Among other things, the RESTORE Act created the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council, which is a multi-state, multi-agency group that has been tasked with developing a comprehensive ecosystem restoration plan for the Gulf. The Council is currently developing the plan, with a draft due for public comment this spring.

The Vanishing Paradise team is working to make sure the Council remembers the national hunting and fishing community was at the forefront of the efforts to pass the RESTORE Act, and we intend to see this through.

Our message to the Council is simple. We believe habitat restoration can drive and support economic recovery. The people, businesses, communities and economy of this region are undeniably reliant upon a healthy and productive Gulf, and ecosystem restoration should be the top priority in drafting and finalizing the Council’s comprehensive restoration plan.

This message will be delivered to the Restoration Council in the form of a letter that carries the signatures of roughly 350 hunting and angling businesses and organizations that believe investments in long-term ecosystem restoration will drive economic prosperity in the Gulf Coast region.

As the Council considers how best to “restore and protect the natural resources, ecosystems, fisheries, marine and wildlife habitats, beaches and coastal wetlands of the Gulf Coast region,” we believe that they should engage the hunting and fishing community to ensure that their restoration plan reflects the interests and values of our country’s hunters and anglers.

Following up on this letter, we’ll be meeting with the Restoration Council early next month. We will deliver the message that sportsmen and women are paying attention, but more importantly we will also discuss a list of recommendations on restoration project selection, implementation and monitoring.

Louisiana’s coastal wetlands are some of the most important habitats American hunters and anglers will ever know. The sad truth is that this American treasure is disappearing before our eyes.

The future of the Mississippi River Delta has long been challenged by a severed connection between the river and its wetlands. Hurricanes that destroy our marshes made us famous. More recently the Gulf of Mexico was thrown another curveball, the 2010 oil spill.

The unprecedented release of 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf has caused near-term impacts to the fishery, coastal habitat and thousands of people’s livelihoods. It may cause significant long-term damage to the Gulf, affecting sportsmen and women throughout the country that rely on a healthy Gulf coast that serves as wintering grounds for nearly 10 million waterfowl and one of the absolute best fisheries in our country.

We all take something different from the field. Whether it’s an exciting adventure chasing the trophy of a lifetime, a quiet day at your favorite fishing hole or some good old-fashioned quality time with your grandkids.

Hunters and anglers rarely agree on everything, but there is a fundamental connection between people who hunt and fish. No matter what our goals or interests are, we all depend on quality habitat to enjoy our passion. It sounds simple, and it is. At the end of the day, despite all of our opinions, preferences and predispositions, the key to quality hunting and fishing opportunities all comes down to productive habitat.

That’s why sportsmen and women must be involved in the development of the Council’s restoration plan. Investments in projects that restore healthy and productive habitat mean a future full of quality hunting and angling opportunities. If the wild spaces of the Gulf region are protected and restored, sportsmen and women will have played an essential role in saving one of America’s last best places.

A legacy to be proud of indeed.

Bison grazing on the Fort Peck Reservation. Ted Wood/The Story Group

It was a huge milestone in efforts to restore bison to the wild. The bison is the one large mammal driven to near extinction that hasn’t been re-established on the Western landscape. Elk, deer, big-horn sheep

As important as the transfer of bison to Fort Peck was, a barrage of anti-bison bills in the Montana Legislature makes clear that the path to further progress will be anything but smooth.

Female bison and its calf. Joan Saba

Montana Lawmakers Fighting Restoration

The National Wildlife Federation has joined other sportsmen’s and conservation groups, the tribes and wildlife advocates to defeat the legislation. Some bills have been killed, but others that could block returning the bison to its home on the plains – to tribal lands and the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge – are still in play.

The proposals range from a ban on transferring wild bison anywhere in Montana except the National Bison Range to a bill that would hold the state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks liable for any damage to private property by wild bison. Another would allow county commissioners to ban restoration of wild bison in their counties, even on tribal and federal lands. State Senator John Brenden, an outspoken proponent of the bad bison bills, recently remarked,”Why do you want to spread this creeping cancer, these woolly tanks, around the state of Montana?”

