Areas Of Concern Research Articles

Green Bay: Spatial variation in water quality, and landscape correlations

We conducted a high-resolution survey along the nearshore (369 km) in Green Bay using towed electronic instrumentation at approximately 15-m depth contour, with additional transects of the bay that were oriented cross-contour (49 km). Electronic sensor data provided an efficient characterization of a spatial pattern in water quality parameters. Nearshore water quality was correlated with adjacent landscape characterization. The regressions were able to explain over 80% of the alongshore variability for some parameters. The parameters with the strongest correlation were specific conductivity, beam attenuation, and chlorophyll. A clear feature of Green Bay is the loading introduced by the Fox River at the head of the bay. River loading sets up the conditions for a longitudinal gradient along the bay. Nutrient and chlorophyll gradients have persisted since first observed in monitoring surveys decades ago in spite of rapid flushing of the bay and efforts for remedial actions to restore areas of concern (AOCs). The water quality gradients were steepest in the 25-km closest to the mouth of the Fox River decreasing inversely with distance to where the bay opens to Lake Michigan. Summarized data from our 2010 tow and a concurrent National Coastal Condition Assessment (NCCA) survey compared to historical data (1971–1989) show a bay-wide rise in specific conductivity and chlorides, but only suggest highly variable total phosphorous and chlorophyll a in the inner bay. The tools employed (towed sensors, landuse characterization, and NCCA) can provide an efficient approach to a more regular and comprehensive bay-wide assessment.

Wetland Habitat Assessments at the Rochester Embayment Area of Concern on the South Shore of Lake Ontario, USA

Wetlands in urban areas along Lake Ontario have been subject to various forms of degradation. The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) of 1972 between the United States and Canada was initiated to address the degradation of the physical, chemical, and biological integrity of the Great Lakes. The GLWQA of 1987 (Annex 2) identified locations that have serious contamination and other degradation issues to a greater degree than the rest of the Great Lakes basin, and designated these locations as Areas of Concern (AOCs). AOCs are assessed through preparation of remedial action plans (RAPs) to determine which of 14 “beneficial uses” related to human and intrinsic values of the ecological system remain impaired, and to identify actions that will restore beneficial uses.

A Bayesian methodological framework for setting fish tumor occurrence delisting criteria: A case study in St. Marys River area of concern

Fish tumors and other deformities are a class of Beneficial Use Impairment (BUIs) established by the International Joint Commission to identify Areas of Concern (AOC) in the Great Lakes basin. The St. Marys River has been impaired by fish tumors and other deformities since its designation as an AOC in 1987. In this study, we present a Bayesian modeling framework that is founded upon the explicit consideration of the sampling bias in tumor observations as well as the causal association between important covariates and tumor occurrence. Data from 2009 indicate that fish tumor incidence rates were generally elevated at the Bellevue Marina and Partridge Point exposed locations relative to the Batchawana Bay reference site. Fish age was the single most important covariate of the tumor incidence rates, followed by the fork length, and the liver or gonad weights. Using the Bayesian counterpart of the two one-side tests for equivalence, the exposed site was practically equivalent to the reference location in regards to the neoplasm and pre-neoplasm incidence rates. However, the mean probability of neoplasm incidence was predicted to be lower than 10% in 70% and 95% of the cases in the exposed and reference sites, respectively. The predicted mean pre-neoplasm frequency never fell below 10% in all the samples collected at the exposed site, whereas ≈40% of the cases are predicted to fall below the proposed cut-off level in the reference site suggesting that the exposed site may still be impaired.

Perspectives from the Field: Cost Ramifications of Toxic Substance Control Act In Situ Characterization Policy on Contaminated Sediment Cleanup Projects

A good portion of the effort and funding going into Great Lakes restoration targets the removal via dredging of contaminated sediments from the designated areas of concern (AOCs). In fact, contaminated sediments are the underlying cause of several Beneficial Use Impairments that keep the AOCs from being delisted and restoration success claimed. A common contaminant in the Great Lakes AOCs, as elsewhere throughout the United States (US), is a class of persistent and bioaccumulating compounds called polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). There have been 15 sediment projects conducted to date under the Great Lakes Legacy Act program (Tuchman, 2013 ), and 11 have involved PCB-contaminated sediment. Contaminated sediment is also being removed from the Great Lakes through other programs such as the Superfund; to date, the Lower Fox River Superfund Remedial Action is the largest sediment removal project in the nation, with approximately 2.5 million cubic yards (1.9 million cubic meters) removed through 2012 and the planned removal of another 1.5 million cubic yards (1.2 million cubic meters).

