Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat News
The Newsletter of the Great Lakes
Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund
Volume 9, Number 5 • September-October 2001
Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat NewsThe Newsletter of the Great Lakes
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by Craig Minowa, Environmental Association for Great Lakes Education
For seven generations, Anishinabe prophecies have foretold a great walk of its people retracing the original migration path of their ancestors—from the Atlantic Ocean through the Great Lakes. The seven generations have passed and the incredible journey began earlier this summer. The Walkers, lead by Butch Stone of the Bad River Reservation in Wisconsin, arrived in Duluth, Minnesota on September 15, 2001 and shortly thereafter concluded their historic journey on Madeline Island.
The Walk included seven sacred stops that have been foretold in the original Anishinabe prophecies. One of those sacred sites was Duluth’s Spirit Mountain, where the Ojibwa people have held vision quests and other sacred ceremonies for hundreds of years. The prophecies also accurately predicted that each of the sacred sites would be in the midst of some kind of environmental battle, which would serve as a sign of the major transition that is to come. This held true from a major toxic fish-kill at a sacred site on Lake Erie to the threat of Spirit Mountain being transformed into a golf course and hotel.
Spirit Mountain is an integral part of the southwest Lake Superior Watershed overlooking the St. Louis River. It holds over 400 acres of old growth forest, diverse wetlands, and one of the area’s last thriving trout streams. Developers hope to convert the area to a golf course and four-story hotel by next spring.
On September 15th, the Walkers held a traditional Anishinabe “Shaking Tent ceremony” on Spirit Mountain. The following morning the Walkers’ spiritual elder led them on a search for grave sites on the proposed golf course site. Using an Anishinabe traditional “grave finder”, 12 grave sites were discovered.
The sites were documented with a Global Positioning System and further analysis will be completed by an archaeologist in the coming weeks, depending on grant funding. If the sites are confirmed, federal law dictates that the area must be preserved. For more information about the Migration Journey, go to http://MigrationJourney.cjb.net
The Duluth Seaway Port Authority is rocking the world with a ground breaking new technology that could greatly reduce the spread of aquatic exotic species. It has long been recognized that the destructive spread of alien species like zebra mussels, Eurasion milfoil, and the round-headed goby is largely due to ships (freighters from other countries) filling up their ballasts with water from overseas and dumping that load into local waters upon arriving in the Great Lakes region. Organisms contained in that water then have the potential to thrive in their new foreign environment, thereby negatively impacting the balance of native species. A new technology is being tested locally that would first filter ballast water for larger organisms and then zap the water with UV light a thousand times more powerful than the sun to kill off larvae, bacteria, etc.
It is hoped that tests will generate good news about this system, as its environmental implications are much more positive than its closest competitor—the relatively new practice of treating ballast water with chemical pesticides.
Five years of struggle have not eschewed the controversy over whether to build a “safe harbor” off McQuaid near Duluth in Lake Superior. Although the Duluth City Council has narrowly turned down the proposal, Mayor Gary Doty and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MN DNR) project proponents continue to push for approval. Recently, the MN DNR renewed an offer to purchase the land for the harbor, but local environmentalists continue adamant opposition to the plan.
Opposition to the project is based upon several factors. First, a survey of existing area boat access sites reveals severe under-usage, suggesting little need for such a major development on Lake Superior’s shore. Also, the proposed area does not contain the natural features necessary to build a safe harbor, making excessive environmental damage (such as initial and repeated dredgings) necessary to complete the project. Studies done in other Great Lakes states have shown that negative environmental and aquatic habitat impacts are inevitable as a result of building, using, and maintaining safe harbors for boats. “In my opinion, projects like this should not even be considered unless a need is first shown”, said Craig Minowa from the Environmental Association for Great Lakes Education. Anyone interested in more information on this issue may contact Craig at lakes@cp.duluth.mn.us
According to Chip Welling, a Minnesota DNR spokesman, eleven more Minnesota lakes have been infested with Eurasian water milfoil this year, bringing the statewide total to 132 lakes. This pesky exotic species radically alters the mix of native fish and aquatic vegetation. Welling says the DNR’s efforts to educate the public about the plant has decreased the spread of milfoil from lake to lake, but the problem is far from being under control.