Life on a boat: An Arctic update from Knauss Fellow Janet Hsiao

Greetings from the Chukchi Sea! It’s mostly light out north of the Arctic Circle this time of year; the sun grazes just below the horizon each night then rises shortly after. As a part of my Knauss Fellowship through NOAA’s Ocean Observing and Monitoring Division, I was given the unique opportunity to sail on the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Cutter Healy. My primary duties include trying to be useful to the various Arctic research operations on board, and working with the NOAA Communications team to write about their findings – which you can follow using #ArcticDispatches18. The series will continue to be updated while we are underway. You can also read about this mission through the blog of our resident NOAA Teacher at Sea, Roy Moffitt – and expect another article from our journalist on board in a major newspaper (link to follow in the near future). There is definitely no shortage of outreach highlighting our scientific endeavors! I thought I would use this opportunity instead to share the experience through the lens of my first time at sea.

The USCGC Healy is Janet's "home" while at sea. Photo: Meredith LaValley

It has been ten days since we set sail from Alaska’s Port of Nome. We are slowly approaching wavy and icy territories, but I am now comfortable with the constant swaying of my surroundings (and occasional thud when we hit a piece of ice). I became more cognizant of what items are compostable and burnable to minimize waste. I can identify background engine noises that signal whether the ship will be moving or halting. I also learned to embrace the regularity that comes with working 12-hour shifts and eating meals at set times to support the 24-hour science operation.

Naps boost morale. Photo: Janet Hsiao

Since internet and phone services are harder to come by in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, members of the science party and USCG crew communicate using pagers while on board. Photo: Janet Hsiao

The interdisciplinary science team studies various aspects of the Arctic ecosystem, including genomics, algae, marine mammals, aerosols, and physical oceanography. Researchers have an opportunity to learn about each other’s findings during meal times on the mess deck. Photo: Janet Hsiao

Traveling to the Arctic is no easy feat. Even on the first day of sailing, I came to appreciate the collaborative nature of oceanography as a discipline. Our science crew consists of multiple academic institutions (e.g., the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the University of Washington, the University of Maryland) and government agencies (e.g., NOAA, USGS, USFWS). This experience is especially valuable for providing context to what I have been learning from my host office in budget and program management. Research in the Arctic highlights the value of maintaining sustained observations, which requires dedicated leadership and resources. Changes in this vulnerable ecosystem have been documented by scientists who consistently return to the study region year after year. Through a dedicated community effort, there now exist ongoing time-series of various aspects of the Arctic, enabled by those with vested interest in understanding how this complex system is changing. This research cruise, as well as the many before and many to come, is truly a multi-faceted undertaking made possible by partnership and collaboration.

Did you know that there are corals in the Arctic? Photo: Stephanie Grassia

Scientists take turns to collect seawater samples from the “conductivity-temperature-depth” (CTD) Rosette, which is an instrument package lowered over the side of the ship. Bottles are attached to a frame that collect seawater at different depths on the way up. Our research crew is composed of various teams that study biological, physical, and chemical oceanography – and share the CTD samples. Photo: Meredith LaValley

Sea-ice sighting with fellow Knauss Fellow Sammi Dowdell. Photo: Christina Goethel

Some of my favorite moments include seeing a puffin in flight, power-washing barnacles off moorings that were underwater for a year, and trying to play ping-pong on a moving vessel. Prior to setting foot on Healy, I knew only one other person on board. The shipboard environment quickly acquainted us with each other. Every person on the science team and USCG crew have their designated roles, whether it is to observe seabirds, navigate, process seawater samples, cook meals, etc. We operate with the common goal of successfully completing our science mission (keeping everyone safe while gathering the data). I particularly appreciate working in the collaborative environment where people are patient in teaching each other and help out where needed. Living in close quarters also means that I have opportunities to ask questions and learn from people from all walks of life. I am grateful for everyone’s kindness and generosity in sharing their stories and the fortuitous paths that allow us to convene here in the Arctic. We are on track to complete our journey in time, to then return to our respective lives and make sense of this experience (and the data collected). I look forward to sharing the day-to-day with my new colleagues and friends during our remaining time together. Until we meet again!

