Manistique, MI – Marine debris in da U.P. eh?

By: Sarah Opfer, Great Lakes Regional Coordinator, NOAA Marine Debris Program

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, commonly referred to in the region as just the ‘U.P.’, is home to Yoopers (full-time residents), pasties (crust pockets filled with veggies and meat; pronounced ‘pass-tees’), and tourists galore. This land “above the bridge” is a place where you can touch three of the five Great Lakes, visit beautiful waterfalls, see Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, and hike pine forests.  However, this highly rural area is not exempt from the plague of marine debris.

I particularly enjoyed this sticker that I bought while on my recent visit to Manistique, MI.

In the past few years, NOAA has become aware of a new (to us) type of marine debris that is an issue in the Manistique River, MI.  The debris of concern here is historic sawmill debris, which includes sawdust and woodchip deposits.

Most readers are probably thinking, “Wait…marine debris in the Great Lakes?”  Yes, marine debris is not restricted just to our salty coasts.  The Great Lakes share many of the issues that our oceans do as well, including marine debris.  Think of them as another of our major coastlines.

While we may all call marine debris different things in different places (litter, trash, etc.), it still boils down to man-made materials that are discarded, disposed of, or abandoned in our waterways and on our coasts.  There are many types of debris in the environment, but they all share a common origin – people.  Woodchips and sawdust in this instance are considered marine debris because it is a processed material that would not otherwise be found naturally in the environment, unlike downed trees for example.

The Issue

Sawdust and woodchip debris in Manistique originated during the lumbering era of the late 1800s-early 1900s.  Sawmills often disposed of sawdust and woodchips – which were byproducts of operations – into the Manistique River and surrounding Lake Michigan during this time. They produced an estimated 5.1 million tons of sawdust, and some of it still makes appearances on the coasts and in the river sediments today (Macalady & Wissler 1981).  For the Yoopers – Holy wah, eh?!

Historic sawdust and wood chip material that has washed up on a local beach in Manistique, MI

Keep in mind though that this is a historic issue.  Modern sawmills are extremely efficient at reusing or repurposing waste and as far as we are aware, they are not currently contributing to this marine debris problem in Manistique.  We believe the material found in the area is over 100 years old, which is mind-boggling to me!

Another waste produced by these sawmills was slabwood, and Manistique is home to several slabwood islands.  These islands were built using the discarded slabwood and put in place to act as slips for the loading of lumber onto ships that entered the harbor.  The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality completed a study which found that this slabwood was providing additional fish habitat diversity and therefore had a strong fish community presence.  In other words, and as most fisherman know, fish love to hang out in these types of things!  This type of sawmill debris does not appear to be negatively impacting the environment in Manistique.

Manistique River slabwood islands

The Impacts

While the exact impacts of the sawdust and the woodchips are yet unknown, it is believed that this historic material may be smothering the bottom-environment, limiting environmental productivity and habitat while contributing to the degradation of fish and wildlife populations.

In Manistique, historic sawdust and woodchips may also be a source of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination.  Before the 1970s, PCBs were chemicals mixtures used as a transfer agent in local carbonless copy paper processing plants.  When PCBs entered the environment, some were likely to absorb onto organic material that were closely associated with the river sediments, like the woodchips and sawdust. PCB production in the U.S. was banned in the 1970s because of concerns over their toxicity.

Woody debris and chemical contamination continues to degrade river and lake habitat today. This environmentally degraded site—identified as an Area of Concern (AOC) by the Great Lakes Water Quality agreement—has been plagued by fish consumption advisories and restrictions on dredging since the mid-1980s.

Restoration Efforts

Starting this year, NOAA received Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funds from the U.S. EPA to begin to address the sawdust/woodchip debris and associated sediment contamination in the Manistique River AOC.

The goal is to complete all necessary restoration/removal actions by the end of 2014 so the river can be delisted as an AOC.  This is a major undertaking and collaborative effort in which NOAA is engaged with various other agencies and groups.  Those involved include the City of Manistique, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, numerous offices within NOAA (Office of Response & Restoration, Marine Debris Program, Restoration Center, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Army Corps Engineers, and U.S. Geologic Survey. This group brings together technical and scientific capabilities and expertise to develop a comprehensive management approach for restoration of the Manistique River AOC.  This truly is a government-wide project.  As such, it has gained recognition as a regional habitat initiative for NOAA’s Habitat Blueprint.

Work in Manistique is currently in the development phase.  Researchers are currently working to answer various questions, contractors are coming on board and getting up to speed, and detailed planning has begun.  The next step, which will start soon, is the development of a feasibility study and restoration designs to look at various options for restoring the site.  Once a design and plan is selected, work on restoring this beautiful river and delisting the AOC will begin!  Watch for further updates on this project throughout the next few years!

Hawai’i Marine Debris Tours Europe

By Cheryl King, Guest blogger

Every year, tons of marine debris from all over the Pacific Ocean funnels into Kaho‘olawe’s remote Kanapou Bay in Hawai’i.  Now, thanks to a lot of hard – but fun – work by more than 100 participants, Kanapou is now cleaner than it has ever been. And even better: some of the debris is now on display at a museum in a sobering exhibit on marine debris.

After receiving a generous grant from the NOAA Marine Debris Program, the Kaho‘olawe Island Reserve Commission (KIRC) removed 31 tons of debris from Kanapou Bay during 10 cleanup trips (most were 2-3 night camp outs) in 2010-2011.

The debris was sorted and recycled when possible after being brought back to Maui by boat and helicopter: we sent 9.3 tons to the Maui landfill, shipped 6.6 tons to a Swiss museum, and reused, studied, or recycled another 2.2 tons. Thirteen tons of nets were strategically placed in Kaho‘olawe’s gullies as a novel method of erosion control. We also collected nearly 6,000 “sharkastics,” which are pieces of plastic that show evidence of bite marks.

