Greal
Lakes
National
Program
&EPA
On the Web at:
www. epa.gov/glnpo
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Great Lakes National Program Office
Significant Activities Report
February 2003
IN THIS ISSUE:
• Big Boost for Sediment Cleanup
• GLNPO Funding Competition
• Is it a Tumor?
• Keeping Up With Carp
• Saving the Terns
• Otters as Toxics Sentinels
• Islands of the Great Lakes
• Experts Ponder Lakes Future
• Global Conservation Partnership
• Native Landscaping Awards
• Advances in Limnology
• Indicators Journal Article
• Invasive Species Field Course
Big Boost for Sediment Cleanup
On January 30th, EPA Administrator Whit-
man announced that the President's FY
2004 budget request will include nearly $34
million to improve Great Lakes water qual-
ity. Of the nearly $34 million, $15 million
will support the Great Lakes Legacy Act of
2002 and the cleanup of contaminated sedi-
ments in Great Lakes Areas of Concern.
Under the Legacy Act, funding can be used
for projects that may include: sediment as-
sessment, sediment remediation, and source
control. It also provides authorization for a
sediment research program focusing on in-
novative sediment treatment technologies,
and a public information program. The Act
is authorized for 5 years from FY 2004 to
2008.
Saginaw River, Michigan Sediment Cleanup
Using Sealed Dredge Bucket and Silt Curtain
to Prevent Spread of Contamination
(Photo courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
"The Great Lakes are a treasured resource
and the additional support that is part of the
President's 2004 budget furthers our efforts
to ensure that they are enjoyed by genera-
tions to come," said EPA Administrator
Whitman.
With the $15 million in Great Lakes Legacy
Act funding, EPA expects to increase new
cleanup starts in the Great Lakes by all part-
ners from three starts to between five and
six. In the five years from 1997 to 2001, un-
der existing authorities, EPA and partners
have cleaned up nearly 2.2 million cubic
yards of sediments.
EPA will work with States, Tribes, and
other stakeholders to identify sites for reme-
diation, and has already conducted prelimi-
nary discussions with the technical staffs of
several Great Lakes States to lay the
groundwork for identifying cleanups that
might be undertaken under the Legacy Act.
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Sediment contamination is a significant
source of toxic pollutants affecting bottom-
dwelling organisms, fish, and wildlife in
Great Lakes Areas of Concern. Human
health can also be impacted via the bioac-
cumulation of toxic substances through the
food chain. Additional information on con-
taminated sediments is available at: http://
www.epa.gov/glnpo/sediments.html. For
information on the Great Lakes Areas of
Concern, see: http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/
aoc/index.html.
Additional details on the Legacy Act are
available at: http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/
sediment/legacy/index.html
(Contact: Marc Tuchman, 312-353-1369,
tuchman.marc@epa.gov)
GLNPO Funding Competition
On January 30th, GLNPO issued its annual
Funding Guidance, requesting Proposals for
up to $4,827,000. Proposals are requested
through the "FY2003-2004 USEPA Great
Lakes National Program Office Funding
Guidance - Four Requests for Proposals."
This Funding Guidance is different from
Funding Guidances issued by GLNPO dur-
ing the last ten years. It consolidates the an-
nual USEPA GLNPO competitive solicita-
tion (the "General Request") with funds
previously managed by USEPA Water pro-
grams in Regions 2 and 5 for projects for
development and implementation of
Lakewide Management Plans and Remedial
Action Plans (the "Specific LaMP/RAP Re-
quest").
Great
Lakes
National
Program
Office
EPA
Proposals are requested through four re-
quests:
RFP 1: General Request $2,720,000 for
Great Lakes projects addressing Contami-
nated Sediments, Pollution Prevention and
Reduction, Habitat (Ecological) Protection
and Restoration, Invasive Species, and Stra-
tegic or Emerging Issues.
RFP 2: Specific LaMP/RAP Requests
$1,752,000 for specific Great Lakes projects
furthering the Lakewide Management Plans
and Remedial Action Plans, such as moni-
toring, outreach, training, assessment, and
coordination.
RFP 3: Conferences and Publications
$275,000 for Great Lakes conferences and
publications, and for specific conferences
on the State of Lake Michigan and Basin-
wide RAP Priorities.
RFP 4: Grants Servicing Intermediary
$60,000 to $100,000 for an "intermediary"
organization to make and administer grant
sub-awards for habitat and other areas.
The initial deadline for all Proposals is 8:00
AM Central time, Monday morning, March
31st, 2003, with a separate rolling deadline
for specified conferences and publications.
Complete information is available on
GLNPO's Web Site at: http://www.epa.gov/
glnpo/fund/2003guid/index.html.
(Contact: MikeRuss, 312-886-4013, russ.
michael@epa.gov)
Is it a Tumor?
On January 21st to 22nd, GLNPO's Demaree
Collier attended the "Fish Tumor Confer-
ence Related to Great Lakes Areas of Con-
cern" in Erie, Pennsylvania. The conference
was hosted by Pennsylvania Sea Grant and
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Bullhead with Mouth Tumor
co-sponsored by USEPA Region 3 and the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) in order to help coordinate
the standardization of protocols currently
being used to evaluate fish tumors in the
Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs). A
group of nationally recognized experts in
the study offish tumors and pathology gave
presentations discussing fish as an indicator
of the overall health of an AOC, particularly
focusing upon Presque Isle Bay and how
this AOC could eventually be de-listed.
The Pennsylvania DEP, in conjunction with
Cornell University and state veterinarians,
conducted three studies (1992, 1993 and
1995) to determine the tumor incidence and
causative factors in fish from Presque Isle
Bay. More than 3,200 Brown Bullheads
were either captured, tagged and released,
or were examined to reveal that 64% had
developed skin tumors and 22% had liver
tumors. The relationship between concen-
trations of polyaromatic hydrocarbon
(PAH) metabolites, even those of carcino-
genic PAHs such as benzo(a)pyrene, in bile
and tumors in fish is unclear. However, the
available data certainly support the hypothe-
sis that PAHs may contribute to the high in-
cidence of tumors in bullheads in Presque
Isle Bay.
See http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/aoc/presque.
html for additional information on the
Presque Isle Area of Concern.
(Contact: Demaree Collier, 312-886-0214,
collier.demaree@epa.gov)
Keeping Up With Carp
GLNPO's Marc Tuchman and Duane
Heaton attended a January 22nd meeting of
the Advisory Panel for the Chicago Sanitary
and Ship Canal Dispersal Barrier Project.
The meeting was hosted by the Chicago De-
partment of Environment. The electrical
dispersal barrier in the Chicago Sanitary
and Ship Canal was installed to prevent or
reduce the dispersal of non-indigenous spe-
cies between the Great Lakes and Missis-
sippi River drainage basins (flow in the Ca-
nal is away from Lake Michigan and toward
the Mississippi River basin.
The first of two proposed barriers, ener-
gized in April 2002, has been operating al-
most flawlessly and at a much lower cost
than expected. Because it was authorized
and constructed as a short-term demonstra-
tion, Congressional action is required before
it can be improved to a permanent barrier.
However, the second barrier must be con-
structed before improvements can be made
to the first barrier, because the first one will
have to be shut down while it is upgraded.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has re-
ceived approval for $5 million (under
WRDA Section 1135) for construction of
the second barrier, and the Illinois Depart-
ment of Natural Resources has committed
to pay the $2 million non-federal match for
the project. The International Joint Com-
mission, Great Lakes Fishery Commission,
and USEPA Great Lakes National Program
Office have provided funding for backup
power, and the Metropolitan Water Recla-
mation District of Greater Chicago is pro-
viding a backup generator until the perma-
U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office
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Significant Activities Report
San-Ship canal cross section
view
Control building
1-1/2" cables pass
through holes drilled in
bedrock *.
Electric field
Schematic Diagram of Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal Dispersal Barrier
(Illustration courtesy of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
nent backup power can be acquired.
To test the effectiveness of the barrier, 15
common carp were tagged with transmitters
and released downstream of the barrier in
November 2002. Over 300 detections of
eight of the fish have all been on the down-
stream side where they were released -
none have been detected on the upstream
side (toward Lake Michigan) of the barrier.
A research project testing a combined elec-
trical/bubble/sound barrier in a fish runway
showed that some fish passed through the
first day, but none attempted to pass
through on subsequent days, showing that
the fish learned to avoid the barrier.
The 2002 goby roundup did not locate
round gobies any further downstream than
in 2001, but their numbers had increased
several fold. Monitoring for Asian carp will
take place from March through December
2003 at four locations upstream of their
known current range.
(Contact: Marc Tuchman, 312-353-1369,
tuchman.marc@epa.gov, or Duane Heaton,
312-886-6399, heaton.duane@epa.gov)
Saving the Terns
In 1974, a small colony of Common Terns
was discovered on the remnants of a former
pier off Ashland, Wisconsin. In 1980, 45
pairs nested on the island, and by 1989,
there were 176 nesting pairs. During the
1990's, however, wave and ice action re-
sulted in the collapse of the northern end of
the island, significantly reducing the
amount of nesting habitat available to
breeding terns. In 1998, only 36 pairs at-
tempted to nest, and mink predation had re-
sulted in the loss of hundreds of chicks in
recent years. Common Terns are listed as an
endangered species in Wisconsin, and this is
one of only two colony sites on Lake Supe-
rior, including Canada. Funded by a grant
from GLNPO, the Wisconsin Department of
Natural Resources completed a restoration
project for Tern Island. In the late Summer
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Common Tern
(Photo courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
of 2002, they rebuilt an island 30 feet wide
by 96 feet long and standing about 6 feet
above the water. The surface substrate of
the island is coarse sand and gravel, provid-
ing optimum nesting habitat for the terns.
The project had strong support from local
and statewide organizations, and received
good press coverage when it was com-
pleted.
(Contact: DuaneHeaton, 312-886-6399,
heaton.duane@epa.gov)
Otters as Toxics Sentinels
Supported by funding from GLNPO, the
Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Indians' Natural Resources Department col-
lected historic population data, present
shoreline population data, and population
trends on river otter from wildlife agencies
in the eight Great Lakes States and Ontario.
The information was gathered in order to
report on the status of the American otter as
an indicator of contaminant concentrations
in the Great Lakes for the State of the Lakes
Ecosystem Conferences (SOLEC). The in-
formation was presented at both SOLEC
2000 and SOLEC 2002 as Indicator #8147,
"Population Monitoring and Contaminants
Affecting the American Otter."
The interpretation of this indicator is that
the status of the otter populations is mixed
and that otter populations are a direct link to
organic and heavy metal concentrations in
the food chain. Contaminant problems in
otter are suggested by decreased population
levels, morphological abnormalities and de-
cline in fecundity.
State and
provincial
jurisdictions
use different
population
assessment
methods so
direct com-
parisons are
difficult. Re-
searchers
recom-
mended that
resource
management
agencies be encouraged and funded to
streamline data for targeted population and
contaminant research on Great Lakes
American otter populations, especially in
coastal zones.
(Contact: Karen Rodriguez, 312-353-2690,
rodriguez.karen@epa.gov)
Islands of the Great Lakes
A final grant report to the Michigan Coastal
Management Program contains information
about a five-year project to inventory and
conduct conservation outreach for Great
Lakes islands. GLNPO funded a biological
inventory in the second year of the project.
The goals of the project were to systemati-
Otter
U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office
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Significant Activities Report
Raspberry Island, Apostle Islands, Lake Superior
cally examine selected Great Lakes islands,
compile comprehensive information on
natural features and significant biodiversity
areas, and convey the information in the
most useful form for landowner education
and conservation planning purposes. Ani-
mal, plant, and natural communities inven-
tories focused on surveys of Bios Blanc and
several islands in the Les Cheneaux chain of
northern Lake Huron. Conservation out-
reach workshops tested types and levels of
information desired by island communities.
(Contact: Karen Rodriguez, 312-353-2690,
rodriguez.karen@epa.gov)
Experts Ponder Lakes Future
GLNPO's Gary Gulezian and Ted Smith at-
tended an expert consultation on emerging
issues in the Great Lakes, held at the Wing-
spread Conference Center in Racine, Wis-
consin, from February 5 to 7 . The meet-
ing was sponsored by the Science Advisory
Board of the International Joint Commis-
sion, GLNPO, and Environment Canada.
Six major themes were considered by the
participants:
1. A vision for the future of the Great
Lakes,
2. new non-chemical stressors,
3. new chemical stressors,
4. new effects,
5. the changing ecology, and
6. new policies.
The major threats identified for the future
included
1. contaminant occurrence and effects,
2. nutrients,
3. exotic species, and
4. shoreline/basin development and
sprawl.
Presentations on emerging chemical stress-
ors were made by Derek Muir from Envi-
ronment Canada, and John Walker from
USEPA. Findings related to chemicals in-
cluded that the U.S. and Canada need to de-
velop a better integration of monitoring for
new chemicals, including better coordina-
tion of data sharing, data management and
ecological forecasting. Another recommen-
dation was to utilize QSAR (Quantitative
Structure-Activity Relationships) modeling
to predict occurrence, fate and effects of
emerging contaminants. Some recommen-
dations for possible future initiatives in-
cluded establishing a binational integrated
Great Lakes Observing System, supporting
research to conduct and validate QSAR as-
sessments, and to conduct an intensive
multi-year binational coordinated monitor-
ing program, IFYGL-2., similar to the
IFYGL that was carried out on Lake On-
tario from 1972 to 1973. IFYGL stands for
"International Field Year for the Great
Lakes."
(Contact: Ted Smith, 312-353-6571, smith.
edwin@epa.gov)
Global Conservation Partnership
Steve Edwards, head of IUCN World Con-
servation Union Ecosystem Management
Programme and Nik Lopoukhine, Director
General of Parks Canada as well as a mem-
ber of IUCN, met with EPA staff from Re-
gions 5 and 10, GLNPO, and Joy Marburger
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of the National Park Service, regarding a
partnership to promote ecosystem manage-
ment principles and techniques. Steve Ed-
wards and Nik Lopoukhine explained the
mission and goals of IUCN; Joy Marburger
described the National Park Service's re-
search and education projects; EPA Region
5's John Perrecone and Al Krause presented
information on critical ecosystem methodol-
ogy and environmental software programs;
and GLNPO's Karen Rodriguez gave an
overview of the State of
the Lakes Ecosystem
Conferences and indica-
tor processes, invasive
species, and Biodiversity
Investment Areas. Fol-
lowing the presentations,
participants discussed
policy development and
application across multi-
ple jurisdictions, require-
ments for institutional
structures to implement
policies, how to link
technical expertise to ad-
dress management
needs, and how to put lessons into context
across different scales, including govern-
ance, geographic, ecological, and temporal.
Several themes may serve to focus future
discussion, including Web Site linkages,
sharing networks of experts, and sharing
lessons learned from case studies. EPA's
Office of International Activities will play a
significant role in nurturing this new part-
nership.
(Contact: Karen Rodriguez, 312-353-2690,
rodriguez.karen@epa.gov)
Native Landscaping Awards
USEPA presented the 2002 Conservation
and Native Landscaping Awards to seven
Chicago area Park District and Municipali-
ties on January 25th at the Illinois Associa-
tion of Park District's Annual Meeting. This
was the third year of the Awards, which
were developed in partnership between
USEPA and Chicago Wilderness.
This year's Award winners and projects:
• Chicago Park District for the South
Shore Nature Sanctuary
• Crystal Lake Park District for the Acres
Pond Restoration
• Elmhurst Park District for the Elmhurst
Native Plants Surround Park Lagoon
(Photo courtesy of Chicago Park District)
Great Western Prairie
• Forest Preserve District of Will County
for the Plum Creek Nature Center
• Wayne Park Commission for Prairie
Garden Park
• Westmont Park District for Ty Warner
Park, and
• Wheeling Park District for Husky Park
Honorable Mention:
• Village of Barrington for the Kilgoblin
Wetland
• Park District of Franklin Park for the
North Park Nature Area, and
• Waukegan Park District for the Wauke-
gan River Wetland Restoration
(Contact: Danielle Green 312-886-7594,
green.danielle@epa.gov)
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Advances in Limnology
GLNPO's Dr. Paul Bertram was a guest lec-
turer to a graduate seminar class at the Uni-
versity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on
"Recent Advances in Limnology" on Febru-
ary 13th. The theme for the seminar series is
"Indicators and Biomarkers." Dr. Bertram
discussed the Great Lakes indicators pro-
ject; SOLEC; important concepts regarding
indicators, objectives and endpoints; con-
cepts regarding indices; and results from the
indicators presented at SOLEC 2002, in Oc-
tober 2002. Attendees and organizers ex-
pressed appreciation for the clarity of Dr.
Bertram's presentation of this complex ma-
terial.
(Contact: Paul Bertram, 312-353-0153, ber-
tram.paul@epa.gov)
Indicators Journal Article
A limited number of reprints are now avail-
able for the article "Bi-national Assessment
of the Great Lakes: SOLEC Partnerships,"
recently published in Environmental Moni-
toring and Assessment 81:27-33. The arti-
cle was authored by GLNPO's Paul Ber-
tram and Paul Horvatin and Environment
Canada's Nancy Stadler-Salt and Harvey
Shear. A quote from the article states, "The
selection of SOLEC indicators was a study
in collaboration. Most of the Great Lakes
management jurisdictions were involved, as
well as industry and environmental groups,
academia, Aboriginal groups, and private
citizens."
(Contact: Paul Bertram, 312-353-0153, ber-
tram.paul@epa.gov)
Invasive Species Field Course
Funded by a GLNPO grant, the Inland Seas
Education Association (ISEA) held its First
Annual Invasive Species Field Course on
June 17th to 19th in Traverse City, Michi-
gan. The course was designed to teach edu-
cators, regulators, environmentalists and
citizens in the Great Lakes Region about the
nature of invasive species. The Invasive
Species Field Course provided a combina-
tion of hands-on field sampling aboard the
Inland Seas, ISEA's 77-foot schooner, and
professional seminars on shore. Twenty par-
ticipants, including GLNPO Project Officer
Melissa Hulting, and eleven faculty me m-
bers were in attendance at the course, held
from June 17th to 19th, 2002 in Traverse City
and on Grand Traverse Bay, Michigan.
Invasive Species Field Course Final Report Cover
Photo Collage
A Final Report for the project was recently
published. The report covers background on
the course participants and faculty, resource
materials used, the course outline, projects
conducted by participants, and course
evaluations. Biological monitoring data col-
lected on the Inland Seas during the 2002
season is also included. Data were collected
by students from grades 4 through 12, fami-
lies, volunteers and ISEA staff as part of
ISEA's educational programs. Teacher and
Student editions of "Great Lakes Invaders:
Lake Trout and Sea Lamprey Case Study"
were created specially for the course. A
good compilation of background informa-
tion on invasive species was also developed
for the course. The final report and these
materials have been placed on ISEA's web-
site at: http://www.greatlakeseducation.org/
invasivespecies/.
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ISEA was recently funded by the W.K. Kel-
logg Foundation to conduct a Second An-
nual Course in June 2003. Information on
the 2003 course is available on ISEA's Web
Site.
(Contact: Melissa Hulting, 312-886-2265,
hulting.melissa@epa.gov)
We welcome your questions, comments or
suggestions about this month's Significant
Activities Report. To be added to or re-
moved from the Email distribution of the
Significant Activities Report, please contact
Tony Kizlauskas, 312-353-8773,
kizlauskas.anthony@epa.gov.
U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office
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