[dailynews] The GLMRIS Newsletter - Volume 2, Issue 3 (UNCLASSIFIED)

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

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THE GREAT LAKES AND MISSISSIPPI RIVER INTERBASIN STUDY NEWSLETTER  August 2012, Volume 2, Issue 3
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--> Download this newsletter in PDF format at
http://glmris.anl.gov/documents/docs/newsletter/vol2iss3.pdf 


>> INTRODUCING PROJECT MANAGER NICOLE ROACH <<
As Project Manager Dave Wethington will be on assignment to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Headquarters in Washington, D.C. until January 2013, Nicole Roach will be lead GLMRIS Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) Project Manager in his absence. 

"Clearly while addressing the issue of aquatic nuisance species transfer between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins, GLMRIS could profoundly affect the future of the CAWS and surrounding region. It's a pleasure to have the opportunity to be a part of such an important study,"  said Roach, who's been assisting the team since February, focusing mainly on risk assessment.

"I'm looking forward to working on a study that is so innovative and involves such a vast amount of public outreach and congressional and interagency collaboration. It is highly complex in terms of not only the science involved but also the size of the team," said Roach.

Roach has been with USACE for eight years, joining out of college as an Environmental Engineer and working on the Grand Calumet River Environmental Dredging and the Little Calumet River Flood Damage Reduction projects.

Her other Project Management experience includes leading the team for the Waukegan Outer Harbor Strategic Navigation Dredging Project and also several ecosystem restoration projects.

Roach also taught Earth Science and Environmental Science to upperclassmen at Lane Tech College Prep for three years.

Roach has a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering and a Bachelor of Science in Geology.


>> MESSAGE FROM PM DAVE WETHINGTON <<
Over the next few months, I will be on temporary assignment with the Civil Works Program Integration Division (CW PID) at USACE Headquarters.  Among other activities, the PID is responsible for budget development and defense, program execution, as well as overall management of the USACE Civil Works Program.  This office also has responsibility for customer-focused interface for coordination and resolution of civil works program issues within USACE. I'll be working in a support role for the Chief of the Future Directions Branch within the CW PID, who has a specific focus on legislative affairs and congressional relations. This assignment will allow me to gain experience and professional development in a 
senior-level position at Headquarters.

I anticipate that my experience at Headquarters will give me greater insight into the important relationships between USACE and our congressional stakeholders.  I'll also have the opportunity to gain additional experience in the top-down budget development process as well as program execution and management.  During my assignment, I will have the opportunity to interact with senior leaders within the organization, as well as potentially cultivate relationships with other USACE stakeholders.  I anticipate that the establishment of such relationships will benefit my abilities as a Project Manager and future leader within the organization.

I have had the opportunity to work closely with Nicole throughout her tenure at USACE, most recently on several technical products of GLMRIS.  Nicole has an excellent working knowledge of ongoing GLMRIS activities, and I am confident that she will provide a seamless transition and ongoing leadership of all GLMRIS efforts. I look forward to reengaging with the GLMRIS Team in January 2013. 


>> FISHERIES REPORTS RELEASED <<
The team released two fisheries reports July 5. The Pro-fishing Report acts as a snapshot of pro-fishing tournaments within the U.S. Waters of the Great Lakes, Upper Mississippi River and Ohio River basins and provides qualitative data for various tournaments, including descriptions of the types of tournaments and information on the rules and other elements. The Subsistence Fishing Report is an overview of the harvest activities by Native American tribes through treaty rights within the study area and assesses the economic and cultural importance of subsistence harvesting for tribal communities. 

"The various fisheries baseline assessments are important to the analysis of alternatives in GLMRIS, as the study considers the potential future impacts of aquatic nuisance species on existing conditions and significant natural resources," said GLMRIS Program Manager Dave Romano.

The Pro-fishing Report indicates that tournaments occur frequently in the study area. The Upper Mississippi and Ohio rivers showed more occurrences of pro-fishing tournaments. On the Great Lakes, it is estimated that states such as Wisconsin and Minnesota host 450 to 700 pro-fishing tournaments annually. Bass fishing events seem to be particularly popular within the study area.

Among the findings from the Subsistence Fishing Report, there are 37 federally recognized tribes in the study area, 16 of which engage in subsistence fishing, mostly in the western Great Lakes Basin. The annual approximate value of subsistence fishing activities to an individual subsistence household is between $15 thousand and $16 thousand. The main target species for subsistence fishers are walleye, whitefish, yellow perch and trout.


>> MOVING AHEAD FOR PROGRESS IN THE 21ST CENTURY ACT <<
The GLMRIS Team is currently evaluating the impacts of additional study authorization, provided in early July 2012 by Section 1538 of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, or MAP-21 Act.

The legislation directs USACE to:  
- Complete a report by January 2014.
- Focus on methods to prevent the transfer of aquatic nuisance species (ANS) between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins, such as through hydrologic separation, while focusing that analysis on named watersheds within the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS). 
- Provide an interim report to Congress, to be completed within 90 days of enactment, outlining a plan for completion of the expedited report, including required resources and anticipated milestones.  

The GLMRIS Team is currently working to develop the 90-day report for submission to Congress in early October 2012. It is anticipated to be released publicly soon after.


>> FOCUS AREA 2 PRODUCTS TO BE RELEASED <<
These interim products will further describe other potential aquatic connections between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins, outside of the CAWS (Focus Area 1).

The Focus Area 2 Aquatic Pathway Assessments will be released for public comment.  These assessments will build on the results from the 2010 Other Pathways Preliminary Risk Characterization Report.  A total of 18 potential aquatic pathway reports will be released by state, as well as one report explaining areas that were evaluated within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  In addition, the first report to be released will be a Summary Report of each of the 18 pathways.

Each of the detailed reports evaluates the key evidence used to qualitatively estimate the likelihood of an aquatic pathway forming at each location and the probability of specific ANS being able to arrive at and use each aquatic pathway to cross into the adjacent basin.

Included in many of these pathway assessments are some potential actions or opportunities that were identified that might prevent or reduce the probability of ANS transfer occurring between the basins.  These reports are the next step in a tiered approach to assess the risk associated with the spread of ANS between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins.

USACE will review and consider all public input before re-issuing the final reports. Coordination and planning with relevant stakeholders and state resource agencies will be ongoing regarding any pathways assigned an overall pathway viability rating of medium or high.

In addition, another report will be released identifying the range of options and technologies that may be available to prevent the inter-basin transfer of ANS during flooding events at the Wabash - Maumee basins connection at Eagle Marsh near Fort Wayne, Ind.


>> AGENCIES SERVE UP ASIAN CARP SLIDERS AND INFORMATION ON INVASIVE SPECIES AT TASTE OF CHICAGO <<
Catching quite a bit of media attention at the 32nd annual Taste of Chicago in Grant Park on Wednesday July 11 was the booth offering more than 800 Asian carp sliders free of charge.

Dirk Fucik of Dirk's Fish and Gourmet Shop in Chicago complemented the mixture of silver and bighead carp meat with a dollop of tomato jalapeno chutney.  The public bit at the chance to taste test this aquatic nuisance species.

The booth was organized by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) along with the John G. Shedd Aquarium, Feeding Illinois and Illinois American Water to build understanding of how a vibrant local market for Asian carp contributes to managing the population.

"It's important to show people in the Great Lakes region that we have a multi-pronged mitigation plan for controlling the Asian carp population. The Taste of Chicago is the perfect venue to showcase one element of that plan: the presence of a strong regional market for carp as a food source," IDNR Director Marc Miller said.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) officials were also on site to chat about interagency aquatic nuisance species prevention initiatives with the guests, as they sampled the tasty and nutritious meat.

"This was a great opportunity to educate the public on how vast the efforts are to prevent Asian carp from establishing within the Great Lakes. USACE operates the electric barriers in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal to deter fish movement and is constantly looking at ways to enhance effectiveness. We monitor the canal for Asian carp presence and are also studying long-term controls to prevent aquatic nuisance species transfer between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins in the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study. Prevention is no small undertaking, but we have a joint and dedicated front to take on the challenge," said Chicago District Commander Col. Frederic A. Drummond Jr.

"This event was definitely a success. The response was overwhelmingly positive. Even those who were reluctant to try them ended up saying 'Hey, not bad,'" said GLMRIS Project Manager Dave Wethington, who had three sliders himself.

The IDNR and USACE are both members of the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee, which was formed in 2009 to ensure a comprehensive and effective response in preventing Asian carp establishment through a sustainable control program with implementable actions.

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Please join the conversation and discuss GLMRIS topics with USACE and other stakeholders at http://twitter.com/GLMRIS and http://facebook.com/GLMRIS.







Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE