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Restored Grand Calumet River is a learning spot for local educators

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Susan MiHalo (center) shows historical map of location to educators and IISG’s Terri Hallesy (far left).

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant’s Terri Hallesy and Leslie Dorworth and I pulled up along the river’s edge and parked our car on the gravel road. As our group approached the bank, two majestic egrets took flight looking like purest snow against a backdrop of vibrant blues and green. A bald eagle had been spotted earlier, perched on a favorite branch of a dead cottonwood hanging over the river.

Roxana Marsh

Educators tour Roxana Marsh, a 19-acre restoration site.

It’s hard to believe that five years ago, a brown stand of the invasive species, Phragmites, had dominated the landscape where we were standing. The Grand Calumet River has made a radical transformation over the last 10 years thanks to the Great Lakes Legacy Act and many dedicated federal, state, and local partners. Our mission that day was to help 42 teachers from South Bend, Indiana understand just how large the ongoing transformation is, in hopes that they would carry this inspirational message back to their classrooms in the form of science labs, writing assignments, and other educational activities.

We set out to accomplish this mission by hosting an IISG teacher workshop at Purdue University Northwest, Hammond campus in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM).

IISG’s Caitie Nigrelli stands in front of 58 acres of restored wetlands of the East Branch of the Grand Calumet River.

Leslie and I have worked many years on the Grand Calumet River remediation and restoration and led the workshop. IISG assistant, Ben Wegleitner, played a coordinating role. Working together, we brought in partners, Susan MiHalo (TNC), Carl Wodrich (DNR), and Anne Remek (IDEM), to talk about the Grand Calumet River and to host a tour of restored sites along the river.

As IISG education coordinator, Terri demonstrated curricula and classroom activities as educators worked in groups, insuring its infusion into existing science curricula.

She shared information about the issue of aquatic invasive species spread by sharing an innovative web site, Nab the Aquatic Invader! This engaging tool introduces students (grades 4-10) to marine and freshwater invasive species and their impacts using a detective theme and cartoon characters. Teachers also learned the environmental issue concerning improper release of classroom animals and plants and the threat they pose to the Great Lakes ecosystem through the campaigns, Habitattitude™ and Be a Hero-Transport Zero ™.

Carl Wodrich (right), Indiana Department of Natural Resources, guides educators on a hike.

Terri explained what she hoped to achieve that day—through direct experience with relevant education resources, these educators are now better equipped to explain how students can play an active role in helping to prevent the spread of AIS and foster a greater awareness of aquatic science.

For classroom activities and curriculum ideas, visit IISG’s Education Products page.

For information on the cleanup and restoration of the Grand Calumet River, visit www.greatlakesmud.org.

Terri Hallesy and Leslie Dorworth also contributed to this article.

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a part of University of Illinois Extension and Purdue University Extension.


Plastics pollution report highlights latest research and brainstorming

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This year’s International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR) conference in Detroit, Michigan, was the most attended IAGLR conference ever, and IISG helped organize one of its popular sessions.

Sarah Zack, pollution prevention specialist, and Carolyn Foley, assistant research coordinator, along with Melissa Duhaime, a microbiologist at the University of Michigan, co-chaired a session titled “Plastics research in the Great Lakes: identifying gaps and facilitating collaboration.” This session was well-attended throughout the day, with as many as 70 people there for individual talks.

“While research on the effects of plastic contamination in the oceans has been building for some time, similar knowledge in freshwater systems is lacking,” said Zack. The talks in this session brought together recent studies, including citizen science initiatives, from the Great Lakes and beyond, looking at prevalence and impacts of plastics in waterways as well as some possible solutions to plastic contamination.

IISG hosted a discussion at the end of the day focused on microplastics, which are particles that are less than 5 millimeters in size, which is smaller than a pea. Microplastics, including beads, fragments, or fibers, are a major concern in the Great Lakes, as effects on fish and other members of the food web are not well known.

More than 20 conference attendees stuck around after a long day of talks. Fueled by snacks provided by Alliance for the Great Lakes, they shared their thoughts on microplastic-related datasets available to researchers and outreach specialists, defined the data that is needed to better understand the effects of microplastics in the Great Lakes, and listed organizations who are leading efforts to address this issue.

“Conferences are a great time to bring scientists together to brainstorm about the next great idea and to figure out where research gaps can be found,” said Zack.

Together with IISG Program Leader Laura Kammin, the session co-chairs have authored a report summarizing the results of the discussion period. Plastic research in the Great Lakes, which also includes a list of presenters, is now available on our website.

Illinois biennial report recognizes positive, voluntary steps to reduce nutrient loss

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DECATUR, IL–As part of the state’s on-going commitment to reduce nutrient losses, the directors of the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) and Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today the release of the state’s Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy Biennial Report. This document, unveiled at the 2017 Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois, describes actions taken in the state during the last two years to reduce nutrient losses and influence positive changes in nutrient loads over time.

The Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy (NLRS) is one of many state strategies developed and implemented over the 31-state Mississippi River basin that are intended to improve water quality. Illinois’ strategy provides a framework for reducing both point and non-point nutrient losses to improve the state’s overall water quality, as well as that of water leaving Illinois and making its way down the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico.

“Illinois agriculture has a positive story to tell,” said IDOA Director Raymond Poe. “We have seen a significant increase in the adoption of various best management practices. Our partners and stakeholders have done a tremendous job getting the word out about what we are doing in Illinois with the Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy. Farmers understand the consequences of nutrient loss, and they support our quest to minimize losses.”

“In just two years, we are already seeing the impacts of Illinois’ strategy on water quality,” said Illinois EPA Director Alec Messina. “The collaborative efforts of our stakeholders are resulting in real improvements in Illinois’ waters and we look forward to future improvements that will be gained as additional practices are implemented.”

The biennial report contains an update to the original science assessment including nutrient load data from 2011–2015 for both point and non-point sources as well as sector-by-sector reports on activities conducted during the last two years targeted at nutrient loss reduction.

The report also contains information from a recent survey conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service as well as data from other existing sources to serve as metrics to measure progress towards overall water quality improvements now and in the future.

The Agriculture Water Quality Partnership Forum (AWQPF) reports that the agricultural sector invested more than $54 million in nutrient loss reduction for research, outreach, implementation and monitoring. These contributions have come from AWQPF members and other organizations that are working towards reaching the goals set forth in Illinois NLRS. Because of the proactive measures of various agriculture groups, Illinois farmers have become broadly aware of a variety of strategies that mitigate nutrient loss through the adoption of best management practices. Highlights include a move toward split spring and fall nitrogen applications and an increase in the number of acres dedicated to conservation practices such as a use of cover crops.

Since the release of the strategy two years ago, significant strides have also been made in limiting the amount of phosphorus discharge from wastewater treatment plants in Illinois. In the last year, point source sector members targeted key decision makers and practitioners to spread the message of nutrient loss reduction through regulatory updates as part of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program. As of 2016, nearly 80 percent of all effluent from wastewater treatment plants in Illinois is regulated under a NPDES permit that includes a total phosphorus limit. This number will continue to grow as existing permits expire or come up for renewal. To demonstrate the commitment toward nutrient removal, wastewater treatment facilities report spending $144.96 million to fund feasibility studies, optimization studies and capital investment.

Illinois EPA, through its State Revolving Fund program, provides low interest rate loans to point-source projects addressing water quality issues, including nutrient pollution. Last year, Illinois EPA provided or granted $640,599,148 dollars to these projects. Illinois EPA also provides funding for nonpoint source projects designed to achieve nutrients reduction. Annually this program provides $3.5 million to nonpoint source projects.

“What’s made NLRS remarkable is that we had a broad suite of stakeholders that came together to work on the strategy, and they brought not only their ideas, but the support of their organizations. They all got behind it,” said Brian Miller, Illinois Water Resources Center (IWRC) and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) director. “It started with a science assessment from the university that identified problems and potential solutions. Working together we’re already starting to see some successes.”

This report, which was facilitated by IWRC and IISG, will be updated again in 2019. The science, monitoring and activity from each sector will be updated to demonstrate Illinois’ continued commitment to nutrient loss reduction.

“There is a lot more work that needs to be done,” said Warren Goetsch, IDOA deputy director. “However, in releasing this report at the Farm Progress Show, we are introducing these successes to farmers who may be somewhat apprehensive about trying new management practices. Increasing the exposure of our message will keep this effort in front of producers so we can continue to make progress in the years to come.”

This article is based on a press release from IDOA and Illinois EPA. Contacts are Rebecca Clark (217) 558-1546 and Kim Biggs (217) 558-1536.

Champaign-Urbana collects 13,000 pounds of unwanted medicine

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Lieutenant Robert Fitzgerald locks up the medicine take-back box in the lobby of the Urbana Police Department.

Too much of a good thing wore out the old medicine take-back box at the Urbana Police Department, so it recently received an upgrade.

“People come in here all the time and fill this thing up,” said Lieutenant Robert Fitzgerald. “The old one would fill up twice a week. It would just get packed.”

Since the department installed the box in 2013 as part of Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and University of Illinois Extension’s medicine take-back program, it’s only grown in popularity. This box’s new style still resembles a mailbox, but a new locking feature prevents people from forcing pharmaceuticals into an already full box. Nobody will walk off with this one either. It’s bolted to the ground.

Medicine take-back programs help prevent these chemicals from being flushed or thrown in the trash, potentially contaminating local waterways. Taking in unwanted medicines is a public safety issue too.

“If we can take it here in this box, it means they’re not in somebody’s grasp at home—toddlers take anything they can grab,” said Amy Anderson, Urbana animal control officer/community liaison, who manages the box.

The police department, along with more than 50 locations in four states—including one in Champaign and one at the university—are designated to accept prescription and over-the-counter medicines, including veterinary pharmaceuticals, but not illicit drugs, syringes, needles or thermometers. IISG provides each location with the drug collection box and works with community partners to ensure the program’s success. All collected drugs are incinerated—the environmentally preferred disposal method.

The Champaign and Urbana medicine take-back programs started in 2013 and have collected more than 13,000 pounds of medicine. The IISG take-back program as a whole, which was established in 2007, has collected more than 58 tons. In addition, Sea Grant has helped collect over 30 tons just from helping out in single-day events throughout the Great Lakes region.

Amy Anderson, Urbana animal control officer/community liaison, (left) and Lieutenant Robert Fitzgerald pose with the new medicine take-back box in the lobby of the Urbana Police Department.

“The partnership we have with the Urbana Police Department, Champaign Police Department, and University of Illinois Police Department is so valuable,” said Sarah Zack, IISG pollution prevention extension specialist. “They do a great public service by operating this take-back program, and I hope that people can take advantage of the convenient drop-off locations in the C-U area.”

Be sure to visit unwantedmeds.org to find your local take-back location.

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a part of University of Illinois Extension and Purdue University Extension.

IISG has several employment opportunities

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Apply to join Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and help manage the program or tell its success stories. We are looking for a new assistant director (more at bit.ly/2x8sRet) and a communication specialist (more at bit.ly/2vJjwd2), both located at Purdue University.

 

Assistant Director 

IISG is seeking experienced program manager to serve as assistant director.  The primary responsibility of this position will be managing IISG day-to-day operations. This includes fiscal oversight, personnel management, and reporting.

This person will work with the IISG director and staffers to coordinate all aspects of the program, including extension, research, communication, and education activities.  Duties will include assisting with planning, management and administration of the program, as well as providing strategic leadership, contributing to programmatic development, and providing programmatic enhancements based on expertise and interests.

To learn more or apply, visit: http://purdue.taleo.net/careersection/wl/jobdetail.ftl?lang=en&job=1701425

 

Communications Specialist

IISG is seeking creative, strategic communication professional to serve as communications specialist for  IISG  and Purdue University, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR). The communications specialist will produce and manage a diverse communication program to deliver environment-related content to a broad audience.

To learn more or apply, visit: http://purdue.taleo.net/careersection/wl/jobdetail.ftl?lang=en&job=1701423

 

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a part of University of Illinois Extension and Purdue University Extension.

New associate director brings his rich water resource background to IISG

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Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant welcomes Yu-Feng Lin as the program’s new associate director. Lin will oversee IISG process and personnel at the University of Illinois. He will also help set the program’s trajectory with new research partners and priorities, and help IISG engage with federal partners and solidify connections with campus entities.

