT
LOCATION: 9522 N State Road 245 Lamar, IN 47550  (Spencer County)

DATE: Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018
TIME: 3–6 p.m. ET
LOCATION: 2750 S Pleasant Grove, Lyons, IN 46443

RESERVATIONS: Register by calling Emily Jacob, DNR, at 812-699-0264 or by contacting your local SWCD office.

LEARN HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR PROPERTY FOR GRASSLAND WILDLIFE.
• Receive information about technical and financial assistance available to landowners for creating grassland habitat.
• Learn about the Grasslands for Gamebirds and Songbirds RCPP.
• Attend a grassland habitat tour led by a DNR biologist

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