A group of residents and activists met at the Manchester village offices Tuesday evening to discuss ways in which to help protect and restore natural habitat in the Upper River Raisin watershed.  During the meeting, members of the Raisin Cluster of The Stewardship Network discussed a pending grant that would fund the creation of high resolution imagery of the Upper River Raisin watershed.  This grant is part of the federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

While the creation of images might not seem revolutionary, these would be extremely high resolution pictures.  A company called Applied Ecological Services was able to obtain the same kind of camera that is mounted on the Predator drones that patrol Afghanistan and Iraq.  The company mounts this camera on a small aircraft and uses it to fly over designated areas and create multi-spectral imagery that can identify features as small as one inch.

What purpose does this serve?  Well, this kind of imagery can help scientists and land stewards to determine the kinds of vegetation, landforms and wildlife present within a given locale.  If a rare or endangered species relies on a particular plant or habitat feature, this kind of detailed photograph can reveal the telltale signs.  This kind of project can also help to identify river obstructions, monitor conservation easements and determine areas that contain high quality habitat.

Such imagery can also help to create a baseline of information from which future habitat restoration projects can be assessed.  If a project works to expand the range of a certain habitat type, this kind of imagery could be used to compare against future imagery.  This type of follow-up analysis is increasingly required for state and federal funding.

The main focus of the Stewardship Network’s proposal is an area that includes the YMCA Storer Camp property as well as 600 acres of land along Iron Creek, a River Raisin tributary, that is the focus of habitat restoration efforts.  However, the plane that creates the images would take imagery during its entire flight.  This means that adjacent areas might also benefit from this project.

To improve the chances of achieving grant funding, the Stewardship Network partnered with thirteen other projects in the Great Lakes Region that would also benefit from this kind of multi-spectral imagery.  The hope is that a combined grant application would be more successful than two dozen smaller applications.  The success of this strategy remains to be seen.

While the meeting focused mostly on the grant proposal, there were other topics of discussion.  Perhaps most interesting were comments from Mary Lirones of the River Raisin Watershed Council.  Lirones commented that the RRWC “is teetering on the verge of collapse.”  The reason is that the council receives much of its funding via voluntary dues fees from local governmental units.  Given decreased funding at all levels of government, the watershed council is seeing its funding sources evaporate.  As Lirones describes it, “Our income is shrinking, shrinking.”

The Raisin Cluster of The Stewardship Network will meet again on the first Tuesday in April at the Manchester village offices beginning at 7PM.  All interested residents and organizations are invited.  For more information, email the group at raisintoast@umich.edu.

The Ohio Environmental Council is sponsoring a meeting of groups and individuals involved with Lake Erie environmental management and restoration at the North Cape Yacht Club this March 12 and 13.  Here is the OEC email.  It sounds like a great event.

Almost every day, we see a story in the news about the dangers of a new invasive plant or animal in the Great Lakes region.  It might be phragmites or the Asian carp one day.  It might be the zebra or quagga mussel the next.  These reports are often quite depressing.

However, there are success stories.  Several years ago, the newspapers were filled with the dangers of purple loosestrife.  Not so much any more.  A European beetle was imported to fight the loosestrife, with positive results.  And the new beetle didn’t, apparently, harm existing region beetles.  The result is that many wetlands along Lake Erie are now nearly recovered from loosestrife infestation.

John Switzer at the Columbus Dispatch has the story:

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/01/24/john24.ART_ART_01-24-10_B2_84GCPH0.html?type=rss&cat=&sid=101&title=John+Switzer+commentary%3A+Lake+Erie+wetlands+clear+of+invasive+plant+with+beetles%27+help

Several years ago, the school at which I teach removed all of its old mercury thermometers.  This was partially at the behest of the State of Michigan.  Mercury is a highly toxic metal and there had been several occasions of schools closing early because of broken thermometers and mercury spills.  State law mandated the removal of the thermometers.

