Danielle Korpalski 2011.

In honor of May bike month Danielle Korpalski and I tuned up our bikes to partake in a “blue hour” of epic proportions.

We participated in the Zoo-de-Mackinac bike ride, a ride that starts near Petoskey Michigan and follows Lakes Michigan and Huron to Mackinac City. Over 3,000 people did the same.

For us this ride serves as a 51- mile reminder of the serene yet threatened Great Lakes ecosystems we seek to protect.

This ride covers only a small piece of a very large and important coastline ecosystem, however. The Great Lakes coastline habitat spans about 10,000 miles. At the rate Danielle and I traveled, 51 miles a day, it would take us about 6 and a half months to bike its entirety!

Danielle Korpalski 2011.

Our route followed one of the most scenic roads in the United States. One could also travel this route by car but at the expense of missing sounds of bird chirps, wildlife scattering in the grass and wind howling, smells of fresh pine and budding flowers and visual images of true greens and intense blues of nature. …not to mention the expense of increasing carbon emissions.

This ride inspired many to venture out-of-car-doors including Ronald whom I met on the tour:

I started biking last August and am continuing to bike as much as possible. The experience is so much more complete on a bike than in a car. – Ronald K., Kalamazoo, Michigan

Danielle Korpalski 2011.

To connect with nature you don’t have to ride 51 miles on a bike. There are many ways to enjoy your green or “blue” hour that include walking, fishing, gardening or reading underneath a tree. May is also Garden for Wildlife month.

See National Wildlife Federation’s Get Outside page for more information and share your nature stories with friends.

Also take an opportunity to support the wildlife of the Great Lakes coasts. Perhaps you may someday experience a “blue hour” yourself!

“Well, I wrote a book about the Great Lakes,” I said. “And I work for the National Wildlife Federation, an organization that works hard as any to protect and restore the Great Lakes.”

He wasn’t satisfied. He wanted tangible examples.

“People need to wake up: The Great Lakes hold 20 percent of all the freshwater on the planet and we treat them like (crap),” he said. “Cities dump raw sewage into the lakes, industry pollutes and now we’ve got Asian carp at our doorstep. This is the Saudi Arabia of freshwater and we’re screwing it up.”

Initially, I was put off by the aggressive nature of his questions. But I quickly realized that what I perceived as hostility toward me was nothing more than one man’s frustration at our collective failure to treat the Great Lakes like the natural treasure they are.

Much has been done over the past three decades to reduce the amount of pollution discharged into the lakes, clean up toxic hot spots and restore fish and wildlife habitat. But serious problems remain.

In honor of Earth Day, I’ve taken a crack at compiling Earth Day Commandments for the Great Lakes. I offer these not to make light of the Bible or to be environmentally pious. (Lord knows I can do more to be a better steward of His creation).

There are many things that individuals, communities and businesses can and should do to protect and restore the lakes. Here are 10 to get you started:

1. Conserve water: Residents of the Great Lakes basin rank among the world’s worst water wasters. The lakes contain a phenomenal amount of water but it is not an endless supply. Excessive consumption and global warming are already causing water shortages in some areas. Are you a water hog?
2. Conserve energy: Climate change is one of the most serious threats facing the Great Lakes. Water levels in some areas are at or near record lows, a change that threatens fish and wildlife and disrupts recreational boating and commercial shipping. You can combat climate change by conserving energy.
3. Keep invasive species out of the Great Lakes: Ocean freighters and artificial canals have allowed numerous foreign species to invade the lakes, but anglers and household aquariums also contribute to the problem. Learn how to help.
4. Fight Asian carp: These foreign fish could devastate the $7 billion Great Lakes fishery and the federal government isn’t doing enough, or working quickly enough, to head off this looming environmental disaster.
5. Stop sewage overflows: Each year, cities discharge more than 40 billion gallons of untreated sewage mixed with storm water into the Great Lakes. Learn more about the problem and how to help solve it here.
6. Take a child to the beach. The Digital Age has given an alarming number of American children a case of Nature Deficit Disorder. Sadly, many children who live within a few miles of the Great Lakes have never seen these wondrous bodies of water.  How can we expect children to care about lakes they’ve never seen?
7. Help restore fish and wildlife habitat: A growing legion of individuals and groups are working to restore critical natural features. You can help.
8. Keep Great Lakes beaches clean: Don’t litter and, whenever possible, pick up after slobs who do. Last year, volunteers removed 31,000 pounds of trash from Great Lakes beaches. That’s appalling.
9. Fight sloppy, greedy oil companies: Get involved in efforts to prevent pipeline accidents and keep dangerous new oil pipelines from being built around and under the Great Lakes.
10. Be a voice for the Great Lakes: We are blessed to live amid the world’s largest assemblage of surface freshwater resources and we have a responsibility to protect them.

As a native of California who moved to Michigan 30 years ago, I am often asked why I remain in a state that offers brutally long winters and endless economic challenges.

I answer that question with a question of my own: Have you experienced the Great Lakes?

Happy Earth Day!

I had been reading for months how lake levels in Lakes Michigan and Huron were declining due to a “hole” in the St. Clair River, an artery of the Great Lakes system carrying water from Lakes Michigan and Huron into Lake Erie and onward. This “hole” was created from years of pulling gravel from the stream bed in order to make space for big ships. Even worse, more water level declines are likely expected due to climate change. And as these water levels decline shoreline habitats in Lakes Michigan and Huron have the potential to dry out and cause impacts to the wildlife such as turtles, frogs and birds that depend on them. “Plugging the hole” or restoring the stream bed to natural levels could help keep lake levels where they need to be for wildlife.

Considering these facts a resounding “yes, that’s the plan” came from this bright-eyed planet saver.

But it’s not that simple.

Meet my new fish friend, the northern madtom – a globally rare endangered species in the St. Clair River. To the knowledge of wildlife managers madtoms are not found in any other part of the Great Lakes.

Photo Credit Ken-ichi Ueda

This little fish enjoys deep swift riffles of large rivers. The St. Clair River is quite habitable for them.

Options proposed at a meeting today by the International Upper Great Lakes Study Board, as a potential way to “plug the hole” would require movement of or blocks placed on the river bottom. Options which might be good for wildlife upstream in Lakes Michigan and Huron. Options that might disrupt or even change northern madtom habitat in the St. Clair River.

The long-term impacts to the madtom are unclear.

So what to do? This is a good example of environmental trade-offs. Saving some species has the potential to make it more difficult for others.

As people who care about wildlife it is important to stay informed on these issues and attend public meetings whenever possible. I urge you to follow the International Upper Great Lakes Study. These bi-national studies do not happen often and have the potential to lead to major changes. Learn for yourself about Great Lakes water loss issues and voice your opinion.

The Asian Carp threaten the Great Lakes (Credit: Flickr/kate.gardiner)

Federal officials who are soliciting public comment on a study of how to keep Asian carp from invading the Great Lakes got an earful Thursday from Cleveland-area residents.

Their message to federal officials…

Do whatever it takes to keep the menacing fish from invading the Great Lakes and storming Lake Erie’s bountiful fishery. And do it now.

Lake Erie anglers, boaters and conservationists who turned out for a public hearing on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS) sharply criticized the Corps’ plan to study the Asian carp threat for at least four more years before recommending a solution.

“We have to have a sense of urgency about these carp — start killing them,” said Cleveland resident Tom Mayher, a longtime Lake Erie angler. “Lake Erie has more fish than all of the other Great Lakes combined; it’s the greatest of the Great Lakes and we’re going to take a beating if you don’t do something soon.”

Asian carp were imported to commercial fish farms in the south in the 1960s. After escaping into the Mississippi River, the fish headed north and are now on the verge of invading Lake Michigan via the Chicago Waterway System, an artificial canal system that links the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins.

The $25 million GLMRIS study is the Corps’ attempt to figure out how best to halt the movement of Asian carp and  159 other  invasive species between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River systems, which encompass two of North America’s largest watersheds.

The GLMRIS study won’t be completed until mid-2015 at the earliest. A solution could take several more years after that.

National Wildlife Federation and other groups have called on the Corps to create a hydrologic barrier between Lake Michigan and the Chicago Waterway System to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes. NWF also wants the Corps to complete the Chicago portion of the GLMRIS study within 18 months.

Several residents who spoke at the Cleveland hearing said the battle to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes could be over by the time the Corps proposes a solution.

Don Arcuri, a longtime Lake Erie angler who is an adviser to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, challenged the Corps of Engineers to uphold its legacy of solving large-scale environmental problems.

“In this nation, when we see a pressing need or imminent threat, we have the capacity to move very rapidly and decisively,” Arcuri said. “The Corps of Engineers’ history is filled with this. The time to be quick and decisive (with regard to Asian carp) is now.”

John Goss, the Obama Administration’s Asian carp czar, said the president has taken “unprecedented and proactive action” to keep Asian carp from invading the Great Lakes. He said the federal government has taken more than 45 different actions to control the invasive fish.

“I like to fish and I know the importance of the fishing industry in Lake Erie,” Goss said. “We will do our best to protect that.”

Goss said two electric barriers in the Chicago Waterway System, about 30 miles south of Chicago, are keeping Asian carp from reaching Lake Michigan. He said the Corps would activate a third electric fish barrier in that canal within a few weeks.

But recent scientific studies indicated Asian carp had breached the electric fish barriers and now have unrestricted access to Lake Michigan.

There is no evidence of a reproducing population of Asian carp anywhere in the Great Lakes. Yet…

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has identified 18 sites in the Midwest where some 160 different aquatic invasive species could move between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds.

The Corps revealed those findings during a public hearing in Buffalo on its Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study, known as GLMRIS.

The $25 million GLMRIS study is the Corps’ attempt to figure out how best to halt the movement of invasive species between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River, which encompass two of North America’s largest watersheds. The spread of Asian carp spurred the study.

Asian carp were imported to commercial fish farms in the south in the 1960s. After escaping into the Mississippi River, the fish headed north and are now on the verge of invading Lake Michigan via the Chicago Waterway System, an artificial canal system that links the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins.

Studies have shown that Asian carp also could enter the Great Lakes via rivers in Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio and New York.

The most likely places Asian carp will invade the Great Lakes: The Chicago Waterway System and a marsh near Fort Wayne, Ind., that links the carp-infested Wabash River to the Maumee River during floods.

National Wildlife Federation and other groups have called on the Corps of Engineers to create a hydrologic barrier between Lake Michigan and the Chicago Waterway System to keep Asian carp out of Lake Michigan. NWF also wants the Corps to complete the Chicago portion of the GLMRIS study within 18 months.

“This is just crazy to take so long,” said Mary Muter, a member of Sierra Club’s Ontario chapter who was at the hearing in Buffalo. “The solution is hydrologic and ecological separation in Chicago and they should be moving very quickly to getting that job done.”

Corps officials said completing the study in 2015 is the best-case scenario; it could take longer.

“For a study of this magnitude, our schedule is rather aggressive,” said Lt. Col. David J. Berczek, deputy commander of the Corps’ Chicago district office.

Berczek’s comments came hours after the Great Lakes Commission and Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Cities Initiative announced it was launching a privately funded, $2 million study of how best to create a hydrologic barrier between Lake Michigan and the Chicago Waterway System.

The Great Lakes Commission study will recommend possible solutions in January 2012, at least three years before the Corps makes its recommendations to Congress.

Representatives of National Wildlife Federation and its affiliates will be at all of the GLMRIS hearings. Watch for more blog posts from upcoming hearings in Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri and Mississippi.

Go here to see what Great Lakes leaders are saying about Asian carp and the Corps’ study.