Mussels Fuel Algae Blooms That Smother Beaches, Shorelines

Bridge photo/John Russell

More graphic evidence of the damage that invasive species can do is on display right now at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on Lake Michigan. It is awash in decaying algae blooms.

Filter-feeding zebra and quagga mussels have increased clarity so much that sunlight can penetrate much deeper and, thus, generate more algae growth. Then, with cloud cover and cooler water at the end of summer, the blooms die and wash ashore.

"This is the worst I’ve ever seen this beach -- and I’ve been coming here for 50 years. It’s really sad," said Ron Long, a Milford resident who was visiting the popular Esch Road beach near Empire.

Read more here.

Carp Threat Intensifies as President Plays Politics

Bighead and silver carp populations dominate rivers in the Mississippi River basin. Will they do the same to the Great Lakes because elected officials failed to act?

DNA from Asian carp recently was confirmed in Lake Erie for the first time. Just as disturbing, though, is that the number of samples testing positive in the Chicago canal system also spiked, meaning that the likelihood increases that the exotic fish are in or about to enter Lake Michigan.

The future of a multi-billion-dollar sport fishery lies in the balance, as does the economic welfare of U.S. and Canadian communities all around the Great Lakes.

In response, our federal government will expedite its study of the problem. Meanwhile, a pathway --- the canal system that connects Lake Michigan to the Illinois River --- remains open for carp to enter the Great Lakes and for an estimated 185 species of exotics to migrate out of the Great Lakes and into the river, which is a part of the massive Mississippi River basin.

But, hey, we shouldn’t worry about it. The feds are “studying” the situation.

This editorial from The Cleveland Plain Dealer does a great job of assessing the situation. Here are a couple of excerpts:

“The latest nonevent in President Barack Obama's attempt to buy time while failing to act to stop the threatened Asian carp invasion of the Great Lakes was his administration's announcement Tuesday that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would expedite its action plan.”

“This week's announcement seems more like an election-year ploy to mollify critics furious over Obama's failure to recognize the gravity of the carp threat. These plankton predators are in the Chicago Area Waterway System that connects the Mississippi River to Lake Michigan. Without urgent action, it is only a matter of time until they lay waste to the Great Lakes' multibillion-dollar commercial and sports fishing industry and the 800,000 jobs it supports.”

Carp Threat to Great Lakes Highlighted in New Report

A new report suggests that the Asian carp threat to Great Lakes fisheries could be greater than previously believed.

U.S. and Canadian researchers say that just 10 mature females and even fewer males could establish a population in all five lakes --- if they gain entry. Previously, some said that hundreds of carp probably would be needed for a successful invasion.

Michael Hansen, chairman of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, calls the report sobering.

"It concludes that arrival of Asian carp is looming, and should the fish become established in the Great Lakes, that their effects on the ecosystem would be severe."

"Ever since these non-native fish first escaped and began to breed prolifically in the rivers of the Midwest, the questions everyone has been asking are: 'Can a breeding population survive in the Great Lakes and would it be a significant problem if they did?'" said Marcia McNutt, director of the U.S. Geological Survey.

"Now we know the answers and unfortunately they are 'yes and yes.'"

How might the carp gain entry into the Great Lakes? Most likely they will migrate into Lake Michigan through a series of canals that connect the Great Lakes to the Illinois River and the massive Mississippi River watershed. Already carp DNA has been found above an electric barrier intended to repel the invaders, just a few miles from Lake Michigan.

But now, sadly, carp DNA also has been found in Lake Erie.

“The results from these water samples are certainly concerning, as this marks the first time Asian carp eDNA has been detected in water samples from Lake Erie, or any of the Michigan waters intensively surveyed for the presence of invasive carp,” said Michigan DNR Fisheries Division Chief Jim Dexter.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers still is pondering a strategy to keep the carp out of the Great Lakes.

Anglers in Gary, Indiana, Need Your Help to Regain Access to Lake Michigan

Using a Google map, Silas Sconiers shows where Gary anglers have lost access to Lake Michigan.

The fishermen of Gary, Indiana, need your help. Over the years, as the city declined and then casinos moved in, they’ve lost shoreline access to Lake Michigan.

Silas Sconiers has been fighting for years to regain that access, contacting Gary’s mayors, as well as officials at U.S. Fish and Wildlife and, most recently, the National Park Service (NPS).

“The city of Gary has 22 miles of shoreline, with piers and wharfs and a shuttered power plant,” he says. “We use to enjoy fishing all along the lake front. But one by one, due to plant closures and politics, we no longer have access.

“Gary is the only city on the entire Great Lakes in the United States and Canada without a public access fishing spot!”

Political barriers especially anger Sconiers, who believes both incompetence and corruption have led to this situation.

“Our city leaders have not exercised any due diligence regarding our riparian rights to access the piers and wharves, which they have control over but lack the competency to carry out the task at hand,” he adds.

“They seem to lack the understanding of their duties and what it all encompasses and they do not know anything about quasi-public facilities and have no business entering into negotiations with Fortune 500 companies.”

Sconiers created this commentary to express his frustration with Gary city officials.

But while he has made no headway with city officials, Sconiers has learned that the NPS provides financial assistance to Gary, and it there that he hopes to make progress.

Regretfully, he also is playing the “race card,” which, at first, seems a strange tactic, since both the general population of Gary and its city officials are predominantly African American. But Sconiers points out that “we are being denied the right to fish in Lake Michigan like all other races are enjoying.”

To help Gary’s anglers regain access to Lake Michigan, send your e-mail of support to NPS at mary_denery@nps.gov, with a copy also to the Department of Justice at askdoj@usdoj.gov. In the subject line, put this: “No Equal Opportunity to Fish in Lake Michigan in Gary, Indiana.”

Sconiers can be contacted at gigeronimo@sbcglobal.net. 

And check out this story --- Where Work Disappears and Dreams Die --- to see what it’s like to live in Gary these days.

Asian Carp Found in Chicago Park Lagoon

Two large bighead carp have been discovered in a lagoon of Chicago’s Garfield Park.

The Chicago Sun-Times says the fish “were about 60 pounds apiece and probably have been there for many years, perhaps brought there when the pond was stocked or by a fisherman’s bait bucket, state Department of Natural Resources spokesman Chris McCloud said.”

The newspaper also says that the lagoon isn’t connected to Lake Michigan or canals that connect the lake to the Illinois River.

That does not re-assure me. These fish were introduced by people, perhaps intentionally, as happened with snakeheads on the East Coast. If people put them in this lagoon, they also can release them into the Great Lakes or any other number of waters.

Read the full story here.