An Upper Peninsula field trip with Corey Krabbenhoft

Hello again!

I hope everyone’s summer is off to a fantastic start. I thought I’d take this opportunity to branch out a bit and highlight some fantastic research that I’ve been involved in over the past few years. While I spend most of my time these days thinking about round goby invasion in the Great Lakes (see my last blog post here), I have been involved in a few side projects throughout my time at Wayne State. One of the main questions I am addressing in my research with Michigan Sea Grant is how watershed quality (as influenced by human activities) affects the ability of invasive species to establish populations. To do this, I have looked at watersheds across the state, which reflect a gradient of overall quality. This means that I’ve spent a fair amount of time sampling in very urban and agricultural rivers that are highly impacted by human activities.

In contrast to the urban streams I am used to, I spent some time this month working on a long-term project in some streams that are about as remote as you can get in Michigan. My advisor, Donna Kashian, has had research support and sponsorship from the Huron Mountain Wildlife Foundation (HMWF) in the Upper Peninsula (Figure 1) for about 11 years. The HMWF has been a fantastic group to work with and is truly a hidden gem in Michigan’s environmental research (if you’re interested, keep an eye out for their next call for proposals). I was fortunate enough to be invited on these trips and have now been going for five years. The project was designed to develop a long-term monitoring program for ecosystem integrity in streams in the Huron Mountains (just west of Marquette in the UP). This area is quite remote and serves as a good "reference" location for tracking the impacts of human-mediated environmental changes like climate change, a newly constructed mine in the area, and general construction and development activities.

Figure 1. General location of our sampling efforts in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (location indicated by red marker). Image: Google Maps

Our project uses aquatic macroinvertebrates (Figure 2) to keep track of water quality in the area. Every July, we sample 30 streams in the area that are associated with varying levels of perturbations associated with human activities. In addition to macroinvertebrates, we take a suite of water quality samples: basic things like dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, as well as samples we take back to the lab to process, like nutrients, metals, and organic carbon. The combination of these measures gives us an idea about if and how human activities might be affecting water quality in the surrounding area, and where there is the most impact. Collecting these types of data over a long timeframe (eleven years and counting!) provides a valuable resource in assessing how ecosystem integrity changes over time. It also provides clues as to the mechanisms for change based on the type of response observed in the data.

Figure 2. My lab mate and fellow PhD student Darrin Hunt joined us this year. Here he is using a Hess stream bottom sampler to collect macroinvertebrates from one of our stream sites. At the end of the day, we sieve and preserve all our samples in ethanol to take back to our lab to process further. Pictured (bottom right) is a dragonfly nymph, a nice example of the invertebrates we collect. Photos: Corey Krabbenhoft

Many of the streams we sample are much different than those you might be familiar with in the Lower Peninsula. Many are very small (less than one meter wide in some cases), only a handful of them regularly have fish, and they often have high levels of tannins due to leaf litter from the surrounding forest (Figure 3). Importantly, these streams are also free from the impacts of several invasive species which are common in the Lower Peninsula like dreissenid mussels (quagga and zebra mussels), and the round goby, the species I work on in my research with Michigan Sea Grant. These streams are largely part of the Salmon Trout and Yellow Dog watersheds, both of which are important recreational trout fisheries in the area.

Figure 3. Some of the more spectacular sites we sample every year. Photos: Corey Krabbenhoft

So far, the majority of the impacts we have seen have been related to surface construction associated with development of the new mine in the area (Figure 4). In 2013, a year before mining operations commenced, we witnessed a dramatic restructuring of the road system through the area. What used to be single-lane dirt roads had been transformed into large two- to four-lane highways. Simultaneously, the bridges at stream crossings were redone to support the increased weight and frequency of logging trucks associated with the construction activities (and then ultimately the mining trucks themselves). This rapid and dramatic change to the riparian areas and bank stability was reflected in our invertebrate data by an increase in relatively tolerant invertebrate taxa (i.e., invertebrates that are sensitive to things like increased sedimentation were less abundant, while those that are relatively tolerant became more abundant) (Figure 5). The good news is that we saw a relatively quick recovery of the invertebrate communities the following year.

