Great Lakes Region

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant
Sea Grant Research and Outreach Help Pass Aquatic Invasive Species Legislation

• To help prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS) that lead to serious economic and ecological harm, Sea Grant has supported research, informed managers and policy makers, raised awareness and changed public behavior.


• In 2007, the City of Chicago passed an ordinance banning 26 AIS. This legislation was informed by Sea Grant-funded research results.

Michigan Sea Grant
Sea Grant Helps Create "blueway" Vision for Greater Detroit American Heritage River

• Sea Grant was instrumental in developing plans for the Detroit Heritage River Water Trail. The trail (or "blueway") is a river version of a greenway trail and will provide opportunities for canoeing, kayaking and small boat paddling.


• The regional vision for the Detroit Heritage River Water Trail is a network of recreational trails along the Detroit, Huron, Raisin and Rouge Rivers to encourage boaters with small watercraft to recreate and experience the natural, cultural and historic resources offered along these routes.


• The first phase of the water trail centers on the mouth of the Huron River as it flows into the southernmost reaches of the Detroit. It was selected based upon the abundant natural beauty of the area, the wide diversity of paddling experiences found along the way, and the strong interest of communities and partners in moving forward.
  
  
• This phase is expected to serve as a demonstration project for subsequent phases of the water trail. A new kayak launch site has been installed in the city of Wyandotte.

Minnesota Sea Grant
Sea Grant Aids Baitfish Industry in Preventing VHS Virus Spread

• Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia Virus (VHSv) was found in the Great Lakes this past year. Because of the threat posed to aquaculture, USDA instituted an Emergency Order, which prevented the interstate shipment of many species of live fish.


• This had a significant negative impact on Minnesota baitfish farmers, who were just beginning to harvest and market their crops when the order was issued.


• In an effort to support rational decisions regarding restrictions on the aquaculture industry and minimizing the risk of spreading VHSv, Sea Grant acted as a liaison between USDA and the aquaculture industry.


• Sea Grant provided information to USDA regarding the industry so that the Agency better understood the risks posed as well as the impacts their decisions could have on the economic viability of the industry.


• Sea Grant also provided information to the industry so they could better understand the virus and policy decisions being made. USDA later modified its original order to allow some shipment of fish.

New York Sea Grant
Sea Grant's Ground-Breaking Cooperative Research Translates into Potentially Stronger Clam Yields

• Using an unprecedented cooperative approach among several Long Island municipalities, Sea Grant-funded scientists and resource managers experimented with the timing of hard clam seeding.


• Results showed that planting more young seedlings early in the season was more efficient than waiting to plant fewer, more mature clams later in the season, if the seedlings were protected from crab predation.


• Aquaculturists now can evaluate and choose the alternative seeding program best for their situation that will help bring more Long Island clams to the market that the region once dominated.

Ohio Sea Grant
Sea Grant Addresses Harmful Algal Blooms in Lake Erie

• The major issues facing Lake Erie and the Great Lakes include: the dead zone in the Central Basin of Lake Erie, HABs and phosphorus concentrations.


• Sea Grant is working to understand the reasons for the increase in phosphorus and the growth of the dead zone by studying the impact of phosphonates on algal production.


• Sea Grant has also formed an ad hoc international, multiagency "Phosphorus Group" to address the phosphorus issue and determine if eliminating the dead zone is even a reasonable target or goal.


• A goal that will have greater impacts on human health, is to eliminate HABs. Currently, Sea Grant is developing education and outreach materials to explain the rationale behind this recommendation.

Pennsylvania Sea Grant
Sea Grant Completes Three-Year Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO) Program and Promotes Conservation Design

• The Pennsylvania Sea Grant NEMO program has provided information to several municipalities about the advantages of promoting conservation design for residential neighborhoods.


• As a result, a developer in Millcreek Township is considering development of a residential conservation subdivision containing 10 new housing units which would conserve over 60 percent of a 63.4 acre parcel as open space.


• In addition, Harbor Creek Township is preparing amendments to the township's comprehensive plan and land-use ordinances. It is anticipated that the township will adopt these changes which will provide developers with the incentive to construct conservation design subdivisions.


• These amendments will also serve as a model for other municipalities.

Lake Champlain (VT) Sea Grant
Sea Grant Assistance Makes Water Quality Protection Education More Effective

• Many water quality education programs have limited success because they lack information on non-point source (NPS) pollution sources.


• Sea Grant used rapid residential surveys to identify most likely sources of NPS pollution in impaired watersheds.


• In St Albans, VT, targeted NPS education, based on survey results, significantly increased the number of households using low input lawn care, and the number testing soil to prevent excess fertilizer use.


• Households willing or very wiling to alter lawn care practices to protect water quality increased from single digits to over 80%, regardless of cost or ease of use considerations.


• In Colchester, VT, survey results prompted the town to shift education resources away from septic system education to reducing pet waste. Days of beach closure due to bacterial contamination declined following the shift in education emphasis.

Wisconsin Sea Grant
Sea Grant Calls Worldwide Attention to Mercury Pollution

• Wisconsin Sea Grant media relations efforts for the 8th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant resulted in eight local television reports and at least 29 unique stories in newspapers around the nation and abroad.


• In conjunction with the publication of the conference declaration and five supporting papers in the international journal Ambio in March 2007, a news release and nontechnical guide to the declaration was distributed via the Internet to more than 1,500 science writers and journalists as well as 150 U.S. and foreign government policymakers and individuals at organizations concerned with public health, indigenous populations, wildlife/environmental health, fisheries/seafood safety and atmospheric pollution.


• A recent Google search on the title of Sea Grant's news release ("Mercury Contamination of Fish Warrants Worldwide Public Warning") turned up 65 unique Web pages containing that exact phrase and more than 950 "very similar" entries, and a search of "Madison Declaration on Mercury Pollution" found 77 unique entries, plus some 600 "very similar" entries, indicating a significant and continuing worldwide impact.