Communicating research findings and monitoring data in support of management: A case study of the Bay of Quinte Remedial Action Plan

The Bay of Quinte is a nearly enclosed bay in Lake Ontario which has been impacted by multiple industrial contaminant events and persistent eutrophication. As a result, it became one of 43 Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOC) identified and supported by the International Joint Commission (IJC) for remediation. The Bay of Quinte Remedial Action Plan (RAP) relies on data from Project Quinte, a long-term monitoring program, to set targets, assess the status of beneficial use impairments and evaluate restoration progress. The ability of organizations to communicate relevant and timely scientific research and monitoring to decision-makers has recently emerged as an important issue in the literature. This article explores the issue of communicating research and monitoring information for the purpose of aiding decision-making through a case study of the Bay of Quinte RAP. Research included semi-structured interviews with scientists, regulators and community stakeholders involved with the Bay of Quinte RAP, observational research, document analysis and literature review. Findings indicate that multiple and diverse techniques are used to communicate research and monitoring data to decision-makers. Furthermore, our findings indicate that accurate tracking of trends, valuing high quality monitoring, promoting stakeholder cooperation, collaborating with other groups implementing RAPs and informing management and decision-making are key beneficial outcomes of shared science about the Bay of Quinte. Lessons learned emphasize the importance of administrative support and institutional memory; integration of ecosystem models; consistent long-term monitoring; and public engagement. These lessons are instructive for stakeholders conducting ecosystem restoration, planning or management, particularly those involved in any of the other RAPs ongoing on the Great Lakes.

Mercury and other heavy metals in free-ranging mink of the lower Great Lakes basin, Canada, 1998–2006

Mercury concentrations were examined in livers of free-ranging mink (Neovison vison) trapped in the lower Great Lakes basin from 1998 to 2006. Significant geographic variation in total mercury levels was found in mink from 13 Great Lakes locations, many of which are within Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs). Total mercury levels in mink from these locations were generally low to moderate, with means (±SE) ranging from 0.99 (±0.36) μg/g dry weight in mink from inland Lake Erie to 7.31 (±1.52) μg/g in mink from Walpole Island in the St. Clair River AOC. Overall, mercury exposure was highest in mink trapped in locations associated with large riverine wetlands. Total mercury concentrations were negatively related to the percentage of mercury present as methylmercury and positively related to selenium concentrations, consistent with increasing demethylation of methylmercury with increasing total mercury concentrations. One-year old mink had significantly higher levels of mercury and selenium than mink under 1 year but similar to mink 2 years of age and older. Mercury levels were below those associated with mercury toxicity. Concentrations of cadmium, lead and arsenic were low and largely associated with environmental background levels. Significant age and sex effects were found for cadmium. Lead levels were significantly lower in mink infected by the lung nematode parasite compared to uninfected animals. Further studies of biomagnification of methylmercury in wetland environments, where top predators such as mink may be an increased risk of exposure, are warranted.

Blending science and public policies for remediation of a degraded ecosystem: Jackfish Bay, north shore of Lake Superior, Ontario, Canada

The Jackfish Bay Remedial Action Plan is the first of Lake Superior's Areas of Concern (AOCs) to consider recognition as an Area in Recovery (AiR). As a result of a high degree of complexity and uncertainty, ecosystem recovery in Jackfish Bay has been determined using a combination of regulatory policies and scientific evidence and extensive public and expert-based decision making. As a result, the conceptualization of the AiR status in Jackfish Bay has been developed with the adaptive management and the ecosystem approach, which provide the basic principles of assessing, monitoring, and managing the Area of Concern. To determine the status of beneficial use impairments caused by effluent from the Terrace Bay Pulp Inc., three public advisory committees—an academic panel of experts, a government technical review committee, and the Jackfish Bay Public Area in Recovery Review Committee (PARRC)—reviewed relevant scientific data and documents, including peer-reviewed publications, to assess changes in pollution levels in Jackfish Bay and improvements to aquatic, biotic, and benthic environments of the bay. The public decision-making process concluded with recommendations by the PARRC to develop a systematic monitoring program so that the ecosystem recovery process in the bay could be assessed on a continued basis, leading to its eventual delisting as an AOC. The entire process provides an example of blending science and public policies for remediation of a degraded ecosystem on the Great Lakes.

Baseline Ecological Risk Assessment of the Calcasieu Estuary, Louisiana: Part 3. An Evaluation of the Risks to Benthic Invertebrates Associated With Exposure to Contaminated Sediments

The sediments in the Calcasieu Estuary are contaminated with a wide variety of chemicals of potential concern (COPCs), including heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, phthalates, chlorinated benzenes, and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans. The sources of these COPCs include both point and non-point source discharges. As part of a baseline ecological risk assessment, the risks to benthic invertebrates posed by exposure to sediment-associated COPCs were assessed using five lines of evidence, including whole-sediment chemistry, pore-water chemistry, whole-sediment toxicity, pore-water toxicity, and benthic invertebrate community structure. The results of this assessment indicated that exposure to whole sediments and/or pore water from the Calcasieu Estuary generally posed low risks to benthic invertebrate communities (i.e., risks were classified as low for 68% of the sampling locations investigated). However, incremental risks to benthic invertebrates (i.e., compared with those associated with exposure to conditions in reference areas) were indicated for 32% of the sampling locations within the estuary. Of the three areas of concern (AOCs) investigated, the risks to benthic invertebrates were highest in the Bayou d'Inde AOC; risks were generally lower in the Upper Calcasieu River AOC and Middle Calcasieu River AOC. The areas showing the highest risks to sediment-dwelling organisms were generally located in the vicinity of point source discharges of COPCs. These results provided risk managers with the information required to make decisions regarding the need for remedial actions at the site.

Application and validation of a GIS-based stream bank stability tool for the Great Lakes region

W atershed sediment contributions are a continual source of pollution to the Great Lakes. Sediment from upstream sources may deliver contaminants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and excess nutrients such as phosphorus to the lakes. The excess nutrients often contribute to algal blooms and degradation of freshwater habitat. The sediment loading from agricultural watersheds is often aggravated by ditch maintenance activities. Many of the agricultural lands draining into the Great Lakes lie on lacustrine clay and till plains and consequently have very little relief, resulting in poor drainage. Tile drains and ditches are often constructed in these areas to accelerate drainage and facilitate utilization of land for agriculture. Ditch maintenance activities include removal of riparian vegetation and dredging to increase conveyance. Section 516(e) of the Water Resources Development Act of 1996 directed the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to develop sediment transport models for major Great Lakes tributaries contributing sediment to federal navigation projects (harbors, channels, etc.) or Areas of Concern (AOCs). Under this legislation, the models are developed to assist watershed stakeholders with the development of watershed management approaches to soil conservation and sediment management to reduce sediment loads, dredging costs, and the need for other sediment-based remediation activities.

Meta-Functional Transfer of Hedonic Property Values: Application to Great Lakes Areas of Concern

This paper explores the use of functional benefits transfer to forecast the effects of waste sites on property values. The results of a meta-analysis of hedonic studies of waste sites are coupled with spatial analysis techniques to produce estimates of the effects of toxic contamination in Areas of Concern (AOCs) in the U.S. Great Lakes. Based on U.S. Census data for median home values, the methods used here suggest that approximately S5.2 billion (2005 dollars) have been lost in residential property values surrounding twenty-three of the AOCs. This compares to estimates that place the cost of remediation of all U.S. AOCs at up to $4.5 billion (2005 dollars). The case study also identifies issues surrounding the use of a meta-analysis with hedonic property value studies to support functional transfer.

Assessment of the “fish tumors or other deformities” beneficial use impairment in brown bullhead ( Ameiurus nebulosus): II. Liver neoplasia

Liver pathology of fishes, including neoplastic and preneoplastic lesions, is widely used as an indicator of exposure to anthropogenic contaminants. By definition, the “fish tumor or other deformities” beneficial use impairment (BUI) at Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOC) includes neoplastic and preneoplastic liver lesions in brown bullhead ( Ameiurus nebulosus) or suckers. Unfortunately, adequate guidelines for defining neoplastic and preneoplastic liver lesions or determining rates at unimpacted control sites were not provided and different criteria have been used. In some cases, only neoplastic changes were used to calculate tumor prevalence, in some both neoplastic and preneoplastic changes and in some it is difficult to determine which changes were included. Using standardized criteria, the prevalence of liver neoplasia was compared at eight AOC during 1998–2000. The Cuyahoga River had the highest prevalence (25.0%), while the Maumee River had the lowest (3.9%). The Buffalo (4.8%), Detroit (5.9%), Ashtabula (6.8%), Niagara (7.5%) and Black (8.9%) rivers were intermediate, as was Presque Isle Bay (7.1%). From 2002 to 2007 the prevalence of liver neoplasia at Presque Isle Bay ranged from a low of 2.1% (2002) to a high of 12.0% (2007). Non-AOC sites, as potential reference sites, also were monitored during this time. By combining years and sites, the prevalence of liver neoplasia in bullhead (aged 2 to 12 years) at inland lakes was 0.7%, at bays/harbors was 1.6% and at tributary sites was 4.1%. This is the same trend (inland lakes < bays/harbors < tributaries < Presque Isle Bay) noted for orocutaneous neoplasms.

Assessment of the “fish tumors or other deformities” beneficial use impairment in brown bullhead ( Ameiurus nebulosus): I. Orocutaneous tumors

The “fish tumor or other deformities” beneficial use impairment (BUI) occurs at 9 of the 12 areas of concern (AOC) on Lake Erie. As point sources are mitigated and remediation occurs, AOC are faced with determining delisting criteria. The lack of standardized analyses for this BUI has confounded that process. For orocutaneous tumors, different criteria (presumptive tumors and/or abnormal barbels) and methodology (gross versus microscopic observations) have been used. Hence, this project evaluated tumors at numerous AOC and non-AOC sites and compared methodology. In 1998–2000 the prevalence of presumptive orocutaneous tumors and barbel abnormalities was compared in brown bullhead ( Ameiurus nebulosus) collected at eight AOC. The Black (46.7%), Buffalo (29.3%), Cuyahoga (58.9%), and Detroit (26.5%) rivers and Presque Isle Bay (28.6%) had high prevalences of orocutaneous tumors, while the Niagara (10%), Maumee (3.9%) and Ashtabula (4.4%) rivers were lower. From 2002 to 2007 the prevalence of orocutaneous tumors at Presque Isle Bay was consistently near 30%. A variety of non-AOC sites, as potential reference sites, were also monitored during this time. By combining years and sites the prevalence of orocutaneous tumors in bullhead (age 2–12 years) at inland lakes was 6.3%, at Long Point Inner Bay was 8.7%, at other bays and harbors was 14.6% and at tributary sites was 12.5%. Overall, 93% of the raised lesions identified as presumptive tumors grossly were verified as neoplasms microscopically. The prevalence of orocutaneous tumors increased with age at both Presque Isle Bay and Long Point Inner Bay, the sites with the largest sample sizes.

Determining degradation and restoration of benthic conditions for Great Lakes Areas of Concern

“Degradation of benthos” is one of the most common beneficial use impairments identified in Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs). Management of AOCs towards recovery from impairment can benefit from a consolidation of quantitative methods for describing benthic conditions, determining impairment and its probable cause, and detecting recovery that are linked to targets for restoring beneficial use. Benthic conditions are effectively characterized by multiple descriptors, such as physicochemical conditions of sediment, toxicity of sediment, benthic macroinvertebrate community structure, bioaccumulation of contaminants in benthic invertebrates, and substrate stability. Degradation is quantifiable in terms of the degree to which conditions in AOCs differ from reference conditions and exceed environmental quality criteria or other empirically derived benchmarks that are associated with adverse effects. Inferring causality of adverse effects by association with putative stressors is important for the development of management actions to promote restoration. Recovery of benthic conditions after elimination of exposure to the stressor(s) of concern can be identified as the reversal of degradation or, due to effects of interacting environmental factors, a restabilization at a state different from predisturbance conditions. It is recommended that delisting criteria, which define targets for restoration of the beneficial use, be based on the benthic descriptors and conditions used to identify degradation and recovery, with the recognition that the remedial action plan process allows the criteria to be modified to accommodate impacts from other nonmanaged stressors and additional nonecological considerations.

Snapping turtles ( Chelydra serpentina) as bioindicators in Canadian Areas of Concern in the Great Lakes Basin. II. Changes in hatching success and hatchling deformities in relation to persistent organic pollutants

Hatching success and deformities in snapping turtle hatchlings ( Chelydra serpentina) were evaluated using eggs collected from 14 sites in the Canadian lower Great Lakes, including Areas of Concern (AOC), between 2001 and 2004. Eggs were analyzed for PCBs, PBDEs, and pesticides. Between 2002 and 2004, hatchling deformity rates were highest in two AOCs (18.3–28.3%) compared to the reference sites (5.3–11.3%). Hatching success was poorest in three AOCs (71.3–73.1%) compared to the reference sites (86.0–92.7%). Hatching success and deformity rates were generally poorer in 2001 compared to 2002–2004, irrespective of the study location and could be due to egg handling stress in 2001. Hatching success and deformities were generally worst from the Wheatley Harbour, St. Lawrence River (Cornwall), Detroit River, and Hamilton Harbour AOCs. Associations between contaminant burdens with embryonic development were sufficiently poor that the biological relevance is questionable. Stressors not measured may have contributed to development abnormalities.

Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentina) as Bioindicators in Canadian Areas of Concern in the Great Lakes Basin. 1. Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers, Polychlorinated Biphenyls, and Organochlorine Pesticides in Eggs

We examined the concentrations and spatial patterns of congeners of PBDEs, PCBs, and organochlorine pesticides in snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) eggs from Areas of Concern (AOCs) on the Canadian shores of Lake Ontario, St. Lawrence River, and connecting channels. Eggs from Lyons Creek (Niagara River AOC) reflected a local PCB source over a range of 7.5 km (3.2-10.8) from the Welland Canal. PCB contamination in eggs declined with increasing distance from the Welland Canal, whereas the relative contribution of congeners associated with Aroclor 1248/1254 increased with sigma PCB concentrations. Compared to turtle eggs from other sites in Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, eggs from Lyons Creek and Snye Marsh had PCB congener patterns that reflected a strong contribution from Aroclor 1254. PCBs in the eggs were associated with industrial sources and reflected the composition of different Aroclor technical mixtures. Organochlorine pesticides in eggs tended to be highest at Hamilton Harbour and Bay of Quinte AOCs, and were dominated by DDE, sigma chlordane, and mirex. In contrast, PBDE congener patterns in turtle eggs resembled PentaBDE technical formulations regardless of absolute concentrations or location, and were largely associated with urban environments.

Temporal and Spatial Trends in Chlorinated Hydrocarbon Concentrations of Mink in Canadian Lakes Erie and St. Clair

Mink (Mustela vison) carcasses were collected from local commercial trappers from fall 1998 to spring 2003 from tributaries and marshes within 4.8 km from the shores of Lakes Erie and St. Clair, including the Wheatley Harbour and St. Clair River Areas of Concern (AOCs), as well as from inland sites (8 to 40 km from shore). Liver concentrations, on a lipid weight basis, of chlorinated hydrocarbons were measured and compared among sites and to tissue concentrations of mink from two previous collections from similar sites over the past 25 years. Mink from the western Lake Erie sites, which included the Wheatley Harbour AOC, had significantly higher concentrations of sum PCBs and PCB Aroclors than those from the St. Clair corridor or inland sites, with concentrations from the rest of Lake Erie being intermediate. Dieldrin concentrations were also significantly higher in western Lake Erie than many other sites, and those of oxychlordane and mirex also tended to be higher (0.05 < p < 0.1). There were no differences in contaminant concentrations between the St. Clair River AOC and the downstream non-AOC Lake St. Clair site, with the exception of slightly higher levels of octachlorostyrene (OCS). Concentrations of PCBs and other chlorinated hydrocarbons in mink showed a general decrease over the past two decades. In contrast, PCBs and some organochlorine pesticides tended to increase, significantly so with oxychlordane, in western Lake Erie mink over the same time period. DDE declined at all sites. Currently, mink liver PCB concentrations are within the range associated with reproductive impairment, as determined from captive mink studies, in 11.7% of all animals collected from the Lakes Erie and St. Clair basin overall, but in almost 40% of individuals from western Lake Erie.