Figure 4. Impacts observed due to construction activities. Left -- sediment barrier designed to keep excess silt from running into streams, which is almost completely buried. Middle -- a new culvert installed at one road crossing (my adviser, Donna Kashian, is pictured). Right -- unstable fill has resulted in wash-outs near some of the roads. Photos: Corey Krabbenhoft

Figure 5. Principal components analysis of the invertebrate communities for four of our most impacted sites over the course of the study. Each point represents the invertebrate community at a single site during a single year. All four sites are quite different in 2012 (yellow), largely due to a larger proportion of chironomids (midges), a particularly tolerant taxon. Image: Corey Krabbenhoft

This project is ongoing, and we hope to continue our monitoring efforts to develop a long-term data set for the area that can be used to detail the environmental consequences of discrete human activities, as well as general, long-term change (and how the degree of change in this remote area compares to that which we observe in more urban systems). As we continue processing samples, we will have a better understanding of any lasting consequences for the water quality in the area.

In the meantime, I’ll get back to daydreaming about round gobies and focus on my dissertation work. If you are interested to hear more about this project or want to chat about research in general, I’m more than happy to hear from you! You can find me at ckrab@wayne.edu or on my Twitter page @ckrabb.

Pre- (well, mid-) Travel Blog: The first third of my fellowship year

By Lisa Peterson

To be honest, blog readers, the plan had been to post a blog before the month of May. Because May has been my busy travel month and I liked the idea of a pre- and post-travel blog. But as I am quickly learning during my Knauss fellowship year, time flies by extremely fast. You blink and suddenly you have been working at NOAA for almost four complete months, a third of your year over. And what a third it has been. I am in the midst of travel currently (attending the National Stock Assessment Workshop this week in California as part of my professional development plan), so I will think of this as a mid-travel blog and follow up in a month or so (after the bulk of my travel for the year is complete) to talk about these meetings I have been attending. 

Fellow MISG Knauss Fellow Janet Hsiao and I took some time to check out the cherry blossoms on the Mall. Photo: Lisa Peterson

I want to go a little bit more into what I am working on during my Knauss year, as now I have a much clearer picture of my specific projects. As I mentioned in my first blog post, I am working in the Office of Science and Technology with the Electronic Technologies Coordinator, Brett Alger. I’m working on a variety of projects, but I see myself as having two big ones. Both are related to electronic monitoring (EM — check out EM Explained here). The first is national standards. Throughout the year, I will be working with EM coordinators to think about standards, whether these be minimum requirements, policies, or just best practices, for the various components of EM systems (e.g. hardware, software, data files). My first task is to make recommendations for prioritization and timing and clarify the desired outcomes of creating these standards. Then the plan is to create a subgroup of the national Electronic Technologies Working Group to start working through the potential national standards components.

The other project I am working on combines my background in stock assessments with the EM work I am doing at NOAA. As electronic monitoring expands, special consideration needs to be taken with regards to how this new data is incorporated into the stock assessments that inform management. Some regions, like Alaska, are already incorporating EM into their stock assessments, while others, like the North East, are investing into research on how best to go about integrating their EM data. My goal for the year is to put together a document that synthesizes the current work that has been done on this topic, the progress being made by some of the researchers, and what some roadblocks may be, and potential paths forward. I’m hoping this will be useful to all the regions, no matter where they are in their EM programs.

This is shaping up to be a great year. I am learning a lot and am excited to continue my projects. In addition to the projects described above I am also helping with EM communications — check out this spotlight on the women of EM! I also do find time to explore D.C; see the pictures below!

