There are more than 40,000 private ponds and lakes in Indiana, many of which are used for fishing and other recreations. Across the United States, people own more than 180 million acres specifically for the purpose of hunting and fishing. Landowners wishing to effectively manage their property for fishing and hunting will find value in a new Purdue Extension publication series that will serve as a comprehensive guide on pond and wildlife management.

Mitchell Zischke, a Purdue assistant professor of fisheries and aquatic sciences and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant outreach specialist, has teamed up with Jarred Brooke, a wildlife Purdue Extension specialist, to lead a team of Purdue experts who plan on releasing comprehensive publications and guides on pond and wildlife management. The project will consist of two field guides, factsheets, videos and a new website: Pond and Wildlife Management.

“The need for this project was highlighted by biologists and managers at the Indiana DNR and by Purdue Extension educators,” said Zischke. “Project leads decided to join forces on ponds and wildlife, as many private landowners work to manage their lands for both outcomes.”

Read the full news release from Purdue University Agriculture News.

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a part of University of Illinois Extension and Purdue University Extension.

The Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals (ANREP) has just given Kara Salazar the early career leadership award. Salazar joined Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant as a sustainable communities extension specialist in 2012. She serves as a link between Indiana and Illinois communities and scientists conducting research on sustainability.

ANREP strives to provide a variety of approaches to help educate landowners, managers, decision makers, and youth. Its annual awards program fosters high standards within the membership, recognizes significant achievement, and expands the use of high quality, innovative materials and programs by honoring the outstanding members and partners who developed them.

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a part of University of Illinois Extension and Purdue University Extension.

Researchers at Purdue University are suggesting that fishing by Lake Michigan charter boat anglers has changed in recent years—and the scientists didn’t even have to visit the lake to notice these differences.

In fact, Nicholas Simpson who is the primary author on the study has never even fished Lake Michigan.

Working with Tomas Höök, fisheries ecologist and IISG associate director for research, Simpson, then an undergraduate, compiled 21 years of charter fishing data obtained from the Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin Departments of Natural Resources (DNR).

The data, derived from more than 500,000 trips, were readily available from the records charter anglers are required to report to their state DNR after each trip: number of fish harvested—not just caught, location fished, and hours spent fishing.

Simpson, Höök, and their co-authors evaluated patterns for five salmonid species—brown trout, Chinook salmon, coho salmon, lake trout, rainbow trout—harvested from May to September during 1992–2012.

“Because we’re looking at charter fisherman data, there are some biases,” Höök acknowledged. “They’re not randomly going out to catch fish. They go where they believe they’re more likely to catch fish.”

But there is an advantage to examining these data. Researchers often attempt to catch fish in a systematic, unbiased way, and may be limited by factors, such as funding timelines or resources. As a result, “the number of times the lake is fished or the overall number of fish caught wouldn’t be that much,” Höök pointed out. “Here we’re taking advantage of a huge number of people fishing over a long time period.”

The data set covers a time when the lake itself has changed dramatically. Lake temperature and other physical and biological factors are different today than they were in 1992. Over the course of the data set, the distribution and number of prey fish, such as alewives, available for salmon varied greatly.

In addition, while it may be hard to remember a time when zebra and quagga mussels—invasive filter feeders—didn’t line almost every inch of Lake Michigan, zebra mussels were just becoming an issue in the first year of data. Numerous studies have suggested that the mussels have changed the structure of the Lake Michigan food web over time.

The researchers assumed that salmonid species would not be immune to these changes, and some patterns emerged from the charter anglers’ records.

Over time, the amount of time charter anglers spent fishing increased. The anglers also shifted their efforts closer to shore and toward the western and northern parts of Lake Michigan. However, patterns in the harvest of individual salmonid species paint a complicated picture.

Harvest of lake trout and rainbow trout by charter anglers shifted closer to the shore. The same was not true for Chinook and coho, where harvest was consistently farther out in the lake. Brown trout were harvested progressively further west and south, while lake trout were harvested progressively further east. Multiple species were harvested in new locations and at new depths.

In general, the researchers suggest that many of the changes are related to salmonid feeding.

“Previous research has shown the brown trout and rainbow trout and to an extent lake trout are a little more flexible in their diets,” Simpson said. “They were more apt to shift closer to shore and to shallower depths for food. Chinook salmon and coho salmon may not have displayed those trends because they’re more reliant on alewife as prey, which tend to live farther out in the lake.”

“There’s no previous research in the literature that would suggest that coho or Chinook salmon would vary their diet as much as the other three species,” Simpson added.

The researchers stopped short of definitively declaring that fish are changing where they dwell in response to changes in distributions of Lake Michigan nutrients and prey, but they’re confident the results from this paper will be useful.

“The depth and breadth of this data set is what makes it powerful,” said Höök. “While we have to be aware of the biases, fisheries researchers do use catch and harvest data to infer species distributions.”

And while fisheries managers will ultimately need to consider this analysis alongside their own monitoring efforts, Simpson said, “I think it’s useful for fisheries managers especially on Lake Michigan to be able to see that there are shifts occurring.

The study on their findings was recently published in the Journal of Great Lakes Research.

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a part of University of Illinois Extension and Purdue Extension.

We’re excited to welcome Mitchell Zischke, our new research and extension fishery scientist! He will be located at Purdue University’s West Lafayette campus. The focus of his research, extension, and teaching program is the biology, ecology, and socioeconomics of fisheries.