Conservationists and Tribes rally against the bad bison bills. Jake Troyer

Last year’s bison release on Fort Peck followed two decades of work by the tribes, conservation groups, and state and federal officials. The Yellowstone bison’s genetics date to an era when millions of bison roamed North America and were fundamental to Plains Indians’ physical, cultural and spiritual nourishment.

Yellowstone bison are special to the tribes because they are the last wild, free-ranging herd. For years, the tribes, NWF and other groups have urged that bison wandering out of  Yellowstone be transferred to tribal and federal lands rather than be gunned down because of fears they’ll spread the disease brucellosis to cattle.

Ungrounded Fears

The disease can cause pregnant animals to abort, but there have been no confirmed cases of bison transmitting brucellosis to cattle. Bison transferred from Yellowstone have been quarantined and are brucellosis-free.

Last Friday, the Montana House Agriculture Committee voted 9-8 in favor of a bill sponsored by Brenden that would change bison hunting regulations, allow private landowners to shoot bison if they wander onto their land, and prohibit the relocation of bison anywhere in the state, including the transfer of bison from Fort Peck to Fort Belknap, except the National Bison Range. If the bill passes, Pat Flowers, a supervisor with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said, “the state would lose the cooperation of tribes who have been exercising their treaty rights to kill bison that leave Yellowstone National Park in the winter.”

It’s time for a halt to the war on bison. Will you stand with the tribes and their conservation allies? Will you stand with the bison? These animals belong on the Western countryside, along with all the other wildlife that are crucial elements of the ecosystem, our heritage and culture. They can once again be a vital part of tribes’ economic and spiritual lives, connections to the natural world, and their children’s future. The bison’s homecoming is long overdue.

UPDATE – May 9, 2013

The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and over 53,000 members and activists sent a clear message for the Montana legislature to call off its assault on bison.

One of the worst bills was killed two weeks ago after thousands of you responded to appeals from NWF. The bill by state Senator John Brenden would have changed bison hunting regulations, allowed private landowners to shoot bison if they wandered onto their land, and prohibited the relocation of bison anywhere in the state. Brenden recently remarked, “Why do you want to spread this creeping cancer, these woolly tanks, around the state of Montana?” This type of anti-wildlife rhetoric was also seen in House Bill 396, vetoed by Montana Governor Steve Bullock, that would have required county commissioner approval before any bison were relocated. Clearly, many more people see bison as an important wildlife species to be preserved and recognize their value to grassland ecosystems and other wildlife.

On Monday, Montana Governor Steve Bullock vetoed the two remaining bison bills. Senate Bill 305 would have prohibited using bison that have ever been privately owned for restoration to other lands. Senate Bill 256 would have made Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks liable for any damages resulting from wild bison that had been relocated or released.

NWF members and activists stood up for bison, and the Montana legislature and Governor Bullock listened. With a swipe of his pen, Bullock demonstrated that he agrees with NWF that bison belong on Montana public and tribal lands.

TOGETHER, we killed the bad bills, and now bison have a new future in Montana.

Donate today and help NWF continue our fight for wildlife — like bison — across the county>> 

Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber is pushing for a new approach to restoring salmon to Northwestern rivers and streams. Photo by U.S. FWS.

Please add your support today with a message to decision-makers. Tell the Administration to Act Now to Save Columbia-Snake River Salmon!

With thirteen salmon and steelhead populations—and thousands of salmon-related jobs—at risk, twenty years of litigation over failed federal salmon plans, and more than $10 billion spent, the governor is proposing a different path forward. He is advocating a stakeholder-driven process to develop a plan that restores salmon and steelhead, creates jobs, invests in regional communities, and reduces the persistent uncertainty facing many businesses in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.

A Stakeholder-Driven Process Might be Salmon’s Best Hope

Governor Kitzhaber thinks that the establishment of an inclusive stakeholder process may be the best way to craft a comprehensive, long-term salmon plan that works for both salmon and people. And he is asking other elected leaders in the Northwest and in Washington, D.C., to join him in making it a reality.

The governor published an op-ed on Sept 22nd in which he said, “By gathering the parties around a table, and working in good faith to reach common ground on a fisheries plan that is supported by sound science, we can come to the 2014 [court-ordered] deadline with a historic agreement that ends the 20-year chapter of salmon wars in the Columbia basin, an agreement that protects fish while maintaining our supply of clean and affordable energy.

While Governor Kitzhaber’s recent push is highly visible, he is not alone in seeking a new path forward. Tens of thousands of citizens, more than a thousand businesses, and scores of state and federal lawmakers have expressed similar support for a new approach that brings together the affected interests in the region to work together on an effective, science-based plan that restores Columbia Basin salmon and invests in Northwest communities and the economy.

Learn more about this “solutions table” for Columbia-Snake salmon.

Restoration Plans Mired in the Political Muck

For many years, efforts to restore salmon to this important watershed have proven both elusive and contentious. National Wildlife Federation initiated litigation in the early 1990s, following the listing of Snake River sockeye salmon under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Since then, twelve additional stocks of salmon and steelhead in the Columbia Basin have been listed as threatened or endangered, and four of five federal plans developed by the federal government have been rejected as inadequate by the courts, most recently in 2011.

Commercial, sport, and tribal fishing communities and outdoor retail companies have been hit particularly hard by constrained fisheries and limited recreational opportunities and the loss of jobs and income caused by salmon population declines. Recovering salmon and steelhead to healthy, harvestable populations will restore thousands of jobs in the region’s salmon economy that have been lost in the last several decades. The development of an effective, science-based plan that has the support of the region’s leaders and stakeholders will increase certainty and help Northwest businesses and communities plan successfully for the future.

The question of whether to remove the lower Snake River dams in order to protect an irreplaceable Northwest icon has long been at the center of the debate on restoring salmon. Hundreds of fisheries biologists, including the Western Division of the American Fisheries Society (AFS), and dozens of studies have concluded that the removal of the lower Snake River dams in eastern Washington must be part of any effective Columbia Basin restoration plan. Today, all remaining stocks in the Snake River—sockeye, steelhead, fall Chinook, and spring-summer Chinook—are listed under the ESA.

The Impacts of Climate Change also Hamper Recovery

Steadily rising water temperatures in the Columbia and Snake Rivers as a result of a warming climate and dam-restricted flow are increasing the scrutiny of these dams. Water temperatures in the lower Snake and lower Columbia exceeded 70 degrees for much of this summer—frequently violating Clean Water Act standards and harming salmon and steelhead migrating to and from the ocean.

A free-flowing lower Snake River would significantly lower water temperatures in both the Snake and Columbia rivers, and reconnect Snake River fish to pristine habitat in the mountains of central Idaho, in places like the Salmon River and Redfish Lake. Many of these high elevation refuges—though largely inaccessible for salmon today—are being called the Noah’s Ark for salmon in a world of climate change. Many of these areas remain cold and snowy for much of the year, and thus provide salmon the cold, clear water that they depend upon.

Restoring wild salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake Rivers remains an essential job and shared goal for the people of the Northwest and the nation. These fish represent critical threads in the Northwest’s economic, ecological, and cultural fabric: feeding ecosystems and people, sustaining jobs and ways of life.

With so much at stake, salmon and fishing advocates enthusiastically welcome Governor Kitzhaber’s call for a new approach, for a coming together of both allies and adversaries, to begin repairing what is broken in the Columbia Basin, in a manner that works for both salmon and people.

You can add your voice by taking action today: Tell the Administration to Act Now to Save Columbia-Snake River Salmon!

Today’s signing is the first revision to the Agreement since it was last amended by protocol in 1987, when a major emphasis was toxic chemicals and water quality. In the meantime, researchers, policymakers, and many others (including the public) have come to recognize a number of other stresses to the lakes that need to be addressed or receive greater emphasis, including aquatic invasive species, habitat degradation, harmful algal blooms, and climate change. These and other issues were raised in multiple reviews and consultations related to the Agreement, including by the International Joint Commission and in the 2006-07 government review process, in which NWF, Great Lakes United, and a number of other groups and individuals were involved.