Restoration of the Great Lakes: Promises, Practices, Performances by Mark Sproule-Jones

144 Michigan Historical Review Mark Sproule-Jones. Restoration of the Great Lakes: Promises, Practices, Performances. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2002. Pp. 149. Illustrations. Index. Cloth, $75.00; paper, $24.95. The word "performances" in the tide of this study of efforts to rehabilitate polluted areas of the Great Lakes is an apt choice. Despite the rhetorical commitment to Great Lakes restoration made by government officials both in the United States and Canada, Sproule Jones convincingly argues that progress has been checkered at best. He suggests that the two governments have made the appropriate gestures but have been and continue to be unable or unwilling to accept the broad-based public guidance that the cleanup programs in question were designed to encourage. Sproule-Jones examines a program launched in 1985 to restore the ecological health of forty-three so-called Areas of Concern (AOC) scattered across the Great Lakes basin. Sitting at the heart of the Great Lakes, Michigan contains or shares with Wisconsin and Ontario fourteen of these AOCs. The contaminated bays, harbors, and river mouths comprising this group are by no means the only pollution problems in the lakes, but they were recognized as a top priority by the International Joint Commission (IJC), a binational institution created under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909. Under the 1972 and 1978 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreements and a 1987 protocol, the IJC monitors the progress of the U.S. and Canadian governments inmeeting water-quality objectives. This 1985 program called for developing remedial action plans (RAP) for the areas of concern. The RAP initiative was intended to implement the concept of ecosystem management, which takes into account the interrelationships of all natural resources such aswater with living things, including human beings. However, the initiative has collided with government compartmentalization and other long-established priorities. As Sproule Jones observes, "Agency agendas are set, at best, with other concerns competing prominently with those focused upon remediating impaired beneficial uses in different locations" (p. 114). The author notes that the best RAPs, such as those for Hamilton Harbor, Ontario (in which the author participated), and the Cuyahoga River inOhio resulted from goodwill and voluntary cooperation among both governmental and nongovernmental participants. But elsewhere the program has been hampered by the unwillingness of governments to "fundamentally alter the powers and immunities of the stakeholders" (p. 112). Most of theAOCs continue to suffer from serious contamination Book Reviews 145 and are years if not decades away from the restoration of what the IJC's water-quality board calls beneficial uses. This slender, thoughtful volume is particularly valuable in light of a new Great Lakes Basin Collaborative strategy released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in December 2005 that calls for $20 billion in public spending to restore and protect the Great Lakes. Spreading a layer of cash over existing, and sometimes dysfunctional, governmental efforts to restore the lakes will not deliver the anticipated results, however, as Restoration of theGreat Lakes illustrates. Even so, the author remains hopeful, arguing that "the potential remains great" (p. 115) for Great Lakes rehabilitation if governments can learn the value of working in close partnership with ecosystem users and citizens at large and cede or share some of their management authority. Dave Dempsey Saint Paul, Minnesota Derek Vaillant. Sounds of Reform: Progressivism andMusic in Chicago, 1873 1935. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003. Pp. 291. Bibliography. Illustrations. Index. Notes. Cloth, $59.95; paper, $19.95. Derek Vaillant presents a detailed, nuanced examination of music as the handmaiden of progressive reform and charts the motivations, triumphs, failings, and ideological limits of using music for civic uplift. In the years covered by this book, Chicago provided music progressives with a seemingly vast opportunity to impose Americanization and democratization on newly arrived working-class European immigrants. Competing plans for reform, however, and the claims of Chicago's many different ethnic groups meant that most proposals for musical uplift were contested. Additionally, the necessity of rebuilding following the disastrous Chicago fire engaged the musical reformers in designing and locating new parks and spaces for musical performances. Not only were musical progressives divided about which musical forms best suited their purposes...

