| In its Eleventh Biennial Report on Great Lakes Water Quality, the International Joint Commission (IJC) finds that while there are many ongoing programs and activities in Canada and the United States, progress to restore and maintain the chemical and biological integrity of the waters of the Great Lakes basin ecosystem is proceeding at a slow pace. The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between Canada and the United States has as its purpose, the restoration and maintenance of the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the waters of the Great Lakes basin ecosystem. Every two years, the IJC assesses progress toward achieving the goals of this Agreement. According to Dennis Schornack, chair of the IJC's U.S. Section, "The bilateral commitment to restore the greatness of the Great Lakes remains incomplete. Encouraging progress is being made, but at too slow a pace. Cleaning upcontaminated sediments and stopping the invasion of alien species are two top priorities for restoring the chemical and biological integrity of this vast and vital ecosystem." "The Agreement is now 30 years old and even though progress has been made, it has been slow. We see no evidence based on the nature and pace of current activities that restoration will happen within the next generation's life time," said Herb Gray, chair of the IJC's Canadian Section. The State of the Great Lakes Is water from the Great Lakes safe to swim in, are the fish safe to eat, is the water safe to drink? The citizens of the Great Lakes basin need to have answers to these questions because these are the three main ways they use the waters. Monitoring the lakes and developing reliable data is important because it tells us if the programs to maintain and restore the Great Lakes are working. Making this data accessible to the public is also important because all of these issues have implications for human use and ecosystem health. The Challenge of Contaminated Sediment and Human Health Impacts One of the greatest challenges of restoring the Greats Lakes is cleaning up the vast amounts of contaminated sediment lying at the bottom of many of our urban harbors, tributary rivers and nearshore areas. Without a comprehensive cleanup effort, restoration will not happen within a generation. A convincing body of scientific research shows that toxic substances accumulate in humans who eat certain Great Lakes fish, and that this exposure can cause serious injury to health. The Challenge of Alien Invasive Species The Great Lakes are under daily threat from invasions of non-native species that can cause egregious harm to the ecosystem and economy of the Great Lakes, even more harm than the infamous zebra mussel or sea lamprey. We need to act now because the U.S. and Canada form the gateway to this freshwater ecosystem, and once these species establish themselves, they cannot be eradicated. Other Important Challenges In its Eleventh Biennial Report, the IJC also offers observations on several issues of concern to the Great Lakes basin. It is the goal of the IJC to sustain dialogue with and between the governments of the United States and Canada in these very important areas and work toward acceptable solutions. These issues include: clean up in the Areas of Concern; phosphorus levels in the lakes; dredging; airborne toxic substances; contaminated groundwater; research and development; Lake Superior Binational Program; nuclear issues; and unmonitored chemicals. The International Joint Commission is a binational Canada-United States organization established by the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty to assist the governments in preventing disputes related to waters along the Canada-U.S. border. Under the Agreement, the IJC assesses the adequacy and effectiveness of programs and progress to restore and maintain the health of the Great Lakes and reports its findings and makes recommendations to governments biennially.
For more information, please contact : From: DayJ@windsor.ijc.org |
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Badgers? Received the following from Ross. Subject: Re: Badgers in Lambton? To: "Arlette Hunnakko" Cc: gpcatt@xcelco.on.ca Hello Arlette Thanks for your email. No, I know nothing of badgers in Lambton. However, I am passing on your comments to the editor of EARTHWAYS and will make a few enquiries as well. Dear Mr. Macmillan, Hello from Thunder Bay! I'm emailing you because yours was the only email address I could find on the LWI website. Hope you don't mind. At one time I was a LWI member, in the 80's when I was working on my thesis. Now, I live in the north, but most of my family still resides in the St. Clair River area. I was talking with my brother this morning and he told me he saw what he thought looked like a badger up in the bush area behind my parents home in Mooretown. He was looking at some beehives that a local beekeeper has up there and he said this creature sort of climbed a tree slowly and just observed him. He described to me a badger like creature (large claws, pointed head with ears to the side, longish bushy tail, pudgy body). I've been looking at them online and it seems they are not usual to the area, but one site said that their range is increasing. Do you know of badgers in Lambton? I've never heard of them there. Maybe I'm just out of the loop and they have been there all along. I thought that if this was unusual, your group might like to know about it or send someone to check it out. My brother is going to look for it and maybe get a photo. I know badgers are fierce, but this one wasn't aggressive at the time. I just told him to be careful. I would appreciate hearing back from you, if you can provide some info. You can email me or call my parents home at 867-2827. My brother's name is Derek Payne, and my parents are Helmut and Sylvia Biesterfeldt. Thanks so much for your time. PS. The opossum population has also really increased down river as well. My parents were live trapping and moving them last year because they were eating their garden. Rabbits have also increased. God Bless |
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Birding in the '50's I have come up with a bit of ancient history that may be of interest to some readers of Earthways. Dennis Rupert is mentioned. His family lived here in Wallaceburg for a time in the late 1940's and early 50's when the Heinz Plant was operating. They lived on the same street as my father's family, and were quite good friends. Dennis' brother John is the same age as my father, and they still keep in touch. Anyway, I hope you find the article suitable for including in the newsletter. Blake Mann BIRDING IN THE 1950'S A few years ago, I was browsing in a used book store and came across a booklet published by the Detroit Audubon Society in 1956. It is entitled "Bird Survey of the Detroit Region, 1954". The region included the area around Detroit from Toledo up to Lexington west to Ann Arbor and Flint, and extended into Ontario from Grand Bend down to east of Rondeau Park. It contains a wealth of information about bird sightings, particularly in Ontario. What caught my interest were all the sightings in Lambton and Kent Counties, as well as the names of observers mentioned. Wallaceburg residents like Dennis Rupert, and the Carscallen brothers were familiar ones. Other names may be familiar to some. Being very brief, I'll list some of the Lambton County sightings (1954) that are of interest. June 6, a colony of 100 pairs of Black-crowned Night Herons were found in Plympton Twp. Several nests of Canvasback, Redhead and Ruddy Ducks were found on Walpole Island by E. A. Roberts, Conservation Officer. One Lesser Scaup observed by Dennis Rupert on August 2 was at Fawn Island. American (Common) Mergansers were numbered at 800 at Sarnia on Dec. 13. One Sharp-shinned Hawk noted by Jim Carscallen on 8th conc., Sombra. A Piping Plover was sighted with two downy young at Port Franks (several sightings there during the summer). Two Hudsonian Curlew (Whimbrel) were at Ipperwash on July 3. Female Wilson's Phalarope (late May) in Sombra Twp. by Dennis Rupert. Several summer records of Whip-poor-wills recorded at Ipperwash. An Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker was found Dec. 26, 1953 in Sarnia Twp., and on July 15, 1954 a male was found at Ipperwash Beach. Two northern Horned Larks in company with Prairie Larks at Lake Smith on Oct. 27. A Nighthawk with one young at Ipperwash. A Mockingbird nest and 3 eggs was found near Petrolia by Gerry Bennett. Migrant Shrike (Loggerhead) with six eggs in Moore Twp. on April 24. Several sightings (11) recorded in Lambton in 1954. Prairie Warbler nest found at Port Franks, and two more nests at Beach O'Pines NE of Port Franks (several sightings in that area). Western Meadowlarks were found at Ipperwash Beach on June 12, and in Sombra Twp. on July 16. Red-eyed Towhee with fledged young found in several locations in Bosanquet Twp. These are just a few of the sightings for the year 1954. I left out many of the observers for brevity. The booklet is 100 pages and contains all kinds of records that are interesting to browse through. Blake A. Mann |