Otter: canary in the eco mine

I love this photo. It's by Eric Peterson.
From the EPA report "Population Monitoring and Contaminants Affecting the American Otter," 2002
Ecosystem Objective
"As a society we have a moral responsibility [emphasis mine] to sustain healthy populations of American otter in the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence basin.
American otter populations in the upper Great Lakes should be maintained, and restored as sustainable populations in all Great Lakes coastal zones, lower Lake Michigan, western Lake Ontario, and Lake Erie watersheds and shorelines...

American otters are a direct link to organic and heavy metal concentrations in the food chain...contaminants are a potential and existing problem for many otter populations throughout the Great Lakes. "

I dream of the day that otters have their resurgence like the bald eagles have- not an uncommon sight anymore, even, for instance, as close as Mequon. Last year, camping in Wisconsin, DH and I were just amazed, remembering that when we were kids, seeing a bald eagle would have been unimaginable. Next to impossible. That is to say, they have come back within our short lifetimes.

View the whole report here.

Cleaner waters bring more otters!

I found this article from the Boston Globe not only cute but very encouraging!


From the article:
"The day before New Year's Eve, Maury Eldridge was kayaking on the Charles River in Needham near the Dover line when he spotted a pair of slender brown animals sitting on a chunk of ice.

As he paddled closer, the pair of North American river otters dived into the water. A few moments later, they reappeared through a hole in the ice and stared right at Eldridge, who quickly grabbed his camera...

Eldridge was not the only one excited by the sighting. The Charles River Watershed Association hailed the documented presence of otters so close to Boston as a mark of important progress. "It is a sign of the health of the river," said Rebecca Scibek Wickham, outreach coordinator for the local environmental group. "From our perspective, this shows that the river is becoming cleaner, and it is able to support more wildlife."

Gratuitous (royalty-free) otter shots

(SUPER CUTE alert!)
I've heard a few people say they've seen otters on the Milwaukee River. It's possible. I've seen them (North American River Otters) in northern Wisconsin and it was a special treat. They are kind of fun to watch at the Zoo, but it made me very sad at the same time.


I myself have seen something along the river bank that I can best identify as a fisher. I have also learned that there are dark mink in Glendale, descendents of escapees from a former fur farm.



I hope that someday the waters of our river can one day be clean enough that otters can once again frolic here. People who enjoy fishing, though, do not seem to appreciate the otter. (Addendum: this last statement is based on reports of fisherpeople killing/poisoning otters in northern Wisconsin, acting on the belief that they "eat all the fish.") I do note, also, that they live in the impounded lakes in the Nicolet National Forest- dammed rivers- so I really do hold the belief that it is the contaminants (and other issues with urban life) and not the dam themselves that deter otters.

Aren't they just SUPER CUTE????????

If I weren't so pissed off, it might be funny.

To be fair, the writing in Lee Bergquist's article "Estabrook Dam earns praise from neighbors" could have been even more biased. Of course, it was based partially on the flawed and biased Matrix the County put forth with The Report: data that misrepresents and underestimates the true cost of removing the dam (and associated rechanneling of the river). It's just that the costs would be partially borne by the Federal and State government, rather than all by the County. PCB remediation will continue either way- a good thing.

Our post-industrial legacy

From an outdoor.com article dated August 29th, 2008, http://www.outdoorcentral.com/fishing/freshwater-fishing/cleanup-finished-on-popular-blatz-pavilion-lagoon-in-milwaukee:

“ 'We’re very pleased to complete this important first step in restoring recreational opportunities in Lincoln Park,' says DNR Secretary Matt Frank. 'The park has long been an important recreational spot for the local community, and this work allows people to enjoy it again.'
"Contact with Milwaukee River water is no longer a problem for people boating in the lagoon as a result of the project. People fishing from 1-acre lagoon who want to eat their catch should follow the fish consumption advice for that stretch of the Milwaukee River."

Rumors

Photo by Fa Ross, May 2007, Lincoln Park with dam open.
Yesterday at the hearing for The Report (see below), Janet Marie Tierney from the Park People spoke on behalf of the Estabrook Dam. She stated that removing the dam would "diminish" Lincoln Park. This photo shows the exposed soil in the Lincoln Park Lagoon, where PCB remediation was done in 2008. It's not very inviting as a mud flat.
She went on to discuss the rumor that removing the dam would be less expensive than rehabilitating the aging structure, but reminded the Parks, Energy, and Environment Committee that the complete remediation of the affected area has not been studied, regarding the scope of the project and estimated costs; such a study needs to be completed and shared with the public. The Riverkeeper- whom I deeply respect- has shared with me that rechanneling would occur, and that state and Federal money would indeed be allocated for all of this. Yet last year's PCB cleanup in the lagoon by the Blatz Pavilion- sediment shown in this prior photo- did not go exactly as planned...heavy rains delayed its work and completion, and washed yet more contaminated sediment downriver, exactly what the project was intended to remediate.

Low water, no water?

If the Estabrook Dam is removed, this is what we have to look forward to. This is what a large portion of Lincoln Park will look like. The newly-exposed sediment will require extensive (and expensive) remediation to remove contaminated silt, which is very friable when exposed. Non-native invasives will immediately colonize the soil as we witnessed in 2008 when the water was low most of the summer for PCB remediation in the Lincoln Park lagoon area.

photo source:http://www.milwaukee.gov/ImageLibrary/Groups/healthAuthors/DCP/PDFs/2LinCkEng.pdf