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Strategic plan targets invasive species
The Superior Daily Telegram (11/17)
Douglas County’s Land Conservation Committee is forwarding a plan to the county board that takes aim at invasive species.
Mich. Clean Marina Program: Public-private partners work together to improve water quality
Grand Rapids Environmental News Examiner (11/9)
Partners from the public and private sector in Michigan are working together in a voluntary program to improve the quality of the Great Lakes.
Researchers seek funding for wind test site in Lake Michigan
Grand Rapids Environmental News Examiner (11/7)
In a recent article in The Muskegon Chronicle, it was reported that researchers at Grand Valley State University’s Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center (MAREC) cited a lack of year-around data (on wind platform testing) needed by prospective development companies.
COMMENTARY: Senate needs to pass clean energy act to help Michigan
The Grand Rapids Press (10/26)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was absolutely correct with his recent proclamation about the current condition of the Great Lakes State: "The State of Michigan," Reid declared from the Senate Floor, with a copy Time Magazine in his hand, "is in trouble."
First Nation women 'walk the environmental talk'
WeNews (10/23)
Tomorrow's global day of climate activism aims for media and political attention. First Nation women have another way. Since 2003, they've walked the shoreline of a Great Lake or major river, meditating on the needs of an unborn generation.
City making big push for water school
The Business Journal (10/23)
The push is on to convince the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee that the best location for its new School of Freshwater Sciences is near the university’s existing Great Lakes Water Institute on East Greenfield Avenue.
What's going on in your neighborhood this month? Meet other people and learn together at recreational and educational events! Our new dynamic calendar is updated daily with current educational events.
5 | Prevention and control
Once a non-native species is established in the Great Lakes, it is nearly impossible to get rid of it. Therefore, it is extremely important to prevent introductions of new species. Because ballast water is the primary pathway of species introduction, efforts have been focused on preventing the introduction of exotics through ballast water treatment. The most common method of treating ballast water is open-ocean exchange, the act of replacing freshwater ballast with seawater during the voyage. 
Because saltwater-dwelling species generally cannot survive in freshwater, this water exchange can reduce the likelihood of a new exotic species establishing a population in the Great Lakes. Vessels entering the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway are required to replace their ballast water with seawater during their voyage. If they do not perform open-ocean ballast exchange, they are not permitted to release ballast in the Great Lakes.
Open-ocean ballast exchange, however, is not the ideal solution as it is sometimes unsafe and not completely effective in preventing introductions. Research is underway on different ballast water treatment options to supplement or replace open-ocean ballast exchange. Some of the research includes:
- filtering ballast water to remove nonindigenous organisms
- heating ballast water or using ultraviolet light to kill invasive species
- using a hydrocyclone, a type of centrifuge, to separate organisms and sediment from water to be discharged into the lakes.
Controlling the numbers and distribution of existing nonindigenous species in the Great Lakes is still extremely important in the ongoing battle against invasive species. There are a variety of methods of controlling existing populations. Some examples include:
- Biocides: Chemicals, such as the lampricide TMF (used to control sea lamprey populations) and herbicides on aquatic plants, are sometimes used to reduce or eradicate local populations of exotic species.
- Barrier construction: Barriers use a variety of methods, including sound waves, electrical impulses, and visual and physical deterrents. These barriers can help prevent the spread of exotics in smaller waterways like canals and streams.
- Physical removal: Harvesting small populations of aquatic plants, for instance, can act as a temporary control in smaller inland lakes and waterways.
- Biological control: Very carefully selected non-native species, usually predators, are introduced to control population growth of another invasive species. A good example of this is work done with insects that specialize in eating purple loosestrife.
- Public education: You can prevent the spread of aquatic nuisance species! Click to the next page to find out how.
Graphic: Rusty Crayfish from Lake Superior. Courtesy Jeff Gunderson/Minnesota Sea Grant.
