Tag: lake erie

Casting Votes for Official Fish

Illinois has the bluegill. Minnesota has the walleye. But Ohio lawmakers have argued for years over Ohio’s official fish. It’s a toss up between the smallmouth bass and the walleye, and the debate doesn’t seem to be ending any time soon. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Natalie Walston has more:

Transcript

Illinois has the bluegill. Minnesota has the walleye. But Ohio lawmakers have argued for years over Ohio’s official fish. It’s a toss up between the smallmouth bass and the walleye, and the debate doesn’t seem to be ending any time soon. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Natalie Walston has more:

Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder says it’s tough to say which fish is more important to Ohio. But an Ohio House committee recently voted 15-4 to make the smallmouth bass the reigning fish. Householder says, though, the decision will not be heard by the full House anytime soon.

It’s a touchy subject because the smallmouth bass is found in all of Ohio’s 88 counties. Yet the walleye brings in millions of tourist dollars into areas along Lake Erie. Tim McCann owns the charter fishing boat service Fisherman’s Wharf in Port Clinton. McCann says walleye fishing lures tourists into town each spring and fall. He says the walleye is so important to the economy that there is an annual walleye festival on New Year’s Eve:

“Just like in Times Square we drop a walleye from a crane. It is a 50-foot walleye made out of paper mache. And it’s very, very big, you know, for our economy and everything else here in Port Clinton.”

But McCann says he recognizes the importance of the smallmouth bass throughout the state. The fish is plentiful in southeastern Ohio. That’s where Ohio House speaker Larry Householder grew up. But Householder’s spokeswoman Jenn Detweiler says her boss doesn’t have a preference.

“The Speaker himself has, has avidly pursued both the walleye and the smallmouth bass … (laughs) so, making a decision about which one is more appropriate could be a tricky one.”

Over the years, Ohio schoolchildren and fisherman have cast their votes for their favorite fish. But lawmakers have the final choice, and, right now … they say they have bigger fish to fry. It is an election year, and lawmakers worry a vote for the wrong fish could cost votes at the polls.

So, some say perhaps the state should leave the decision to others. For instance, school children in Illinois picked the bluegill more than 30 years ago because they liked the way it looked, and the politicians didn’t lose any votes over the decision.

For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Natalie Walston

Winter’s Effect on Lake Levels Debated

There seems to be some confusion over how the mild winter will affect lake levels. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Amy Cavalier has the story:

An International Wildlife Refuge?

An effort to create North America’s first international wildlife refuge is gathering speed. The refuge will be a partnership between Canada and the U.S. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Mark Brush has more:

Transcript

An effort to create North America’s first international wildlife refuge is gathering speed. The refuge will be a partnership between Canada and the U-S. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Mark Brush has details:


The Detroit River was once home to a thriving set of coastal wetlands and marshes. It was an area teeming with wildlife. But after more than a century of development – most of that habitat has been lost. The proposed international wildlife refuge hopes to turn back the pressures for more development.


The refuge would include the Canadian and U-S sides of the lower Detroit River – lands from the coal-choked Zug Island to the mouth of Lake Erie.


If established, the refuge will be a patchwork federal, state, and privately owned land. And so far, they’ve had some success. Several small islands have been donated or are being bought for inclusion into the refuge.


The first step will be to set up the boundaries of the refuge. Once established, funds may be appropriated for things like buying more land, establishing conservation agreements, and re-creating wildlife habitat.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium I’m Mark Brush.

Hope for Great Lakes Water Levels

Long term climate projections predict conditions will be right to at least temporarily stop the decline in Great Lakes water levels. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:

NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory is looking at how this winter’s climate might affect the lakes’ water levels.

Transcript

Long-term climate projections predict conditions will be to at least temporarily stop the decline in Great Lakes water levels. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports.


Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie are all at their lowest levels in 35 years. But, officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration -or NOAA– say its climate outlooks for this winter indicate there’ll be a normal amount of precipitation and well below normal temperatures. Cold weather means more ice cover on the lakes, and that prevents some evaporation. Cynthia Sellinger is a hydrologist at NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab.


“So NOAA’s forecast, saying that we’ll have below normal temperatures means that we may have a decent ice cover and we may not have winter evaporation. So, if that happens and if we get a decent snow pack, we may not decline anymore.”


But, the experts say it’s still too early to say whether climate will change enough to reverse the lower water level trend on the Great Lakes. For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Lester Graham.

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:

Drilling the Great Lakes

The Wisconsin Legislature is considering a bill that would ban drilling for oil and natural gas around Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Mike Simonson has this report: