From the U.S. EPA:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today released its most comprehensive study of the nation’s lakes to date. The draft study, which rated the condition of 56 percent of the lakes in the United States as good and the remainder as fair or poor, marked the first time EPA and its partners used a nationally consistent approach to survey the ecological and water quality of lakes. A total of 1,028 lakes were randomly sampled during 2007 by states, tribes and EPA.

“This survey serves as a first step in evaluating the success of efforts to protect, preserve, and restore the quality of our nation’s lakes,” said Peter Silva, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Water. “Future surveys will be able to track changes in lake water quality over time and advance our understanding of important regional and national patterns in lake water quality.”

The National Lakes Assessment reveals that the remaining lakes are in fair or poor condition. Degraded lakeshore habitat, rated “poor” in 36 percent of lakes, was the most significant of the problems assessed. Removal of trees and shrubs and construction of docks, marinas, homes and other structures along shorelines all contribute to degraded lakeshore habitat.

Nitrogen and phosphorous are found at high levels in 20 percent of lakes. Excess levels of these nutrients contribute to algae blooms, weed growth, reduced water clarity, and other lake problems. EPA is very concerned about the adverse impacts of nutrients on aquatic life, drinking water and recreation. The agency will continue to work with states to address water quality issues through effective nutrient management.

The survey included a comparison to a subset of lakes with wastewater impacts that were sampled in the 1970s. It finds that 75 percent show either improvements or no change in phosphorus levels. This suggests that the nation’s investments in wastewater treatment and other pollution control activities are working despite population increases across the country.

The results of this study describe the target population of the nation’s lakes as a whole and are not applicable to a particular lake. Sampling for the National Rivers and Streams Assessment is underway, and results from this two-year study are expected to be available in 2011.

From the New York Times:

Michigan asked the United States Supreme Court on Monday to sever a century-old connection between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River system to prevent Asian carp from invading the lakes and endangering their $7 billion fishery.

The Michigan attorney general, Mike Cox, filed the lawsuit against Illinois, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. They operate the canals and other waterways that link Lake Michigan and the Mississippi system. Read more.

IISG’s Pat Charlebois and John Epifanio discussed Asian carp and the Great Lakes on Champaign-Urbana’s NPR station, WILL-AM, this morning on the Focus 580 program. You can listen or download it here.

Now that Asian carp DNA has been detected beyond the electric barrier—a mere seven miles from Lake Michigan—it’s even more important for anglers and boaters to watch out for these species and help reduce their numbers.

These fish pose a considerable risk for the health of Lake Michigan and all the Great Lakes. Both bighead and silver carp, known as Asian carp, feed on plankton which is the base of the aquatic food chain. “They can compete directly with native organisms including mussels, all young fishes and some adult fish,” said Pat Charlebois, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant aquatic invasives specialist.

So far, the fish haven’t actually been seen beyond the barrier–only water samples taken from various sites in the Chicago waterways have tested positive for their DNA. And, during the recent deliberate fish kill in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, one Asian carp was found downstream of the barrier site.

“People who spend time out on lakes and rivers are usually the first to spot new species,” said Charlebois. “To know with certainty whether the carp are beyond the barrier, we are really counting on their help in reporting any sightings.”

Asian carp have noteworthy differences from other carp species in terms of appearance. The key to recognizing them is their extremely low set eyes and their scales, which are much smaller than other carp. And while it has been reported that the Asian carp can grow to as much as 60 pounds in Midwest waters, most of these fish are likely to be much smaller than that.

If you think you’ve caught an Asian carp in Chicago area waters, it’s important to report this to Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (847-242-6440), the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (309-968-7531) or the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (317-234-3883). Note the exact location and if possible, freeze the specimen in a sealed plastic bag.

If you are fishing downstream of the barrier where Asian carp are plentiful, you can do your part to reduce their numbers by catching and cooking them. “At this point, we don’t know how the carp got to where they are in the Chicago waterways,” said Charlebois. “There are a number of possibilities. However, we can lessen their desire to move to less crowded areas such as Lake Michigan, by reducing their downstream numbers.”

Because Asian carp are filter feeders, traditional fishing methods don’t work. “In our research we found that the most successful ways to catch Asian carp are by bowfishing, using landing nets to catch jumping carp, which I’m not recommending because of safety concerns, and by snagging using trotlines, jigs or dough balls,” explained Charlebois.

On the plus side, Asian carp meat is tasty, surprisingly, so keep your catch. “They taste like cod,” said Charlebois. “You can cook them a number of different ways and use some great recipes.”

At the 2009 Governor’s Conference on the Management of the Illinois River System in October, several IISG specialists presented a talk titled Strategies for Sustainable Unwanted Medicine Collection Programs: in Communities, in the Classroom and Beyond as part of a session about community action success stories. The article from the conference proceedings is now available.

In their session, Beth Hinchey Malloy, Great Lakes ecosystem health specialist, and Robin Goettel, associate director for education, discussed the work that has been done related to unwanted medicine collection programs. They highlighted the Sea Grant tool kit—Disposal of Unwanted Medicines: A Resource for Action in Your Community and IISG’s partnership with the Prescription Pill and Drug Disposal Program (P2D2), which is a component of the program’s new education initiative. Coming soon for high school teachers and other educators is The Medicine Chest: A Collection of Safe Disposal Curriculum Activities and Education Resources.

From a Pentagraph editorial:

Like a pebble dropped in a lake, sending ripples far beyond the starting point, the Prescription Pill and Drug Disposal program started by teachers and students at Pontiac Township High School, continues to spread its impact across the country.

It’s a fitting metaphor for a program designed to protect the safety and quality of our drinking water.

The key message behind the program is that improper disposal of old drugs — flushing them down the toilet or down a drain — can lead to contamination of water supplies. Throwing them in the trash could lead to them falling in the wrong hands.

But, without an active Prescription Pill and Drug Disposal program — the P2D2 program — consumers have few options. Read more.

From the Army Corp of Engineers:

On November 17, the University of Notre Dame notified the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that some water samples, taken from the area between the electric barriers and Lake Michigan on September 23 and October 1, tested positive for the presence of Asian carp. The positive samples were from an area about one mile south of the O’Brien Lock, approximately 8 miles from Lake Michigan.

As part of its ongoing Asian carp monitoring program, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continues to work with the university to use eDNA genetic testing of water samples to monitor the presence of bighead and silver carp in Chicago area waterways.

“Keeping Asian carp from reaching Lake Michigan remains the focus and goal of the IDNR and the Rapid Response Work Group. We will continue to work with the group and our partners on how best to address this new issue and move forward with achieving our overall goal,” said IDNR Assistant Director John Rogner.

The multi-agency rapid response team is working to develop appropriate courses of action based on this new information. Initial response actions will include focusing Asian carp eDNA sampling and other monitoring efforts on areas upstream of the barrier to gather near real-time data on the current location of Asian carp to aid the Rapid Response team in their planning efforts.

The Rapid Response Work Group is finalizing plans to apply rotenone to a section of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in early December as part of a scheduled fish barrier maintenance shut down.

“Scheduled barrier maintenance will proceed as planned,” said Major General John W. Peabody, Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Great Lakes and Ohio River Division. “This new information reinforces the importance of preventing any further intrusion of the Asian carp via the largest pathway, the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.”

 

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

The decade-old battle to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes might be over.

New research shows the fish likely have made it past the $9 million electric fish barrier on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, a source familiar with the situation told the Journal Sentinel late Thursday.

The barrier is considered the last chance to stop the super-sized fish that can upend entire ecosystems, and recent environmental DNA tests showed that the carp had advanced to within a mile of the barrier. Read more.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

A practical battalion of state and federal fishery workers will soon be dispatched to the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in a drastic attempt to keep Asian carp from invading Lake Michigan.

Early next month, more than 200 people are expected to participate in a two-day, $1.5 million project to poison nearly 6 miles of canal just southwest of Chicago. The idea is for biologists to temporarily kill the river so a new electric fish barrier can be briefly shut down for maintenance. Read more.