Lin is a hydrogeologist at the Illinois State Geological Survey, which is part of the Prairie Research Institute on the U of I campus. His research interests include groundwater and surface water interactions, geothermal energy, fiber-optic temperature sensing applications in the water-energy nexus, and 3-D printing and GIS applications in hydrogeology.  He is also a faculty member in the U of I Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences.

In February, Lin will assume the directorship of IISG’s sister program, the Illinois Water Resources Center (IWRC). He has had a long involvement with IWRC that began with grant support—IWRC awarded him his first federal funding at the U of I.  He has served on the IWRC advisory committee, reviewed proposals, and presented at the Illinois Water Conference.

Lin came to the U of I in 2002 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he earned his Ph.D in geological engineering.

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a part of University of Illinois Extension and Purdue University Extension.

New IISG research targets natural resources priorities and solutions

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Illinois Beach State Park

Illinois Beach State Park

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) plans to award $675,000 to four new research projects that will help inform decision makers as they address some of the region’s pressing environmental issues, including managing stormwater, restoring stream habitats and protecting beachfronts. The research will take place in 2018-2019.

Two projects will focus on green infrastructure as part of stormwater management, but using different approaches. At the University of Illinois, landscape architect Mary Pat McGuire will lead a diverse team that includes David Grimley with the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) to create a soils database for the Calumet region southeast of Chicago to assess soil health and appropriateness for effective green infrastructure. The researchers will evaluate green infrastructure planning in the region and work with municipalities in pilot projects to help integrate their findings into site selection and design strategy decisions.

Bernie Engel and colleagues in the Purdue University Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering will enhance their simulation software to include the long-term effects of green infrastructure on reducing and preventing flooding. Their model is part of the Tipping Point Planner online toolbox, which helps local decision makers plan for future development in their communities. This new project will be closely tied to a south side Chicago neighborhood—Washington Park. There, using their updated model, the research team hopes to demonstrate the impact of optimally-places green infrastructure on flooding. Akilah Martin, in DePaul University’s School for New Learning, will help share these results with students and local residents.

Washington Park, Chicago, IL

Washington Park, Chicago, Illinois

At the University of Illinois, hydrogeologist Piotr Cienciala and ecological physiologist Cory Suski will lead a multi-disciplinary project to study the effect of turbulence on fish swimming behavior. By studying how the physiology of various fish species is affected by water movement, the researchers can help inform the placement of fish passage structures as part of stream restoration projects. The findings will likely be transferable to stream projects beyond the Great Lakes region and may help inform simulations to explore restoration outcomes under various projected climate or land use change scenarios that alter water movement and fish habitat.

U of I researchers will also use historical documents of the geology of the Illinois shoreline to help beach managers predict and address future conditions. Through old photos and reports, ISGS’s Ethan Theuerkauf will lead an effort to tell the story of land changes and environmental conditions over the last century at Illinois Beach State Park. Experts from the Prairie Research Institute, Midwest Regional Climate Center, and Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessment Center are also taking part in this research. Working closely with beach managers, the researchers will develop future coastal change scenarios to help inform the decision making process.

“Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is excited to support these new research efforts,” said Tomas Hook, IISG associate director for research. “They are targeting issues that have been identified as priorities for the Lake Michigan region of Illinois and Indiana and they have great potential to yield solution-based results for our region. Collectively, these projects should also contribute to informing infrastructure and environmental management in coastal regions throughout the United States.”

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a part of University of Illinois Extension and Purdue University Extension.

Great Lakes Sea Grant Network releases comprehensive Asian carp report

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The Great Lakes Sea Grant Network has released a comprehensive and coordinated outreach and education report on Asian carp in the region. The document includes information on carp life history, movement and behavior, monitoring, control, ecosystem impacts and gaps in current knowledge that need to be addressed further.

“Asian carp have already caused enormous damage in the Mississippi River Basin, and we don’t want to see them in the Great Lakes,” said Reuben Keller of the Institute of Environmental Sustainability at Loyola University Chicago. “This report gives stakeholders across the region lots of useful information about the ecological and economic risks of these invasive species, and about the actions currently being taken to prevent them spreading into the Great Lakes.”

The report includes listings of available education and outreach materials from the Mississippi and Great Lakes basins that managers and other groups can use to educate stakeholders on the invasive fish. A survey of state and federal agency experts summarizes current research on Asian carp and identifies information still needed to effectively control their spread. Additionally, the report’s list of state speakers allows local interest groups to reach out to experts near them to educate members directly.

“This comprehensive report gives us three pieces of valuable information, which support our fight against Asian carps as a threat to Great Lakes” said Debbie Lee, director of NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and that agency’s lead member of the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee. “It provides a clear picture of the overall potential impact of an Asian carp invasion of the lakes, it identifies specific gaps in our understanding of that impact, and lastly, it contains a large inventory of outreach and education materials that scientists, managers, and educators can use to communicate the Asian carp threat to the general public.”

The plan’s development was funded by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative through the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee. The final report can be downloaded here.

Asian carp is the collective name used for four non-native species of carp from Asia currently found in North America. The fish known for jumping out of the water and possibly injuring boaters is predominantly silver carp, which was brought to the United States for aquaculture along with bighead carp, grass carp and black carp. The species most commonly of concern in the Great Lakes are silver carp and bighead carp, which are moving up the Illinois River towards the Chicago Area Waterways System that connects the river with the Great Lakes.

The primary concern over Asian carp in the Great Lakes is their impact on an already stressed food web. Silver carp and bighead carp compete with small forage fish and young sport fish for food and could negatively impact the lakes’ fishing industry. Grass carp eat the vegetation that provides prime wetland habitat and black carp feed on mollusks like native mussels, many of which are endangered.

At the same time, Asian carp have few natural predators because they quickly outgrow native predator species, often within just a year. In parts of the Illinois River, silver carp and bighead carp make up more than 90 percent of the fish biomass, essentially out competing all native species for food and habitat.

The Great Lakes Sea Grant Network is a collaboration of Sea Grant programs along the Great Lakes, which includes Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, Lake Champlain Sea Grant, Michigan Sea Grant, Minnesota Sea Grant, New York Sea Grant, Ohio Sea Grant, Pennsylvania Sea Grant and Wisconsin Sea Grant. For more information, visit greatlakesseagrant.com.

 


IISG 2014 interns: Where are they now?

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2014 interns

Every summer since 2012, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant has offered opportunities for undergraduate students to get on-the-ground work experience in their field of study. In 2014, IISG hired six interns who worked closely with outreach specialists and helped with projects ranging from website development to community needs assessments. Checking in with a few of these former interns reveals that placing undergraduates in a fully-immersed extension or science program can be a rewarding and life-changing opportunity.

 

Jacob Wood

Jacob (left photo) worked with Tomas Höök, IISG associate director for research, to create the Fish Atlas, a GIS tool that compiles fish catch data from Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan. At the annual GIS day at Purdue University, Jacob’s poster received an undergraduate award for his work on the Fish Atlas website and the processes for developing a mobile website. Following a 2-year career in civil engineering, Jacob recently moved to the Peoria, Illinois area to prepare for graduate school. Read more about Jacob’s intern experience.

How did the internship help you in your career?

Working with IISG helped me develop a self-driven work ethic to accomplish work related goals.  I also learned a lot about professionalism by working alongside some very talented staff members and graduate students.

What is your favorite memory of the internship?

One of my most memorable experiences was going out on Lake Michigan with Jay Beugly to launch and retrieve the IISG buoy in Michigan City, Indiana.  I had a great time going out on the lake, and helping with an awesome program.

 

Mark Krupa

Mark (right, in right photo), alongside El Lower (see below), worked with Caitie Nigrelli, environmental social scientist, ( center, in right photo) to conduct a needs assessment with local stakeholders of Trenton Channel in the Detroit area  After graduating, Mark completed a Master of Public Health in environmental and occupational health and epidemiology at Saint Louis University. Mark works for an environmental consulting company conducting exposure assessments on remediation projects. Read more about Mark and El’s summer experiences.

How did your internship help you in your career?

The lessons from my internship that have been most valuable in my career are the importance of understanding stakeholder concerns and effectively communicating with the public about environmental remediation projects. Working around environmental hazards, it can be easy to underestimate the concerns that people may have about hazards that they are not familiar with. It is so important to listen to and respond to the concerns of the people that will be affected by a project so that everyone knows that it is being completed in the safest way possible.

What is the favorite memory of your internship?

My favorite memory is definitely the trip that Catie Nigrelli, El Lower, and I took to Trenton, Michigan to conduct in-person interviews of residents and other stakeholders involved in the remediation of the Trenton Channel in the Detroit River. We were able to tour the channel by boat, take a sunrise ride with a rowing team, and enjoy some lovely waterfront patios. We spoke to many wonderful people and it was great to learn about each of their connections to the channel.

 

El Lower

After graduating, El Lower (left, in right photo) worked as a research assistant for the Urban Environmental Equity Project at the University of Illinois, where she conducted stakeholder interviews about Great Lakes cleanup work using skills learned with IISG. EL worked on this study from 2014 until its conclusion in 2016, when she turned her focus to finishing graduate work in the U of I College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences. El was recently contracted by American Journal Experts as an environmental studies editor.

How did the internship help you in your career?

The IISG internship was a bit of a turning point for my career goals—I had had no idea environmental social science was a field that even existed before working with Caitie. The combination of research, writing, and community outreach was exactly what I wanted to do with my career, and I have been heading in that direction ever since.

What is your favorite memory of the internship?

My favorite memories from the internship were definitely from the interviews we ran on the Detroit River—we spent about a week in the Downriver area talking with community members and environmental advocates, many of whom were gracious enough to invite us into their homes for their interviews. One (very early) morning we were invited out on a boat ride at dawn by members of the local rowing club—taking pictures of the sun coming up over the Canadian border from out on the water was an experience I won’t soon forget!

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a part of University of Illinois Extension and Purdue University Extension.

Join a new Great Lakes collaborative to help stop invasive crayfish

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image of rusty crayfish

Image courtesy of Jeff Gunderson, Minnesota Sea Grant

Much needed attention has been directed at some particularly problematic aquatic invasive species in the Great Lakes, such as Asian carps and zebra and quagga mussels. But others invaders, like crayfish, can also take their toll on the lakes.

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) is creating a new collaborative that will bring together a variety of experts and stakeholders to address the threat of invasive crayfish. The project is in its beginning stages and membership is open.

Rusty crayfish, native to the Ohio River basin, are already in all Great Lakes states. These invaders can dramatically alter food webs in aquatic environments, first reducing populations of slow moving invertebrates, like snails, and then, when that food source is gone, turning to plants. The crayfish’s consumption of aquatic vegetation can lead to a total loss of rooted plants in the water, which, in turn, can contribute to changes in fish populations.

Other non-native crayfish species also pose a threat to the region, including the red swamp crayfish—listed as one of the 100 worst invasive species in the world, the Australian red claw, and another Australian species, yabby crayfish, which have the ominous scientific name of Cherax destructor.

“Techniques for managing invasive crayfish are largely lacking. Because of this, current efforts to prevent their introduction and spread are mostly aimed at anglers and pet owners—encouraging them to refrain from releasing crayfish into new bodies of water,” said Pat Charlebois, IISG aquatic invasive outreach coordinator.

“Funding for research on invasive crayfish management is also limited, so we hope to identify priority invasive crayfish research needs,” she added. U.S. EPA has funded IISG through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to establish the new collaborative for the Great Lakes region.

The Invasive Crayfish Collaborative (ICC), will bring together experts and other stakeholders from government agencies, universities, non-profit organizations, and private businesses as well as landowners to combine resources and expertise to address priority invasive crayfish research and outreach needs.

“We know that preventing the arrival of new invasive species, and controlling the spread and impacts of those already here, requires everything from basic research to policy and outreach,” said Reuben Keller of the Institute of Environmental Sustainability at Loyola University Chicago, who is funded through this project to identify species of concern for the Great Lakes. “This collaborative will bring together experts and stakeholders so that the risk of invasive crayfish in the Great Lakes can be better understood and managed, and we encourage all stakeholders to get involved.”

The work of the collaborative will include prioritizing research and outreach needs, identifying crayfish of particular concern, developing a framework for evaluating management techniques, and creating communication tools for ICC members, including a website.

If you are interested in becoming an ICC member, contact Lisa Kim at lhkim1@illinois.edu. For more information, contact Pat Charlebois at charlebo@illinois.edu.

Great Lakes cleanup program celebrates 15 years of success

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The Great Lakes have 27 remaining Areas of Concern (AOCs) in U.S. waters. Through GLLA and other programs, impairments in AOCs continue to be reduced. Eventually, this will result in their removal from the AOC list.

The Great Lakes region is celebrating an anniversary: On November 27, 2002, Congress passed the Great Lakes Legacy Act—or GLLA, for short—to accelerate contaminated sediment cleanups in local waterways. To date, the program has cleaned up 4.1M cubic yards of legacy pollutants, restored habitat for fish and wildlife and revitalized coastal communities.

Legacy pollutants—chemical contaminants left behind by industry from decades ago and prior to modern pollution laws—remain a burden in some Great Lakes communities. In fact, the U.S. side of the Great Lakes have 27 Areas of Concern (AOC) that are still considered impaired due to risks to human health, pollution, habitat loss, degradation and other issues.

“For the first time, we have a program and funding specifically dedicated to addressing the most pervasive environmental problem facing the AOCs,” said Matt Doss, policy director for the Great Lakes Commission. “Not only has the Legacy Act lead to actual cleanups of contaminated sediments—generating real, on-the-ground environmental improvements—it revitalized the entire AOC program by demonstrating that real progress was possible.”

Dredging photo

Over multiple projects, nearly 1 million cubic yards of contaminated sediment in the Buffalo River have been cleaned up through the Great Lakes Legacy Act.

The GLLA program is administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Great Lakes National Program Office in Chicago, Illinois. GLLA uses a unique funding strategy that combines voluntary support from states, businesses, and non-governmental organizations, and the federal government through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant assesses outreach needs and engages stakeholders at the community level where GLLA sediment cleanups take place.

Sediment cleanups come in many sizes. The largest GLLA completed project dredged and capped one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment from the East Branch of the Grand Calumet River in northwest Indiana.

“Together, the State Natural Resource Trustees, Federal Natural Resource Trustees and EPA have spent over $180 million on sediment remediation projects in the Grand Calumet River, supporting a heathier fish community and attracting a robust migratory bird population,” said Bruno Pigott, Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

Volume/size of cubic yards

To put dredge volumes in perspective, consider how the size of a single cubic yard compares to the average height of a man.

Much has been accomplished in the program’s first 15 years. Under GLLA, 21 projects are complete in six out of eight Great Lakes states, and more are in the planning stage. Through federal support and local funds, over $588 million has been spent to investigate sediment contamination, design cleanups, and implement solutions to pollution in AOCs.

“The Legacy Act is now among the most successful cleanup programs in the region and a cornerstone of the AOC program,” said Doss.

For the most comprehensive web coverage of sediment cleanups under the Great Lakes Legacy Act, visit www.greatlakesmud.org or follow Great Lakes Mud on Facebook.

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a part of University of Illinois Extension and Purdue University Extension.

 

No reason raising awareness about the threat of Asian Carp can’t be a little fun

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Water Palooza

Jumpin’ Jack makes an appearance at Milwaukee Harbor Festival where Asian carp tacos were on the menu.

In the past few months, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) educators rocked out with new partners to raise awareness about the threat of Asian carp. Jumpin’ Jack, IISG’s costumed silver carp sensation, was on tour at several large public venues in Milwaukee, and Education Coordinator Terri Hallesy made an appearance at Water Palooza in Chicago.

Jumpin’ Jack’s stops in Milwaukee were part of IISG’s new partnership with the Great Lakes Community Conservation Corp (Great Lakes CCC). This group is focused on training and educating disadvantaged populations in the Greater Milwaukee region, including about environmental issues. The group introduced the bedazzled Jumpin’ Jack at a tailgate party before a Brewers-Cubs game and at the Milwaukee Harbor Festival.

At both events, the Great Lakes CCC brought visitors to their booth through the costumed character as well as with cuisine, demonstrating the value of cooking these fishes. Asian carp sliders were on the menu at the tailgate party and tacos at the harbor festival.

“We ran out well before the event was over, serving 350 Asian carp tacos,” said Chris Litzau, Great Lakes CCC president. While tacos were served, Jumpin Jack posed for photos and danced for the crowd.

Visitors to the booth also learned about the threat and impact of aquatic invasive species to Great Lakes and other waters. Asian carp are prevalent in the Illinois River, with an electric barrier in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal deterring them from entering Lake Michigan. Researchers and resource managers are concerned that these large fish could have devastating impact on the Great Lakes food chain.

Water Palooza

IISG Education Coordinator Terri Hallesy helps a Manierre Elementary School student stop Asian carp in their tracks.

Like its more-crowded namesake, Water Palooza is an outdoor event geared towards young people—but in this case, elementary school children. This one-day event is organized by the Water Environment Federation’s Student and Young Professionals Committee. This year it was held on September 29 at Manierre Elementary School in Chicago.

water palooza

Free pencils at Water Palooza help make it a great day.

At Water Palooza, students take part in hands‐on activities that help them learn the value of water and encourage them to care about water in their world. This year, IISG joined in the festivities with a stuffed animal Asian carp, a Stop the Carp in Their Tracks beanbag tossing game, and other aquatic invasive species-related activities.

“By engaging students in interactive activities, they develop knowledge about aquatic invasive species issues and how they pose a threat to our water resources,” said Hallesy. “Water Palooza provides students with an opportunity to develop awareness, understanding, and a stewardship ethic about an important environmental issue, and learn how we can work together as agents for change.”

 

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a part of University of Illinois Extension and Purdue University Extension.

IISG is seeking a climate extension specialist

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Now hiring!

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, in partnership with the Midwestern Regional Climate Center,  is hiring a climate extension specialist. This person will develop weather and outreach programs and decision-support tools to help communities address climate adaptation, as well as coordinate all climate-related outreach and stakeholder engagement activities for the two programs. To view the complete job description and apply, visit http://go.illinois.edu/A1700731.  Closing date is January 3, 2018. The U of I is an EEO Employer/Vet/Disabled – www.inclusiveillinois.illnois.edu.

Environmental DNA sampling is a helpful tool for fisheries managers

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traditional sampling in a creek

Nathan Evans is sampling water for eDNA testing to assess the presence of brook trout in Castle Creek in the headwaters of the Namekagon River in Wisconsin.

Environmental DNA, or eDNA, had a moment in the limelight around 2010, when through the use of this monitoring tool, researchers found evidence of Asian carp in Chicago waterways past the electric barrier installed to stop these fish, and within range of Lake Michigan.

This news, along with several captures of Asian carp in local waters, alerted resource managers and other decision makers to the status of these fish that pose a threat to the Great Lakes.

Environmental DNA is detected in traces of shed skin, hair, mucus and waste, for example, that an organism leaves behind in its surroundings. This monitoring tool was initially used to survey microorganism biodiversity and to sample ancient DNA in soil or ice cores. In the past decade or more, eDNA sampling has been used in lakes and rivers to check for the presence or absence of a species as well as quantifying how many species are found in the waterway.

“Through the newest method, eDNA metabarcoding, we can identify the presence of all fish species inhabiting a body of water,” said Nathan Evans, a postdoc at Florida International University. With Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant funding, Evans, while a graduate student at the University of Notre Dame, assessed the effectiveness of eDNA for conservation management through a literature review of related studies.

He found that eDNA sampling has some advantages over traditional sampling, which include netting fish, electrofishing, or doing visual surveys. These methods are effort intensive and typically have low detection probabilities for rare species, meaning that there is a smaller chance that these less abundant species will show up in sampling.

“Whether in fish or bird or mammal communities, the typical pattern is that they are comprised of a few very abundant species, and large numbers of rare species,” he explained. “Using eDNA increases detection probabilities for those rare species.”

But eDNA sampling is not a replacement for traditional monitoring methods. “With traditional sampling, you are holding the fish, you can measure many more aspects, including size and sex,” said Evans. “With eDNA, you are learning if the fish is there or not, and possibly its abundance.”

yellow perch

Through traditional sampling, researchers can gather information about the status of yellow perch in Great Lakes waters.

As part of Gary Lamberti’s lab at Notre Dame, Evans also engaged in field research on the costs and effectiveness of using eDNA to sample water bodies. Currently, eDNA is more costly than traditional sampling, but is more effort efficient—it provides a more thorough sample of a system with less effort.

Going forward, he sees eDNA costs coming down and the process getting faster, potentially providing the technology to have immediate information in the field. And, research related to eDNA transport is growing. “Right now we sample downstream to learn about fish that are upstream. But we don’t know how far upstream they are—it could be two feet or 20 miles,” Evans said. “The technology will advance to enable us to pinpoint where species are in a watershed. This will revolutionize species management and ecological research.”

Look no further! 2018 fellowship opportunities are here

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Collage of fellows

From left, Lauren Fields, 2016 Knauss Fellow; Denise Devotta, 2017 Knauss Fellow; Alyssa Hausman, 2015 Knauss Fellow

Angela Archer, IISG fellowship program leader, is ready to talk with you about possible career opportunities, especially if you want to put that degree to use in environmental sciences, fisheries science or public policy.  Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant has many fellowship opportunities and Angie is here to help in your search.

For graduate students interested in public policy, you can apply for national and regional fellowships. The John A Knauss Fellowship, sponsored through the National Sea Grant Office, will take you to Washington D.C. to explore the intersections of science and public policy. It is a year-long fellowship that put you in midst of the federal government.  In partnership with Sea Grant, the Great Lakes Commission (GLC) places a fellow in Ann Arbor, Michigan to engage in another “science meets policy’ opportunity related to environmental quality and sustainability of Great Lakes states. Like the Knauss fellowship, the GLC-Sea Grant fellowship is a one-year term.

Rachel Gentile in Congress

Rachel Gentile, Knauss Fellow Class of 2015, spending the day in session.

The National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS)-Sea Grant Joint Fellowship Program has two opportunities for funding, Population and Ecosystem Dynamics and Marine Resource Economics. These two- or three-year fellowships will pair you with a NOAA mentor who may have access to data sources and laboratory space in a NOAA Fisheries research facility. This program requires executed budgets for your application. Contact Angie for assistance.

Lastly, the NOAA Coastal Management Fellowship program has expanded. Now you can apply for nine fellowships instead of six, as in previous years. The program has joined with NOAA’s Digital Coast website to include its three fellowship positions, which before this year were offered separately. Now you can apply for both at one time! Visit the NOAA Coastal Management website for a list of funding agencies. All nine fellows will serve for two years.

Deadlines for applying for these fellowships vary, but are in early winter. For more information, visit the IISG Fellowship page to see these programs at a glance. Or contact Angela Archer at 765-496-3722 or amcbride@purdue.edu if you have questions or would like further information.


U of I students imagine a natural campus landscape

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My name is Kate Gardiner and I recently joined the Illinois Water Resources Center (IWRC) as a part-time communications coordinator. Prior to starting at IWRC, I interned at the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment and earned my B.S. from the University of Illinois in environmental sustainability.

Since sustainability can be so widely applied, the University of Illinois now incorporates lessons in sustainability into a multitude of courses in different fields spanning from business to architecture. Recently, I had the opportunity to join Eliana Brown, outreach specialist and rain garden expert with IWRC, to visit a landscape architecture class and provide feedback for the students’ final design review.

One of the key objectives of Landscape Architecture (LA) 452, led by Katherine Kraszewska, is to teach students to identify and incorporate native plant species when envisioning a new landscape. This is a win-win, as the native plants attract pollinators and, when used in rain gardens, can improve downstream water quality.

For their designs, students were instructed to increase connectivity between pollinator pockets and consider stormwater management. Pollinator pockets are spaces with native plants, serving as an oasis for butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, and other pollinators traveling through the area. Pollinator pockets  are scattered throughout the U of I campus, including the Facilities & Services’ low mow zones and the Master Gardener Idea Garden.

We spoke with several students about their designs, here are some of our favorites!

Landscape architecture senior Layne Knoche designed a sunken courtyard by the Allen Hall dormitory. His plan included a small grass lawn, native plantings that attract pollinators, and a patio for students to sit and enjoy nature. He chose his plantings based on seasonality, moisture tolerance, plant heights, and what pollinators they attract so that the garden could be beautiful all year round as well as attract different species.

Maria Esker, also a landscape architecture senior, designed an interactive campus rain garden. It included a path through the garden, large boulders along the path for sitting, and a wide range of native plantings for people to enjoy year round. Her rain garden would catch excess runoff from the adjacent parking lot and be a relief for pollinators traveling through campus.

Eliana shared with the students that they did a great job integrating concepts they learned in the rainscaping course into their final designs. This wasn’t the first time she visited the class—Eliana previously shared her expertise in a stormwater rainscaping guest lecture (along with Extension Educator Jason Haupt).

These bright students all had innovative and sustainably-inspired designs, greatly due to the teachings and encouragement from their professor as well as their own creativity. While reviewing their designs, we learned that many of the students in the class are graduating this year. As they move on from the university and start their careers, I wish them luck and hope they take what they’ve learned in LA 452 with them and apply it to their future designs.

Top photo, left to right: Terri Hallesy, Maria Esker, Eliana Brown, Katrina Widholm 

Bottom photo, left to right: Katherine Kraszewska, Eliana Brown, Terri Hallesy, Katrina Widholm, and Kate Gardiner 

New Great Lakes associate will enrich IISG outreach and education efforts

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Once again, one of IISG’s interns has made good. Allison Neubauer, who began her time with the program as one of our 2013 summer interns and continued on as an educator, is now IISG’s new visiting Great Lakes outreach associate. In her role as an outreach associate, she will work with two IISG specialists to develop products and engage audiences on Great Lakes literacy and natural lawn care.

Working alongside Sarah Zack, pollution prevention specialist, Neubauer will conduct outreach activities to raise awareness of pollution making its way into our waterways—including pharmaceuticals and personal care products, microplastics, and other emerging contaminants of concern. She will serve as the point person for the Lawn to Lake program, informing communities about natural lawn care practices to cutback nutrient and chemical pollution and conserve water.

Neubauer will also work closely with Kristin TePas, community outreach specialist, to manage Great Lakes literacy projects that connect educators and students across the basin with Great Lakes science and develop resources that share research and monitoring efforts conducted onboard U.S. EPA’s R/V Lake Guardian with regional stakeholders.

During her internship, Neubauer led the development of the Lake Guardian website and the production of nine interview videos that introduce students to opportunities in marine and science careers.

Neubauer holds two Bachelor’s degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

IISG brings a new communicator onboard

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Image of Hope ChartersWe are happy to welcome Hope Charters to the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant team!

Charters has joined IISG as its communication coordinator. In her new role, she will be working to enhance communications efforts and continue reaching audiences in Illinois, Indiana and beyond with news and updates about IISG research, outreach and education.

Before joining the program, Charters worked as a marketing and communications coordinator in Purdue University’s College of Engineering. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University and a master’s degree from Indiana University.

Purdue University directs Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant administration

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University will administer the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant College Program (IISG), previously managed by the University of Illinois, effective Feb. 1, 2018. New IISG director Tomas Höök, a fisheries biologist in Purdue’s Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, will lead the administration.

IISG research, outreach and education efforts bring the latest science to southern Lake Michigan residents and decision makers and empower them to secure a healthy environment and economy.

The program has been a leader in the region on aquatic invasive species control, pollution prevention and Great Lakes literacy, and has developed decision tools that help communities grow while protecting natural resources. Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant supports more than 50 permanent medicine collection programs in the Great Lakes region, has helped the Indiana aquaculture industry grow fivefold and provides resources for municipalities to plan for future water supplies.

Terri Hallesy talking to students

Terri Hallesy, IISG education coordinator, engages elementary students at the University of Illinois’ Brady STEM Academy about the threat of Asian carp to the Great Lakes.

IISG is funded through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Purdue University and the University of Illinois.

Tomas Höök, Director

“While Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant has recently been administered by the University of Illinois, it has always been a truly bi-state program,” says Höök, who has served as IISG’s associate director for research since 2010. “For the past 16 years, the program has greatly benefitted from IISG leadership at Illinois, especially Brian Miller and Lisa Merrifield. With program administration moving to Purdue, IISG will continue to work to empower Lake Michigan communities in both Illinois and Indiana through applied discovery and information dissemination.”

Purdue University and the University of Illinois have worked closely to oversee IISG since 1982, periodically transferring the program directorship. Over its 36 years, the program has maintained an administrative presence at both universities.

“When I started my career with Sea Grant in 1994, we were going through an administrative transition similar to the one happening right now,” says Brian Miller, who has been program director for 11 years and is now retiring. “What we have accomplished since that time provides a wonderful platform for even greater growth in the future.”

Jay Beugly and Margaret Hutton, Purdue University

IISG Aquatic Ecologist Jay Beugly helps Purdue University student Margaret Hutton sample Lake Michigan water near Wilmette, Illinois.

IISG is part of the National Sea Grant College program, established in 1966 to protect and preserve America’s coastline and water resources to create a sustainable economy and environment. The network consists of a partnership between NOAA and 33 university-based programs in every coastal and Great Lakes state.

Director Brian Miller leaves behind a Sea Grant legacy

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Photo courtesy of Brian Stauffer, University of Illinois

Brian Miller has been director of the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant program for 10 years. He retired on February 1, 2018, as the program administration transitioned from the University of Illinois to Purdue University. Below is an interview from his final days with IISG.


What is your history with the IISG program?

I started back in 1994 as the extension program leader. The program began at the University of Illinois, and in 1994, it came to Purdue when the university asked for the opportunity to take a shot at running the administration. At that time, IISG was very small. There was no research program, the director, Phil Pope, was from Purdue’s Department of Forestry and Natural Resources.

We got the research program reinstated, and in 1997 we achieved college status. In 2001, when Phil Pope retired, the two universities agreed that it would move to the University of Illinois to report to the vice chancellor of research.

Then, in 2007 I was hired as the director. When I was getting ready to retire, the same discussions came up that happened back in 1994 and in 2001. We’ve again decided to move the program to the partner university, so, we’ve really come full circle. The difference is that when it came to Purdue the first time, there were four people, one specialist, and a budget of about $300 thousand per year with no research. And nobody really knew who we were or what we did. It was hard to become a partner in a big place like Chicago. People in the universities didn’t know what to do with us, and people on the coast didn’t know what to do with us. It was just a small program.

Today, the program is coming over to Purdue with 18 specialists and more than 175 partners. I think the big thing that’s changed is that we no longer have to walk through the door and explain what we do, and we don’t have to try to convince people to work with us. In a lot of cases, it goes the other way, where we’re asked to help participate and solve problems. We’re seen as a program that can bring science and expertise to bear on tough community, state, and regional resource issues. And that really was the dream initially. So, I think that provides a pretty good platform for moving forward with the next administration.


What have been IISG’s greatest impacts during your time as director?

I think one of the things that we’re known for nationally is that we help local communities with planning, whether it’s watershed planning, land use planning, sustainable water planning, or thinking about planning for hazards and how to be resilient so we’re not more susceptible to flooding. We try to make sure that everything we do helps somebody make a decision—about management or policy or even personal decisions—that balances their goals with what’s best for the coast.

I’m pretty proud of the connection we’ve made between universities and communities. Researchers now have the ability to take their results and, instead of just depositing them somewhere like publications or the library, they can incorporate them into a decision support system that communities can use. Three great examples of that are GreatLakesMonitoring.org, Tipping Point Planner, and Great Lakes to Gulf.

Brian Miller, right, listens as Purdue University graduate student Valeria Mijares talks about research on comprehensive indicators of water quality. Seated from left are Sherry Martin, research associate, Michigan State University, Danielle Gerlach, Michigan Sea Grant intern, Mary Bohling, extension educator, and Dan Walker, IISG community planning extension specialist.

The last big project I got involved with was the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy. That was one of the most challenging projects, but it was also the most rewarding. I was asked to help facilitate the process to develop and implement a nutrient loss reduction strategy in Illinois. The Illinois Water Resources Center and IISG really work together on this. I am proud of facilitating a policy workgroup, made up of a wide array of stakeholders that were able to come together and develop a solution. We had seven workgroups, and in two years we were able to publish the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy.

Last August, we released our first biannual report that demonstrated big changes in land use practices and best management practices along with a scientific report that showed a reduction in the loss of nutrients in the state. It was really rewarding to see people coming together to solve problems, and willing to try and make sure they’re protecting the water and the environment we all share. That experience was kind of a capstone that brought together all of my experiences and knowledge during my time with Sea Grant.


What has it meant to you to be part of the Sea Grant network?

When I started in 1994, the very first meeting I met my peers at other Sea Grant institutions, we just all immediately became friends. Through my whole career, that feeling never changed. There were often national competitions for money or national research competitions where we could’ve easily become competitors and fought with each other, but we never did. In the Great Lakes, there’s been a long tradition of networking and partnering.

Something I really appreciate from the Sea Grant network is that we are all based at the core in university science. We start with the facts. We may have different ideas of how to get there, but we’re able to find a way to do it together for the greatest impact. Over the years, the focus has shifted from “How many pubs did you create?” to “So, what did it do? How was it used? Did the environment change because of what you did?” That was a very different way of thinking, and I think Sea Grant was one of the leading agencies and groups to embrace that.

One of the coolest things that I got involved with was creating the Sea Grant Academy. Up until the late ‘90s and early 2000s, there was nowhere to learn how to focus on impacts, to learn how to plan new programs, and to get the ethos of what a good extension or Sea Grant program should really be. And so, we decided to develop an academy. It’s been conducted every two years since then. After our third academy, 10 percent of all the program leaders were academy graduates. And I think that number is higher now.

Two of the cornerstones of academy training is how to design programs for impact and to learn how to report to Congress and your state legislators and communities with demonstrated impacts. And I think that’s just a philosophy that always gave purpose and meaning to me personally. That seems to be the philosophy that drives Sea Grant, and I think that’s what being part of that network has meant to me.


What will you miss most about being involved with IISG?

The people. The thing that has always been so special about Sea Grant is the people. There’s an old cliché and you hear it a lot: “We’re like family,” but it really is like that with IISG. There is always a cooperative spirit. We all work together. It doesn’t matter that we work in separate states. It doesn’t matter that we have different universities. It doesn’t matter that, in all other aspects, we would be competing for resources. But because we are part of Sea Grant, we work together, we get credit for working together, and we know that we’re stronger for doing that.

IISG staff members, Kristin TePas and Tomas Hook, and former IISG employee, Jarrod Doucette, reminiscing with Brian Miller at his retirement party.

We respect each other as colleagues and friends. I’ve appreciated that throughout my entire career. It’s added a lot of value to my memories, my career satisfaction, and everyone I’ve gotten to know has added to my perspective of how I view the world and how to operate in it. That’s something that I’ll really miss. You don’t get that in every career.


What are your plans after retiring?

I grew up in southern Indiana. Both my grandparents farmed. I was raised as a kid spending all my summers on the farm, and that’s where I got involved in wildlife and forestry and water resources. Then, I came to Purdue and got a degree and became a wildlife biologist. I worked in Connecticut as a wild turkey and small game biologist and then came back to Purdue to work as a wildlife extension specialist. I started to realize that just working on wildlife habitat wasn’t good enough–I realized that if we weren’t working with land use planning, we weren’t going to solve any problems.

Then Sea Grant really helped me broaden into water, fisheries, and coastal issues. So, I went from being a specialist to being a generalist really. But toward the end of my career, I also got involved in farming and nutrient issues. Now, as I retire, I’m going back to the farm that’s been in my family for 150 years, and it’s got a house on it that was built in 1905. I’ve added wetlands, and I have short grass prairie and tall grass prairie. I have mature woodlands, and I’ve planted bottom land hardwoods. And now, I have the chance to put a lot of what I’ve done and learned back into practice with my own hands again. In a lot of ways, it’s all kind of come full circle.

 

* This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

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