Tag: new york

Fed Bill to Allow Cormorant Hunting

In recent years, the double-crested cormorant population has
exploded. And commercial fishermen say their business has suffered as a
result. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports on a
new federal bill intended to reduce the population of this controversial
bird:

Transcript

The numbers fo bass and perch in the Great Lakes have declined. And many say the cormorant is to

blame. Now New York congressman John McHugh and Minnesota representative Collin Peterson are

proposing a solution. McHugh says they want to give states the option of creating a hunting season

for cormorants.


“The cormorant population is at an all-time high and I think most people who are even a

disppassionate, casual observer can understand that the cormorant population is having a

devastating effect on the fisheries and on the general environment.”


However, the National Audubon Society opposes the measure. They say the birds are protected under

the Migratory bird treaty act. The bill has been sent to the House committee on Resources. McHugh

hopes to have public hearings on the issue next spring.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Karen Kelly.

Lake Erie Pipeline Nears Approval

Over the past weeks, a proposed natural gas pipeline under Lake
Michigan has been making headlines. But in the meantime, another Great
Lakes pipeline is nearing the final stages of a regulatory review. The
four-hundred-forty mile millennium pipeline will run between Dawn,
Ontario, and the New York City area. Most of the natural gas pipeline
will follow a land route. But a ninety-mile stretch is expected to be
laid
beneath Lake Erie. As the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy
Nelson reports, that appears to be the path of least resistance:

Summit Stewards Promote Balance

Each year, tens of thousand of tourists flock to New York’s
Adirondack State Park… most of them heading straight for the High
Peaks, a rugged chain of mountains just west of Lake Champlain. More
visitors than ever before are climbing above the timberline and
environmental groups are concerned about rare alpine species that are
being crushed underfoot, damaged by campfires and tent sites. As the
Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Brian Mann reports, a group called
Summit Stewards is working to protect this rarest part of the
Adirondacks
in a way that still welcomes hikers from around the country:

Debate Over Fish Consumption

Late last month (June), the New York State Department of Health said it
was safe for anglers to eat fish from Onondaga Lake–one of the
country’s most polluted lakes. But now some officials are raising
concerns. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Amy Cavalier reports:

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:

Cormorant Control

In April, the U-S Fish and Wildlife Service denied a permit request
from New York State to kill three-hundred cormorants on eastern Lake
Ontario. The proposed management plan as well as previous killings by
individual sportsmen has Great Lakes Radio Consortium commentator Don
Ogden reflecting:

Cormorant Control

Federal fish and wildlife officials will most likely let New York state
reduce the number of double breasted cormorants on Lake Ontario… but
not by euthanizing the birds. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Elizabeth Christensen reports:

Corn-To-Ethanol Study

A technology group in upstate New York was recently awarded a
187-thousand dollar grant to study the feasibility of opening a
corn-to-ethanol facility. The study will determine the economic
potential of producing ethanol at a long-vacant grain processing plant
in the region. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Elizabeth Christensen
reports on what could be a boon to corn farmers in the Great Lakes
region:

Church Stops Mall Sprawl

In recent year many of us have watched residential areas fill with
shopping malls gas stations and parking lots. We appreciate their
convenience, but it changes the landscape and once development starts
many residents feel helpless to stop it. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports on one man who took a stand against
developers in his hometown:

Volunteers Put Their Beliefs to Work

It’s been called a domestic version of the PeaceCorps. AmeriCorps is a
service learning program that puts young people to work in communities
around the country. It was an early priority of the Clinton
administration, and since the project was established four years ago,
more than 100-thousand people have participated. AmeriCorps members
work in schools, churches and for non-profit groups, such as Habitat for
Humanity and the Red Cross. One of the newest AmeriCorps chapters was
established last fall in the middle of the Adirondack Park in New York
State. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Todd Moe reports: