Adult emerald ash borer (Photo by David Cappaert, Michigan State University, courtesy of the Michigan Department of Agriculture)
There might be a new weapon to use against a
destructive pest. Rebecca Williams reports the emerald
ash borer has killed more than 30 million ash trees in
eight states and Ontario:
Transcript
There might be a new weapon to use against a
destructive pest. Rebecca Williams reports the emerald
ash borer has killed more than 30 million ash trees in
eight states and Ontario:
No one’s been able to stop the tiny green beetle from killing trees. But
officials are hoping a new insecticide will help.
Researchers at Michigan State University ran trials for one year with a
chemical called Tree-age. In those tests, the insecticide killed all of the
beetles. The state of Michigan has approved the insecticide for use on ash
trees. Indiana, Ohio and West Virginia are also considering it.
Jim Bowes is with the Michigan Department of Agriculture. He says the
emerald ash borer probably can’t be stopped, but the insecticide might
slow the beetle’s spread.
“Nobody here and I don’t think anybody in the federal government at this
point is talking about eradication. I think everybody is talking about how
are we going to coexist?”
Bowes says the insecticide might be able to save trees in your yard, if
the infestation is caught early enough.
In the Midwest, grey wolf populations are on the rise, leading some to believe that wildlife management practices are needed. (Photo courtesy of the National Park Service)
Some Midwest states are re-gaining permission to euthanize
gray wolves that are killing domesticated animals. The Great Lakes
Radio Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:
Transcript
Some Midwest states are re-gaining permission to euthanize grey
wolves that are killing domesticated animals. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:
A federal court ruling in January halted agencies in Wisconsin and Michigan
from trapping and killing problem wolves. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service has just given Wisconsin a new permit to euthanize up to 34
wolves this year, and a permit application from Michigan is being
reviewed.
Fish and Wildlife official Ron Refsnider says two years of data show
the killing of problem wolves is not harming the grey wolf
population in the upper Midwest states.
“So we don’t have to guess, we don’t have to speculate. We can see
flat out that what they’re asking for shouldn’t be a problem.”
A small number of grey wolves have traveled into other Midwest
states. But officials there still can only trap and relocate problem wolves.
Heavy rains can overwhelm sewer systems. The EPA's proposed solution, blending, is a topic of debate. (photo by Sarah Griggs)
The Environmental Protection Agency is finalizing
a policy that will allow sewage treatment operators to send largely untreated sewage directly into rivers and lakes. It’s a cost-savings effort pushed by the Bush administration. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
Transcript
The Environmental Protection Agency is finalizing a policy that will allow sewage treatment operators to send largely untreated sewage directly into rivers and lakes. It’s a cost-savings effort pushed by the Bush administration. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
The process is called blending. If too much sewage is coming in to treat completely, this policy allows operators to “blend” mostly untreated sewage with already treated waste water, then release it into the waterways. That saves the federal government money by not having to pay for sewage plant expansions.
Environmentalists don’t like it. Nancy Stoner is with the group Natural Resources Defense Council.
“They’re saying that they’re going to save money by providing less treatment now even though that pushes the cost onto the public by contaminating our drinking water supply, by killing fish, by contaminating shellfish so it cant be sold, by closing beaches.”
The EPA says blending untreated sewage with treated sewage dilutes it so that it meets federal standards. The agency also argues that the policy merely sanctions a practice that already happens every time a sewer system gets swamped by heavy rains.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.
The European Starling, an invasive species, has been pushing woodpeckers out of their nests and preventing them from breeding. The Migratory Bird Treaty Reform Act will help reduce populations of non-native bird species. (Photo by Louis
Rock)
The National Audubon Society is praising Congress for strengthening protections for American migratory birds. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Erin Toner reports:
Transcript
The National Audubon Society is praising Congress for strengthening protections for American migratory birds. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Erin Toner reports:
The U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act was passed in 1917 to protect native birds, such as the woodpecker, the Baltimore Oriole, and the American Black Duck. But a court ruling earlier this year changed the law, by extending protections to all birds, including non-native species. National Audubon Society spokesman John Bianchi says invasive species like the European Starling are pushing out native birds.
“That is hard for people to understand, but the equation there is that pushing out means killing. A European Starling pushing a woodpecker out of its nest means that that woodpecker will not breed that year.”
As part of a recent spending bill, Congress amended the law to once again only protect native migratory birds. That provides millions of dollars a year for protection efforts, which can include trapping and removing non-native birds, or killing them.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Erin Toner.
