Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat News
The Newsletter of the Great Lakes
Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund
Volume 9, Number 4 • July-August 2001
Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat NewsThe Newsletter of the Great Lakes
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Sea Grant Michigan has a website full of useful information on the Great Lakes. Some examples include: Exotic Species; Coast Watch; Fisheries News; Research and Research Grants; Education; Issues and News; Helpful Contacts, more. Visit them at: www.engin.umich.edu/seagrant/wetlands.html
Info on vehicles that save gas and pollute less. www.pca.state.mn.us/air/mvpollution.html#factsheets
For a map detailing the wetlands of Lake Erie, go to Sea Grant Michigan’s link at: www.engin.umich.edu/seagrant/wetlands/erie.html
Air quality & toxic chemicals. The air quality departments of eight Great Lakes states and Ontario have updated an emissions inventory of 82 toxic chemicals and their presence in the Great Lakes. The inventory gives decision-makers information that is consistent across jurisdictions and helps identify both point source and nonpoint source impacts in the region. www.glc.org/air/air3.html
Lake Ontario Keeper has a brand new website, partially funded by a grant from GLAHNF. The Lake Ontario Keeper program functions as a pollution watchdog for Lake Ontario, investigating and documenting sources of pollution and reporting findings to local officials, media, citizens, and grassroots groups. Site includes seasonal info. such as a guide to eating Ontario sport fish and more. www.LakeOntarioKeeper.org
As part of the Great Lakes Regional Air Toxic Emissions Inventory project, Air Mapper is the first in a series of applications to improve access and understanding of toxic air emissions in the Great Lakes Basin. For more information, go to www.glc.org/air/airmapper.html
U.S. EPA Office of Water. Lots of info like “What are Wetlands?,” “Why Protect Wetlands?,” “How are Wetlands Protected?,” “What You Can Do to Protect our Vital Water Resources,” watersheds, education and information resources, monitoring and assessment, plus laws, regulations, guidance, and scientific documents. www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/
Well Water. This site by the National Ground Water Association contains resources to help well owners with maintenance and other important issues. www.wellowner.org.
For information on U.S. EPA Section 401 certifications and water quality standards for wetlands, plus links to laws and regulations concering wetlands, go to: www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/waterquality/.
Mercury in the water. More and more communities are sponsoring mercury collection days – collecting mercury-containing thermometers and thermostats and replacing them with mercury-free ones. Duluth, Minnesota has become the first city in North America to ban the sale of mercury thermometers. For info on “How to Plan and Hold a Mercury Thermometer Roundup” or “Mercury Thermometers and Your Family’s Health”, go to: www.noharm.org
Environment Canada-Ontario Region of the Great Lakes is an information resource that provides an index of Environment Canada’s Great Lakes programs, publications, and databases, and is a window to other environmental networks. The site has up-to-date Great Lakes information including “State of the Great Lakes,” “Weather, Climate, and Water Levels,” “Educational Resources,” maps, what’s making news, “Great Lakes Beyond 2000,” more. www.on.ec.gc.ca/glimr/intro.html
For a model Coastal Shoreline Protection Ordinance for local governments along Michigan’s Great Lakes, visit the Michigan Land Use Institute at: www.mlui.org/html/keyissues/shoreline.asp
September 5-6
Wetlands & Remediation Conference, held in Burlington, Vermont. More than 100 presentations in 12 technical sessions, including Wetlands Design; Restoration and Mitigation; Contaminated Wetlands; Innovative Technologies for Wetlands Investigations; Treatment of Nonpoint-Source Pollution and Agricultural Runoff; Metals and Inorganics; more! Sponsored by Battelle Memorial Institute. For more info, call 1-800-783-6338 or visit: www.battelle.org/wetlandscon
September 9-12
Dam Safety 2001: Annual Conference for the Association of Dam Safety Officials, Snowbird, Utah. New dam engineering technologies, lessons learned from dam construction and rehabilitation cases, dam removal, risk assessment. Call 859-257-5140 or go to www.damsafety.org
September 13-14
A conference entitled Public Forum on Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Water Quality will be held in Montreal, to energize Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River community groups to work in partnership with the International Joint Commission and governments at all levels to carry out the purposes of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Call, in Canada, 313-226-2170, or go to www.ijc.org
Reminder: September 14-15
International Joint Commission’s “Public Forum on Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Water Quality”. Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Workshops may include: LaMPs/RAPs/ZIPs; Community Health and Contaminants; Reducing Toxics in Urban Sewage; Water Levels and Navigation; Alien Invasive Species; Mercury; Student Forum; First Nation/Tribal Workshop; Source Water Protection; Indicators. Contact: Jennifer Day. Canada: 519-257-6734. U.S. 313-226-2170. Or visit www.ijc.org
September 13-14
Racine, Wisconsin. Moving Beyond Greenspace: Watershed Sensitive Development. The conference will feature national, state, and locally renowned presenters in the area of sustainable, ecologic development. Sponsored by Sustainable Racine. Call 262-632-6440 or go to www.uwex.edu/ces/cty/kenosha/crdindex.html
September 18-21
The Wetlands Division of the EPA is sponsoring a conference entitled Clean Water Act-Section 404 Training. The conference will be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For more info, call 800-832-7828 or go to www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/calendar2.html
November 8-10
The Midwest Working Landscape Forum’s Conference, Delevan, Wisconsin. The conference will explore ‘windows into the future’ for developing multi-functional agriculture, silvaculture, and rural communities compatible with watershed protection, with emphasis on collaboration among grassroots groups. Call 612-870-3436 or go to www.iatp.org