I am still trying to hit all the main buildings and museums in D.C., but I am always impressed by the Capitol Building. Photo: Lisa Peterson

The beautiful cherry blossoms made for some cool pictures at the Washington Monument. Photo: Lisa Peterson

The case for cooperation: Two countries, one vision

By Michael Mezzacapo

The Ambassador Bridge connecting Michigan and Ontario is more than a transportation link; it's a symbol of the two countries' commitment to cooperating. Photo: Adobe Stock

The final weeks of my Michigan Sea Grant International Joint Commission (IJC) fellowship provide an opportunity to reflect on the uniqueness of the organization, its mission, and the complexity of Great Lakes water quality issues between the US and Canada.

In today’s world of rapid-fire news cycles, sound bites, and tweets, it’s easy to feel that nothing lasts long. It can be refreshing to see commitment, longevity, and perseverance, especially on a single issue. I see all these characteristics in the relationship between the US and Canada, the IJC, and the staff who serve both countries.

Since the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty, the IJC has helped the US and Canada resolve complex issues related to water management and quality across the entire US and Canadian border. That’s over 100 years of cooperation spanning 5,525 miles (8,891km) of international border. This type of long-term commitment, diplomacy, and strategic planning has resulted in a stable and productive relationship between the two countries, sharing immense natural resources.

President Nixon and Prime Minister Trudeau signed the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1972. Photo: IJC

The IJC has shepherded the two countries through conflicts and accomplishments. And the continued success of the IJC is evident in its numerous science-based reports which keep governments and citizens informed, all while helping shape important policy decisions on both sides of the border.

Over the last year I have had the opportunity to witness the commitment to cooperation by the Commissioners and the IJC staff at the Great Lakes Regional Office. They share a relentless dedication and passion to providing the governments and citizens with important information needed to protect the Great Lakes.

The IJC isn’t alone in this effort and cannot operate without the input and perseverance of Great Lakes residents, countless businesses, and non-profits who surround this unique and precious resource. Everyday citizens volunteer their time to clean up beaches, write editorial letters, and attend public meetings to voice their opinion and concerns over important issues, ranging from toxic pollution to recreation and invasive species.

I can confidently say the voices of the Great Lakes residents are being heard and governments are responding. Change sometimes takes longer than we like. But the foundation and the stability of the relationship between the US and Canada and its commitment to protecting the Great Lakes, that hasn’t.

We can act today to ensure a healthy future for the Great Lakes. Photo: Michael Mezzacapo

Building and maintaining long-term relationships is critical in today’s changing world. The US and Canada share a unique bond and are positioned to lead by example. The 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty, the IJC, and the Great Lakes Water Quality agreement are testaments to the importance of a shared mission and cooperation. If we all stay committed to the goal of protecting the treasured resource we call the Great Lakes, they will remain great for future generations to come.

Settling in: An update from Knauss fellow Janet Hsiao

Squid dissection at NOAA Kids Day! 

It's hard to believe we’re a quarter of the way through the Knauss Fellowship! Since February, I've experienced a government shutdown, snow day, and wind day — the past three months have been eventful to say the least. Now that I’m more settled in DC, I'd like to share snippets of what I've been up to with the faithful Michigan Sea Grant blog readers.

Knauss fellows volunteered as judges at the 2018 Rock Ridge High School Science Symposium.

Being a part of NOAA's Ocean Observing and Monitoring Division (OOMD) has been a fascinating introduction to physical oceanography. OOMD maintains 50 percent of the global ocean observing system, which includes various technologies (e.g., Argo floats, surface drifters, buoys) that measure temperature, surface currents, salinity, and other essential variables that characterize the ocean. The data feed into models for weather, climate, ocean, and marine forecasts. The long-term records also help us understand how the ocean modulates climate patterns.

Sensors such as buoys, offshore platforms, and ship-based weather stations contribute to the Global Ocean Observing System. Image: JCOMMOPS

Under the guidance of Dr. David Legler, my main responsibility is to facilitate the Tropical Pacific Observing System (TPOS 2020) Working Group within NOAA. This working group aims to improve sustained observations of the tropical Pacific to better understand the El Niño-Southern Oscillation. It has been eye-opening to witness different groups (e.g., oceanographers, modelers, program managers) come together to work towards a shared vision. I was empowered by the opportunity to practice prompting collaborative meetings, despite not being a content expert. Knowing who to talk to when is half the battle, as well as setting clear meeting objectives and operationally minimizing technical difficulties. 

Through supporting OOMD communication efforts to multiple audiences, I also gain insights on aspects of how the federal government operates. I help draft messages to our partners and leadership through different stages of the federal budget process. I follow NOAA vessel Ronald H. Brown's journey around the world, and contribute to the blog that chronicles its quest to gather ocean data. There are also opportunities to participate in many public outreach events, such as NOAA Open House and the USA Science and Engineering Festival. I am incredibly honored to work alongside knowledgeable and passionate colleagues, and look forward to what the rest of the year holds. Stay tuned for more updates!

NOAA Science on a Sphere at the 2018 USA Science and Engineering Festival.

Knauss fellows hang out at the Ocean Conservancy's screening of Planet Earth: Blue Planet II.

Stream sampling and goby guts: Graduate student research with Corey Krabbenhoft

Greetings!

I'm Corey Krabbenhoft and I am currently a Ph.D. candidate in Donna Kashian’s lab at Wayne State University in Detroit. I am very excited to be contributing to Michigan Sea Grant’s graduate research this year. Let me start by telling you a little bit about me:

I am originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico. I received my B.S. and my M.S. in Biology from the University of New Mexico. My master’s research was on the trophic ecology of young-of-year fishes in arid land rivers.

While the major questions in the Southwest are largely about water demand and species conservation, I found invasion ecology here in the Great Lakes to be concerned with a similar problem — what can we do to protect native species and ecosystems? This is what inspired my dissertation work. I have spent the last few years investigating round goby invasion in Michigan tributaries of the Great Lakes.

If you’re not familiar, round gobies were introduced to the Great Lakes around 1990. They came from the Ponto-Caspian region (Eastern Europe) via ballast water exchange. They have since invaded all five Great Lakes and are actively moving upstream into many Great Lakes tributaries. Every summer since 2015, I have gone to seven tributaries in Michigan to hunt down round goby populations.

Watersheds sampled in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Clockwise from top are the Ocqueoc, Au Sable, Rifle, Clinton, Rouge, Stony Creek, and Muskegon River watersheds. Image: Corey Krabbenhoft

With a lot of help from the fantastic students at Wayne State, I conducted fish surveys on each river every year. We sampled both in areas where round goby occur and in areas where they have not yet invaded. We completed community surveys for fish and macroinvertebrates, some basic habitat assessments, and collected voucher specimens to bring back to the lab for further analysis.

Seining for fish at the Clinton River near Rochester, MI. Photo: A. Wicks

I am now doing a lot of lab work to find out more about how round goby specifically impact native species. I used a native competitor, the Johnny darter, as a representative native species because of the similarity of its niche (small-bodied, benthic) to round goby and its widespread distribution. I am interested in whether the Johnny darter changes its reproductive or feeding habits after round goby invade a stream. To do this I have been doing a lot of dissections. For each voucher specimen, I remove its gonads and weigh them; relative to the total body weight, this measure (called gonadosomatic index or GSI) gives an estimate of the fish’s investment reproduction (since gonads grow rapidly leading up to spawning). I then remove the entire gut tract, open it, and identify the contents. Ultimately, I will compare the contents of the gut to the food available at each site (from our macroinvertebrate samples) to see if Johnny darter food preferences change after round goby invasion. 

A dissected round goby with his gut (left) and gonads (right). Photo: Corey Krabbenhoft

Another goal of this project is to work with local watershed organizations who are regularly monitoring the quality of these rivers. I have been working closely with the Friends of the Rouge, which organizes macroinvertebrate sampling events three times per year. At these events, anyone can volunteer and with a little on-site training, can help sample and track the quality of the river at any one of their 103 sites throughout the watershed (keep an eye out for their next event!).

A volunteer sorts through macroinvertebrates at a bug hunt with the Friends of the Rouge. Photo: Corey Krabbenhoft

These events are a great way for citizens in the watershed to learn about their local river and what they can do to help maintain a healthy ecosystem. The organization is also a great resource for long-term data on river quality. We have coordinated our sampling efforts with Friends of the Rouge over the last few years so that we can compare our data with theirs, and hopefully utilize almost 20 years of data produced by their volunteers. Long-term and widespread data sets like this are so hard to come by, and the folks at Friends of the Rouge have been great to work with! I am hoping that this collaboration will allow a longer time-scale perspective on how the Rouge River has changed over the years, especially following the invasion of the round goby.

I’ll be back again soon to keep you updated, but in the meantime, you can find me at ckrab@wayne.edu or on my Twitter page: @ckrabb.

The Great Lakes go to Washington: Great Lakes Day with Margo Davis

In what I have to imagine is a perennial highlight for the Great Lakes Commission-Sea Grant Fellow, I traveled to Washington, D.C. last month for our Semiannual Meeting and Great Lakes Day on Capitol Hill. I have been to Washington numerous times while living on the East Coast, but never had the opportunity to interact with the lively policy scene. So I was excited and a tad intimidated when, on my first day, I was sent to attend a congressional briefing on a newly-released report on equitable water infrastructure in the Great Lakes. Although I certainly consider myself civically active, I was not used to this type of sanctioned, more formal event, and I certainly wasn't used to having a congressman introduce the panel! Rep. Bob Gibbs of Ohio provided opening remarks, but I really became awed when Rep. Gwen Moore — who represents my home district in Wisconsin — arrived and addressed the room. Not only was it a great experience to learn about the report directly from those that prepared it, but exposure to the Capitol Hill setting was great for me (and hopefully made me a little less green for Great Lakes Day later in the week).

After some Commission business the next day and a half, Great Lakes Day arrived. We started with a breakfast in one of the Senate buildings, which featured speeches from elected officials from across the Great Lakes states and on both sides of the aisle. The senators and representatives discussed their constituents’ priorities and the steps they are taking to protect those priorities. Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Rob Portman, co-chairs of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, spoke back to back and highlighted bipartisanship as the backbone of the Great Lakes delegation.

Great Lakes stakeholders at the Congressional Breakfast to kick off Great Lakes Day. Photo: Reilly Manz, Great Lakes Commission

Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Rob Portman (R-OH), co-chairs of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, greet each other between speeches. Photo: Reilly Manz, Great Lakes Commission

Across the board, the bipartisan significance of the Great Lakes was a common theme and perhaps never more apparent than when closing speakers Reps. Debbie Dingell and Fred Upton, both from Michigan but from opposing parties, spoke together about their understanding of the importance – both to them personally and to their constituents - of protecting the Great Lakes and the frequency with which they work together to do so.

Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and Fred Upton (R-MI) close out the Congressional Breakfast. Photo: Reilly Manz, Great Lakes Commission

After the breakfast ended, GLC staff, Commissioners, and a wide range of Great Lakes stakeholders visited elected officials and their staff to further discuss priorities and encourage the Great Lakes delegation to continue working together to protect the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Commission exists to work with the states and provinces to promote their collective interests and address issues of common concern. So, in addition to providing materials, we also reminded staffers that the GLC can be a resource, both in the tools we develop and as a point of contact for key issues.

One valuable tool that I worked on ahead of Great Lakes Day is our Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) interactive map. Each year, the Sea Grant Fellow works with the GLC’s GIS team to update the GLRI database in preparation for public use. We get data from the EPA on every GLRI project, and then scrub the data for consistency and to link updates to their original project. The GIS team takes it from there to import all of the new information on to the map. This tool is important to show how the GLRI funding is being used in each state, and has congressional district overlays so that elected officials can zoom in to see what projects are occurring closest to home. As Great Lakes funding continues to be at risk, we hope this tool is a helpful way of displaying the value of the GLRI.

