July/August 1997
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July/August 1997 |
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The International Joint Commission welcomes new members whom it recently appointed to its
boards and thanks those who have completed their service for the time and talent they
contributed.
The Commission welcomes new Council of Great Lakes Research Managers members Steve Brandt, State University of New York College at Buffalo, James Lawless, Environmental Research Institute of Michigan, Steven F. Hedtke, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and J. Val Klump, University of Wisconsin. Recently retired from the council are U.S. Co-chair Al Beeton and members Charles Remson and George Peace. Newly appointed to the Great Lakes Water Quality Board are James Ashman, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, J. Craig Mather, Metro Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, Daniel Krewski, Health Canada and Denyse Gouin, Quebec Ministry of the Environment and Wildlife. Andy Gilman has recently left the board, but will remain on the Council of Great Lakes Research Managers. Diane Henshel, Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs, has been appointed to the Great Lakes Science Advisory Board. Pradeef Kharé, British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, has been appointed to the International Osoyoos Lake Board of Control and International Kootenay Lake Board of Control. Robin McNeill, also of the British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, has been appointed to the International Osoyoos Lake Board of Control. Garald Parker, U.S. Geological Survey, has been appointed co-chair of International Osoyoos Lake Board of Control and member of the International Columbia River Board of Control. |
La Commission mixte internationale souhaite la bienvenue aux personnes nouvellement
nommées à ses différents conseils et remercie celles qui ont
terminé leur mandat pour le temps et
le talent qu'elles ont fournis.
Voici la liste des nouveaux membres du Conseil des gestionnaires de la recherche des Grands Lacs : Steve Brandt, State University of New York at Buffalo; James Lawless, Environmental Research Institute of Michigan; Steven F. Hedtke, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; J. Val Klump, University of Wisconsin. Ont récemment terminé leur mandat au Conseil : Al Beeton, co-président, ainsi que Charles Remson et George Peace. Les nouveaux membres du Conseil de la qualité de l'eau des Grands Lacs sont : James Ashman, ministère de l'Agriculture, de l'Alimentation et des Affaires rurales de l'Ontario; J. Craig Mather, Office de protection de la nature de la ville de Toronto et des environs; Daniel Krewski, Santé Canada; Denyse Gouin, ministère de l'Environnement et de la Faune du Québec. Andy Gilman a récemment terminé son mandat au Conseil, mais il continue de siéger au Conseil des gestionnaires de la recherche des Grands Lacs. Diane Henshel, de l'Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs, a été nommée au Conseil consultatif scientifique des Grands Lacs. Pradeef Kharé, du ministère de l'Environnement, des Terres et des Parcs de la Colombie-Britannique, a été nommé au Conseil international de contrôle du lac Osoyoos et au Conseil international de contrôle du lac Kootenay. Robin McNeill, du même ministère, a été nommé au Conseil international de contrôle du lac Osoyoos. Garald Parker, du U.S. Geological Survey, a accepté le poste de co-président de ce conseil et siège au Conseil international de contrôle du fleuve Columbia. |
Murray Clamen was promoted to the position of secretary of the International Joint Commission's Canadian section on April 25, 1997 after serving as acting secretary for 18 months. James Chandler will become acting secretary of the Commission's U.S. section on July 21, 1997. Kathy Prosser, the current U.S. section secretary has been selected as the new president and chief executive officer of The Keystone Center, a nonprofit, public policy and science education organization based in Keystone, Colorado.
In April, the governments of the United States of America and Canada asked the advice of the International Joint Commission (IJC) on how the IJC itself might best assist the governments to meet the environmental challenges of the 21st century.
The governments affirmed that the IJC, under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 and the revised Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1978, and through its various boards of control and its water and air quality boards, has assisted the United States and Canada in establishing the best environmental relationship of any two countries in the world.
The governments of the United States and Canada reaffirmed their commitment to the IJC and its important role of fostering cooperative action in support of the health and well-being of their citizens and the natural ecosystem along the border. The governments recognized that these ecosystems constitute an environmental and economic resource of tremendous value that must be conserved and protected into the next century, and in perpetuity for the mutual benefit of present and future generations of both countries.
The governments further recognized that the environmental challenges faced collectively by our people have grown in size and complexity, requiring strengthened, collaborative action.
With a view toward confronting these challenges, the governments of the United States and Canada requested the IJC, in consultation with government and others that the IJC deems appropriate, to examine its important mission in light of relevant agreements and references, and to provide, by October 1997, proposals on how the IJC might best assist the governments to meet the environmental challenges of the 21st century within the framework of their treaty responsibilities.