This, of course, makes yesterday’s story from the Columbus Dispatch ironic.  42 Ohio factories and sewage plants are allowed to dump mercury into streams at levels in excess of federal limits.  The reason is that removal is cost-prohibitive.  Nice.  We will close a school because of a broken thermometer, but we are fine with mercury in excess of federal limits in our waterways.

BTW, if you look at the map of Ohio facilities that exceed the regulations, you will see that the vast majority of sites allowed to dump excess mercury drain into Lake Erie.  Several dozen drain into western Lake Erie.  Link:

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/01/17/Mercurylimits.ART_ART_01-17-10_B1_IUGATPF.html?type=rss&cat=&sid=101&title=Mercury+limits+disregarded

Consumers Energy just receive the last permit necessary to begin construction of it’s new 930 megawatt coal power plant near Bay City.  Here is the coverage:

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_story.aspx?storyid=117107

http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=news/local&id=7192483

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20091229/FREE/912299996

http://www.mlui.org/landwater/fullarticle.asp?fileid=17403

On the plus side, the new coal plant would create 1800 construction jobs.  It would also create a more efficient and environmentally friendly plant.  New technologies have helped to minimize the production of mercury and sulfur dioxide and new facilities.  Unfortunately, carbon capture technology has not advanced to the point of being viable – yet – on this plant or at DTE’s Monroe facility.  Still, the new Consumers plant would likely produce 10 to 15% less carbon dioxide than Consumers’ existing plants.

Future energy use projections do not show a need for much additional production in Michigan.  So, Consumers will be forced to close older plants – possibly seven older plants.  And this raises an important question for Monroe County, Luna Pier and Erie Township.  Are the days numbered at the J.R. Whiting Plant?  I have heard that it is a very efficient plant.  However, it is on the older side.  And it is not a giant facility.  Could it be one of the seven plants slated for closure?  Whatever the case, the new plant is not slated to be operational unti 2017.  So, there are a few years until the phaseout would have to occur.

The Associated Press carried a story yesterday that suggests a bill to abolish traditional entrance fees at Michigan state parks has bipartisan support and will pass in January.  The bill would create a voluntary $10 add-on to Michigan vehicle registrations.  Park supporters hope that this will create millions in new dollars for park operations.  Link:

http://www.freep.com/article/20091227/NEWS06/91227019/1202/rss

The Great Lakes Echo is posting a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED series of articles this week focused on the problems of coal power plant pollution.  So far, stories have focused on mercury and selenium pollution, as well as issues of wastewater discharge and coal ash pond pollution.  Be sure to click below to read the series:

http://greatlakesecho.org/2009/12/17/special-report-cleaning-coal/

Note: The Echo is, in itself, an amazing publication.  It is run by Michigan State University students of environmental journalism.  Given recent cuts at for-profit newspaper operations, the Great Lakes Echo has become a go-to source for environmental information in our region.  That is both a sad commentary on the state of traditional newspapers and a credit to writers at the Echo.

Lake Erie is an east-west oriented lake.  And since most of our weather moves from west to east, the lake’s levels can be fiercely impacted by high winds.  During this past week’s storm, sustained winds above 30 mph and gusts approaching 60 mph pushed water from the western end of the lake to the eastern end at Buffalo.  According to the NOAA forecasts, the storm elevated water levels near Buffalo by roughly seven feet and decreased levels in the Toledo area by roughly seven feet.  That means that there was a 14 foot water level difference between the east and west ends of Lake Erie.

The high winds, of course, created a great deal of localized wave action.  And WKBW in Buffalo had some fantastic video from the height of the storm.  I have embedded it above this post.

http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/ofs/leofs/fore_wl.shtml

The Windsor Star reported last week that the Government of Canada has dedicated $410,000 in funding for Detroit River habitat and cleanup efforts.  Link:

http://www.windsorstar.com/news/Detroit+River+cleanup+projects+federal+cash/2208294/story.html