| September 3, 2008 |
September 3 eNews Trivia:
"There are approximately 76,000 regulated dams in the U.S. What is the average life span of a man-made dam?"
Answer: The average life expectancy of dams is approximately 50 years.
Of the estimated 2.5 million dams in the U.S., 76,000 are six feet or greater in height; a minimum size for dam safety regulatory concerns. Of these 76,000 dams, 80% or 60,000 are expected to be 50 years of age or older by the year 2020. This implies that a large number of dams will be in need of maintenance or considered for removal in the near future.
This information comes from Effects of Dam Removal on Fluvial Geomorphology and Fish (Michigan State University, 2007) by Bryan Burroughs. At the Dam Summit on September 17, Bryan will be addressing some of the current dam issues we face in Northeast Michigan.
-------------------
August 20 eNews Trivia:
"Historically, what is the average number of years between wildfires in a jack pine ecosystem?"
Answer: According to a US Forest Service Rapid Assessment Reference Condition Model, the average fire interval is 22 years. However, the MI DNR website reports that fires returned every 30 to 100 years.
The jack pine ecosystem is dependent on these fires because they are necessary for the release of seeds. Fire also clears the area of competition, which creates the sunny areas jack pine require to grow.
The endangered Kirtland's warbler relies on these young jack pine stands. Nesting areas greater than 80 acres composed of jack pines at least 5 feet tall are preferred. Such stands are typically eight years old. The warblers will continue to nest in these forests until the trees are about 20 years old. At this time, they begin to lose their lower brances and are lees desirable nesting habitat (MDNR).
Thank you Emily for this weeks question. Emily is about to complete her first year of service with the Huron Pines AmeriCorps program. During her time at the Otsego Conservation District, she implemented several youth environmental education programs and native plant projects. Emily's efforts have not only improved resources in Northeast Michigan, but are helping create long-lasting stewards of the land.
-------------------
August 6 eNews Trivia: "In 2006, there were 1.4 million anglers in Michigan. How many were primarily interested in fishing for trout?"
Answer: Nearly 180,000 or 13%
Trout may be less widely distributed in northern Michigan waters in the coming decades in response to global climate change. The most recent climate modeling predicts warmer temperatures and lower water levels for much of Michigan (although intense rainstorms and flooding will be more common), particularly in the summer. This is bad news for trout, who need cool summer water temperatures to survive.
As a result, efforts to protect our headwater streams and the cool groundwater they provide to our rivers will become even more important in the future than today.
Thank you to Greg Goudy for the trivia question this week. Greg works for the Surface Water Quality Division of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. He has helped Huron Pines and our partners develop and implement many of the watershed projects that benefit our lakes and streams, including stormwater management, water quality monitoring, development of watershed management plans, and installation of road-stream crossing Best Management Practices.
-------------------
July 23 eNews Trivia: "What is the sweetest soil in Michigan?"
Answer: Sugar Soil!
Found in Chippewa County, this soil is moderately well drained and formed in loamy lacustrine sediments over calcareous clayey materials on lake plains. Common tree species in forested areas include sugar maple, red maple, quaking aspen, white spruce, and paper birch.
Michigan has a unique blend of soils. The picture to the right(courtesy of NRCS) is Michigan’s state soil, Kalkaska Sand. This was chosen because it is found on both peninsulas, covers over a million acres and sustains wooded forests. Largely developed from glacial sediments, soil characteristics in Michigan vary widely from one place to the next.
Steve Rodock has been a soil scientist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service for over 20 years. He is also always eager to learn more about American history. Steve has been a great resource for Huron Pines and helped us greatly with GIS and trainings. Thanks again Steve!
-------------------
July 2 eNews Trivia: "How many river miles, lake acres and shoreline miles are in Huron Pines’ 11-county service area?"
Answer: 5,005 river miles, 172,800 lake acres and 467 shoreline miles.
Thank you Lisha for this week's question. Lisha has been with Huron Pines for 5 years. As Program Director, she oversees staff projects as well as heads the Huron Pines AmeriCorps project. She has also been a supporter of Huron Pines through the membership program.
-------------------
June 25 eNews Trivia: "What North American songbird has the longest migration, over 12,000 miles round-trip?"
Answer: The bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) leaves northern Michigan in late July migrating along the southeastern coast to Florida. The migration continues across the Gulf of Mexico to Cuba. After a rest stop in Cuba, they continue across the Caribbean Sea to South America to southern Brazil, northern Argentina, and Paraguay.
Found in open fields and hayfields, the bobolink has white on the back and black underneath, the only American bird with that plumage. This coloring makes the male stand out while he is performing his displays and singing its melodious call. After breeding, the males spend the rest of the year in a drab, camouflaged plumage.
The courtship behavior and beautiful song of the Bobolink make for great bird-watching. Unfortunately, the early mowing of hayfields disrupts young fledglings and has reduced their numbers. Delaying mowing in hayfields benefits this species.
Cool Facts (from Cornell Lab of Ornithology) http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Bobolink.html#description
One female, known to be at least 9 years old, presumably made this trip annually, a total distance equal to traveling 4.5 times around the earth at the equator! The Bobolink is one of the few songbirds who complete two molts each year, completely changing its feathers on both the breeding and wintering grounds.
Thank you Ann Baughman for providing us with the question this week. Ann has worked with us on many projects through the years and is also a donor to our organization. She is employed as the Outreach Specialist at Freshwater Future in Petoskey.
-------------------
June 13 eNews Triva: "How deep can loons dive?"
Answer: loons, an icon of our northern Michigan lakes, can dive 200-250 feet deep!
Thanks to Jeff Silagy, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, for providing this question and answer. Jeff is a supporter of Huron Pines and provides technical input as a participant with our Resource Advisory Group.
Loons are very sensitive to pollution, development and disturbance. Many of our Huron Pines members are avid lake enthusiasts, but there are things we can all do to help sustain the loon population, such as keeping our lakes clean by participating in programs like shoreline greenbelt protection. It's also really important to give loons plenty of space during their time of nesting and chick-rearing, which takes place early in the summer.
-------------------
May 28th eNews Trivia: “Just how high do brook trout jump?”
The maximum height brook trout have been observed jumping in the wild is 2 feet.
This maximum height was recorded for a strong adult brook trout, which means smaller fish will not be able to jump as high. Why is this important? We can spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of labor improving habitat in the river, but if the fish can’t easily access that part of the river then your efforts were wasted. In order to restore habitat for brook trout we need to make sure that the trout can travel the entire length of the river. Often fish are blocked at road crossings when culverts are perched (too high on the downstream side of the flow for fish to jump into), if the culverts are blocked or damaged in some manner, or if the water velocity in the culvert is too strong (1 m/sec. will block all fish passage, even salmon). If the culvert is higher than 2 ft. then passage for strong, adult brook trout will be blocked, and fish will not be able to access the upper reaches of a river. Next time you are out driving around, stop and take a look at the road crossings at your favorite stream. Are they blocking fish passage?
Thanks to Heather Rawlings, biologist with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, for providing this question and answer. Through her work with USFWS, Heather provides technical input and funding to many of the projects Huron Pines works on. She also serves on our Resource Advisory Group and we're pleased to have her support as a member of Huron Pines.
|
|
|