The purpose of the revised Agreement is consistent with this input, and with language in the previous Agreement: “The purpose of this Agreement is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Waters of the Great Lakes.” While the revised Agreement retains an emphasis on water quality, it also highlights the need to address other threats to the waters through an ecosystem approach, and includes several new annexes, including on nutrients, aquatic invasive species, and climate change impacts.

View from Leelanau State Park, MI. Photo by Michael Murray

The NWF survey also noted the importance of implementing strong programs through the Agreement to achieve its goals and objectives, including through the Binational Toxics Strategy (BTS) or an equivalent strategy. The BTS, signed in 1997, has been a collaborative, stakeholder effort to advance programs toward meeting virtual elimination goals for toxic chemicals under the Agreement. Though it remains to be seen what form the BTS or a new strategy will take under the new Agreement, a number of aspects of a strategy were found in the survey to be important, including the ability for stakeholders to influence the type and scope of activities implemented.

Achieving success under the new Agreement will only come with strong implementation, as noted by National Wildlife Federation’s Andy Buchsbaum and Great Lakes United’s John Jackson, who attended today’s ceremony. Among other things, this will require provision of adequate resources by the governments, strengthened/expanded legislation and regulations (such as current efforts to reform the U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act), and adequate opportunities for public and stakeholder engagement.

Resources:

Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement
http://www.epa.gov/grtlakes/glwqa/

From the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement to the Binational Toxics Strategy: An Assessment of NGO Perspectives on Chemicals Policies in the Great Lakes, National Wildlife Federation.
http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/Media-Center/Reports/Archive/2012/09-07-12-An-Assessment-of-NGO-Perspectives-on-Chemicals-Policies-in-the-Great-Lakes.aspx

Binational.net
http://www.binational.net/home_e.html

The glaciers on Mt. Adams are quickly retreating due to climate change Photo: Bryn Fluharty

Water Water Everywhere

According to the Department of Ecology’s Washington State’s Integrated Climate Response Strategy, increases in winter runoff and precipitation and more intense precipitation will lead to more severe flooding in the winter months. For many rivers, this will mean an increase of the magnitude of the 100-year flood under natural conditions. These events are predicted to increase by 20 to 30 percent by 2040, which will put more people in danger and stress our existing flood control systems, such as dams, levees and dykes.

Predictions for Increases in Flooding Under Two Climate Scenarios. Source: Tohver and Hamlet 2010

The Salmon Connection

Climate change will impact salmon by changing the stream flow, changing and decreasing habitat and increasing water temperatures. Exposure to severe floods is predicted to cause an increase in mortality for the eggs and juvenile fish of fall- and winter-spawning fish. These populations include Chinook, coho, chum, sockeye salmon, and bull trout.

Climate change will also result in a significant loss of salmon habitat. By 2090, potential losses in Oregon and Idaho will exceed 40 percent, and will top 22 percent in Washington. Floodplains—essential habitat for salmon—are already degraded, with 71% of Washington State’s floodplains in poor condition. Development continues in these sensitive areas, degrading what little floodplain habitat is left. National Wildlife Federation recognizes this loss of habitat as an important and pressing issue. We have taken the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to court over the impacts of the National Flood Insurance Program on salmon runs in Puget Sound.

It is imperative that we protect existing habitat and restore degraded habitat in order to help save our salmon and help protect against the impacts of climate change. If we do not we will lose a part of our natural history and culture. We have the opportunity to change and must act.

I grew up in a military family as passionate about recycling and nature as it was about patriotism and public service. I guess it’s no surprise these twin passions drive my favorite Veterans Day activities: thanking the veterans in my life and taking some time to Get Outside. This November, I’d like to share some of the opportunities available in Washington State.

Thanks for reading and feel free to share your Veterans Day and Great Outdoors stories on Twitter or our Facebook site!

1. Spend time with a veteran in our National Parks - free!

Admittance is free to five of our National Parks and Historic Sites over Veterans Day weekend, November 11-13. Which one will you choose?  The thick green and ancient feel of Olympic National Park? The mountain meadows and iconic trails of Mt. Rainier National Park? The wind-swept beaches and coastal rainforests of Lewis and Clark National Historic Park? Or perhaps you’ll tour the Fort Vancouver or Whitman Mission Historical Sites?

Cannon Beach, Oregon - Looking south from Chapman Point Image: flickr/OSU Special Collections & Archives

2. Remember Washington veterans at the Seattle Veterans Museum

4. Attend Veterans Day Ceremonies throughout Washington State

Events are scheduled the week of November 5-12 all over the state including:

Jimmy Carter lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during Veterans Day ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, 11/11/1978 Image: U.S. National Archives

• Evergreen Washelli’s 62nd Annual Veterans Day Memorial Celebration will take place near the Doughboy Statue at the base of the Veterans Memorial Cemetary, beginning at 7 AM on the 11th.
• At the State Capitol Grounds, the 20th Annual Veterans Ceremony will take place on Friday November 10 from Noon to 1 PM, beginning at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial located at the State Capitol grounds east campus plaza near the Capitol Skybridge.
• Tacoma War Memorial Park’s Veterans Day Service will begin at 11 AM on the 11th at 6th Avenue and MacArthur Street near the Narrows Bridge.

For further information on these and other events events, see the list prepared by Washington State’s Department of Veterans Affairs or CBS Seattle.

5. Explore Arctic habitat at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium – Retired & Active Duty admitted free!

Retired and Active Duty military members receive free admission to Tacoma’s Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium on Veterans Day. November 11 also happens to be Artic Animal Play Day – learn about muskox, polar bears, walruses, and other Arctic animals. Be sure to visit the polar bear exhibit to see what it takes to survive in the cold Arctic environment. It’s harsh up there, and the rapid melting of sea ice polar bears depend upon doesn’t make it any easier.

For more information, connect with us on Facebook or check out our website!

Polar bears are long-time veterans of the Arctic. Learn how they're trying to adapt to their changing environment at the Point Defiance Zoo or nwf.org. Image: Christy Mazrimas-Ott

6. Tour the Museum of Flight with a veteran – Retired & Active Duty admitted free!

Join the Bottom Line Duo – a fabulous bass and cello duo – as well as the City of Tukwila Mayor and Councilmembers, distinguished veterans, and the Civil Air Patrol Overlake Squadron color guard for a Veterans Day ceremony from 11 AM to 2 PM. All U.S. Veterans and Active Duty military members receive free admission to the Museum of Flight on Veterans Day. Afterward, enjoy the miracle of flight by flying a kite in one of the area’s many parks and green spaces or simply enjoying unstructured time outside with a Green Hour or hours!

Canoeing in the Great Lakes. Image: Shutterstock

Growing up swimming in the clear, cool water of Lake Superior I was blissfully unaware that the Great Lakes were under attack. I had a pretty good grasp of environmental issues  in my hometown – I knew why we didn’t eat the fish I caught with my dad near our house, and I knew which plants in our yard weren’t welcome, but my exposure to the Great Lakes was limited to the remote (and seemingly pristine) areas my family visited on vacation.

It wasn’t until I was in college that I learned about things like toxic algal blooms, aquatic invasive species, and the dramatic effects of climate change.

My work at NWF’s Great Lakes Regional Center has taught me so much more about current threats to the Great Lakes, but more importantly, about what groups across the region are doing to protect a resource that 30 million people depend on for their drinking water. Programs like the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative are making sure that restoration projects are happening in the areas where they are most needed.

Great Lakes projects are producing results in communities around the region. But there is more to do. This is where the Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition (HOW) steps in.  Co-chaired by NWF, the HOW Coalition brings together more than 115 organizations across the region that share the common goal of restoring and protecting the Great Lakes. The Coalition is working to insure that the nation robustly funds Great Lakes programs – and that local groups can successfully participate in restoration efforts. Recently the HOW Coalition announced $115,000 in grants among nine organizations to help them prepare and apply for larger GLRI grants.

These grants, of up to $15,000 each, are given to groups in five geographic priority areas: The St. Louis River and St. Louis Bay in Lake Superior; the waters of Lake Michigan in the Chicagoland area; Lake Huron’s Saginaw Bay; western Lake Erie and eastern Lake Ontario. These areas suffer from some of the most severe problems plaguing the Great Lakes, but also show great potential to be restored. The grants will help to jumpstart projects that are key to improving conditions for both wildlife and people who depend on the Great Lakes.

The Great Lakes face many threats: sewage contamination fouls beaches, habitat destruction erodes water quality, Asian carp threaten to devastate the ecosystem, waters warm due to climate change, and toxic pollution persists across the region. Yet we know that we have solutions — projects like those funded by the HOW Coalition are significant victories in a larger struggle. They are important steps towards accomplishing an enormous and necessary goal. Projects like these that remind me that we are making progress in protecting and restoring the Great Lakes for future generations.

Read the list of 2011 HOW Implementation Grants

Join us in October for the 7^th Annual Great Lakes Restoration Conference hosted by the Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition in Detroit, Michigan!

Photo credit: William Drumm

Entering Mount Rainier National Park I am automatically drawn to the White River; its braided, meandering channels flowing down from Emmons Glacier, sweeping through old growth forest, and Mount Rainier towering above, is a sight of true beauty. As I sat and admired the river, I couldn’t help but ponder its pristine state and the natural habitat it must provide for spawning salmon. This is what a healthy river looks like, I thought to myself, there must be salmon here. In truth, the answer is not as straightforward as I thought.

First the good news: In a recent report, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) concluded that over a 10-year period the White River showed a trend of increasing abundance among Puget Sound Chinook salmon populations. Furthermore, White River salmon populations have some of the highest escapement trends observed; meaning a high portion of salmon escape the commercial and recreational fisheries and reach the White River freshwater spawning grounds. Great, right?

Now the bad news: though abundance trends are increasing, the average historical abundance of Upper White River Chinook was 6,700, today they are estimated at only 500. The White River is a tributary of the Puyallup River, which is heavily diked, leveed, and dammed. White River salmon need to swim up (or as in most cases, be caught and then trucked up) the Puyallup before they start their journey to spawn upstream in the White River. So, how are Puyallup River salmon doing? The answer: Not so good. Moreover, Puget Sound salmon are not doing well either. The overall trend shows that Puget Sound Chinook populations are no better than they were 10 years ago when they were first listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

The driving force behind this lack of improvement: habitat loss. In Puget Sound natural habitat is being developed and altered more often than it is restored. Not only can fish not access upper river reaches because of dams and other barriers, but if they get there they find a river no longer in its natural state due to levees and dikes.

Recently, Federal Judge James Redden rejected (for the third time) the federal government’s recovery plan for the Columbia-Snake River salmon, stating it as “arbitrary and capricious” because it failed to identify adequate habitat improvement.  A similar plan in Puget Sound is being implemented to limit floodplain development and reform the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP’s) minimum criteria for eligibility in 122 communities by September 2011. But is all this going to be enough?

Probably not. Though these plans all take into account future development, they do very little to fix past mistakes. In “Is Salmon Extinction the Option” Tom Bancroft comments, “we need the federal government to recognize that their plans for salmon recovery in the Pacific Northwest are lacking.” As Billy Frank puts it, “If we are going to recover salmon, we must have stronger and better-coordinated federal leadership to align the policies and actions of all federal agencies and departments that impact salmon.”

What can you do? We all need to work to protect the future of our iconic salmon species. Limiting the impact of development is critical in any highly-urbanized watershed.  Incorporate green development ideas into your next home improvement project and if possible leave previously undeveloped areas undisturbed.

Take action: speak up for endangered salmon by telling your local representative or urging the Obama administration that healthy native habitats and endangered salmon recovery is important to you.

Learn more about NWF campaigns for Puget Sound NFIP reform and salmon restoration and Columbia-Snake River salmon.

Inspiration for post comes from ”Is Salmon Extinction the Option” by Tom Bancroft of People for Puget Sound.

The report looks at restoration options for the St. Clair River to slow water losses from Lakes Michigan-Huron. These options seem a bit limited, however, as they all include placing some kind of multi-million dollar structure on the river bed or in the river itself.

Not sure why the Study Board didn’t examine options for ecological restoration especially at a time when there is such a strong dedication to restoration projects throughout the Great Lakes region.

Jennifer Aitkens\Flickr

The end goal is important: to compensate for years of dredging for shipping traffic in the St. Clair River causing erosion of the river bed and thus water losses through the river, drying out wetlands upstream and causing the water tables of Lakes Michigan-Huron to drop.

Structural options presented in the report could reduce habitat for wildlife such as the threatened lake sturgeon population and could also become hot beds for invasive zebra mussel population growth. Also, many of these options require someone at controls, deciding “appropriate” water levels.

We need to encourage more creativity rather than limit options solely to pricey, politically-complicated structures.

nmoira\Flickr

Ecological restoration options could involve restoration of shoreline wetland habitat in areas of hardened shorelines or old industrial sites along the river. The Study Board could also look at building up the river bottom in a way that doesn’t disrupt wildlife by using naturally-occurring sediment.

Shoreline wetlands would restore a closer-to-natural flow of the river and provide benefits to human communities, wildlife and overall water quality of the Great Lakes. Plus according to a Brookings Institution finding every $1 spent on restoration projects in the Great Lakes gives a $2 return on investment.

The Study Board plans to host public meetings to present the findings of the study.

As soon as dates have been set, take action and attend a meeting. Your voice is important to the overall health and function of the Great Lakes.

Call upon the Study Board to examine options for ecological restoration that are not only less expensive but also help, rather than hinder, wildlife.

The International Joint Commission, the bi-national body with a role to manage these waters wisely and to protect them for the benefit of today’s citizens and future generations, commissioned this ongoing study.

In honor of 75 years of conservation and protecting wildlife, the National Wildlife Federation is holding its annual Workday for Wildlife on April 16^th at Patuxent Research Center and Refuge in Laurel, Maryland. I was lucky enough to spend a day sneaking a peek at what’s in store for volunteers this weekend.

J.N. "Ding" Darling

The origins of both NWF and Patuxent lie in the mastermind of conservation icon J.N. “Ding” Darling. On a crusade for action, Darling helped found NWF in 1936 and was elected its first president, establishing principles and strategies to protect and restore wildlife, reconnect people to nature, and confront pollution and its unforeseen consequences and environmental challenges.

Just a year earlier, as chief of the Bureau of Biological Survey (now the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service). Darling envisioned a research center to study wildlife-habitat relationships and lobbied Congress to establish a national wildlife research center.

Just a hop, skip, and a jump outside our nation’s capital, the USFWS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center on the USGS Patuxent Research Refuge is now 4,700 acres of nature oasis. Home to whooping cranes, diving ducks, screech owls, masked bobwhites, sandhill cranes and other critically endangered wildlife, scientists carefully monitor these breeding stocks to ensure future preservation in the wild.

Though the majority of the land is natural habitat, the landscape still needs active management to create the safest home sweet home for the wildlife, and there’s plenty to be done.

Work to be done

Volunteers will take part in a wide variety of essential restoration activities, such as:

• Removing invasive species (such as wisteria, multiflora rose and others)
• Planting native plants and flowers in wildlife habitat
• Cleaning research pens for cranes and ducks
• Conducting citizen science investigations for bees, frogs, and other species
• Installing conservation trail

Want to join us and lend a hand to give wildlife a better place to live? All are welcome, and you can register here.

Here’s a sneak peak at some of the wildlife you might bump into while getting your hands dirty.