Great Lakes National Program &EPA On the Web at: www.epa.gov/greatlakes U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO) Significant Activities Report March 2007 IN THIS ISSUE: HABITAT RESTORATION • Conserving Bald Eagle Habitats • LaMP-based Biodiversity Conservation Strategy Workshop • Great Lake Regional Collaboration Wetlands Initiative POLLUTION PREVENTION • Roll-out of Wood Boiler Program • Erie County Dental Waste Management Project • Great Lakes Green Chemistry Network Kickoff Meeting SEDIMENT REMEDIATION • Ruddiman Creek Great Lakes Legacy Project Receives Award • Legacy Act Article in LakeLine • Fourth International Conference on Remediation of Contaminated Sediments INVASIVE SPECIES • Hemimysis: New Great Lakes Invader HABITAT RESTORATION Conserving Bald Eagle Habitats In January 2007, the St. Lawrence Bald Ea- gle Working Group, at the request of the United States-Canada Lake Ontario Lakewide Management Plan (LaMP), re- leased the report, "Conserving Lake Ontario and Upper St. Lawrence River Bald Eagle Habitats." The Working Group is comprised of government and non-government agen- cies, groups and individuals working to- MONITORING • Developing PBT Monitoring in Mexico • Trinational Quality Assurance Workshop • Lake Huron Cooperative Monitoring Great Lakes Cooperative Science Initiative • 2007 Surface Water Monitoring and Standards (SWiMS) Meeting • Drinking Water Monitoring Grant Kick-off meeting, Mt. Clemens, MI • Waterborne Pathogen Seminars OUTREACH/EDUCATION • Outreach Events • Newly elected GLEAMS Officers LAKEWIDE MANAGEMENT PLANS • Making a Great Lake SUPERIOR 2007 • Lake Superior Binational Forum Meeting gether in a variety of ways to promote con- servation of bald eagles through monitoring, research, management, information ex- change, assistance on bald eagle-related pro- Bald Eagle returns to its nest (Photo courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) ------- March 2007 Significant Activities Report jects, and scientific review/consultation re- garding bald eagles. The report describes 40 shoreline locations with potential high qual- ity bald eagle nesting habitats and recom- mends specific bald eagle population restora- tion goals. The geographic scope of the pro- ject was limited to the eastern Lake Ontario basin and the Upper St. Lawrence River where the highest quality habitat and the greatest amount of bald eagle activity are currently found. The Working Group reviewed available bald eagle research and identified three major pre- dictors of quality bald eagle nesting and for- aging sites: • More than 260 hectares of contiguous forest, • Sites located less than 1.5 kilometers from wetlands, rivers or lakes, and • Sites close to wetlands, lakes, or rivers covering more than 30 hectares. A GIS habitat computer model was used to identify where these habitat features or pa- rameters occur together. The model identi- fied 40 shoreline sites that meet these crite- ria. The sites will be field checked in 2007 to confirm the modeling results. Initial conservation goals developed by the Working Group will measure progress in re- storing bald eagle habitat. The goals are: • By 2016, at least 10 shoreline nesting ter- ritories are established. • By 2016, at least five Canadian and five United States priority sites totaling more than 5,000 hectares are protected. • 80 percent of bald eagle nesting pairs should fledge one or more eaglets per year. The Working Group will continue the project throughout 2007. Financial support has been provided by GLNPO and the Ontario Minis- Wetland in Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore try of Natural Resources. (Contacts: Karen Rodriguez, 312-353-2690, rodriguez.karen@epa.gov or Fred Luckey, 212-637-3853, luckey.frederick@epa.gov) LaMP-based Biodiversity Conservation Strategy Workshop GLNPO and EPA Region 2 staff attended the third workshop of the "LaMP-based Biodi- versity Conservation Strategy for Lake On- tario" February 28th to March 1st, 2007 in Buffalo, New York. Attended by more than 50 people from Canadian and U.S. federal, state/provincial agencies and non- governmental organizations, the workshop focused on prioritizing strategies to deal with threats to biodiversity targets identified in the first two workshops. Six threats were ana- lyzed in breakout sessions: • Climate change, • Current and new invasive species, • Dams and barriers, • Unsustainable development, • Non-point source inputs, and • Point source pollution. For each threat, endpoints, broad strategies to get to endpoints, key outputs, and action steps were identified. The results of all three workshops will be incorporated into the Lakewide Management Plan for Lake On- Page2 U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office ------- Significant Activities Report March 2007 tano. (Contacts: Mario DelVicario, 212-6373779, delvicario.mario@epa.gov; Fred Luckey, 212-637-3853, luckey.frederick@epa.gov or Karen Rodriguez, 312-353-2690, rodri- guez.karen@epa.gov) Great Lake Regional Collaboration Wetlands Initiative As a first step toward achieving Great Lakes Regional Collaboration (GLRC) goals, the Great Lakes Wetlands Initiative will promote on-the-ground activities to protect and restore 200,000 acres of wetlands in the Great Lakes basin. This initiative is designed to accelerate efforts to protect and restore Great lakes wet- lands by connecting partners, programs, funding and projects. The key elements of the initiative are: • Bring partners together to work on wet- lands restoration; • Connect partners with necessary informa- tion on programs, funding and potential projects to make wetland restoration hap- pen; and • Monitor progress towards Great lakes Wetlands Initiative goals. The Subcommittee of the GLRC Executive Committee will oversee implementation of this initiative. (Contact: Rita Cestaric, 312-886-6815, cestaric.rita@epa.gov) POLLUTION PREVENTION Roll-out of Wood Boiler Program Outdoor wood boilers are increasing at a rapid rate because they provide a cheap source of heat and hot water. It is expected that there will be about 500,000 of these units by 2010. Unfortunately, they emit over 10 times the PM2.5 particulates and polyaro- i Outdoor wood boiler (Photo courtesy of Washington State Department of Ecology) matic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as wood stoves. (Residential wood combustion is the largest source of benzo(a)pyrene emissions.). EPA rolled out a two-part strategy on January 29, 2007 for addressing the emissions from these wood boilers: Part 1 is a voluntary program with 10 boiler manufacturers, who make 80% of the units sold in the United States and have agreed to bring out at least one unit meeting new per- formance specifications beginning in April 2007. These performance specifications re- quire that emissions be 70% lower than from models currently on the market. EPA devel- oped the voluntary program with input from boiler manufacturers, states and an industry trade group. The cleaner models will be marked by an orange hang tag showing that the unit meets the program requirements. Part 2 is a model rule that state and local U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office Page3 ------- March 2007 Significant Activities Report governments can use to address wood boilers in their areas. EPA provided technical and financial support to a coalition of Northeast states for the development of this model rule. That coalition, Northeast States for Coordi- nated Air Use management, made this rule available on January 29th, 2007. Information about outdoor wood boilers and the voluntary partnership is available on the Internet at: http://www.epa.gov/woodheaters. This site offers information about choosing cleaner, more efficient outdoor wood-fired boilers and using these outdoor wood-fired boilers more efficiently and safely. (Contact: Steven Rosenthal, 312-886-6052, rosenthal.steven@epa.gov) Erie County Dental Waste Management Project Funded by a grant from GLNPO, Erie County, New York conducted an Erie County Dental Waste Management Project. Three workshops were held in Erie County (north, south & east of Buffalo) and one was held in Niagara County to provide informa- tion on dental waste management, focusing on proper disposal of mercury-bearing wastes. Lead and silver wastes were included as well. Outreach materials included Best Management Practices for Dental Amalgam, the Naval Institute of Dental and Biomedical Research video, information on amalgam/ mercury recycling contractors, amalgam separator equipment vendors, New York State's regulatory text detailing its Standards for the Management of Elemental Mercury and Dental Amalgam Wastes at Dental Fa- cilities, the American Dental Association's Dental Mercury Hygiene recommendations and information on the County's Condition- ally Exempt Small Quantity Generator pro- gram. Grant resources allowed for five col- lections. Total quantities of waste collected Dental waste can be a source of mercury, lead, and silver were as follows: Amalgam: 229 Ibs. Amalgam capsules: 45 Ibs. Mercury: 82 Ibs. Lead foil: 554 Ibs. Silver fixer: 173 gal. Line Traps: 184 Lead Aprons: 16 X-ray heads: 4 Silver: 1 Ibs. Lead boxes: 1 Sphygmomanometers: 4 (Contact: E. Marie Wines, 312-886-6034, wines.emarie@epa.gov) Great Lakes Green Chemistry Network Kickoff Meeting A kickoff meeting of the Great Lakes Green Chemistry Network was held February 28th, 2007. The Mission of the Green Chemistry network is to create a partnership between academia, industry, government and non- governmental organizations to establish green chemistry practices in the binational Great Lakes region. The goals of the Green Chemistry Network are to: • Create a Great Lakes Green Chemistry Page 4 U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office ------- Significant Activities Report March 2007 Research Network • Identify academic institutions in the Great Lakes dedicated to Green Chemis- try research. • Identify industries involved in Green Chemistry R&D • Hold regular "industry showcases" where academics describe their research and industry presents their needs. • Create "niche Green Chemistry Scholar- ships" in Great Lakes academic institu- tions, and • Enable the creation of a Great Lakes Green Chemistry Industrial Sabbatical Program Workgroup members include representatives from industry, non-governmental organiza- tions and the academic community as well as all levels of government. (Contact: Ted Smith, 312-353-6571, smith.edwin@epa.gov) SEDIMENT REMEDIATION Ruddiman Creek Great Lakes Legacy Project Receives Award The Michigan Chapter of the American Pub- lic Works Association (APWA) awarded its Project of the Year Award (Environment $10 - $100 Million category) to the Ruddiman Creek Great Lakes Legacy Act Sediment Clean-up Project. The plaque will be awarded at the annual meeting in Boyne City, Michigan in May. The recipients of the award are: U.S. EPA GLNPO, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Envi- ronmental Quality Management and Earth Tech. The project is now eligible for the na- tional APWA Project of the Year award. (Contacts: Marc Tuchman, 312-353-1369, tuchman.marc@epa.gov or Susan Boehme, 312-353-4383, boehme.susan@epa.gov) Part of Ruddiman Creek shortly after remediation Legacy Act Article in LakeLine The Fall 2006 volume of LakeLine (a publi- cation of the North American Lake Manage- ment Society) included an EPA Commentary by David Cowgill and Marc Tuchman. The article describes GLNPO's Great Lakes Leg- acy Act and the projects that have been com- pleted to date. (Contacts: Marc Tuchman, 312-353-1369, tuchman.marc@epa.gov or David Cowgill, 312-353-3576, cowgill.david@epa.gov) Fourth International Conference on Remediation of Contaminated Sediments During the week of January 22, 2007, mem- bers of the GLNPO Sediment Team traveled to Savannah, Georgia to attend the Fourth International Conference on Remediation of Contaminated Sediments, hosted by Battelle. Team members participated in a variety of short courses, panel discussions, and at- tended numerous platform presentations. The conference topics encompassed virtually all facets of the sediment remediation field, ranging from the modeling of fate and trans- port of contaminants to innovative technolo- gies and remediation lessons learned. A Great Lakes platform session was co-chaired by Marc Tuchman of GLNPO and Mike U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office PageS ------- March 2007 Significant Activities Report Alexander from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. Marc Tuchman pre- sented an overview of the Great Lakes Leg- acy Act, highlighting the continued accom- plishments of the program. In this session, Mike Alexander of MDEQ presented an overview of the successful remediation of Ruddiman Creek and Pond, Dave Wething- ton described the baseline assessment of the Ashtabula River, and Lou Blume spoke on the Quality Management Program for the Great Lakes Legacy Act. (Contact Marc Tuchman, 312-353-1369, tuchman.marc@epa.gov; Dave Wethington, 312-886-1437, wethington.david@epa.gov or Lou Blume, 312-353-2317, blume.louis@epa.gov) INVASIVE SPECIES Hemimysis: New Great Lakes Invader Steve Pothoven of NOAA's Great Lakes En- vironmental Research Laboratory gave a presentation titled: "Hemimysis cmomala. - the newest Great Lakes invader" on January 11th, 2007. GLNPO was able to make the presentation available as a Webcast, during which information was shared about the dis- covery of Hemimysis in the Muskegon boat basin in November of 2006. It was also found in Lake Ontario in the spring of 2006 in the nearshore zone over a rocky bottom. This "Bloody Red Mysid," native to the Ponto-Caspian region, is so named because of its reddish coloration. It prefers shallow dark nearshore habitats associated with struc- tures and has a potentially high expansion potential due to its reproductive abilities. Hemimysis is omnivorous, giving it the po- tential to affect both zooplankton and phyto- plankton populations, and it may serve as a new prey item for some species offish. Its full impact will depend on its distribution Hemimysis anomala (Photo courtesy of NOAA-GLERL) and abundance, but confirmation of current distribution is difficult due to its evasive life- style. GLNPO has offered to sample shallow reefs encountered during the Lake Guardian's spring survey for signs of Hemimysis, and other scientists across the basin will look for the invader during the course of their normal research as well. (Contacts: Chiara Zuccarino-Crowe, 312- 886-6793, zuccarino-crowe.chiara@epa.gov or Marc Tuchman, tuchman.marc@epa.gov, 312-353-1369) MONITORING Developing PBT Monitoring in Mexico GLNPO's Melissa Hulting attended the Workshop to Develop Mexico's Environ- mental Monitoring and Assessment Program in Cuernavaca, Mexico, on February 13th to 15th, 2007. The integration of persistent bio- accumulative toxics (PBT) monitoring in North America is being coordinated by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), and a major project under this broader effort is implementing a system for monitoring PBTs in Mexico. Over the past several months there have been a series of conference calls and meetings to discuss dif- Page 6 U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office ------- Significant Activities Report March 2007 ferent tasks that would need to be done to establish such monitoring (i.e., infrastructure needed, laboratory capacity, possible loca- tions of satellite sites). The meeting in Cuer- navaca, attended by over 50 people, brought a broader group of participants together to provide input to the direction of the program, especially from Mexican representatives. The short-term output of this project will be a proposal to the Global Environment Fund to jump-start the Mexican monitoring program. Discussions are being conducted within the Mexican government to gain long-term buy- in. (Contact: Melissa Hulting, hulting.melissa@epa.gov, 312-886-2265) Trinational Quality Assurance Workshop Approximately 25 government and private laboratory representatives from Canada, Mexico and the U.S. attended a 3-day quality assurance workshop February 23rd to 25th at Environment Canada's Center for Atmos- pheric Research Experiments in Egbert, On- tario. The workshop was initiated by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) as part of its Environmental Monitor- ing and Assessment effort. The agenda in- cluded presentations on existing monitoring programs and laboratory expertise in the 3 countries (including one covering GLNPO's PBT monitoring programs); tours of labora- tory and sampling facilities; and discussion of a recent tri-national laboratory study that involved analysis of the U.S.-Canada Inte- grated Atmospheric Depossition Network's common reference standards for PCBs, or- ganochlorine pesticides, and PAHs and a split air sample from Veracruz, Mexico. Ini- tial results from the inter-laboratory study, which were promising in terms of the compa- rability of the results, were discussed, and a final report will be distributed following fi- Hammond Bay harbor of refuge on Lake Huron nalization of the study data. Standard operat- ing procedures and quality assurance plans were exchanged during and in following up to the workshop. Workshop participants rec- ommended that further inter-laboratory com- parison activities be conducted and that a Tri- national Quality Assurance Program Plan be drafted; funds for such work will be re- quested in the CEC's 2008 Operational Plan. (Contact: Melissa Hulting, hulting.melissa@epa.gov, 312-886-2265) Lake Huron Cooperative Monitoring Planning continues for this year's Lake Huron Cooperative Monitoring/Intensive Monitoring field year. On February 5th and 6th principal investigators from Environment Canada, Canada Department of Fisheries and Oceans, U.S. Geological Survey, NOAA, U.S. EPA - ORD:MED Duluth and U.S. EPA -GLNPO met to discuss station selec- tion, scheduling and coordination of opera- tions among the groups. Because of recent changes in the Lake Huron ecosystem, in- cluding greatly reduced fish and plankton populations and near-complete loss of the amphipod, Diporeia sp., much of the work will focus on assessing the food web and try- ing to determine the causes of the changes. The lake will be visited several times U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office Page 7 ------- March 2007 Significant Activities Report throughout the year by ships from the U.S. and Canada to support sampling activities. (Contacts: Glenn Warren, 312-886-2405, warren.glenn@epa.gov or James Schardt, 312-353-5085, schardt.james@epa.gov) Great Lakes Cooperative Science Initiative The initial meeting to develop a Great Lakes Cooperative Science Initiative (Great Lakes CSI) took place in Ann Arbor, Michigan on February 6th and 7th, 2007. This effort, under- taken pursuant to a Binational Executive Committee directive, will try to develop a framework that will identify areas of poten- tial research cooperation based on shared is- sues and interests among agencies. The meet- ing was attended by representatives of Envi- ronment Canada, Canada Department of Fisheries and Oceans, U.S. Geological Sur- vey, NOAA and U.S. EPA, and will be fol- lowed by a number of meetings and work- shops throughout the Great Lakes basin. (Contacts: Paul Horvatin, 312-353-3612, horvatin.paul@epa.gov or Glenn Warren, 312-886-2405, warren.glenn@epa.gov) 2007 Surface Water Monitoring and Standards (SWiMS) Meeting On January 31st, 2007, GLNPO staff pre- sented information at the 2007 SWiMS meet- ing on studies of pharmaceuticals and per- sonal care products (PPCPs) and other emerging contaminants in the Chicago water- ways. The presentation focused on the ongo- ing collaborations between U.S. EPA GLNPO, Region 5, the Chicago Regional Laboratory, and Office of Water; U.S. Geo- logical Survey; U.S. Department of Agricul- ture; Baylor University; and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chi- cago to assess the occurrence and fate of emerging contaminants in the Chicago water- Sampling for PPCPs in fish from the Chicago River ways. The SWiMS meeting is an annual State/Tribal/EPA technical coordinators meeting aimed at sharing monitoring suc- cesses and challenges, learning about the most up-to-date scientific information, and discussing programmatic issues. SWiMS 2007 attracted approximately 200 partici- pants. All of the presentation materials from SWiMS are available on-line at http:// www.epa.gov/region5/water/wqb/swims.htm (Contacts: Todd Nettesheim, 312-353-9153, nettesheim.todd@epa.gov or Beth Murphy, 312-353-4227, murphy.elizabeth@epa.gov) Drinking Water Monitoring Grant Kick-off meeting, Mt. Clemens, MI On Jan. 31, 2007, Rose Ellison, GLNPO Pro- ject Officer for the Macomb/St. Clair Drink- ing Water Quality grant attended the project kick-off meeting. The Drinking Water Qual- ity project is designed to provide real-time monitoring data at eight water-intake plants along the St. Clair River and Lake St. Clair to help warn against spill events and other threats to drinking water supplies. A comple- mentary effort lead by the Michigan Depart- ment of Environmental Quality is providing an additional four stations in Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River. Calibration and "shake down" of monitoring equipment for the Macomb/St. Clair portion of the project be- gan in January 2007 and will continue PageS U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office ------- Significant Activities Report March 2007 throughout Spring 2007. The entire system is expected to be on-line by Summer 2007. (Contact: Rose Ellison, 734-692-7689, elli- son.rosanne@epa.gov) Waterborne Pathogen Seminars David Rockwell has been invited to join a group of Water Fellows in addressing the issue of waterborne pathogens in Michigan and their effects on beaches, and will partici- pate in a seminar series sponsored by Michi- gan State University (MSU). The purpose of the six workshops is to learn about sources, pathways, and impacts of pathogens in water and to discuss potential solutions. MSU goals are to characterize the issues regarding pathogens in Michigan, examine methods and solutions to address those issues, and to develop a framework for monitoring patho- gens. The application of this information to the $500,000 Pilot Sanitary Survey grants in six states will be of value to the agency as USEPA seeks to assist beach mangers to identify sources of pathogens affecting the swim ability at sixty U.S. beaches. (Contact: David Rockwell, 312-353-1373, rockwell.david@epa.gov) OUTREACH/EDUCATION Outreach Events On February 14th, 2007 Lake Superior Lakewide Management Plan Manager Liz LaPlante presented The Great Lakes Na- tional Program Office and Careers in the Environmental Field as part of Career Day at Holmes Junior High School in Mount Pros- pect, Illinois. In the presentation LaPlante shared with students the broad scope of pressing environmental problems of the day and the EPA's approach to solving them. LaPlante encouraged students to consider careers in the environmental field, which they can prepare for through internships, vol- unteer projects, and learning about emerging Family enjoying a Lake Superior beach environmental issues. The students were par- ticularly interested in the R/V Lake Guard- ian, aquatic invasive species (especially sea lamprey and Asian Carp), global warming, and salary potential in the environmental field. Upon learning about GLNPO's col- laborative work with Environment Canada, the French teacher was enthused to hear of the usefulness of school-taught language in real-world professions. (Contact: Elizabeth LaPlante, 312-353-2694, laplante.elizabeth@epa.gov) On Sunday, February 23rd, 2007, Liz LaP- lante and Melissa Simon, an associate of the Oak Ridge Institute of Science Education (ORISE) traveled to Buffalo Grove, Illinois. There they spoke to 30 members of the Peacemakers Committee at Kingswood United Methodist Church. In the presentation titled Protecting, Restoring, Enjoying Our Great Lakes, they provided an overview of Great Lakes history, past and present envi- ronmental challenges, and successful initia- tives to restore the basin ecosystem. Simon provided examples of successful environ- mental projects carried out by local faith groups and also offered recommendations for future activities for the Kingswood Church. Discussion focused on energy conservation, pollution prevention, and resource use. Par- ticipants were particularly interested in the presence of chemical contaminants and the effects of agriculture on Lake Michigan. U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office Page 9 ------- March 2007 Significant Activities Report (Contacts: Elizabeth LaPlante, 312-353- 2694, laplante.elizabeth@epa.gov or Melissa Simon 312-886-0995, simon.melissa@epa.gov) Judy Beck (GLNPO) and Melissa Simon (ORISE) spoke to sixth-grade students at the Elmwood Elementary School in New Berlin, Wisconsin about Lake Michigan's environ- mental challenges and what they can do to help. Communication between the school and GLNPO was initiated by three students seek- ing assistance on their interactive project ti- tled What environmental impacts do indi- viduals, families, communities, business, and governments have on Lake Michigan? GLNPO has supplied educational materials and hosted a videoconference to help the stu- dents. The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District was also contacted by GLNPO to donate additional learning materials to the school, including rain gauges and a rain bar- rel. While at the school, Beck and Simon viewed a presentation of the project. Simon engaged students in an interactive lesson on watershed stewardship and non-point source pollution using a model provided by U.S. EPA Region 5's Office of Public Affairs. (Contacts: Judy Beck 312-353-3849 beck,judy@epa.gov or Melissa Simon 312- 866-0995 simon.melissa@epa.gov) On February 12th, Erin Newman (U.S. EPA Region 5 Air Division) spoke and Jessica Winter (GLNPO-ECO Intern) presented a poster on methods for reducing the practice of household trash burning at the National Air Quality Conference in Orlando, Florida. About 70 people attended Erin's talk on the first day of the conference, and dozens more visited the poster and requested copies of the "Learn Not To Burn" CD resource kit. At least 30 CDs were distributed, along with copies of the poster and brochures. Most of the interested parties were state and local air department outreach coordinators who will help distribute the information to county and township officials who can implement local programs to cut back on trash burning in Judy Beck speaks to students at Elmwood Elemen- tary School, New Berlin, Wisconsin their communities. Additionally, EPA's Of- fice of Air Quality Planning & Standards is planning to develop a CD like GLNPO's on wood stoves in the coming months. (Contacts: Erin Newman, 312-886-4587, newman.erin@epa.gov or Jessica Winter, 312-353-3212, winter.jessica@epa.gov) On February 24th, GLNPO's Susan Boehme had planned to give a presentation and join a panel on pharmaceutical disposal issues at the American College of Preventive Medi- cine Annual Meeting in Miami, Florida. Due to the inclement weather, Susan did not at- tend the meeting, but Lara Polansky (University of Miami student and intern who began this project last summer here in GLNPO), was able to step in and give the presentation. Lara reported back that the au- dience seemed very interested in the issue and asked numerous questions afterwards. Susan received 2 emails from audience mem- bers within hours of the Saturday afternoon Page 10 U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office ------- Significant Activities Report March 2007 session requesting more information and re- source kits. (Contacts: Susan Boehme, 312-353-4383, boehme.susan@epa.gov or Jessica Winter, 312-353-3212, winter.jessica@epa.gov) Newly elected GLEAMS Officers GLNPO's Elizabeth Hinchey Malloy and Jacqueline Adams were elected to serve as 2006-2007 officers of the Great Lakes Aquatic and Marine Science Educators (GLEAMS). Hinchey Malloy is the current GLEAMS President and GLEAMS Chapter Representative to the National Marine Edu- cators Association board. Adams is the cur- rent GLEAMS Membership Secretary. GLEAMS is a supportive network of aquatic science professionals from many fields, working together for the advancement of aquatic education. GLEAMS provides educa- tors with information, methods and materials for including water-related content and ac- tivities into their curricula. GLEAMS mem- bers also learn of opportunities to network and connect with marine and aquatic science educators throughout the Great Lakes region and beyond. Visit the GLEAMS web site (http://www.sheddaquarium.org/gleams) to learn more. (Contacts: Elizabeth Hinchey Malloy, 312- 886-3451, hinchey.elizabeth@epa.gov or Jacqueline Adams, 312-353-7203, ad- ams.jacqueline@epa.gov) LAKEWIDE MANAGEMENT PLANS Making a Great Lake SUPERIOR 2007 Planning is under way for Making a Great Lake SUPERIOR 2007: a Conference Link- ing Research, Education, and Management, which will take place in Duluth, Minnesota, Duluth Lift Bridge, a local landmark October 29 - 31, 2007. The first of its kind, the conference will bring together research- ers, resource managers, elected officials, edu- cators, policy makers, government staff, Tribe members, and citizen activists from throughout the Lake Superior basin from both the US and Canada. For 3 days partici- pants will report out on, collaborate, net- work, plan for and learn about the state of the lake and the actions necessary for its contin- ued protection and restoration. Topics will include climate change, AOCs, monitoring, sustainable development, human health, habitat management, watershed stewardship, and toxic management. The call for participa- tion is currently posted on the conference website and the conference planning commit- tee has received its first batch of proposals for presentations. The committee is currently selecting a key note speaker. The committee is also working on involving the Lake Supe- rior Binational Forum and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Mayors Initiative in organizing the event. The conference website is: http://www.seagrant.umn.edu/ superior2007/ (Contact: Elizabeth LaPlante, 312-353-2694, laplante.elizabeth@epa.gov) Lake Superior Binational Forum Meeting The Lake Superior Binational Forum is funded by a GLNPO grant and works closely with the Superior Workgroup, a team of rep- resentatives from state and federal agencies from the US and Canada. The Forum held a U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office Page 11 ------- March 2007 Significant Activities Report public input session and meeting in January, 2007, in Ashland, Wisconsin, titled Taking Natural Steps into Economic and Environ- mental Sustainability. The meeting was to discuss a sustainability model called The Natural Step which is currently in use in Sweden. Over 80 people attended, including students, politicians, business leaders, Tribes members, mayors, and city officials. Northland College President Karen Halber- sleben described what the college is doing to implement sustainable design features and practices on the college's campus in Ashland, Wisconsin. Washburn Mayor Irene Blakely described actions city staff and council are taking to promote and implement sustainable practices. Blakely and the Washburn city council led the way to be the first municipal- ity in the United States to pass an eco- municipality resolution that pledges to incor- porate sustainable practices in all city opera- tions. Erv Soulier of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa gave a presenta- tion on what the Tribe is doing to implement sustainability practices on the reservation. There were also presentations by local busi- ness and community leaders, including that of a local hotel owner who remodeled using green metrics. The forum meeting included a tour of Sustainable Northland College, in- cluding a "green" residence hall, solar heated swimming pool, cafeteria composting ma- chine, wind generator, and geo-thermal heat- ing/cooling system. (Contact: Liz LaPlante 312.353.2694, la- plante.elizabeth@epa.gov) Northland College President Karen Halbersleben describes the College's sustainable design features 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. Page 12 U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office ------- |