Forecasting land use change and its environmental impact at a watershed scale

Urban expansion is a major driving force altering local and regional hydrology and increasing non-point source (NPS) pollution. To explore these environmental consequences of urbanization, land use change was forecast, and long-term runoff and NPS pollution were assessed in the Muskegon River watershed, located on the eastern coast of Lake Michigan. A land use change model, LTM, and a web-based environmental impact model, L-THIA, were used in this study. The outcomes indicated the watershed would likely be subjected to impacts from urbanization on runoff and some types of NPS pollution. Urbanization will slightly or considerably increase runoff volume, depending on the development rate, slightly increase nutrient losses in runoff, but significantly increase losses of oil and grease and certain heavy metals in runoff. The spatial variation of urbanization and its impact were also evaluated at the subwatershed scale and showed subwatersheds along the coast of the lake and close to cities would have runoff and nitrogen impact. The results of this study have significant implications for urban planning and decision making in an effort to protect and remediate water and habitat quality of Muskegon Lake, which is one of Lake Michigan's Areas of Concern (AOC), and the techniques described here can be used in other areas.

Characterization of contaminants in snapping turtles ( Chelydra serpentina) from Canadian Lake Erie Areas of Concern: St. Clair River, Detroit River, and Wheatley Harbour

PCBs, organochlorine pesticides and dioxins/furans in snapping turtle eggs and plasma ( Chelydra serpentina) were evaluated at three Areas of Concern (AOCs) on Lake Erie and its connecting channels (St. Clair River, Detroit River, and Wheatley Harbour), as well as two inland reference sites (Algonquin Provincial Park and Tiny Marsh) in 2001–2002. Eggs from the Detroit River and Wheatley Harbour AOCs had the highest levels of p, p′-DDE (24.4 and 57.9 ng/g) and sum PCBs (928.6 and 491.0 ng/g) wet weight, respectively. Contaminant levels in eggs from St. Clair River AOC were generally higher than those from Algonquin Park, but similar to those from Tiny Marsh. Dioxins appeared highest from the Detroit River. The PCB congener pattern in eggs suggested that turtles from the Detroit River and Wheatley Harbour AOCs were exposed to Aroclor 1260. TEQs of sum PCBs in eggs from all AOCs and p, p′-DDE levels in eggs from the Wheatley Harbour and the Detroit River AOCs exceeded the Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines. Furthermore, sum PCBs in eggs from Detroit River and Wheatley Harbour exceeded partial restriction guidelines for consumption. Although estimated PCB body burdens in muscle tissue of females were well below consumption guidelines, estimated residues in liver and adipose were above guidelines for most sites.

Integrating Data, Resources, and Capabilities in the Great Lakes: Impacting Federal, State, Tribal, Local, and Private Partnerships through the Area Committee

ABSTRACT The Great Lakes of the United States and Canada comprise, essentially, a closed freshwater system in which over 31 million individuals coexist within the industrial, agricultural, and recreational economies of the region. With annual replacement rates of less than one percent, pollutants introduced into the Great Lakes can, over time, concentrate, resuspend, and infiltrate the biologic system through annual lake turnover, navigational dredging, and cycling through the food web. Past spills of oil and hazardous substances resulted in highly elevated levels of byproducts such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), heavy metals like mercury, and toxics including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). These have resulted in stream degradation, fish consumption advisories, fish kills, and beach closures, with impacts felt at the local, watershed, regional, and binational levels. Traditionally, in the Great Lakes, local and regional policy groups have interacted with the Federal government through such programs as Areas of Concern (AOC) and the LakeWide Management Plan (LaMP) process; but these venues have not allowed direct interaction with the response and remedial community at any level. Area Committees, on the other hand, and also operating at more or less the local level and with a broad spectrum of participation, are uniquely situated to evolve and assist with specific issues on a timely basis. The coordinative and collaborative abilities of the Area Committee allow for initiating timely information gathering, focused decision-making, and action implementation, if necessary. The benefits of Area Committee involvement are two fold and profit both the policy and response groups in the Great Lakes.The concerns, historic practices, and larger-scale/longer-term vision can be vetted through the policy groups to the Area Committee.The Area Committee can, in turn, influence its members in specific directions through modified scopes of investigation and training/exercising that specifically address Area responsibilities. The Area Committee's ability to expand its audience and augment its knowledge base is critical to developing a fully integrated multi-tiered and multi-missioned planning, preparedness, and response community.