Once hunted nearly to extinction, the gray wolf has recently rebounded under the protection of the Endangered Species Act. Now, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to take the wolf off of the Endangered Species List and hand wolf management back to the states. (Photo by Katherine Glover)
A captive wolf at the Wildlife Science Center in Minnesota. (Photo by Katherine Glover)
Peggy Callahan, Executive Director of
the Wildlife Science Center in Minnesota. Callahan works to minimize conflicts between wolves and people. (Photo by Katherine Glover)
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants to remove the eastern population of the gray wolf from the Endangered Species List and turn over wolf management to state control. But not everyone thinks the states are up for it. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Katherine Glover has the story:
Transcript
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants to remove the eastern population
of the gray wolf from the Endangered Species List and turn over wolf management
to state control. But not everyone thinks the states are up for it. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Katherine Glover has the story:
(sound of wolves howling)
The image of the wolf has always had a powerful effect on people. Wolves seem dangerous,
mysterious, romantic. They are a symbol of the untamed wilderness. Before Europeans came
to America, wolves roamed freely on every part of the continent. In 1630, the colony of
Massachussetts Bay started paying bounties to settlers for killing wolves. Over the next
300 years, wolf killing spread across the country, until all that was left was a few small
pockets of surviving wolf packs.
When the Endangered Species Act passed in 1973, the only wolves left to protect in the
Midwest were in Northern Minnesota. By some estimates, there were as few as 350 of them.
Today, Minnesota has a healthy wolf population of around 2400 animals, and smaller populations
are growing in Wisconsin and Michigan. Becaue of this success, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
has proposed removing the animals from the Endangered Species List. This would mean wolves would
no longer be federally protected – it would be up to the states.
(sound of gate opening)
Peggy Callagan works with captive wolves at the Wildlife Science Center in Minnesota. She’s the
Center’s co-founder and executive director. She and her staff research ways to minimize
conflicts between wolves and people. Callahan is looking forward to seeing the wolf taken off
the Endangered Species List.
“It’s a good thing for the Endangered Species Act, to take a wolf off or an eagle off or a
peregrine off when it has recovered. The act was not established to provide a permanent
hiding place. It was established to protect a species until such time that they could be
managed in a different way.”
Wisconsin and Michigan have wolves because young born in Minnesota have migrated east to start
their own packs. Callahan says how Minnesota manages its wolves will affect wolf numbers in the
Midwest. And she isn’t crazy about Minnesota’s current wolf management plan, which has different
rules for different parts of the state.
“Now, there’s a boundary; there’s a boundary called a wolf zone, and there’s a boundary that’s
called the ag zone. And nobody likes it. We went backward.”
In Northeastern Minnesota, where the majority of wolves are, landowners can only kill wolves
if they can demonstrate an immediate threat to pets or livestock. In the rest of the state, where
there is more agriculture and more people, the rules are more lenient. On their own property,
landowners can kill any wolf they feel is a danger, without having to prove anything to the state.
The Sierra Club is opposed to taking the wolf off the Endangered Species list, largely because
of Minnesota’s management plan. Ginny Yinling is the chair of the Wolf Task Force of the Sierra
Club in Minnesota.
“They’ve pretty much given carte blanche to landowners, or their agents, to kill wolves
pretty much at any time in the southern and western two thirds of the state; they don’t even
have to have an excuse, if a wolf’s on their property they can kill it. Instead of this being
what should have been a victory in terms of wolf recovery and the success of the Endangered
Species Act, instead we’re afraid it’s going to turn into something of a disaster.”
Yinling is also concerned with the protection of wolf habitat, such as den sites, rendezvous
sites, and migration corridors.
“The current management plan protects none of those areas; it leaves it entirely up to the
discretion of the land managers.”
But wildlife managers say these are not critical for a large wolf population
like Minnesota’s. Mike DonCarlos is the wildlife program manager for the Minnesota
Department of Natural Resources.
“As you look at the range of species that are threatened by habitat change, ironically the wolf
in Minnesota is not one of them. As long as there’s a prey base that continues, wolves should
do just fine. The key is mortality rates and availability of food.”
In Wisconsin and Michigan, where there are fewer wolves, state laws will continue to protect
wolf habitat. Peggy Callahan says she has faith that the wolves will be fine, even if the
Minnesota state plan is not perfect. But at the Sierra Club, Ginny Yinling says they have
plans to challenge wolf delisting in court.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Katherine Glover.
Conservation officers are worried that an increase in illegal shootings could hamper the gray wolf’s recovery in the northwest Great Lakes region. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Sarah Hulett explains:
Transcript
Conservation officers are worried that an increase in illegal shootings could hamper the
gray wolf’s recovery in the northwest Great Lakes region. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Sarah Hulett reports:
Michigan and Wisconsin would like to upgrade their gray wolf populations from
“endangered” to “threatened.” Minnesota’s herd is already classified as “threatened.”
That means the wolf is no longer on the brink of extinction. Pat Lederle is the
endangered species coordinator for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. He
says although the number of illegal killings is on the rise, that should not affect federal
plans to upgrade the gray wolf’s status. But Lederle says moving the gray wolf off the
endangered list altogether will require a closer look at poaching numbers:
“They’ll take into consideration things like the level of illegal takings that are occuring, if
there’s any disease issues in the population, is the population still expanding.”
Six collared wolves have been shot and killed already this year in Michigan. And at least
eight have been shot in Wisconsin, although that number could climb to ten, once
autopsies of two more wolves are complete.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m
Sarah Hulett.
Adult emerald ash borer (Photo by David Cappaert, Michigan State University, courtesy of the Michigan Department of Agriculture)