“I’m excited to be joining the IISG team. It’s great to be part of such a diverse team working towards conserving and promoting Lake Michigan,” Mitchell said.

“The southern shores of Lake Michigan with its tall dunes, white sand, and blue water reminds me quite a bit of the east coast of Australia—well except for the coral reefs and animals that can kill you…”

Mitchell’s work primarily focuses on the Great Lakes where he employs laboratory and field-based tools to explore population dynamics and ecology of fish species such as lake whitefish, walleye, yellow perch, and salmonid species. He also uses survey data to explore changes in recreational fishery characteristics such as catch rates and angler satisfaction. His extension program aims to increase communication among fisheries, researchers, managers, and other stakeholders by hosting public workshops and developing products such as online data portals.

Mitch also has extensive experience in tropical marine fish and fisheries. He has conducted research on pelagic species such as wahoo, mackerel and tunas, and estuarine species such as blue threadfin. He was worked for state and federal fishery management organizations in Australia.

Mitchell obtained a Bachelor of Science (honors) majoring in tropical marine science in 2006 and a PhD in fisheries science in 2013, both from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia.

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a part of University of Illinois Extension and Purdue Extension.

Sustainable Communities Extension Specialist Kara Salazar received word earlier this week that Governor Mike Pence chose her as one of four council members to serve on the Indiana Land Resources Council.

The council serves as a resource for local communities to provide information and expertise on land use and zoning issues.

Salazar’s affiliation with Purdue University Extension has helped communities throughout Indiana identify issues that impact their sustainability and land use policies. She will serve a four-year term through November 15, 2019.

Next summer, a parking lot on an Indiana campus will be a little prettier and a little less likely to flood due to a recently installed rain garden. That rain garden planting capped off a training workshop at Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus (IUPUC).

The Purdue University Extension Rainscaping Education Program team held a two-day intensive workshop September 17-18 for 24 participants from across the state, including Master Gardeners, Soil and Water Conservation District professionals, landscaping contractors, and municipal separate storm sewer system managers.

They learned specifics about rain gardens and other rainscaping techniques, which offer an alternative to standard infrastructure methods for flood prevention and stormwater management. These plantings capture rain water where it lands and slowly absorb it into the soil.

The goal is for workshop participants to take this new knowledge back home to incorporate rainscaping in their community, to engage in public education, and to provide technical assistance. “In Jasper County, participants who attended our previous workshop have held sessions for residents based on our program,” said Kara Salazar, IISG specialist. “Several participants from this workshop have already expressed plans to do the same.”

The workshop was designed to use flipped class instruction, which means the participants came to class already knowing the ABCs of rain gardens. Before the workshop they had homework, which was to watch seven instructional videos. “This approach really worked,” said Salazar. “We were able to go in depth in our classroom discussions.”

The workshop included a tour of rain gardens in the area and hands-on experience helping with the installation of the IUPUC rain garden. This garden was an opportunity to also bring in IUPUC students, who participated in the site selection and the planting. They will also work with faculty member Luke Jacobus, rainscaping team member Kris Medic, local Master Gardeners, and the campus maintenance crew to help maintain the garden.

“As we choose a host site for our demonstration gardens, longevity and sustainability are key factors,” said Salazar.

Stormwater management in Indiana is getting a shot in the arm next month with the launch of the Rainscaping Education Program.  

A collaboration between Purdue Extension, IISG, and others, the program provides how-to information and resources on landscape design and management practices that help prevent polluted stormwater from reaching local waterways. Practices are appropriate for both residential gardens and small-scale public spaces, including schools and community centers. 

It all starts April 14 with the first in a series of workshops focused on rain gardens. Over the course of five three-hour sessions, participants will visit and discuss existing rain gardens in the community and learn how to design, construct, and maintain one with a focus on community education. They will also get a chance to test their knowledge by collaborating on a demonstration rain garden with community partners. 

The Rainscaping Education Program is open to Purdue Master Gardeners, personnel at conservation organizations, stormwater professionals, and landscape professionals and consultants. For more information and to learn how to register, visit the program website. 

***Photo: The plants and soil in rain gardens help absorb stormwater and filter out pollutants. Courtesy of the Champaign-Urbana Residents for Raingardens and BioSwales. 

A closer look at web tools and sites that boost research and empower Great Lakes communities to secure a healthy environment and economy. 

Aquaculture plays an increasingly vital role in securing long-term food supplies, and the Midwest is poised to help. In fact, a rich supply of raw materials and proximity to large markets makes Illinois and Indiana prime locations for aquaculture farms and related industries. 

To help producers cash in on these benefits, IISG, University of Illinois Extension, and Purdue Extension teamed up to create Aquaculture Economics and Marketing Resources. The site provides leading research and how-to information for developing a productive, innovative, and profitable aquaculture business. 

Visitors interested in starting a new business will find resources on everything from establishing an organizational structure to creating a business plan to securing financing. New and veteran producers can also find tips for connecting with consumers and tapping into niche markets. 

Aquaculture Economics and Marketing Resources is one of several tools IISG uses to help aquaculture producers define markets and create value-added opportunities for their products. Since 2005, Kwamena Quagrainie has held roughly 40 workshops with over 1,200 participants. These and other efforts in Indiana resulted in about $15 million in farm sales of aquaculture products in 2013, a nearly five-fold increase over 2005. 

To learn more about how aquaculture is strengthening Indiana’s economy, read our 2013 program impacts.