IJC Great Lakes Regional Office bids farewell to Director Trish Morris: An interview with Michael Mezzacapo

2018 International Joint Commission Great Lakes Regional Office (GLRO) staff. (Left to right, front: Monique Myre, Lana Pollack, former GLRO Director Trish Morris, Mark Burrows. Left to right, rear: Michael Mezzacapo, Ken Getty, Diane Varosky, Sheila Dugmore, Antonette Arvai, Lizhu Wang, Jennifer Boehme, Dan Berube, Matthew Child, Raj Bejankiwar)

The International Joint Commission (IJC) was created by the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty signed by the US and Canada. The IJC is designed to prevent and solve disputes over transboundary water issues between the US and Canada. In 1978, the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) was signed by the US and Canada to restore the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the waters of the Great Lakes. The Agreement formed the Great Lakes Regional Office in Windsor, Ontario, the only bi-national office of the IJC.

The Director of the GLRO serves a four-year term under a rotating Canada/US leadership agreement. The position is responsible for the overall management of scientific and technical programs which support the GLWQA, in addition to budgeting financial resources of the office.

Trish Morris joined the IJC GLRO in 2014 after a successful career with the Army Corps of Engineers and Army Headquarters, effectively assisting the organization to navigate complex legal and policy matters relating to invasive species, the U.S. Clean Water Act, and remediation and revitalization of the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon spill. Her tenure at the IJC was highlighted by the GLRO integration of the Canadian and US budget streams and issuance of the first-ever Triennial Assessment of Progress Report. This year, she is departing the IJC to join the Navy’s efforts to manage the needs of Marine and Navy shore installations in the southwestern US.

Before leaving the IJC, Trish sat down with me to reflect on her tenure as Director of the GLRO.

1. What made you interested in working for the IJC?

A: Most of my legal career, before assuming the role as IJC GRLO Director, was involved in some aspect of water management and policy. Previous positions included working for the Army Corps of Engineers and the Army Headquarters overseeing Army Corps work. The Army Corps is directly involved with water management across the US. My previous jobs either managed or advised on subjects like the Everglades, Deepwater Horizon spill, Mississippi River, and the Upper Missouri main stem. At the Army HQ, I had the challenge and reward of advising the Corps on watersheds across the entire US.

Because of my previous experience, the Director position at the IJC GRLO seemed like a natural fit. The main attraction was the focus on policy and the ability to utilize my Master’s degree in public policy and peace operations. I embraced the opportunity to gain experience with international/binational issues and manage conflict between the two countries.

2. During your tenure, what have been some of the most significant challenges to Great Lakes management and restoration?

A: There are many challenges to running a binational office. However, one problem that stands out, that is not often realized, is the budgeting process. One of the more unique challenges and — ultimately — successes was aligning two budget streams from two countries, in two different fiscal years.

The GLRO, by treaty, is funded from fiscal sources of the US and Canada by equal moieties (meaning each country must contribute equal amounts). Previously the office used Canadian funds to cover expenses, and the US would reimburse Canada quarterly. However, this posed many problems. One major issue was the inability to take advantage of different funding streams available in each country.

I was able to successfully combine the GLRO budgets and merge funding from both countries. This success allows the IJC to fund more studies per year and more efficiently plan future projects. Aligning the budgets had a substantive impact, and the IJC is now more effective and ultimately better positioned to fulfill the mission of the GLWQA.

3. What project or projects are you most proud of during your term at the IJC?

A: One project I am most proud of was establishing the Sea Grant Fellowship program at the GRLO. Dr. Jennifer Boehme approached me with interest in providing educational and professional opportunities to recent graduates in the Great Lakes basin. After extensive efforts between the two of us, it finally came to fruition three years ago. Bringing a fellowship to the GRLO has been a fantastic opportunity for fellows and staff. It builds a connection to the community. It has been a positive and successful experience, and I’m proud that the IJC GRLO can offer such opportunities.

4. What is the next chapter in your career, and what advice can you offer to those wishing to protect the Great Lakes and their treasured resources?

