Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat News
The Newsletter of the Great Lakes
Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund
Volume 8, Number 3 • May-June 2000
Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat NewsThe Newsletter of the Great Lakes
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The International Joint Commission’s Indicators Implementation Task Force Final Report, assessing the progress to restore and maintain the health of the Great Lakes under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement has been released. The report is available to the public free of charge on IJC’s website at www.ijc.org/boards/iitf/iitf_final.pdf or in hard copy by contacting the International Joint Commission’s Great Lakes Regional Office in Canada at 100 Ouellette Ave., Suite 800, Windsor, ON N9A 6T3, phone (519)257-6734; in the U.S. at P.O. Box 32869, Detroit, MI 48232, phone (313)226-2170, or by e-mail to commission@windsor.ijc.org
State of Natural Resources 2000
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has just published “The State of the Natural Resources,” a compendium of useful facts about the state’s air and water quality, solid waste disposal, wildlife populations, fisheries and forestry. The section on wetlands mentions the historic loss of wetland ecosystems (half of our original 10 million acres) during the past 150 years. During the 10-year period 1982-1991, an average of 1,400 acres were lost per year to permitted activities. In 1991, administrative code NR 103 was adopted, establishing wetland water quality standards and effectively reducing wetland losses. During the period 1992-1999, an average of about 350 acres were lost per year due to all activities, or a drop in over 300% of permitted wetland losses compared to the previous decade. The publication can be found at the DNR web site: www.dnr.state.wi.us/aboutdnr/specialreports/
Restoration Handbook Completed!
Wisconsin Wetlands Association has recently completed its “Wetland Restoration Handbook for Wisconsin Landowners.” The handbook is at the printer and will be available in July. The publication provides guidelines for assessing a site’s potential for restoration and proceeds to walk the landowner through steps of restoration. The handbook has been a collaborative project of WWA, Wisconsin Coastal Management Program, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, DNR, Wisconsin Waterfowl Association, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Ducks Unlimited and the Great Lakes Protection Fund. If you are interested in receiving a copy of this 120-page handbook, a special publication of the Wisconsin DNR, please contact the WWA office: 222 S. Hamilton St, #1, Madison WI 53703. Phine: (608) 250-9971. E-mail: wetlands@execpc.com.
www.stopnps.com
www.stopnps.com
Through active involvement, mailings, and web sites, the Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention Initiative hopes to educate watershed residents about nonpoint source pollution, offering new ways for residents to view and improve their surroundings, thereby improving the water quality in watersheds. This web site also posts advertisements for companies and organizations that support nonpoint source education. It is maintained by stopnps.com, Inc., which is based in Portland, Maine.
www.canr.uconn.edu/ces/nemo/index.html
Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO) uses innovative techniques to teach local officials about the sources and impacts of nonpoint source pollution. The program provides presentations that include local photographs, educational materials, geographic information systems (GIS) images, and other information. NEMO’s comprehensive website provides basic information on nonpoint source pollution, detailed information on selected watershed projects, educational modules, and much more. NEMO is sponsored by the University of Connecticut’s Cooperative Extension Program.
www.epa.gov/glnpo/gl2000/lamps
Lakewide Management Plans (LaMPs)
for Lakes Erie, Michigan, and Superior were released on May 2, 2000 by the U.S. EPA and Environment Canada. The plans address different problems in the ecosystem of each lake and outline the environmental status of each lake, highlight successes, identify problems, and propose solutions. Executive summaries of the plans, as well as the Lake Ontario Update and Lake Huron Initiative Report, are available on the website.
State Watershed Websites: