Quagga Mussels

I've been reading a lot lately about the quagga mussel. This filter-feeding bivalve is native to the Ukraine and was transported into the Great Lakes in a ship's ballast water. It was first seen in Lake Erie in 1989. Since then, the quaggas have populated all five of the Great Lakes. Since then it has spread to the Mississippi River, to waterways in Colorado, and even as far as California.

As with any species transported into an ecosystem where it has not been before, the invader often has a competitive advantage. This is because it there may not be natural predators to keep the invader's population in check.

Transported over to the Great Lakes and dumped into these deep, phytoplankton-rich waters, the quaggas multiplied and spread.

It is now estimated that there are 900 TRILLION quaggas
in Lake Michigan.

Seriously. They number in the HUNDREDS of TRILLIONS, and they are crashing the lake's ecosystem.

Read more about this crisis HERE.

And here's one of the most comprehensive articles I've ever read on dealing with invasive species. It was in a recent issue of Milwaukee's Journal Sentinel.

The Avian Botulism Conundrum

Dead birds on the Lake Trek

While on my walk around Lake Michigan, I passed many dead and dying birds. Most were victims of avian botulism. It was heartbreaking to know that there wasn't anything I could do for the ones that were partially paralyzed and helpless on the shore. They would either recover or die depending on how much of the toxin they had ingested.

What causes it?

The bacteria that produces the botulism toxin (Chlostridium botulinum) is naturally present in the environment. It the same bacteria that produces toxins that can kill people if not destroyed when canning food. It is an anaerobic bacteria which means it thrives in an oxygen-poor environment.

If the bacteria has always been around, why are more and more birds dying each year? And why has the end of 2010 had a particularly high mortality rate?

Changes in the lake

The lakes have changed with the introduction of the invasive mussels (both zebra and quagga mussels). You've seen the changes if you've walked the lakeshore. The striped shells of the dead zebra mussels are strewn in the sand along Michigan's western coast. And if you've spent any amount of time on the lake you've probably seen algae blooms that seem to grow larger each year.

Scientists haven't fully figured out all the feedback loops that allow increasingly more devastation to our bird population, but it goes something like this:

• Algae blooms are encouraged by run-off from farms and discharges of untreated sewage from treatment plants overwhelmed by heavy rain. And the blooms increase when the water temperatures increase.
  
• Algae blooms decay and use up oxygen in the process leading to anaerobic zones.
• Anaerobic bacteria like Chlostridium botulinum proliferate in these 'dead zones' and release toxins into the water.
• Toxins are filtered out of the water and concentrated in the mussels.
• Mussels are eaten directly by birds or by fish that are then eaten by birds.
• Birds are paralyzed by ingested toxins. The effects are dose-related and it takes very little to kill a bird.
  

Why has 2010 been particularly devastating?

This year on some stretches of shoreline, up to 50 dead birds have washed up per mile. Several bloggers covering the Leelanau Peninsula have reported on the increased mortality (check out Books In Northport Blog).

This year has had a confluence of several factors leading to this increase in mortality. It was a warm year, so the lake temps were up significantly. It was also an especially rainy year and that led to massive discharges of untreated or partially-treated sewage from major cities around the lake. Heavy rain can also carry run-off from farms which contain animal waste and fertilizer. All of this fertilizer and organic material feeds the algae.

What can be done?

It seems that the more that is learned about avian botulism, the more perplexed scientists and naturalists are at the best way to attempt to solve the problem. They admit that they may not know all the variables contributing to the problem. And a factor like increasing lake temps during an especially warm year are outside our immediate control.

It would seem logical to control the variables within our immediate control. Cities like Grand Rapids have updated their sewers to partition sewage from storm drain collection. This city has reduced their sewage discharge into the Grand River to almost zero while cities like Milwaukee, Chicago and Gary continue to divert billions (that's billions with a 'b') of gallons of storm water mixed with untreated or partially-treated sewage into Lake Michigan annually.

Green zones along the lakeshore are an important buffer for the lake and wetlands can serve to filter water before it enters the lake.