A: The next chapter in my career is to be region counsel for the Navy, southwest region. The region includes California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado. Besides the obvious issues of supporting the installation war fighters, civilians, and families in a unique training environment, water is or will be an issue for every one of those installations, each for differing reasons. In my new role, I will work on a broad array of water and environmental issues while supervising an office of attorneys.

The Great Lakes are such a treasured freshwater resource. The people in this basin are so fortunate. Water is going to be a conflict driver for many years. Without water or too much of it, citizens will face issues — whether you’re in Cape Town, South Africa, which is getting ready to turn off the taps of an entire city, or you're in Houston, which spent weeks under water. Water mismanagement and climate effects will be felt across the world.

I’ve learned so much from the professionals in the Great Lakes region regarding water management. But, the basin itself isn’t immune to complex issues. Last year Lake Ontario had massive flooding, which coincidentally coincided with a new water management plan called Plan 2014. The historic rainfall that caused destruction to communities in the US and Canada could not have been mitigated by any management plan, with the amounts of water experienced. Climate change will continue to stress our systems; we need to train young scientists and environmental professionals to figure out a way to be more resilient and improve our efforts to mitigate the effects of a changing climate.

I encourage those interested in protecting the Great Lakes to study the emerging issues and focus on prevention and protection. It’s important to preserve this treasure for many generations. It’s such a unique and beautiful area that needs to be protected.

Michael Mezzacapo is the 2017-2018 Michigan Sea Grant Fellow at the IJC’s Great Lakes Regional Office in Windsor, Ontario.

Sharing green infrastructure insights: An update from Margo Davis

Recently, my Great Lakes Commission (GLC) coworkers and I formally kicked off our green infrastructure mentoring network with our first quarterly webinar. Although this was the first time the network has convened as a group, behind-the-scenes coordination and individual mentoring activities have been ongoing for some time now. My role in the Green Infrastructure Champions project — and the mentoring network specifically — has been a really interesting and rewarding opportunity.

Green infrastructure tour (in the rain!) during the Green Infrastructure Champions workshop in Detroit, Michigan. Photo: SEMCOG

The mentoring network was open to communities and organizations across the Great Lakes basin and at all stages of green infrastructure implementation. Some network members are taking the early steps in getting green infrastructure off the ground in their communities, while others have several successful green infrastructure policies and installations.

I am responsible for coordinating the network, which included matching what we are calling “Emerging Champions,” or mentees, with appropriate “Pioneer Champions,” or mentors. As part of the larger project, we held two green infrastructure workshops — one in London, Ontario, and one in Detroit, Michigan — that also served as opportunities to get communities and organizations involved in the mentoring network. The Emerging Champions submitted a needs form, identifying the specific area(s) in which they could use mentoring. I then looked for partners in the Great Lakes basin with expertise that spoke to those needs. Often, this meant reaching out to a person or organization already engaged with our Green Infrastructure Champions project to get contact information of others involved in green infrastructure across the basin to get the right fit of mentor experience with mentee needs.

Green infrastructure tour during the Green Infrastructure Champions workshop in London, Ontario. Photo: GLC

In addition to using contacts that the GLC has already established, I have been able to follow up with people and projects I have been introduced to through networking opportunities. I attended the Healing Our Waters Coalition’s Great Lakes Restoration Conference back in October, and as I reviewed one of the mentee’s needs, I immediately thought back to a project I learned about in a session in the conference. I thought the experiences would align nicely, and I was able to get in touch with team members from the project to get them on board to serve as a mentor.

It has been a great experience for me to connect with collaborators across the Great Lakes basin and explain our project to people with varying levels of background awareness of the mentoring network. I have reached out to communities, nonprofits, and consulting firms alike to help establish an effective network that will work to share information and reduce barriers to green infrastructure. The webinar was a chance to get a glimpse at how the network operates as whole, and I am encouraged that it will be a valuable opportunity for the members.

Rain garden at The Enclave at Victoria Hills in Ingersoll, Ontario. Photo: GLC