Aquatic Invasive Species

Great News for the Great Lakes from Congress

Key steps were taken this week in Congress towards comprehensive restoration of The Great Lakes, adding momentum to the movement to protect the region’s most important environmental and economic asset.

Doyle’s War

In an economy like this, who needs to spend $200 million a year dealing with destructive invasive species in our fresh water lakes? Wisconsin’s Governor Jim Doyle has had enough. By 2012, Doyle has proposed that all ocean-going vessels clean their ballast water 100 times more stringently than the international standard, according to the Capitol Times.

But wait, it gets even better, under Doyle’s proposal all newly constructed ships that dock in the state’s ports would be required to clean their ballast water 1,000 times more stringently than the international standard by 2013. (New York and Pennsylvania have a similar Read More » »

EPA Administrator on Invasive Species, Great Lakes

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson’s remarks have been gaining media attention in the region–especailly her call to get tough on aquatic invasive species.

Here are some of the first ones to hit.

From the Associated Press: EPA chief reconsidering ship ballast permit

And this from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: EPA chief open to tougher policy on invasive species

You can view Lisa Jackson’s remarks on YouTube here.

Ballast Battle Lines Drawn

Wisconsin is the latest state to add their patch to the quilt of ballast water regulations that is quickly being sewn across the Great Lakes region as the states battle invasive species. Wisconsin recently revealed proposed regulations that would set a high bar for Ocean going ships that want to dock in the state’s ports.

“We’ve seen every single great lakes state go above and beyond what the Federal Government requires,” said Jen Nalbone from Great Lakes United. Under the Clean Water Act’s section 401 states have the authority to regulate ballast water and the Great Lakes states have shown they Read More » »

Cha-Ching

An article by Spencer Hunt of the Columbus Dispatch reminds us not to forget about our great fight with invasive species in the Lakes. The story makes it clear we need to implore our US Congress to pass restrictions on ballast water discharges as soon as possible. We continue to write and speak about the crisis point that we are at - that no return is just around the corner - yet the valuable Ballast Bill of 2007 and 2008 continues to languish. “We have never been able to eliminate any aquatic invader that’s gotten into the (Great Lakes) Read More » »

Never Say Never

Could it be? Could it be that the new head of the EPA, Lisa Jackson will be a real leader? It has been so long since we have experienced leadership at any level of government in out efforts to restore the Great Lakes and it is difficult to believe that we may be on the verge of such guidance.

In her very first email to the Environmental Protection Agency staff, Jackson actually wrote that the Great Lakes are a treasure and that protection and restoration will be a priority for her. Unbelievable! She wrote: “The Agency will make robust use Read More » »

One Way, Or Another, They’re Gonna Get You

Environmentalists are suing the Environmental Protection Agency because of the Agency’s failure to uphold its obligations under the Clean Water Act to keep aquatic invasive species out of the nation’s waters, according to the groups who filed suit in the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

The three groups suing are asserting that the EPA has been too lenient with foreign cargo ships that have been responsible for releasing – in their ballast water -some of the most notorious invasive species. The resulting destruction to the ecosystem is an ongoing problem that is reaching a crisis point Read More » »

Bon Appetite

OK Foodies, why should you care about the Great Lakes? They offer a cornucopia of native, succulent foods from the fresh water lakes and the rich soil of the watershed. A Great Lake’s gormet meal could begin with American caviar or duck foie gras before moving onto the main dish of roast duck, succulent whitefish or trout, Coho salmon perhaps some sea bass, sturgeon, perch, catfish or walleye. Some of these fish have been wrongly relegated to the poor man’s plate, but they could soon be on the verge of a great taste revival.

When early Read More » »

Making a Wreck of History

An interesting program on the Science Channel last night focused on the ship wrecks in Lake Huron’s Thunder Bay. Apparently, Thunder Bay is the go to place for maritime archeologists, historians and students interested in studying 19th century shipping as numerous shipswrecks are spectacularly preserved in the depths of the fresh waters.

Unlike wrecks in salty seas and Oceans, the metal ships that lie in state in Lake Huron are not corroded. It is possible to really see these ships, many of which were sunk during turbulent November storms, in their former glory. Students of maritime history and nautical Read More » »

Michigan’s Ballast Law Passes another Test

It looks more and more like Michigan’s spunky ballast law is here to stay. Last week, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the shipping group’s challenge to the 2005 law that requires Salties to obtain a permit to use the state’s ports.

The permit ensures that ships will not release ballast into the port or that it will clean the water with approved technology before ejecting it. We now know the damaging cost of invasive species to the region due to an enterprising and frustrated Notre Dame graduate student who has used his doctorate to put a Read More » »