Good News: Great Lakes Shooting Range Nixed!!

The U.S. Coast Guard said Monday it was withdrawing plans to periodically close 2,500 square miles of the Great Lakes for live machine-gun firing exercises.The plan had been criticized by several U.S. and Canadian mayors, business leaders and environmentalists who said it could be unsafe and disruptive. Environmentalists also said they worried about the consequences of lead ammunition being deposited in the Great Lakes.

During several public hearings in the region, Coast Guard officials said the training exercises were vital to its homeland security and law enforcement missions. The plan called for crews to shoot at floating targets with M240-B automatic rifles aboard cutters, rescue boats and other vessels. Each of the 34 "safety zones" on lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario would have been closed to private vessels for four-hour spans about four to eight times a year. Exercises would have taken place in each zone two or three times a year.

Raising safety concerns, some of the zones overlapped established vessel routes, including those of Michigan-to-Wisconsin car ferries and the Beaver Island ferries originating from Charlevoix on Lake Michigan. Hugh McDiarmid Jr., spokesman for the Michigan Environmental Council, said the group was worried about 7,000 pounds of lead that would be deposited annually into the lakes. "There really was no examination of where this lead would fall and what it would do," he said.

Rear Adm. John E. Crowley Jr., commander of the Ninth Coast Guard District in Cleveland, said he would "take the time to get this right" and would not conduct live-fire training in the lakes to meet non-emergency training requirements. Crowley said he planned to reconsider public concerns and was committed to finding "environmentally friendly alternatives to the lead ammunition we currently use."

(excerpts from an article by Ken Thomas/AP Washington)

EPA Shenanigans

On Monday Waterkeeper Alliance, Peconic Baykeeper and Long Island Soundkeeper filed a challenge against EPA in the Second Circuit to overturn their new rule which interprets that the word "pollutant" excludes pesticides.

Under current federal law, a Clean Water Act permit is required whenever a pollutant is discharged into a water of the United States. Under the new rule, pesticides are not considered pollutants and can be applied directly into water or sprayed nearby or onto foliage over water without a pollution permit, so long as it is done in accordance with its labeling instructions, and as long as the pesticide is intended to target the pests, and getting the pesticides into the water is "unavoidable."

The EPA claims that pesticide labels are sufficient to guarantee protection of water, but most of these chemicals are not designed for use in water and the impacts of most of these chemicals to aquatic ecosystems have not been studied. Many of these chemicals are toxic to aquatic plants and animals, and they are not removed by the most common water treatment processes. We will keep you posted.

Wanted: Ice Fishers

The Buffalo Museum of Science is looking for knowledgeable ice fishers to talk about the art of ice fishing December 26-29 at the Buffalo Museum of Science. Topics could include targeted species, ice fishing techniques, gear, etc. Participants are also encouraged to bring their own gear to show. The Museum is going to set up an ice fishing hut as a demonstration. If interested, please contact Meghan Dye at mdye@sciencebuff.org or at 896-5200 ext. 352.

Lake Sturgeon Update

Lake Sturgeon Risks Extinction, Canada Researchers Say
(excepts from an article by Jonathan Spicer, Reuters)

A fish whose ancestors date back 400 million years could be just 150 years from extinction, a group of Canadian researchers said this week. The lake sturgeon, one of North America's oldest and largest fish, could disappear completely unless conservation efforts are redoubled. The fish is particularly sensitive to outside threats because of its long lifespan and the fact that it doesn't reach sexual maturity until its third decade.

"If you do something to disturb that natural population -- for example, fishing them -- it will very quickly reduce the number of larger individuals that are capable of reproduction," said researcher Robert Campbell. "It takes a long time for that population to recover."
For the same reasons, the species would take about 150 years -- or three generations -- to go extinct, Campbell said.

The fish has a shark-like appearance but no teeth, feeding on worms, leeches, larvae and small fish. It can grow as large as 185 kilograms (400 pounds) to a maximum recorded age of 154 years. It was once very abundant in the Great Lakes but is now rarely seen because of over-fishing, pollution, and habitat loss due to dams, which fragment the populations and change river flows, Campbell said.

The lake sturgeon were a valuable resource for native Indians and early European settlers who used the fish as a source of smoked meat and oils. More recently, people have harvested many of the sturgeon species, including lake sturgeon, for caviar.

Canadian provinces and several U.S. states protect the giant fish, which has already vanished from some regions.

Riverkeeper Holiday Party 2006

Dear Captains,

Our potluck party is on for this Sunday, December 10th! Remember, you don't have to bring anything extravagant - just a snack, dish, drink OR dessert that others can share, homemade or storebought, vegetable or meat.
Here is what people plan to bring so far:

Vegetable Tettrazinni
Vegan French Silk Pie
Hot Cider
Spring Water
Winter Root Chili
Spinach Bread
Vegetable Lasagna
Meat Chili
Cheddar - Vidalia Onion Dip & Crackers

I will add to this list as people get back to me!