Current Size: 105%
Algae
Lake Huron e-news July 2010
Submitted by Geoff Peach on July 1, 2010 - 5:34pmAu Naturel
The wooded corridor that runs along the Lake Huron coastline is gradually disappearing. Every time a new cottage or home is built or expanded, more of our lakeshore woodlands are lost. Every decision to clear vegetation to have an unobstructed view of the lake impacts the natural corridor. It's not just the trees that are removed, but often the shrubs and native groundcovers are lost as well. It’s a gradual process, but it amounts to “death by a thousand cuts”, as the process of vegetation removal gets repeated over and over again. Natural ecosystems, whether it's a woodland, wetland or dune grassland become fragmented from intact systems to smaller, less robust, units prone to disease, erosion or infestation by invasive species.… continue reading »
An interesting Detroit Free Press article
Submitted by Ross Klopp on May 17, 2010 - 5:21pmFarmer turned activist fights manure-spreading faults
Michigander's grassroots effort tracks megafarms
BY TINA LAM
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
CLAYTON -- Since 2000, Lynn Henning has watched a dozen huge dairy and hog farms mushroom in her rural area west of Adrian. A farmer herself, she was disturbed by the size of the operations and the massive amounts of untreated waste they produced. Runoff from untreated manure began to taint nearby creeks and foul the air with a putrid stench.
Henning, 52, began testing water herself to track discharges from the farms into local waters. She has been threatened and sued and had dead animals dumped on her porch. But her tireless detective work has contributed to the state closing one factory farm and fining others more than $400,000 for 1,077 violations since 2000.… continue reading »
Algae Monitoring
Submitted by Ross Klopp on May 13, 2010 - 2:00amMy name is Daniel Bick. I am entering my 4th year of Ecology and Environmental studies at the University of Waterloo. I am working for Dr. Barton from the Biology Department on a project focused on observing Algae from the Point Clark Area to Inverhuron. An important part of the study will be to record the timing and distribution of shoreline algae fouling and determine if it can be correlated to weather patterns, nutrient enrichment or other factors.… continue reading »
Lake Huron e-news May 2010
Submitted by Geoff Peach on May 3, 2010 - 2:00amMost Unwanted
In our biodiversity series, commemorating the
UN's International Year of Biodiversity, we look at the issue of
invasive species and their impacts on Lake Huron's biodiversity. There
are more than 180 non-native, invasive species that have become
established in and around the Great Lakes since the 1800s. Alien
invasive
species are often described by scientists as “biological pollution”, due
to their ability to negatively impact the ecosystem and the native
populations of the flora and fauna that it supports. Once introduced,
invasive species must be managed and controlled, since they are
virtually
impossible to eradicate.
… continue reading »
Interested Bruce Beachers Meeting With M.E.O. of April 9th
Submitted by Ross Klopp on April 17, 2010 - 5:07amAttached are minutes of a meeting held in London with a number of individuals from the MOE and OMAFRA (Ministry of Agriculture) and four individuals with property at Bruce Beach, Keith Macdonald, Sue Davidson, Ian Corneil, and Brian MacEachern. Individuals from Lurgan Beach and Point Clark were invited, but were unable to attend.
Brian MacEachern has spent the past year encouraging the MOE to get behind the idea of putting small dams in ditches around HK Township to hopefully hold nutrients on the land and thereby prevent them from entering Pine River and Lake Huron. It is his believe that these excess nutrients from surrounding fields is causing algae to grow as well as various plants on our beaches. Please se attached pictures of the desired ditches.… continue reading »
Lake Huron e-news April 2010
Submitted by Geoff Peach on April 1, 2010 - 2:00amThe HIPPO in the room
In this issue, we'll talk about the threats to
biodiversity along the Lake Huron coast. Threats to
biodiversity can be described through the acronym HIPPO.
Habitat Loss - Habitat loss, alteration and fragmentation
directly affect the species that rely on the habitat that is being
changed. Shoreline and urban development, agriculture and various
recreational activities in sensitive parts of the lakeshore has caused,
and continues to cause, loss of habitat along Lake Huron. Lake
Huron coastal ecosystems, including coastal meadow marshes, dune
grasslands, bluff and alvars are among the rarest environments in
Ontario, with an abundance of rare and at risk species.
… continue reading »
Fighting the Blue-Green Algae Plague is Blooming Complicated
Submitted by Ross Klopp on March 10, 2010 - 2:00amJeffrey Simpson, The Globe and Mail, Tuesday, Mar. 10, 2010
We all know, sadly, that the tailing ponds of Alberta's tar sands are so large (and ugly) that they can be seen from space.
But there is another blot upon the geography of Western Canada that is also visible from space: the massive blue-green algae blooms of Lake Winnipeg, the 10th-largest freshwater lake in the world.
Blue-green algae is a plague found elsewhere in Canada, where phosphates have leeched into lakes from fertilizers, animal fecal matter, bad septic systems and other sources. The blooms are making headlines in Quebec, where years of lax law enforcement have produced blooms in dozens and dozens of lakes. Belatedly, the Quebec government has set aside money to combat the plague. Rural municipalities are finally requiring upgrading and/or more regular cleaning of septic systems. It's going to take a long, long time, however, to recover from years of neglect.… continue reading »
U.S. to work on cleaning up Great Lakes
Submitted by Ross Klopp on February 21, 2010 - 3:25amFeds outline plan to nurse Great Lakes to health.
By JOHN FLESHER,
AP Environmental Writer John Flesher, Ap Environmental Writer
– Sun Feb 21, 8:25 am ET
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. – The Obama administration has developed a five-year blueprint for rescuing the Great Lakes, a sprawling ecosystem plagued by toxic contamination, shrinking wildlife habitat and invasive species.
The plan envisions spending more than $2.2 billion for long-awaited repairs after a century of damage to the lakes, which hold 20 percent of the world's fresh water. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the document, which Lisa Jackson, head of the Environmental Protection Agency, was releasing at a news conference Sunday in Washington.
Lake Huron e-news February 2010
Submitted by Geoff Peach on February 3, 2010 - 6:28pm
Stepping Back
In our last issue, we introduced the term
"biodiversity", the diversity of living things in our
environment. In this issue we'll discuss biodiversity from a broad
lake-wide perspective, and how plant life in particular contributes to
the health of our lake environment.
When we observe environmental problems showing up at the beach,
like excessive algae washing ashore, or posted beaches due to high
bacteria, often these problems originate beyond the local beach area.
Some of these issues are compounded by the state of our watersheds.
The Lake Huron watershed covers roughly 134,000 square kilometres.
Since European settlement of the Lake Huron region, the watershed has
undergone significant changes, particularly south of the Bruce
Peninsula,
and along southern Georgian Bay. Forest cover, for instance, has been
reduced from an estimated pre-settlement extent of 90% to around
18%, and as low as 6% in some of Huron's river systems.
Lake Huron e-news - November 2009
Submitted by Geoff Peach on November 18, 2009 - 6:28pmCopenhagen Summit
In advance of the United Nations Climate Change Conference being held
December 7-18, 2009 in Copenhagen Denmark, we thought it would be
worthwhile revisiting the climate change issue and its effects on the
Great Lakes region.
Climate change projections for Lake Huron suggest that we will see
changes in water levels, temperature and precipitation in the coming
decades, making our work or leisure experience something different than
what we've been used to.
Studies
by federal and provincial agencies indicate that municipalities, business
and property owners will have to make adaptations to cope with these
changes. Some of the key findings are listed below.
… continue reading »
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