Author: Owen Sound Sun Times
Environmental DNA helps detect new Great Lakes invasive species
Environmental DNA helps detect new Great Lakes invasive species
iavilez
Tue, 04/01/2025 – 8:43 am
Scientists process the environmental DNA using PCR machines.
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funds prevention of newly introduced invasive fish in the Great Lakes. Like a barcode on a cereal box, every species has a unique DNA sequence. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service uses environmental DNA, or eDNA, to detect these invaders. Testing the water, scientists can identify fish species present in an area by looking at the DNA they leave behind — a vital clue to combat invasive species early. This important work addresses the threat of invasive species before they cause wide-spread, expensive damage.
Link to full story: You can swim, but you can’t hide | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Wed, 04/02/2025 – 9:57 am
Keywords
Scientists process the environmental DNA using PCR machines.
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funds prevention of newly introduced invasive fish in the Great Lakes. Like a barcode on a cereal box, every species has a unique DNA sequence. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service uses environmental DNA, or eDNA, to detect these invaders. Testing the water, scientists can identify fish species present in an area by looking at the DNA they leave behind — a vital clue to combat invasive species early. This important work addresses the threat of invasive species before they cause wide-spread, expensive damage.
Link to full story: You can swim, but you can’t hide | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Wed, 04/02/2025 – 9:57 am
Keywords
Invasive Species Control and Wetland Restoration at Four Mile Creek State Park, New York
Invasive Species Control and Wetland Restoration at Four Mile Creek State Park, New York
iavilez
Tue, 04/01/2025 – 7:40 am
Image 1: After the invasive European black alder is cut down, the top of the cut stump is painted with a green dye herbicide treatment.
New York State’s Four Mile Creek State Park, on the southwestern shore of Lake Ontario includes a 20.2-acre high quality coastal wetland at the mouth of Four Mile Creek. The New York State Department of State designated the wetland as a Significant Coastal Fish and Wildlife Habitat site due to its lack of disturbance, deep aquatic beds, emergent marsh, and open water.
The habitat creates thriving warm fisheries and excellent wildlife habitat for many species including the least bittern, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service “Bird of Conservation Concern” and a threatened species in New York State. The wetland is dominated by native aquatic vegetation with only a recent presence of non-native invasive plant species in small areas. With the help of an Environmental Protection Agency grant through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation is leading a project focused on controlling those invasive species while including wetland restoration and habitat enhancements.
In 2023, an area of a little more than 1.87 acres was treated with an aquatic approved herbicide to treat the invasive species common reed, Phragmites australis. In 2024, approximately 10,000 sq. feet of the same area was retreated. Also in 2023 and 2024, approximately 3.32 acres of the state park was treated to address six other invasive species. Those invasive species include hand pulling of European frog-bit, which is a floating aquatic plant, herbicide application for flowering rush, and cutting followed by cut-stump herbicide treatment of woody invasive species at the edge of the wetland (European black alder, Japanese barberry, common and glossy buckhorn). In total, approximately 5.19 acres were treated to address all seven species in the past two years and follow-up treatments over the same areas are expected to occur in 2025 and 2026. Restoration plantings of native wetland vegetation will also be completed in 2025 and 2026. Habitat enhancements such as woody debris additions and installation of nesting structure are also planned.
Image
The 2023 aerial photo from Google Earth shows the Four Mile Creek wetland. The two areas circled show the tracks from cutting and removing the invasive species phragmites.
Tue, 04/01/2025 – 7:40 am
Keywords
Image 1: After the invasive European black alder is cut down, the top of the cut stump is painted with a green dye herbicide treatment.
New York State’s Four Mile Creek State Park, on the southwestern shore of Lake Ontario includes a 20.2-acre high quality coastal wetland at the mouth of Four Mile Creek. The New York State Department of State designated the wetland as a Significant Coastal Fish and Wildlife Habitat site due to its lack of disturbance, deep aquatic beds, emergent marsh, and open water.
The habitat creates thriving warm fisheries and excellent wildlife habitat for many species including the least bittern, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service “Bird of Conservation Concern” and a threatened species in New York State. The wetland is dominated by native aquatic vegetation with only a recent presence of non-native invasive plant species in small areas. With the help of an Environmental Protection Agency grant through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation is leading a project focused on controlling those invasive species while including wetland restoration and habitat enhancements.
In 2023, an area of a little more than 1.87 acres was treated with an aquatic approved herbicide to treat the invasive species common reed, Phragmites australis. In 2024, approximately 10,000 sq. feet of the same area was retreated. Also in 2023 and 2024, approximately 3.32 acres of the state park was treated to address six other invasive species. Those invasive species include hand pulling of European frog-bit, which is a floating aquatic plant, herbicide application for flowering rush, and cutting followed by cut-stump herbicide treatment of woody invasive species at the edge of the wetland (European black alder, Japanese barberry, common and glossy buckhorn). In total, approximately 5.19 acres were treated to address all seven species in the past two years and follow-up treatments over the same areas are expected to occur in 2025 and 2026. Restoration plantings of native wetland vegetation will also be completed in 2025 and 2026. Habitat enhancements such as woody debris additions and installation of nesting structure are also planned.
Image
The 2023 aerial photo from Google Earth shows the Four Mile Creek wetland. The two areas circled show the tracks from cutting and removing the invasive species phragmites.
Tue, 04/01/2025 – 7:40 am
Keywords
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Achieves its Action Plan III Target with Monumental Remediation Efforts
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Achieves its Action Plan III Target with Monumental Remediation Efforts
iavilez
Mon, 03/31/2025 – 10:28 am
Image 1. Anglers gather at Fisherman’s Park in Newfane, New York for the annual fall salmon run through the Eighteenmile Creek AOC. Photo Credit: Scott Collins, Niagara County Soil and Water Conservation District.
The recent removal of the 128th BUI marks the completion of a GLRI Action Plan III target to remove half of all 255 BUIs across U.S. Areas of Concern (AOCs).
The 128th Beneficial Use Impairment (BUI), Degradation of Fish and Wildlife Populations, in the Eighteenmile Creek Area of Concern (AOC), was removed in September, fulfilling the ambitious target set in its Action Plan III. It also marks the removal of half of all 255 BUIs. BUIs are designations listed in the 1987 amendment to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) that represent different types of significant environmental degradation (see Beneficial Use Impairments for the Great Lakes AOCs to learn more). A BUI removal represents the culmination of years of significant work, coordination, and reporting by federal, state, and local partners. Generally, removing a BUI requires the identification and completion of necessary management actions, or on-the-ground work, that can include contaminated sediment remediation, habitat restoration, or both. After these management actions are completed, the Environmental Protection Agency, state agencies, and the local advisory group evaluate the AOC against established criteria to determine if the BUI has been addressed sufficiently to remove it and consider that specific beneficial use restored.
The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) Action Plan III covered Fiscal Years 2019-2024. The plan established an aspirational goal to remove 128 cumulative Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) by the end of FY 2024. Each BUI removal is an important step toward the ultimate delisting of an AOC, since all BUIs must be removed before an AOC is eligible for delisting.
Action plans guide five years of GLRI work toward achieving long-term restoration goals. Each plan sets specific measures of progress and measurable annual targets to document progress.
Image
Figure 1. Chart depicting the cumulative number of Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) since 2006 under each GLRI action plan.
Under the recently released Action Plan IV, the important work to remove BUIs and delist AOCs will continue as GLRI federal agencies build on past successes and productive relationships with state and local partners.
Mon, 03/31/2025 – 10:28 am
Keywords
Image 1. Anglers gather at Fisherman’s Park in Newfane, New York for the annual fall salmon run through the Eighteenmile Creek AOC. Photo Credit: Scott Collins, Niagara County Soil and Water Conservation District.
The recent removal of the 128th BUI marks the completion of a GLRI Action Plan III target to remove half of all 255 BUIs across U.S. Areas of Concern (AOCs).
The 128th Beneficial Use Impairment (BUI), Degradation of Fish and Wildlife Populations, in the Eighteenmile Creek Area of Concern (AOC), was removed in September, fulfilling the ambitious target set in its Action Plan III. It also marks the removal of half of all 255 BUIs. BUIs are designations listed in the 1987 amendment to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) that represent different types of significant environmental degradation (see Beneficial Use Impairments for the Great Lakes AOCs to learn more). A BUI removal represents the culmination of years of significant work, coordination, and reporting by federal, state, and local partners. Generally, removing a BUI requires the identification and completion of necessary management actions, or on-the-ground work, that can include contaminated sediment remediation, habitat restoration, or both. After these management actions are completed, the Environmental Protection Agency, state agencies, and the local advisory group evaluate the AOC against established criteria to determine if the BUI has been addressed sufficiently to remove it and consider that specific beneficial use restored.
The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) Action Plan III covered Fiscal Years 2019-2024. The plan established an aspirational goal to remove 128 cumulative Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) by the end of FY 2024. Each BUI removal is an important step toward the ultimate delisting of an AOC, since all BUIs must be removed before an AOC is eligible for delisting.
Action plans guide five years of GLRI work toward achieving long-term restoration goals. Each plan sets specific measures of progress and measurable annual targets to document progress.
Image
Figure 1. Chart depicting the cumulative number of Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) since 2006 under each GLRI action plan.
Under the recently released Action Plan IV, the important work to remove BUIs and delist AOCs will continue as GLRI federal agencies build on past successes and productive relationships with state and local partners.
Mon, 03/31/2025 – 10:28 am
Keywords
Port Clinton Coastal Restoration Project Restores Costal Wetland Along Ohio’s Lake Erie Shoreline
Port Clinton Coastal Restoration Project Restores Costal Wetland Along Ohio’s Lake Erie Shoreline
iavilez
Thu, 03/13/2025 – 9:40 am
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District and the city of Port Clinton, Ohio celebrate the completion of construction on a five-year coastal restoration with a “final planting” of native species in the project’s revitalized wetland area. Photo Credit: Cherie Blair, Ohio EPA.
The $1.9 million Port Clinton Coastal Restoration Project – made possible through funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the City of Port Clinton, and support from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency – has restored 6 acres and an added 1.4 acres of expanded coastal wetlands along Ohio’s Lake Erie shoreline.
Spearheaded by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Buffalo District, the project removed invasive plant species, like phragmites, across 12.2 acres and planted nearly 40,000 plugs of native plant species. The restoration of coastal wetland enhances biodiversity and supports migratory bird populations. This coastal investment improved local water quality and habitat while boosting the local economy by enhancing recreation opportunities and strengthening the resilience of the shoreline.
The project demonstrates the collaborative approach between federal, state, and local government to improve ecosystem health and serves as a model for future restoration projects in the Great Lakes region.
Learn more about the project at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Buffalo District has completed invasive plant species treatment aimed at preventing species that include purple loosestrife and phragmites. Photo Credit: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Thu, 03/13/2025 – 9:40 am
Keywords
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District and the city of Port Clinton, Ohio celebrate the completion of construction on a five-year coastal restoration with a “final planting” of native species in the project’s revitalized wetland area. Photo Credit: Cherie Blair, Ohio EPA.
The $1.9 million Port Clinton Coastal Restoration Project – made possible through funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the City of Port Clinton, and support from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency – has restored 6 acres and an added 1.4 acres of expanded coastal wetlands along Ohio’s Lake Erie shoreline.
Spearheaded by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Buffalo District, the project removed invasive plant species, like phragmites, across 12.2 acres and planted nearly 40,000 plugs of native plant species. The restoration of coastal wetland enhances biodiversity and supports migratory bird populations. This coastal investment improved local water quality and habitat while boosting the local economy by enhancing recreation opportunities and strengthening the resilience of the shoreline.
The project demonstrates the collaborative approach between federal, state, and local government to improve ecosystem health and serves as a model for future restoration projects in the Great Lakes region.
Learn more about the project at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Buffalo District has completed invasive plant species treatment aimed at preventing species that include purple loosestrife and phragmites. Photo Credit: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Thu, 03/13/2025 – 9:40 am
Keywords
Great Lakes Sediment Nutrient Reduction Program Releases a Request for Proposal for Great Lakes Water Quality Projects
Great Lakes Sediment Nutrient Reduction Program Releases a Request for Proposal for Great Lakes Water Quality Projects
josterme01
Fri, 03/07/2025 – 1:12 pm
On Feb. 28, 2025, the Great Lakes Commission issued a request for proposals for projects that would help improve Great Lakes water quality by reducing nutrient loads from agricultural watersheds and eroding shorelines and streams. Indigenous Nations, nonfederal units of government, and incorporated nonprofit organizations are invited to apply for grants for up to $300,000 through the 2025 Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program (GLSNRP) grant program.
For 34 years, grants provided by GLSNRP have enabled local partners to reduce nutrients and sediments entering the Great Lakes. 2025 applicants are invited to submit proposals for activities associated with one of the following project types: agricultural nonpoint, or stream/shoreline. Grants awarded through GLSNRP may support work over a period of up to four years.
Fri, 03/07/2025 – 1:12 pm
Keywords
On Feb. 28, 2025, the Great Lakes Commission issued a request for proposals for projects that would help improve Great Lakes water quality by reducing nutrient loads from agricultural watersheds and eroding shorelines and streams. Indigenous Nations, nonfederal units of government, and incorporated nonprofit organizations are invited to apply for grants for up to $300,000 through the 2025 Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program (GLSNRP) grant program.
For 34 years, grants provided by GLSNRP have enabled local partners to reduce nutrients and sediments entering the Great Lakes. 2025 applicants are invited to submit proposals for activities associated with one of the following project types: agricultural nonpoint, or stream/shoreline. Grants awarded through GLSNRP may support work over a period of up to four years.
Fri, 03/07/2025 – 1:12 pm
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