Jul 30 2010 | David Poulson | No Comments

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley prompts an interesting question:

Is chemical or biological pollution the greater threat to Lake Michigan?

The mayor used the Kalamazoo River oil spill to attempt to turn the table on critics urging Chicago to close the route for invasive Asian carp.

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Jul 28 2010 | Jeff Gillies | No Comment
Climate change is shifting walleye reproduction schedule, which could have the larval fish hatching when there's nothing to eat. Photo: Roger Klindt

Long-term warming of the Great Lakes climate is melting the ice from Minnesota lakes earlier in the year.

As those “ice-out” dates move farther up the calendar, they may be disrupting the reproduction of a popular sport fish.

It’s not yet clear how that will affect the fish, but it has the potential to cause a few problems.

Jul 28 2010 | Great Lakes Echo | One Comment
July 28: Mr. Rogers' Garden

This week: Each summer, the Mr. Rogers Garden program trains dozens of at-risk youth to grow, harvest and sell vegetables at Flint’s Farmer’s market.

Jul 26 2010 | Alice Rossignol | No Comment

The U.S. Geological Survey combined maps of geologic features (like rock types) and natural landscape features (like mountains) to make this tapestry map.

Jul 23 2010 | Jeff Gillies | No Comment
Click to enlarge. Photo: Charles Kerfoot/Michigan Tech

The Lake Michigan “doughnut” — a huge ring-shaped bloom of phytoplankton that circles the late-winter waters of the Lake’s southern basin — is disappearing.

Jul 22 2010 | Alice Rossignol | No Comment
John Niewoonder was named wildlife biologist of the year by the Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. Photo provided by John Niewoonder.

John Niewoonder was named wildlife biologist of the year by the Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. He’s a Michigan native and key author of the state’s new deer management plan.

Jul 21 2010 | Great Lakes Echo | No Comment
July 21: Youth Farm Stand

This week: Brian Johns of The Youth Farm Stand program at Holmes Foundation Academy in Flint, teaches students to grow vegetables using traditional farming methods, as well as cutting-edge technologies such as hydroponics and aguaponics.

Jul 19 2010 | Alice Rossignol | No Comment
CARL maps conservation and recreation land in the Great Lakes area.

Curious what land is protected in your state?

Then meet CARL — a Conservation And Recreation Lands map.

Jul 16 2010 | Jeff Gillies | One Comment

A decade-old discovery in Lake Michigan is already disappearing.

Jul 15 2010 | Alice Rossignol | One Comment
Double-crested cormorants consumer large amounts of fish including the round goby and yellow perch. Photo: Peter Wallack. Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons.

From 2003 to 2007, researchers estimate that the cormorant ate 13 million fewer yellow perch and 600,000 fewer smallmouth bass in two large Lake Ontario cormorant colonies.

Jul 14 2010 | Great Lakes Echo | One Comment
July 14: Mama E and the Mayor

This week: The debate on “shrinking the city” because of the large inventory of vacant, overgrown lots and abandoned homes. In this clip, Mama E and Mayor Dayne Walling are on the same side of the debate.