Great Lakes Commission News Briefs
A summary of issues, activities and events
at the Great Lakes Commission 		May 24, 2012

Commission applauds accelerated study on options to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes
A recent announcement by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that it would accelerate the presentation to Congress and the public of options for permanently preventing Asian carp from invading the Great Lakes from the Mississippi River watershed was welcomed by the Great Lakes Commission (GLC). The Corps had previously planned to release a short list of proposed alternatives in 2015 but is now committed to producing the list in 2013. “This is a step in the right direction that reflects the urgency needed to find a permanent solution that safeguards the Great Lakes from the threat posed by Asian carp,” said Marc Miller, director of the Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources and Great Lakes Commissioner.

The GLC, along with the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, released a comprehensive report earlier this year that identified permanent separation of two watersheds as the most effective option, and presented three engineering alternatives to meet that objective. “Our report shows that hydrologic separation is feasible, that it will effectively safeguard the Great Lakes from Asian carp migrating through Chicago’s waterway system and that it can be done while preserving the benefits of the waterway to northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana,” said Tim Eder, executive director of the Great Lakes Commission. “It’s critical that the Corps include hydrologic separation as one of the alternatives it presents to Congress and the public and that it be prepared to quickly implement the solution that best protects the Great Lakes.” The study, Restoring the Natural Divide, is available online at www.glc.org/caws

Contact: Tim Eder, 734-971-9135, teder@glc.org.


Great Lakes, Northeast panels on aquatic nuisance species meet jointly in Rochester
The spring meeting of the Great Lakes Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species was held jointly this week in Rochester, N.Y., with the Northeast Aquatic Nuisance Species Panel (NEANS). The two are among six regional panels coordinated by the national Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force, an intergovernmental organization dedicated to preventing and controlling aquatic nuisance species, and implementing the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act (NANPCA) of 1990.

Among agenda items for the joint session were the challenges of managing ballast water policy on the multijurisdictional level, new research on the threat of organisms in trade, the binational rapid response plan, and updates on the national ANS Task Force. The meeting also featured a workshop sponsored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the growing concern about the spread of hydrilla, a nuisance aquatic plant, in the northeast and Great Lakes regions. Reports on both the Great Lakes Panel proceedings and the joint session with NEANS will be available at www.glc.org/ans/panel.html.

Contact: Katherine Glassner-Shwayder, 734-971-9135, shwayder@glc.org.


“Wind and Waterfronts Workshop” set for June 21 in Muskegon
Registration is now open for the Great Lakes Wind Collaborative’s Wind and Waterfronts Workshop to be held at the Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center in Muskegon, Mich., on Thursday, June 21, 2012. The Collaborative is a multisector coalition of wind energy stakeholders working to facilitate the sustainable development of wind power in the binational Great Lakes region.

The Muskegon workshop will explore three themes that bring opportunities and challenges for wind development in the Great Lakes and offshore and coastal areas: brownfields for wind farms; public perception of onshore and offshore wind; and coastal community impacts from wind energy development. The registration deadline is June 8. The workshop precedes the Michigan Energy Fair, which takes place June 22-24 at the Mason County Fairgrounds in nearby Ludington, Mich.

Contact: Becky Pearson, 734-971-9135, bpearson@glc.org.



Mobile beach app version 2.0 to be released May 31
The Great Lakes Commission, in partnership with LimnoTech and the Great Lakes states, is nearing completion of its myBeachCast application (app) for Android that provides mobile access to beach advisories and other environmental information. The enhanced app retrieves locational and advisory data from beaches in the eight Great Lakes states. Also included are real-time weather and lake conditions (e.g., water temperature, wave height, winds/gusts), which are drawn from the Great Lakes Observing System and NOAA. A mobile-enhanced website available on the Great Lakes Information Network will offer complementary information for web viewers and other mobile devices.

Stay tuned to beachcast.glin.net for the release on May 31.

Contact: Christine Manninen, 734-971-9135, manninen@glc.org.


Amanda Sweetman named 2012 GLC-Sea Grant Fellow
Amanda Sweetman has been named the Great Lakes Commission’s 2012-13 Sea Grant Fellow. The one-year Sea Grant fellowship is an ongoing cooperative program between the Commission and the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network. Project areas in which Amanda will be working include aquatic invasive species prevention and control, habitat conservation and restoration, nonpoint source pollution prevention and nutrient management, and supporting the Great Lakes Wind Collaborative. A Grand Rapids, Michigan, area native, Amanda holds a Bachelor of Science degree in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of Michigan and a Master’s degree in ecology from Utah State University. Her graduate studies included work on restoration efforts in the Great Salt Lake region and she taught classes in wetland ecology as an adjunct faculty member at Utah State. Amanda most recently worked as a student contractor for the U.S. Geological Survey Great Lakes Science Center on wetland rehabilitation in Lake Erie.

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Great Lakes Commission
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A News Briefs archive can be found at www.glc.org/email/archive