Your comments on issues related to this request are welcome. Please send comments to the Washington, D.C. or Ottawa offices of the IJC by August 29, 1997.
The Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy was signed on April 7, 1997 by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Carol Browner and Canadian Minister of the Environment Sergio Marchi. This agreement to undertake a coordinated effort to rid the Great Lakes of toxic chemical pollution was signed during Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's three-day visit to Washington, D.C. to meet with U.S. President Bill Clinton. It responds to recommendations for a binational toxics strategy that the International Joint Commission has made for more than a decade.
In keeping with the goals of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement -- to restore and protect the Great Lakes -- this strategy includes a commitment by the two governments to continue on their path towards virtual elimination of persistent toxic substances resulting from human activity, as well as placing a primary emphasis on pollution prevention.
Governments acknowledge that they alone cannot achieve the goal of virtual elimination, and so they have called upon all sectors of society to participate and cooperate to help achieve success. Recognizing that virtual elimination is a long-term objective, the binational toxics strategy provides a framework to achieve specific actions from 1997 to 2006, including milestones along the path. Governments will focus their actions on a list of "Level I Substances," which includes all 11 critical pollutants identified by the International Joint Commission, plus chlordane and octachlorostyrene (see below). While primarily focused on the Great Lakes basin, impacts to the basin from the long-range transport of substances through the atmosphere also will be considered.
Persistent toxic substances continue to enter the Great Lakes from atmospheric deposition, contaminated bottom sediments, various industrial processes, nonpoint sources as well as some naturally occurring phenomena. This strategy acknowledges and builds on the existing U.S. and Canadian regulatory programs, which address the targeted substances. Both countries also acknowledge that more needs to be done.
Virtually eliminating persistent toxic substances in the Great Lakes basin remains a significant challenge. The strategy is intended to encourage ongoing programs or emerging initiatives to better address toxic releases; to provide a context of basinwide goals for local actions; and to provide "out of basin" support to Great Lakes basin programs such as Lakewide Management Programs and Remedial Action Plans. Actions identified in the strategy will be complemented by other existing or proposed regulatory and nonregulatory initiatives.
The complete strategy may be obtained by contacting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Great Lakes National Program Office (G-9J), 77 W. Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60604-3590; website http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/p2/bnsintro.html ; Elizabeth LaPlante (312)353-2694; email; laplante.elizabeth@epamail.epa.gov.
Level I Substances in the Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy
Also during the visit by the Canadian prime minister to Washington, then Canadian Environmental Minister Sergio Marchi and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Carol Browner signed the Program to Develop a Joint Plan of Action for Addressing Transboundary Air Pollution, on April 7, 1997. In this accord, the two countries vowed to address transboundary air pollution, particularly the transport of ground level ozone and particulate matter, the two main components of smog.
Under the joint plan, the two countries have agreed to examine emission reduction scenarios for ozone and particulate matter and how they might be applied in a transboundary context, including transboundary emission trading and partnerships between states and provinces in selected boundary regions. Potential annexes on fine particulates and smog to the 1991 Canada-United States Air Quality Agreement also will be considered. The 1991 agreement provides a framework to address shared concerns about transboundary air pollution and contains annexes related to larger airborne particles and pollutants that form acid rain.
Lake Michigan Federation (LMF), a regional nonprofit environmental organization that focuses on protecting the Lake Michigan basin, is reporting on the completion of a two year community health project in Muskegon, Michigan. As a pilot project for other Great Lakes communities, LMF's purpose was to fill gaps at the community level in establishing programs to identify, monitor and address public health concerns related to degraded environmental conditions.
As part of the project, LMF coordinated seminars at local hospitals for physicians and other health care professionals on how to identify, diagnose and treat environmentally-related illnesses. The seminars included detailed information on local environmental conditions, as well as resources available to health care professionals.
Surveys to measure the level of public understanding and awareness of connections between health and environment showed that residents had a significant awareness of environmental issues and their potential effects on health. However, they generally did not connect degraded environmental conditions to personal health.
A children's video and an easy-to-read guide for the public on how to prevent exposure to environmental hazards, such as household and garden chemicals, contaminated fish and exposures from hobbies and the workplace, also were produced. The booklet is free with purchase of the video at $10 (US), or by itself at $1 (US).
The materials are relevant to any community wishing to raise public awareness on how environmental exposures occur. Eager to share their project findings are Tanya Cabala and Liz England at (616)722-5116; fax (616)722-4918; email; tcabala@great-lakes.net. To order project materials for $15 (US), contact Lake Michigan Federation, 161 Muskegon Mall, Comerica Bank Building, Suite 502, Muskegon, MI 49440.
Lake Michigan's yellow perch population has decreased by 80 percent since 1990 and no one seems to know exactly why. Although this is not the first time Lake Michigan has experienced a significant decline in yellow perch, this is reported as being the most severe instance. University of Wisconsin Sea Grant researcher Fred Binkowski said the Great Lakes Fishery Commission Task Group on Yellow Perch has identified a number of possible factors including feeding by alewife on larval perch; weather limiting the survival of perch in early life stages and larval fish starvation. Binkowski explains that although fish in general can usually tolerate such stressors, multiple combinations can be more serious to population continuity.
University of Wisconsin Sea Grant fisheries specialist Clifford Kraft has indicated the problem appears to be concentrated in southern Lake Michigan, and emphasizes the need to study and understand the situation to know whether it might happen elsewhere. Four states bordering the lake are taking action to limit yellow perch fishing. Michigan, without a commercial fishery for many years, reduced its sport fishing daily bag limit to 35 last year. Indiana instituted an emergency ruling January 1 closing the state's commercial fishery, while limiting their sport daily bag limit to 15. Illinois' Department of Natural Resources has recommended the closing of its commercial fishery and reducing the sport limit to 15, while Wisconsin has banned commercial fishing for Lake Michigan yellow perch, and cut the daily bag limit to five.
For more information, contact University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute, 1800 University Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin 53705-4094. (608)263-3259; website http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu.
Demolished Cleveland Municipal Stadium will be used in the construction of a large artificial reef in Lake Erie. Cleveland Mayor Michael R. White announced plans last October for the construction of an artificial reef, making practical use of materials generated from the old Cleveland Browns and Indians' stadium demolition. One-half to two-thirds of the stadium's 20,000 cubic yards of reinforced concrete can be used for reef material, consisting only the uncontaminated, unpainted portions.
Clevelanders look forward to the construction of the large artificial reef, planned for use by anglers in the fall of 1999. David Taylor of the Stadium Reef Committee stated that he is grateful to the mayor, and members of the administration for making the building of the reef possible, and that it will be a great boost for fishing in Cleveland. To find out more, contact Twine Line, The Educational Newsletter of Ohio Sea Grant College Program, The Ohio State University, 1314 Kinnear Road, Columbus, OH 43212-1194. (614)292-8949; fax (614)292-4364; website http://www.sg.ohio-state.edu/ .
The Wisconsin Loon population appears to be healthy now, but may face a troubled future according to a newly released 1995 population survey of common loons in the state. The report, prepared by the LoonWatch program at the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute of Northland College, estimates a statewide population of 3,017 adult common loons and 678 chicks. These numbers reflect a significant increase in Wisconsin's loon population over the past 10 years, and a stable population over the past five years. Statistical analysis was conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR).
However, the 1995 data also show less hopeful trends. Wisconsin loons are most dependent on lakes smaller than 150 acres for nesting and chick rearing, but severe development pressures exist on northern Wisconsin lakes of this size. According to a WDNR study released last year, about two-thirds of previously undeveloped northern Wisconsin lakes 10 acres and larger have been developed in the past 30 years, while lakes 10-49 acres in size experienced the highest development growth -- 103 percent during the same time. The report predicts that all undeveloped lakes in northern Wisconsin not in public ownership could potentially be developed within the next 20 years if the current rates persist.
The history of the loon's habitat in the upper midwest states suggests the future risk the bird faces in Wisconsin. Loon populations once reached as far south as Illinois and Iowa, but because of destruction and degradation of lake habitat there, those areas no longer provide suitable nesting and chick-rearing habitat for these birds. The loon's range in Wisconsin now lies primarily in the northern one-third of the state. Loon population data are gathered through LoonWatch, a program involving nearly 300 volunteer monitors throughout northern Wisconsin. For more information, contact Terry Daulton, LoonWatch Coordinator, Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute, Northland College, 222 Admiral Leahy Drive, Ashland, WI 54806. (715)682-1220; fax (715)682-1218.
Earthwatch Radio is a two-minute program on science and the environment produced at the University of Wisconsin-Madison by the Sea Grant Institute for Environmental Studies. While broadcast on over more than 100 radio stations, you can also hear it over the internet by calling up the website: http://ewradio.org. You can read five new Earthwatch scripts every Monday by subscribing to the listserver. Also, all scripts written since 1990 are accessible through the gopher site. For more information, contact Richard Hoops, Earthwatch Radio Producer, University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute, 1800 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53705-4094. Email; rhoops@seagrant.wisc.edu ; homepage http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu.
Revised: July 7, 1997
Maintained by Kevin McGunagle,
mcgunaglek@ijc.wincom.net