restoration - The Environment Report

Artists Ply the Waters

“Fritz Seegers and Mary Brodbeck in front of 'Alwita.’ They’ ll sail the wooden boat around Lake Superior this summer.”

This month a rotating group of artists begin circumnavigating Lake Superior in a sailboat. The artists will be painting, photographing, and making sketches of their journey. They’ll also be collecting stories to share with school children after their return. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tamar Charney caught up with some of the artists before they left:

One Man and a Wheelbarrow

Using donated boats and motors, more than 200 tons of trash and junk has been pulled from the river during the last two years. Pregracke is looking toward new rivers now.
Chad Pregracke is pulling a steel barrel from the Mississippi. The work is hard and dirty, but Pregracke says it's rewarding.

One man is on a campaign to clean up the nation’s rivers. He’s not
pushing a public relations campaign… he’s pushing a wheel barrow. Last
year alone he picked up 200-tons of trash along the Mississippi River.
The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports… now he’s
moving on to other rivers:

Reintroducing the Otter

A coalition of industries, institutions and individuals is making sure
that a piece of their state’s natural heritage is returned. The Great
Lakes Radio Consortium’s Bill Flynn reports on the
three-hundred-thousand dollar New York River Otter Project:

Federal Proposal May Drown Farmland

It doesn’t happen very often, but for the last year, a republican
governor, the farming community, and environmentalists have been working
together to protect endangered wetlands, by taking certain farmlands out
of production. But now, a new federal proposal could be separating the
groups. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Jonathan Ahl has the story:

The Comeback of the Wood Frog

Scientists are concerned about a world-wide decline in amphibian
populations. But one scientist has been bringing a frog back to its
native habitat. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports
the Wood frog is once again thriving in an area where it was pushed out
more than 75 years ago:

Clean Up Planned for Fox River

The state of Wisconsin is asking for the public’s opinion of its plan
to clean up a polluted river that flows into Green Bay. The Great Lakes
Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:

Chicago Wilderness

A coalition in the Chicago area is putting together a unique plan to
make the most of the remnants of the forests, prairies, sand dune
beaches, and other natural areas. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Lester Graham reports that other large cities are watching to see if
Chicago is successful in bringing back native plants and animals to a
largely urban area:

Fire Helps Restore Bird Populations

Researchers are discovering fire has an effect on restoring some bird
populations. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:

The Prairie Pioneer

For almost forty years, Dr. Robert Betz searched the railroad tracks and
back roads of the Midwest for remnants of the nearly extinct tall-grass
prairie. Along the way, he helped define and popularize a new
environmental movement on the rise throughout the Great Lakes and the
country—a movement called ecological restoration. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Alex Blumberg has this report:

Illinois River to Be Protected

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the State of Illinois are teaming up to save the heavily polluted Illinois River. The project is being hailed as the nation’s "largest effort to save an ailing river." The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Steve Frenkel reports: