Newsletter - Wednesday 4/3/2013

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Buoys being placed in St. Lawrence Seaway

A spring ritual is underway on the St. Lawrence River, marking the beginning of boating season.

Every March, the St. Lawrence Seaway sends a crew out in the water with tug boats and a barge to restore the navigation buoys along the shipping channel. These massive markers are stored in various docking areas along the river during the winter months and are returned to the water in the spring.

These buoys help ship captains and boaters mark the shoals and islands of one of the largest rivers in North America. And now they're even equipped with the latest technology. more...

Lake Erie's walleye, yellow perch still slumping, but Ohio daily bag limits remain the same for 2013

The Lake Erie walleye and yellow perch populations continue to decline, but the Lake Erie Committee of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission decided at its annual meeting here on Thursday that there were enough of Ohio's favorite fish to maintain the same bag limits of a year ago. more...

Rule of Thumb: Distances and Angles on the Horizon

There are plenty of times on boats when a lookout has to relay a sighting on the horizon to someone else on board. This can be tricky if the second person can’t focus right where the lookout is pointing. (Picture a lookout on an aircraft carrier whistling the admiral over: “Yessir, just put your chin on my shoulder and follow my finger. See that leeeeetle dark speck over there under the cloud that looks sort of like a dog under some broccoli?”) more...

Investing in Detroit pays Great (Lakes) dividends

Here’s an idea for the Great Lakes region that makes sense.

So much sense that we probably won’t do it.

What if we worked together and helped a Great Lakes neighbor – in this case a city — in need?

What if we invested significant Great Lakes restoration money in Detroit’s recovery? more...

Organize Your Efforts

Sailing is a complex sport, and sailing a Laser adds additional physical challenges to the head game any boat demands. To be successful at a multifaceted activity requires a strategic plan for continual learning and progressive competency. Keep your plan simple and the successive steps small.

It is difficult to keep all aspects of a multipart project in mind. Breaking out the main areas of concern makes everything more obvious and therefore manageable. List the major areas where you need to continually gain increased competency and then set specific goals for moving each one ahead a small step. If you want to put more attention on one or two, fine. But don’t ignore the others. more...

A Tern for the Better: The Detroit River Comeback

Few people would get excited about two common tern chicks who hatched on Belle Isle last summer. But Greg Norwood and other environmental scientists working with the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge quietly celebrated the return of the bird after 50 years. more...

Comment period begins on Lake Michigan Carferry-EPA consent decree concerning SS Badger

The time has arrived to tell the Department of Justice what you think about the proposed consent decree that would allow the SS Badger to sail and discharge coal ash, as it has been allowed to do throughout its 59-year history, for the 2013 and 2014 seasons before ending the discharge. more...