Author: Cottage Life

Invasive species are defined as plants or animals that are nonnative to an ecosystem and often have broad negative impacts on the environment when introduced. Feral swine (Sus scrofa) may be the ultimate invader. They are cryptic, opportunistic, efficient, and highly adaptable. Feral swine damage to habitats, predation on wildlife, and disease transmission can be linked to the decline of hundreds of native plants and animals in the United States 

The primary methods by which feral swine populations emerge on the landscape are through illegal transportation and release; domestic and agricultural escapes; and escapes from hunting preserves. Each of these pathways highlight the complex challenge in controlling feral swine populations. 

Wildlife Services and their partners continue to operate within the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) to implement on the ground control activities and promote outreach to prevent new introductions of feral swine in Michigan and Ohio. Increased monitoring efforts, coupled with rapid detection and early response, have lowered feral swine densities in Michigan. In Ohio, Wildlife Services has removed one emergent feral swine population and prevented two others from establishing themselves on the landscape.

Thorough surveillance, including the use of camera traps, helicopters, and public outreach has ensured these areas remain feral swine free. Dedicated wildlife damage management efforts like these by USDA Wildlife Services remain important to the conservation of habitat and promotion of native species biodiversity in the Great Lakes ecosystem.

Learn more about how USDA Wildlife Services is managing feral swine damage. 

Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced an updated action plan for federal agencies and their partners under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to restore and protect the Great Lakes over the next five years. The plan was informed by extensive public engagement and consultation with Great Lakes Tribes and states.

Last summer, EPA and its federal partners received more than 3,500 suggestions from the public on priorities for Action Plan IV through five public engagement sessions across the Great Lakes basin and two virtual engagement sessions. In addition, EPA released a draft of the GLRI Action Plan IV for public input earlier this year. Over 40 sets of public input from organizations and individuals were received and incorporated into GLRI Action Plan IV. 

Action Plan IV outlines the GLRI’s priorities and goals for 2025 to 2029 in five focus areas:

• Toxic Substances and Areas of Concern;
• Invasive Species;
• Nonpoint Source Pollution;
• Habitat and Species; and
• Foundations for Future Restoration Actions.

The GLRI has been a catalyst for unprecedented federal agency coordination that has accordingly produced unprecedented results. Six U.S. Areas of Concern have been delisted since GLRI’s start and the 24 remaining Areas of Concern have moved dramatically closer to their delisting. This activity reflects a major change from the 25 years before the GLRI, when only one Area of Concern was cleaned up and delisted. GLRI resources have also been used for projects that have prevented over 2.3 million pounds of phosphorus from entering the Great Lakes between 2015 and 2022 and have reduced the phosphorus runoff contribution to harmful algal blooms in western Lake Erie, Saginaw Bay and Green Bay. 

The GLRI also produces economic benefits — a 2018 University of Michigan study showed that every dollar of federal spending on GLRI projects between 2010 and 2016 will produce $3.35 in additional economic activity in the Great Lakes region through 2036.

 In the coming weeks, a web-version of Action Plan IV will be available.

The Great Lakes are vital, providing drinking water for millions of people, but cropland in the basin contributes to excess nutrients and phosphorus entering the lakes. Farmers care about protecting water quality, but they face challenges in adopting conservation practices due to tight profit margins, concerns about yield impacts, insecure leases, and complexities with integrating conservation into their current management systems. While these practices are crucial for improving soil health and reducing nutrient runoff, farmers also need to see them as practical and profitable to decide to implement them. Through this project, American Farmland Trust (AFT) aimed to encourage farmers in the Genesee River Watershed to adopt soil regenerative management systems. We accomplished this by expanding a farmer-to-farmer demonstration network, gathering and sharing data on the benefits of regenerative agriculture, and fostering better relationships between landowners and farmers. 

One highlight from this project was working with John Macauley of Macauley Farm – a multi-generation beef and crop farm stewarding 1,106 acres in the Genesee River watershed. Through their conservation practices of no-till, planting cover crops, and split fertilizer application, the Macauleys are saving around $72 per acre annually in machinery and labor expenses, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 69 percent. John is also happy to not be picking rocks anymore, which were kicked up by tillage. 

“I am focused on building my soil health and letting nature do some of the work for me,” John says. “I may not be setting records for high yields, but at the end of the day, I’ve got more money in my pocket instead of shelling it all out upfront.”

John believes that continuing to find ways to improve his soil health will provide even greater returns in the future as he experiments with cover crop mixes to supply nutrients, thereby reducing reliance on inorganic N, P, and micronutrients. American Farmland Trust is grateful to have Macauley Farm as a member of the Genesee River Demonstration Farms Network, where John shares his knowledge and experience with his peers to help spread the adoption of soil health practices throughout the watershed.  

To see more examples of economic case studies focused on soil health, and for more information on the Genesee River Demonstration Farm Network please visit our project webpage. 

Finger Lakes National Forest staff and partners were able to replace invasive grasses at Backbone Campground, Overlook Trailhead, and the parking area at Caywood Point with native species, thanks to funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. 

Partners were also key in restoring the areas for pollinators. The USDA Plant Materials Center provided short term seed storage prior to propagation, space to prepare seeds for planting, greenhouse space to grow about 2,000 plugs, and expertise in in the field. In addition, a crew Finger Lakes Community College and a crew from CorpsTHAT!, a program dedicated to connecting the Deaf Community and the outdoors through education, recreation, and careers, helped put the new plants in the ground.

The species of native forbs and grasses planted will provide pollinators with nectar through the growing season as well as habitat to overwinter in the stems and leaf litter of the newly planted species.  

Read the full story. 

This fall the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency completed a Drum Removal Pilot Study in the Hubbell Processing Area (HPA) of the Torch Lake Area of Concern (AOC). The work was performed as part of the Great Lakes Legacy Act sediment and drum remediation as a partnership between EPA and Honeywell International, in close coordination with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy and other community stakeholders.  

As part of past evaluations and work performed by EPA and Honeywell, over 400 metal 55-gallon drums have been identified on the lakebed of Torch Lake in the HPA at various water depths, ranging from approximately 20 feet to over 70 feet in depth. Drums noted during underwater video surveys appear in various stages of deterioration with contaminated sediment present in the area of the drums.

EPA’s contractors removed approximately 100 drums as well as debris and contaminated sediment from three areas at differing water depths. 

Turbidity curtains and bubble curtains, which help control residual sediment movement during dredging, were in place throughout drum and sediment removal operations. Extensive monitoring was performed during dredging activities that will help in the development of a larger cleanup project. Drums, debris and sediment removed were temporarily staged prior to be transported to a disposal facility.

The in-water portion of the pilot study was completed in late September with material transportation to the landfill completed in early November. The Drum Removal Pilot Study will assist in the evaluation of drum removal and cleanup options at various water depths, which is a critical component of the ongoing Torch Lake HPA Feasibility Study. 

Learn more about remediation and restoration work in the Torch Lake AOC. 

Over $500,000 of Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) funding is being distributed by the Great Lakes Commission (GLC) through the Phragmites Adaptive Management Framework (PAMF) to improve management outcomes for treatment of the non-native Phragmites australis (common reed). Phragmites is a fast-growing non-native wetland plant species that has invaded much of the Great Lakes Basin. Phragmites can spread rapidly and outcompete native vegetation, thus contributing to landscape-scale ecological degradation. An extensive amount of time, effort, and resources are spent annually to control this problematic species, but site-specific guidance on best management approaches is still limited. To address this gap in management guidance, the Great Lakes Phragmites Collaborative (GLPC), a collaboration between the Great Lakes Commission, U.S. Geological Survey, University of Georgia, and other academic and management organizations, created and ultimately implemented the PAMF program in 2017. 

PAMF is a participatory science program designed by the GLPC, including an interdisciplinary Science Advisory Team and Technical Working Group. The program uses Phragmites management data provided by land managers from around the Great Lakes Basin to help a predictive computer model “learn” about which Phragmites management approaches achieve the best outcomes. The model predicts which management actions will be most effective, and then each summer PAMF offers this guidance to participating land managers for the following year. The model outputs improve each year as incoming data characterize how the plant responded to the previous year of management. However, some management actions in the model are not widely used by managers and thus are underrepresented in the model. Therefore, a new Active Adaptive Management Program (AAMP) was initiated in 2024 to stimulate application and data collection of underrepresented treatment combinations, accelerate model learning, and improve management outcomes.

In March 2024, PAMF-AAMP released a request for proposals, through which land managers could apply for individual grants (most ranging from $5,000-$30,000) that provide the financial resources for testing specific management predictions. In September of 2024, the first round of individual grant recipients was announced, and management actions began shortly thereafter. For at least the next two years, AAMP participants will implement, monitor, and report impacts of specific Phragmites management actions that have fewer representation in the PAMF model data inputs. Results from this targeted AAMP program will be used to refine the PAMF predictive model and improve the effectiveness of future Phragmites management efforts.

Learn more about the Phragmites Adaptive Management Framework and the Active Adaptive Management Program. 

A $193,500 USDA Forest Service Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant is helping maintain and improve water quality in Euclid, Ohio. The grant to Cleveland Metroparks is allowing partners to plant trees, reduce soil compaction and enhance a riparian buffer along Euclid Creek. 

Cleveland Metroparks is the grant recipient and leads the project operations. The GLRI grant provided all the funding for the trees and herbaceous plants, plus rain gardens and deer fencing, and funds for the contractors to plant trees.

Euclid might not be a well-known community, but the nearby Cuyahoga River was once so polluted it made international headlines in the late 1960s through 1970s when it caught fire at least 14 times.

Teri Chuprinko, the USDA Forest Service grant monitor for the project, said the river has improved considerably since the ‘70s. “Today, the river can sustain fish and other wildlife. Organizations like Cleveland Metroparks are restoring riparian buffers and reducing stormwater runoff in the watershed to help maintain and improve water quality.”

The Euclid project is at the site of a former middle school with a sports complex that caused the soil to become heavily compacted after decades of being under the pavement and structures there. As part of the project, Cleveland Metroparks purchased a soil spader — still being put to use by cooperators on other projects around Cleveland — to decompact and amend the soil, which has been shown to greatly improve tree planting, survival and growth.

Read more about the project. 

With funding from the EPA’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Buffalo District, will build a 700-foot-long fish passage at the City of Buffalo’s Freedom Park on Unity Island. The emerald shiner is a small, but critical prey fish at the base of the food web in the Niagara River and Lake Erie. The high velocity of the Niagara River along the current seawall creates a barrier that the emerald shiners cannot pass to reach Lake Erie. Once the project is complete, the emerald shiner will be able to move upstream after spawning, providing a critical food source for larger fish and wildlife, offering sustenance for the local community, and contributing to goals for delisting the Niagara River as an EPA Area of Concern (AOC). The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is the Niagara River AOC Remedial Action Plan Coordinator and with input from agencies and local partners, selected this project as a management action for the Loss of Fish and Wildlife Habitat Beneficial Use Impairment (BUI).

To reduce the river velocity along the seawall, a contractor will install steel plates, or metal baffles, within two feet above and below the typical waterline. In 2022, a demonstration project testing the effectiveness of this approach included the installation of the metal baffles along the most downstream 78 feet of seawall. Following installation, the USACE monitored the metal baffles for stability, reduction of water velocity, and to ensure the emerald shiner could pass. The demonstration project was deemed a success and lessons learned were incorporated into the design for the remaining portion of seawall.

The USACE Buffalo District recently awarded an $11.8M contract to complete construction of the remainder of the project, which will include repairs where necessary along the remaining 700 feet of seawall and the installation of the metal baffles. Construction is scheduled to begin late winter 2024 and be completed by December 2026. This will include both landside and in water work along the seawall. The improvements of passage for the emerald shiners will help to restore fish communities and contribute to removal of the Fish and Wildlife Habitat BUI. 

To read the full announcement, please visit USACE Buffalo District.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced the availability of $4 million in Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding to support phosphorus reduction efforts in the western Lake Erie basin through farmer outreach and technical assistance. Applications will be accepted until November 22, 2024.

The western basin of Lake Erie experiences harmful algal blooms each summer. Reducing phosphorus loading from the surrounding watershed is expected to substantially reduce the extent of harmful algal blooms. The primary objective of this funding opportunity is to increase the resources available to help farmers improve their nutrient management.

Learn about eligibility, western Lake Erie Basin watershed definitions, application and webinar information on EPA’s 2024 Notice of Funding Opportunity webpage.