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“Water trail janitors” keep rivers clean

Posted on May 7, 2008 | Filed Under Blue Trails, Great Lakes, River Heritage

Jamie Mierau, Director
Blue Trails, River Heritage

A new program called Illinois Water TrailKeepers is now providing stewardship of local water trails. TrailKeepers, a joint project of Illinois Paddling Council and Openlands, is creating a corps of stewards for designated water trails in Illinois. Mirroring other groups which turn their passion for the outdoors into hands-on care for it, Openlands is sponsoring “Reach Stewards,” who will adopt a section of a water trail much like the successful Adopt-A-Highway programs that help take care of roadways throughout the nation.

Monitoring and reporting conditions, including any log jams or other obstacles to recreation along it, the Reach Stewards will be the eyes and ears of the agencies entrusted with the management of our waterways. Often, they will be the helping hands as well.

The initial program will include seven waterways in nine counties, totaling 350 miles of rivers, including the Fox, Kishwaukee, and DuPage rivers. Instream maintenance teams will literally be “water trail janitors” who will maintain water trails on smaller streams by clearing obstructions and hazards in a safe and environmentally sensitive way.

This is an exciting program that I hope will be replicated in other states and regions.

Toledo is Walleye Crazy!

Posted on April 27, 2008 | Filed Under Great Lakes

Katie Swartz, Conservation Associate
Healthy Waters Campaign, Great Lakes Region

It is official. Those of us in northwest Ohio have really taken our love of this fish to the next level. Yes…..we have named our minor league hockey team the Toledo Walleye.

What a great way to connect people to the Maumee River year round!

So, why would we vote walleye for a mascot? What is the significance?

Every year, during “walleye season” (late-March to mid-May), fisherman dust off their waders and head to the river near the Fort Meigs bridge, Side Cut Metropark, among other sites to catch their limit as these fish swim up the Maumee River from Lake Erie to spawn.

This yearly tradition is not only for the avid fisherman, but for those who just want to get outside and try something new. A Toledo Blade article by JC Reindl about Welcome Back Walleye Week speaks to the allure of the river and why people come to the river to fish every spring.

So, are we crazy or just proud? You decide.

Global Warming in the Great Lakes

Posted on April 14, 2008 | Filed Under Clean Water, Global Warming, Great Lakes, Healthy Waters

Katherine Baer, Director
Healthy Waters Campaign

I know that global warming is big and bad and will reshape our world - but for me, it really becomes tangible when I can understand how it will affect specific places. As Gary wrote last week, the Great Lakes are one of those places where we work and that inspire a great sense of place. Now, there’s some additional specific information about how global warming will affect the Lakes - and it doesn’t look good.

A conference at Michigan State University last week focused on the effects of global warming in the Great Lakes Region. Basically, as summed up in the Detroit Free Press, the effects include:

Lower lake levels;
Less ice cover;
More algae (that can be toxic and deplete oxygen levels);
More waterborne disease from storm-induced sewer overflows.

The Environmental Protection Agency has already issued a draft report predicting more sewer overflows in the Great Lakes region due to global warming, but MSU Professor and American Rivers Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee Member Joan Rose tied it together, explaining that strong storms increase the risk for spreading disease:

Increasing storms, combined with higher temperatures that make it easier for pathogens to survive, could bring more disease outbreaks in the future… Governments need to invest in better sewage treatment and plan for the future by monitoring what happens to public health now.

It’s clear from this conference that having enough clean and water is going to be the challenge for us going forward - in the Great Lakes and elsewhere. As I’ve written before - and in line with Dr Rose’s recommendations - investing in effective water infrastructure and galvanizing support for such investment through sewage right to know are two solutions key to making this happen.

Rain Barrel Sale: a Success in Toledo!

Posted on April 10, 2008 | Filed Under Great Lakes, Green Infrastructure, Healthy Waters

Katie Swartz, Conservation Associate
Healthy Waters Campaign, Great Lakes Region

As a follow up to my previous blog, Are Rain Barrels needed in the Great Lakes, I wanted to let you know about American Rivers’ first rain barrel distribution event.

It was a sunny, yet chilly day in Toledo. In fact, it had just snowed the day before. Jack and Joan Freele of New England Rain Barrel Company came in from Massachusetts with nearly 100 rain barrels and were ready to give installation instructions or “Rain Barrel 101″ to everyone who had purchased a barrel or two.

The Mayor of Toledo, Carty Finkbeiner, stopped by the event (see photo above). He spoke about the conversations he has been having with Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur about our water resources in the Maumee River watershed and Lake Erie.

He also mentioned Toledo’s sewer systems and how the aging pipes could benefit from rain barrels by stalling the first rush of water after a large rain event. Before he left, he purchased a barrel for his home and offered to put a demonstration in his office. I would like to thank the Mayor for his continued support of “green” practices in relation to storm water.

