Asian Carp Spawning, Water Levels - IJC Great Lakes Connection

Vol. 1, Issue 3 - Great Lakes Connection - IJC July 2016

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Invasive Grass Carp Spawning in Sandusky River Leaves Tough Questions

By Kevin Bunch, IJC

Fortunately, the grass carp is not the worst of the Asian carp species: the invasive bighead and silver carp that now dominate the Mississippi River and its tributaries will directly outcompete native fish for food, including popular fishing targets and prey fish like yellow perch.

During a research trip over the summer of 2015, a University of Toledo graduate student discovered grass carp – an invasive species of Asian carp – spawning viable eggs in the Sandusky River. Read More

A grass carp. Credit: USDA APHIS PPQ

Ontario as a Model for Clean Drinking Water

By Raj Bejankiwar and Salma Ahmed, IJC

As the largest surface area of freshwater on earth, the Great Lakes have long been a source of drinking water for millions of Canadians and Americans. This dependence on the Great Lakes calls for stringent care to secure the quality of water into and out of the region’s drinking water systems. Read More

Great Lakes Summer Reading

By Sally Cole-Misch and Allison Voglesong, IJC

So it’s summer, and newspapers and magazines have published lists of the latest books to enjoy while you’re on vacation. But what better way to spend time on a splendid Great Lakes beach than reading about the lakes? Our thoughts exactly.

We offer the following nonfiction and fiction reads to help you consider your view from the beach with even more appreciation. Read More

Citizens to Speak Out on Great Lakes Restoration and Protection in October
By Lauren Stokes, IJC
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Participate in July 21 Webinar on PBDEs and Comment on Report by August 5

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Sturgeon Spawning Grounds Restoration Shows Promising Results

By Kevin Bunch, IJC

Lake sturgeon were once abundant in the Great Lakes basin before overfishing and habitat destruction in the late 1800s through the early 1900s decimated their numbers. Since then, a lack of suitable spawning locations for the sturgeon to lay eggs has been a major drag on recovery efforts.

So about 15 years ago, a group of interested researchers and organizations made the decision to build their own spawning rocky reefs mimicking the lost natural sites for the fish. Those plans to construct spawning grounds in the Detroit and St. Clair Rivers years ago are showing promising results now, University of Michigan Water Center Director Jennifer Read said. Read More

A lake sturgeon swims through a natural reef on its way to spawn. Credit: Adam Lintz

Great Lakes Watermark – Beaches and Coasts

By IJC staff

The IJC is partnering with Lake Ontario Waterkeeper to gather and share Great Lakes Watermark stories—written, spoken, or filmed—that connect the personal, emotional and cultural ways we use and value our precious shared waters. Watermark stories are being archived on a special Watermark Project site. Have a Great Lakes story to share? Submit yours online today.
This month’s Watermarks are from Environment and Climate Change Canada scientist Wendy Leger (also co-chair of IJC’s Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Adaptive Management Committee) and New York Sea Grant coastal educator Helen Domske (featured in a recent post on Great Lakes learning). Read More

Wheatley Harbour. Credit: Government of Ontario

Successes and Challenges in Canadian Areas of Concern

By Raj Bejankiwar and Salma Ahmed, IJC

The Great Lakes basin covers an area greater than 750,000 square kilometers. In Canada, it’s home to 90 percent of Ontario’s population, provides drinking water to 8.5 million people and 40 percent of Canada's economic activity.

This dependency has caused the Great Lakes’ ecological health to deteriorate. Throughout the basin in Canada, as in the United States, many sites have been impaired. Read More

Adaptively Managing the Regulation of Great Lakes Water Levels
By Wendy Leger

The IJC is responsible for regulating outflows from Lake Superior and Lake Ontario affecting water levels and flows in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. In 2015, it established a Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Adaptive Management Committee, known as GLAM, to provide ongoing monitoring and assessment of these regulated outflows.

Adaptive management is another way of saying that we adjust water resource policies based on hard evidence about the how well they’re working. While people may agree conceptually on the value of adaptive management, it is difficult to do and there are few examples of its full implementation. Read More

50 Years of Sea Grant: How to Roll Up Your Sleeves and Make a Difference

By Mary Bohling, Michigan Sea Grant Extension educator

In 2016, the National Sea Grant College Program celebrates 50 years of putting science to work for America’s coastal communities. Sea Grant is a federal-state partnership that turns research into action by supporting science-based, environmentally sustainable practices that ensure coastal communities remain engines of economic growth in a rapidly changing world.

Michigan Sea Grant helps to foster economic growth and protect Michigan’s coastal, Great Lakes resources through research, education and outreach. A collaborative effort of the Universtiy of Michigan and Michigan State University Extension, Michigan Sea Grant is one of 33 programs in the NOAA National Sea Grant network. MSU Extension educators live and work in coastal communities around Michigan. Read More

Plastic debris collected from the Detroit River. Credit: Michigan Sea Grant