From the CBC:

The Great Lakes have faced various threats for years, from industrial pollution to invasive species, but another challenge worries many researchers these days — the emerging chemical threat.

It’s not just pesticides, as scientists are finding worrying levels of pharmaceutically active compounds such as anti-inflammatories, antibiotics, anti-epileptics, and beta blockers in lake water. As well, hormones, pesticides and alkylphenols have been identified as threats. Read more.

The Clean Water Celebration 2011 in Gary, Indiana on Saturday, September 3 offered an opportunity for IISG’s Leslie Dorworth and Carolyn Foley to talk with visitors about what they can do to reduce unwanted inputs into waterways. However, this was not a dry lesson–learning took place by playing the Watershed Game, which was developed by Northland NEMO, Minnesota Sea Grant, and University of Minnesota Extension. In this game, participants apply plans, practices, and policies that help them achieve a water quality goal for a stream, lake, or river.

People of all ages joined in to play the game. They chose best management practices to employ in different landscapes (farmland, city, residential, or parks and open space areas) to help reduce phosphorus inputs into a fictional lake.

This was the seventh annual event, which took place in Marquette Park. In addition to fun, the focus of the Clean Water Celebration is water sports safety and protecting water quality.

1. The Department of Health Services is providing clear guidance on contaminants in local fish–which ones are safe to eat and how often. This sign includes some simple safety tips during the project construction. 
2. The U.S. EPA Areas of Concern (AOC) kiosk describes all the clean-up projects going on within the Milwaukee region to link this project to the larger goal of delisting the AOC. This kiosk provides direction for cleaning up after your pet and the potential impacts of pet waste to the waterway in its “Pick up your pet waste–it’s your doodie” campaign. 
3. The Great Lakes Legacy Act kiosk provides specifics about this project including the activities that will occur, a timeline, and a weekly update. A dump truck that fills up over time will illustrate progress of the project.

Two bills signed by Governor Pat Quinn are going to make it much easier for people to properly dispose of their unused medicines. Improper storage and disposal of medicines can lead to unintentional poisonings, medicine diversion and misuse, and can negatively impact aquatic wildlife.

“One of the main road blocks to medicine collection programs is the cost of properly disposing of the materials once they are collected”, says Laura Kammin, IISG pollution prevention program specialist. “This legislation will help communities that could not previously afford to have a program to start new collection programs, and it will provide financial support for police departments that already have medicine collection programs in place. HB2056 will provide critical funding to keep medicines out of the water until a national funding program is put into place.”

On August 24, 2011, Governor Quinn signed two bills that will provide a major boost to unused medicine collection programs in Illinois. House Bill 2056, sponsored by Rep. JoAnn Osmond (R-Antioch) and Sen. Suzi Schmidt (R-Villa Park) will make it easier for police departments in Illinois to pay for medicine collection programs. The new law authorizes law enforcement agencies to collect pharmaceuticals from residents and provides the funding to support collection and proper incineration of the medicines. Costs associated with medicine collection can be recovered through a $20 court fee levied against people who commit specified drug offenses.

House Bill 3090, sponsored by Rep. Luis Arroyo (D-Chicago) and Sen. William Delgado (D-Chicago), authorizes the use of city halls or police departments to house medicine collection containers. Both laws go into effect on January 1, 2012.

“We don’t want these pharmaceuticals disposed of in an improper way. If they are just thrown down the toilet or thrown in the garbage they can end up in our water supply,” Governor Quinn said. “These bills will help Illinois conserve water, protect the safety of our drinking water supplies and ensure that unused medications are disposed of properly.”

Yesterday’s signing was actually the result of the hard work and enthusiasm of high school students. The Prescription Pill and Drug Disposal Program (P2D2), was launched by students at Pontiac Township High School and their ecology teacher, Paul Ritter. High school students from Antioch joined the program and brought the idea of a bill to fund household medicine disposal to Rep. Osmond.

“Through the hard work and dedication of students from Pontiac, Antioch, and other schools in the state of Illinois, and with the guidance of Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, the P2D2 Bill [HB2056], which pays for the disposal of pharmaceuticals in Illinois, was signed by Governor Pat Quinn and become law,” said Ritter.

IISG and the P2D2 Program developed The Medicine Chest curriculum to educate other students around the country about proper disposal of medicines. And both organizations work together help communities start new medicine collection programs. For more information about how you can start a program in your community, contact Laura Kammin.

Amanda Miracle, an environmental science teacher at the Hammond Academy of Science and Technology, was invited by Robin Goettel, IISG associate director for education, to co-present on her students’ aquatic invasive species (AIS) stewardship projects at the recent National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) Conference. Here, Amanda is demonstrating a ballast water simulation model showing how invaders can easily spread throughout the Great Lakes. One of the session’s attendees was a geography curriculum specialist from the Denver public school system.

This presentation is part of a larger campaign through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative project, A Comprehensive Regional Public Outreach Campaign on AIS. A primary goal of this project is to actively involve Great Lakes region students in community stewardship projects, where they can implement their new understanding of AIS and associated impacts. This joint venture with teachers incorporates the Nab the Aquatic Invader! website, which is being enhanced with new activities and mapping information. A new AIS Stewardship Education Network—also serves to sustain and improve aquatic ecosystem biodiversity. Teachers in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, and New York will be invited to co-present at next year’s NCGE conference in Texas.

From The New York Times:

When federal and state environmental regulators spent a few days at Lake Calumet in Chicago earlier this month fishing for Asian carp with stun guns and half-mile-wide nets, their hunt seemed to underscore the carp’s status as the Midwest’s ecological enemy No. 1.

The subject of endless debate over the best control strategies, Asian carp, an invasive species, have earned a place of dread in local lore. None, however, were found in the Lake Calumet search, and some scientists say the ecological concerns may be overblown.

For many people, Asian carp are proving more boon than bane. Bolstered by government support, the Asian carp harvest has leapt thirtyfold in the past decade, creating a new industry, attracting fishermen and entrepreneurs, and feeding people all over the world.

“We’ve been ramping up for years,” said Mike Schafer, owner of Schafer Fisheries. Read more.

Last September, experts and stakeholders met to discuss ways to reduce Asian carp numbers by marketing the fish. In the months that followed, many who attended have been working hard to make the proposed solutions a reality.

At the marketing summit, which was organized by Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG), participants agreed that high-value Asian carp fillets marketed to restaurants and retailers may provide the financial incentive for extensive harvesting of these fish. Looking to have immediate impact, they also recommended that whole fish be exported in high numbers to Asian markets, where these species are already popular food fish. Finally, they recommended converting Asian carp by-products into pet food or treats to eliminate waste and maximize profit opportunities.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is now developing programs to help further the goals laid out during the summit. Tom Heavisides, IDNR contaminants assessment manager, said the organization is starting three pilot programs for this fall. They include an Asian carp food-handling training program, as well as another that will study marketing the invasive species. IDNR will also support researchers who will go to a pool of the Illinois River and study how pulling out Asian carp will ecologically affect the waters. All three projects are expected to be wrapped up by December.

The summit also provided opportunities to move new projects or plans forward. For example, Louisiana Sea Grant Fisheries Specialist Julie Anderson had been developing a plan with Operation Blessing, a non-profit organization, to send canned Asian carp to Haiti, where food is certainly needed and canned fish is preferred.

“At this point, we have been trying to pursue finding a company that is interested in doing the canning operation,” Anderson said.

The idea of marketing Asian carp has also received significant media exposure since the summit. For example, the New York Times recently published the article “Answer for Invasive Species: Put It on a Plate and Eat It.” However, this idea is not without controversy. IISG Aquatic Invasives Coordinator Pat Charlebois said some Great Lakes states are concerned about the idea of marketing Asian carp, but she believes there may not be any other options in the case of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers.

“The only other way to do this, I believe, is to harvest these fish and leave them on a shore or landfill to rot,” she said. “But that’s such a waste and all that harvesting is an expensive proposition.”

Charlebois said some are afraid that people will begin transplanting the species to other areas if there is a market for them, which would only intensify the problem.

“One of the reasons common carp were introduced here was because Europeans wanted food fish that they were familiar with,” Charlebois said. “It is historically a way these species have been spread. But I think there are ways we can reduce that risk.”

Ron Brooks, the fisheries division director for Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, has been diligently working on the Asian Carp issue for years, even before the invasive species was making big headlines. He said he is hoping to shift focus away from the Great Lakes to the states of the lower basin.

“Our message is pretty simple: If you don’t control the Asian carp numbers down here, you are never going to keep them out of the Great Lakes,” Brooks said. “If we don’t do something to crop off the spread of Asian carp, they are going to keep spreading. That is what they do; they stay in an area until they run out of food and then move on.”

However, Brooks added that funding right now is the major roadblock, but he hopes the summit will inspire people to get out and work on the problem.

“The meeting got all the stakeholders together to talk about this issue. It gave a good perspective from all sides,” he said. “But the commercial fishermen and the managers are out there every day, and they know something has to be done right now.”

The two-day summit took place at the Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey, Illinois, with sponsorship from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center. 

What do ibuprofen, acetaminophen, antidepressants, methylphenidate (used to treat ADHD), anti-diabetic drugs, and vitamin D derivatives all have in common?
They are all on the top 10 list of human medications that poison pets according to the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center.

“It is extremely important that people properly store and dispose of their medications”, said Laura Kammin, IISG pollution prevention specialist, “it doesn’t matter whether the medicine is intended for people or pets.”

For several years now, IISG has been providing people with science-based information on how to properly store and dispose of their unused medications, including pet medications. “We are always looking for new partners to help us educate people on this issue,” said Kammin. And partnering with vets is exactly what IISG is beginning to do, starting with an exhibitor’s booth at the American Veterinary Medical Association Convention that took place in St. Louis, MO on July 16–18.

Over 8,500 veterinarians, veterinary technicians, veterinary students, and some families attended the convention, many of whom walked the exhibitor’s hall and saw the IISG display. Kammin, along with IISG staff members Robin Goettel, and Terri Hallesy, spoke with 168 attendees from 31 states, Canada, Egypt, and Brazil about how they can start incorporating the message of proper storage and disposal into information they provide their clients.

Many of the people were aware of the issue, and were excited to see materials that could help them educate their clients. Karen Liljebjelke, DVM, commented, “In the three vet med courses I teach at the University of Calgary, I not only share information about the proper use of pet medicine, but also make sure to discuss proper disposal techniques.” She added that IISG fact sheets and service-learning curriculum will be useful to her students.

As a result of Sea Grant’s participation in the meeting, C. Trenton Boyd, a veterinary medical librarian, will help distribute information on this topic by sharing posts through the International Veterinary Librarians Discussion Group, a forum reaching hundreds of professionals in university veterinary schools.

You too can do your part. Following a few simple steps can help prevent negative environmental impacts, accidental poisoning of people and pets, and diversion and abuse. Simply take back unused medications (for people or pets) to a local collection program. If a collection program is not available in your area, take the medication out of the original container, mix the medicine with used coffee grounds or cat litter in a sealable plastic bag, and place the bag in a sealed container such as a coffee can or margarine tub. In the case of prescription medication, be sure to mark out any personal information on the pill bottle before depositing it in the trash.

A festival might seem like an unlikely place to find a medicine collection event. But on July 9th, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and the West Lafayette Police Department hosted a medicine collection event at Wabash Riverfest in Tapawingo Park, West Lafayette, Indiana.

“An event like Riverfest is a fun way to educate people about steps they can take to improve water quality in their community,” said Laura Kammin, IISG pollution prevention program specialist. “Many people know not to flush their unused medicines, but they don’t necessarily know the options for disposal in their area. These events really help get the word out,” she said. Volunteers collected 30 pounds of medicine brought in by festival participants.

Hundreds of families enjoyed the festivities including canoe races, food and music, and educational booths and games. Nearly 200 people engaged in the IISG display and game, Get Rid of Stuff Sensibly, which provides information about what to do with unwanted medicine, electronics, aquarium fish and more. More than 150 kids played the program’s Stop, Droplet and Roll in Pollution game, which educates kids and their parents about the effects pollutants can have on our waterways.

“One of the event organizers came up to us at the end of the day to see what everyone was ‘oohing and aahing’ about, and people seemed to really enjoy the game”, said Carolyn Foley, IISG assistant research coordinator at Purdue University. “I also heard many parents say, ‘I’d never thought about the medicines…’, so I’m hopeful that we did have an impact.”