Over all, it was an exciting day to see people take initiative and responsibility to reduce their storm water impact and conserve water! Thanks to the volunteers from City of Toledo Environmental Services, Nature Conservancy, and Start High School who came to help load the barrels into cars and trucks.

Due of the overwhelming response of those who missed the first sale, we decided to continue the sale with a second distribution on August 2^nd, at the Erie Street Market in Toledo.

You may begin to order online at www.nerainbarrel.com or call 1-877-977-3135.

Lessons From The Midwest Floods

Posted on April 7, 2008 | Filed Under Flood Protection, Great Lakes, Great Rivers, River Renewal

Rebecca Wodder
President

Disastrous floods. We experienced them back in December in the Pacific Northwest. Now, more recently, devastating floodwaters submerged parts of the Midwest.

We know that these kinds of rain storms and flooding will become more frequent and severe with global warming. How can communities prepare? What lessons can we learn?

One thing is certain: while engineered solutions like levees are necessary in some places, for the most part they are costly and can create a false sense of security. Levees can encourage unwise floodplain development and increase flood damage costs, while also destroying some of the natural features that prevent downstream flooding, as well as river access and fish and wildlife habitat.

Take the Missouri River. In 1993, the Missouri River flooded, in what local residents came to call the “Great Flood,�? one of the most destructive in the history of the Mississippi River basin. 70,000 people were evacuated, 50,000 homes damaged, nearly 50 people killed and a total cost in damage exceeding $16 billion dollars.

Following the floods in 1993, American Rivers helped convince the Federal Emergency Management Agency to use some of the disaster relief funds to help families move out of harm’s way. The agency worked in nine states to move roughly 10,000 homes and businesses to higher ground and to restore floodplains so that they could act as natural buffers. One village downriver from St. Louis picked up and moved two miles away to a site 400 feet above the Mississippi floodplain. When another flood hit the region two years later, these people were high and dry.

But this example of smart rebuilding is the exception, not the rule. In the very area that in 1993 was under 10 feet of water, developers have built strip malls, office parks and 28,000 new homes! In the St. Louis area, there’s been more building on the floodplain since 1993, than in its entire prior history.

The victims here are the families that invested their life savings in these homes, believing the promise of developers and local elected officials that they were safe. These false promises continue, and we owe the families in America’s river communities better.

We can’t rely on the engineered fixes of the past. While levees will still play a role in flood management, we need to focus on common-sense, cost-effective natural flood protection solutions like restoring wetlands, keeping people out of harm’s way in the first place, and allowing rivers to follow natural, meandering channels.

Our approach must be to work with nature and not against it. Working with nature, we can have clean, healthy rivers that make communities more resilient, more able to withstand droughts and floods in the years to come.

This post was first published on Treehugger.

Great Lakes - An environmental history lesson

Posted on April 2, 2008 | Filed Under Clean Water, Great Lakes, Green Infrastructure, Healthy Waters, Rain Gardens

Gary Belan, Director of Healthy Waters Campaign
Healthy Waters, Catching the Rain

While my colleagues and I write and make videos on rain gardens, rain barrels, the importance of addressing stormwater pollution, and in general using green infrastructure to improve our rivers, I think it’s important to keep in mind why we do this. Ask anybody who is involved in conservation, whether it’s their job, they participate in a clean-up or they’re donating money, and they will tell it’s because they love being outdoors and they love the environment.

But for many people, including myself, the environment is more than just being outdoors or some abstract concept that needs protection because someone says it does. It is an active part of our lives. For my friend Patricia Pennell the Great Lakes are more than “the environment”, they are her history. Patricia is writing a series of blog posts on the Great Lakes Town Hall about her ancestors and the Great Lakes. It is a beautifully written series on how the environment, in this case the Great Lakes, runs through the blood of one family. She also has some really cool photographs, and I really recomend taking a look. Patricia first writes about the importance of the Great Lakes as a place, and then delves a little more into her family’s history there.

I think this is something we all have to keep in mind when we think of the environment. That vacation at Yellowstone, the honeymoon to Niagra Falls, or the hiking trip last weekend. These aren’t just abstract notions of the “environment”. These are all warm moments of life that we keep in our hearts and memories for our entire lives. And in Patricia’s case, generations.

Are Rain Barrels needed in the Great Lakes?

Posted on March 27, 2008 | Filed Under Great Lakes, Healthy Waters, Rain Gardens

Katie Swartz, Conservation Associate
Healthy Waters Campaign, Great Lakes Region

It is no surprise that the Great Lakes have been hit pretty hard with rain and snow the past few months. The rivers are rising so quickly that flood watches and warnings are a part of everyday life (scary!).

So, why would people in the Great Lakes be interested in conserving water when we seem to have such abundance?

Part of the allure of living in this region is being able to enjoy all four seasons, which means it still gets very hot and dry during the summer months. Gardeners search for ways to keep their plants looking healthy without putting a strain on their wallet. Rain barrels are an affordable and easy way to temporarily store water to reuse later.

So, where do I find one? Good question.

This Saturday, March 29th rain barrels will be distributed to those who pre-ordered at the Erie Street Market in downtown Toledo from 9am until noon. There will be a few extra for purchase, so come early! The barrels are 55 - 60 gallons, blue, and outfitted with all the necessary gadgets and gizmos. Go to New England Rain Barrel Company for more information.

Thanks to everyone who helped advertise this opportunity! Including Man With The Muck-Rake.

If you are outside the Toledo area, look to watershed groups and soil and water conservation districts for information and advice on where to purchase barrels and how to make them yourself.

Rain Day Projects: Winter Rain Gardens

Posted on January 7, 2008 | Filed Under Great Lakes, Green Infrastructure, Healthy Waters, Rain Gardens

Gary Belan, Director of Healthy Waters Campaign
Healthy Waters, Catching the Rain

So as I mentioned on Friday, my friend Patricia Pennell and I are putting together a series of videos to give you some tips for designing and building your own rain garden. She talks about why rain gardens even work in the winter, and gives some advice on different ways you may want to manage your garden for the winter time.

And if you’re not convinced after watching Patricia’s video, watch this video from the Connecticut NEMO program on rain gardens working in the winter.

The World’s Largest Green Roof is Built Ford Tough

Posted on November 14, 2007 | Filed Under Great Lakes, Green Infrastructure, Healthy Waters, Rain Gardens

By Josh Klein
Act for Healthy Rivers Coordinator

With my girlfriend busy earning her MBA at the University of Michigan, I find myself making several trips a year to the greater Detroit metropolitan area. She and I have taken in many local attractions (there’s more to Michigan than UM football) and last weekend we visited the world’s largest green roof. Ford Motor Company’s historic flagship assembly plant, The Rouge - named for the Rouge River that runs by the plant – famous for creating the industrial model of vertical integration is now setting the standard for green industry.

The Ford Motor Company is quite proud of the many green innovations this plant is putting to use including incorporating sky lights into the roof to provide natural lighting on the assembly floor, planting ivy to grow up the side of building to reduce energy use, using more environmentally friendly waterbased paints on their vehicles, but the enormous green roof is certainly the most impressive - and I’m not just saying that as a river guy. The 454,000 square foot sedum green roof covers the F-150 pickup truck assembly plant. Other notable stormwater innovations at the plant are the company’s use of porous pavement in its parking lots and several rain gardens and plantings in the area all help prevent hundreds of thousands of gallons of stormwater and snowmelt a year from running off the premise and into the Rouge River.

Ford has also made these green innovations the focal point of its assembly plant tour. Industry around the world could stand to learn a lot from the actions Ford is taking to protect its local water resources. In a time when the US auto industry faces an uncertain future it’s good to know that Ford sees profits from trying to green its assembly works. The Rouge River and Lake Erie stand to benefit greatly from these green innovations.

Great Lakes Travel

Posted on October 25, 2007 | Filed Under Clean Water, Events, Great Lakes, Healthy Waters

Gary Belan, Director of Healthy Waters Campaign
Healthy Waters, Catching the Rain

I’ve been on the road for the last two weeks visiting cities on two of the five most impressive water bodies in the world. First I was on Lake Erie, speaking at a Stormwater Institute in Toledo, Ohio, then I was at a grassroots symposium on Lake Michigan, just north of Chicago.

The Stormwater Institute was held at Maumee Bay State Park; a photo of Maumee Bay, part of Lake Erie, is to the left. The bay is the larger water body beyond the pond in the foreground. No golf for me, but I did get lost in a Lake Erie wetland there…but that’s another story. The Institute was put on by the Center for Watershed Protection, and American Rivers helped sponsor. These institutes are geared toward educating local planners, engineers and water quality specialists on how to better manage their stormwater programs (or create one) to conform with federal requirements. We had almost 100 participants, most coming from towns and cities in the Maumee River Basin. I was there presenting on building better messaging techniques to communicate with elected officials and the public. Hopefully we’ll have some of that information available on the website soon. While the food at the conference was good, the information available was even better, and I think many of the folks that attended got a lot of good information to help them reduce the stormwater running from their towns into the Maumee River.

My trip to Illinois Beach State Park in Zion, Illinois was really fun. I didn’t get lost in a wetland this time, but the beach on Lake Michigan is beautiful (see phote to the left). Unfortunately, I don’t think my camera phone does it justice. I was there because the Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund holds an annual symposium every year for Great Lakes grassroots groups. The group has recently undergone a name change, now calling themselves Freshwater Future. I think this is a great name change for a group that does so much to help preserve the freshwater seas we know as the Great Lakes. Freshwater Future provides financial and technical support for Great Lakes activists, so that they can be more effective in protecting the Great Lakes and the rivers that feed into them. I was there presenting our stormwater messaging work once again. Much of the messaging research we’ve conducted has been well received by many grassroots groups.

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