If you own property on the lake, don't fertilize, or check with the DNR for the type they advise using.

If you see dead birds on the lakeshore, don't handle them with bare hands or let dogs munch on them. The toxins persist after the bird dies and can be harmful to any other vertebrate coming in contact with it. Report number and type of dead birds to the DNR and make a note of any banding numbers on birds. If possible, bury carcasses or tie up in garbage bags and discard to minimize the chances of another animal being poisoned.

Pintail or Merganser Duck??

Duck enthusiasts and experts, please comment: Is this a pintail or a merganser duck? I saw many of them in the greater Leelanau Peninsula area, usually with large broods of chicks.

Seeing this reminded me of the children's book
Make Way for Ducklings

I saw a lot of wildlife during my Lake Trek and tried to convey the wonderful 'wild places' we still have along Lake Michigan's shoreline in my book. Advance copies should be in my hands next week, and I'll be sending out ARCs to reviewers, many bookstores, and to those who walked at my side on the Lake Trek.

The book will be available everywhere March 2011.

Another Book from My Stack of Reading...

Why Architecture Matters: Lessons from Chicago by Blair Kamin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Blair Kamin has been writing about Chicago's architecture for more than a decade for the Chicago Tribune. This book was part of my reading before I began my walk all the way around Lake Michigan. I wanted to better understand Chicago -- since I began and ended my Lake Trek there -- and understanding its architecture was part of that.

This readable collection of Kamin's essays gives a wonderful overview of the choices that have made Chicago's skyline and city so special.



View all my reviews

From my stack of reading...

Leelanau: A Portrait of Place in Photographs & Text by Ken Scott & Jerry Dennis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book combines the photographs of Ken Scott with essays by Jerry Dennis. And it's all about the Leelanau Peninsula, one of my favorite places in Michigan. Through all four seasons, this team portrays the riches of Michigan's 'pinky,' that spike of land jutting off the NW of the state's mitten.

Ken Scott is a master photographer and his images draw me back to this book. Jerry Dennis lives in this region; he knows it well because it's a part of him. His essays pair wonderfully with the images, rounding out each photo with stories that live.

A great holiday gift for people who love Leelanau!

I read a huge stack of books while doing research for my Lake Trek and I'll share some of them here over the next months leading up to the release of

A 1,000-Mile Walk on the Beach
March 1, 2011

Here's what Jerry Dennis had to say about my upcoming book:

"In her walk around Lake Michigan, Loreen Niewenhuis accomplished what many of us have only daydreamed about. Her adventure is told with verve and boldness, and she is a clear-eyed observer of the lake and its beautiful and sometimes ravaged shore. This book is a welcome addition to the literature of the Great Lakes."

- Jerry Dennis, author of The Living Great Lakes

I LOVE the Indies!!

I had a fantastic weekend Up North celebrating my sister's birthday with a bunch of her wild friends.

Happy Birthday, Leslie!

While on the road, I stopped in at several bookstores to tell them about the March 2011 release date for my book

A 1,000-Mile Walk on the Beach.

During the Lake Trek, I stopped in at many bookstores along the lakeshore. Driving around the state has given me the freedom to visit stores farther inland.

I stopped in at Great Lakes Books & Supply in Big Rapids, Local Flavor Books in Boyne City, Round Lake Book Store in Charlevoix, and Saturn Booksellers in Gaylord.


Check out the links in the sidebar to get to each stores' website!

I also visited some stores I'd hiked to last year including Horizon Books in Traverse City, McLean & Eakin in Petoskey, The Book Nook & Java Shop in Montague.

Books + coffee = PERFECTION

I tried to visit the stores in Grand Haven, but Washington Street is all torn up for the brand new snow melt system they are installing under the sidewalks. Looks like the place to do some holiday shopping (once the construction is complete!).

So, I found my way to the beach to enjoy the waves and mild weather.










The official March launch of my book will be at Brilliant Books in Suttons Bay, Friday, March 11, 2011.

Q&A on Lori A. May's Blog

A big thanks to author extraordinaire Lori A. May for featuring me in a Q&A on her blog today.

Here's a bit about Lori:

Lori is a poet, novelist, and freelance writer whose work has appeared in publications such as The Writer, Tipton Poetry Journal, and anthologies such as Van Gogh's Ear. Her novels include The Profiler and Moving Target. Her latest book is stains: early poems. She is a college writing instructor and Editor of The Ambassador Poetry Project. Coffee is her greatest addiction next to the tradition of putting ink on paper.

Check out the Q&A HERE.

2010 Michigan Green Chemistry Governor's Award

The Great Lakes Green Chemistry Network, an organization whose mission is to promote the practice of Green Chemistry in the binational Great Lakes basin, has won the 2010 Michigan Green Chemistry Governor's Award for outstanding work by a public sector organization to advance green chemistry. "Green Chemistry is an innovative approach to how chemicals are designed and created that uses twelve principles to guide the elimination and reduction of hazard. Green Chemistry is all about finding safer alternatives to toxic chemicals in an effort to protect human health and the environment," said Lin Kaatz Chary, project director of the Network. "We believe it has tremendous potential for addressing the many environmental challenges in the Great Lakes basin."

Here are the 12 guiding principles of Green Chemistry:

The Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry

1. Prevention - It is better to prevent waste than to treat or clean up waste after it has been created.
2. Atom Economy - Synthetic methods should be designed to maximize the incorporation of all materials used in the process into the final product.
3. Less Hazardous Chemical Syntheses - Wherever practicable, synthetic methods should be designed to use and generate substances that possess little or no toxicity to human health and the environment.
4. Designing Safer Chemicals - Chemical products should be designed to effect their desired function while minimizing their toxicity.
5. Safer Solvents and Auxiliaries - The use of auxiliary substances (e.g., solvents, separation agents, etc.) should be made unnecessary wherever possible and innocuous when used.
6. Design for Energy Efficiency - Energy requirements of chemical processes should be recognized for their environmental and economic impacts and should be minimized. If possible, synthetic methods should be conducted at ambient temperature and pressure.
7. Use of Renewable Feedstocks - A raw material or feedstock should be renewable rather than depleting whenever technically and economically practicable.
8. Reduce Derivatives - Unnecessary derivatization (use of blocking groups, protection/ deprotection, temporary modification of physical/chemical processes) should be minimized or avoided if possible, because such steps require additional reagents and can generate waste.
9. Catalysis - Catalytic reagents (as selective as possible) are superior to stoichiometric reagents.
10. Design for Degradation - Chemical products should be designed so that at the end of their function they break down into innocuous degradation products and do not persist in the environment.
11. Real-time analysis for Pollution Prevention - Analytical methodologies need to be further developed to allow for real-time, in-process monitoring and control prior to the formation of hazardous substances.
12. Inherently Safer Chemistry for Accident Prevention - Substances and the form of a substance used in a chemical process should be chosen to minimize the potential for chemical accidents, including releases, explosions, and fires.

This all sounds like a common sense approach to 'greening up' our industries.

Check out their website -- including their many recorded seminars you can stream -- at:
www.glgc.org

The Sea Lamprey STARS on Dirty Jobs

The sea lamprey is the focus of the most recent episode of Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs"

Mike Rowe, the show's host and willing participant in these 'dirty jobs,' will shadow scientists as they attempt to corral and control the lamprey population in the Great Lakes.

The sea lamprey was one of the earliest species to travel the shipping canals dug to allow transport of goods from the lakes out into the St. Lawrence Seaway. These waterways allowed the lamprey to enter and colonize the lakes back in the 1920s.

Lamprey attach themselves to large fish and suck the life out of them. By the 1950s, the lamprey had significantly depleted the lakes of large, predator fish. This allowed the population of alewives (a smaller fish) to explode.

Controlling the lamprey population and restocking the lakes with trout and salmon allowed some semblance of balance to return.

(Photo is from the Inland Seas Education Center located in Suttons Bay, Michigan)