Now, this beautiful bay no longer looks like it does in the picture that is displayed if you search Wikipedia for “marine debris.”  For more information about this successful project, including my project videos and conference presentations, please visit KIRC’s website.  Mahalo to NOAA for the support!

Before and after photos of Kanapou.

But the story continues! After responding to an on-line request for marine debris, I worked closely with the Museum Für Gestaltung (Museum of Design) in Switzerland to stage a 40-foot shipping container on Maui, where we were sling-loading the debris from Kanapou.  We packed the container with about 6.6 tons of assorted debris, filled out all of the customs paperwork, and shipped it off.  It arrived safely in Zurich about 2.5 months later.

A 40-foot shipping container is loaded with debris headed to Switzerland’s Museum of Design.

And the happy ending…  The helicopter contractor (Jacob Freeman of CDF Engineering) and I were graciously hosted by the Museum for the opening weeks of the exhibit, titled “Out to Sea?” Kaho‘olawe’s debris is the focal point of the exhibit, with highly informative displays surrounding it.  It was very surreal to see the debris displayed in such a foreign (but beautiful!) place on such a grand scale.  The museum has done a wonderful job, and it’s a dream come true to see it being used like this instead of clogging up Maui’s landfill.

Marine debris from Kaho‘olawe is featured in the museum’s “Out to Sea?” exhibit.

We explained the clean-up process during museum tours, which was an even more interesting experience due to having a translator (most speak a good bit of English, but their primary language is Swiss-German).  The attendants and museum team were very intrigued by the exhibit and our experiences, and we had many lively discussions (over delicious food and drinks!) about local and global plastic pollution issues. We formed lasting friendships that will hopefully inspire multiple positive changes, especially as the exhibit travels around Europe after it departs Zurich at the end of September.

This project is a very effective forum for educating the world about marine debris. If you get a chance, grab your passport and go check it out! Or, visit the exhibit website at www.plasticgarbageproject.org.

Mahalo!

Cheryl King is the founder of Sharkastics.org and the Vice President of Hawai’i Wildlife Fund.

Encouraging a Healthy Environment for Rouge River

By: Tim McGahey, John Kerr, and Sally Petrella, Guest bloggers

A view of the Project Area prior to boat and debris removal.

As many fishermen know, removing a boat from shallow water without a launch can be a challenge. Now add to the equation that the boat has been in the water for more than 20 years and has a tree growing through the bow. Tricky right? Well that is exactly what we encountered with one of the 21 boats we removed last year from the Oxbow Channel of the Rouge River at Fordson Island.

In August 2010, the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority (DWCPA) was awarded a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Debris Program Grant and Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) dollars to remove abandoned boats and debris from the Rouge River oxbow channel around Fordson Island in Dearborn, Michigan. The Project Team included DWCPA, Friends of the Rouge, Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision (SDEV), and AKT Peerless Environmental & Energy Services.

The Rouge River flows through 48 municipalities and three counties in southeast Michigan until it reaches the Detroit River. Fordson Island is located in the Lower Rouge River, and was created in 1917 by the dredging of a new channel in the Rouge River between the Ford Motor Company’s – Ford Rouge Plant and the Detroit River. World War I was underway, and President Woodrow Wilson commissioned the Ford Motor Company to manufacture submarine-chasers, known as Eagle Boats.

An Eagle Boat is launched from the Ford Rouge Plan. Photo courtesy of Industrial News/Industrial Artifacts Review’s website.

Henry Ford needed a wider, deeper, more direct channel to transport the Eagle Boats to the Detroit River then Atlantic Ocean via the St. Lawrence River. The Army Corp of Engineers found it more efficient to excavate a new channel rather than excavate the existing shallow, winding river. And with that, Fordson Island was born. Located in the City of Dearborn, but now cutoff by the new channel, the only access to the island was via a small bridge from the City of Detroit.

Over time, the reduced flow in the old Rouge River channel slowed and sediment began to accumulate. The shallow water in the channel restricted access, and eventually boats were abandoned. Residents that once called the island home began leaving in the 1970s. The last residential dwellings on the island were demolished by the City of Dearborn in 1989. However, the Fordson Island shoreline remained littered with abandoned derelict boats, a decrepit boat house, pilings, and other debris from former residential structures.

A Google Earth aerial view of Fordson Island. The abandoned vessels are depicted along the southern and western portions of the oxbow channel.

Friends of the Rouge were made aware of the derelict boats when they began sponsoring a public kayak tour of the lower Rouge every September. The boats and other debris were a terrible eyesore along the share of Fordson Island, which boasts some of the last remaining undeveloped habitat in this highly industrialized area. Old fuel stored in these boats could potentially devastate the fish and macroinvertebrate communities, and reduced the availability of good, native habitat.

With all proper permits in place, we mobilized to the island in May 2011 to begin removing abandoned vessels  from the oxbow channel. After a few weeks, 21 boats were removed from the channel and near-shore area of the island. These boats and other surface debris represented approximately 122 tons of material. The response from the community was overwhelming and five volunteer events were scheduled throughout the summer. Gritty and committed volunteers proceeded to remove over 365-cubic yards of debris scattered throughout the island.

A vessel and former dock structure are removed.

During our pre-removal fish survey in 2010 we encountered 165 total fish representing 11 different species. The Stream Quality Index in the Project Area was considered poor (21 with only 6 taxa identified). We recently completed post-removal surveys and found encouraging results. Our post-removal fish survey revealed 318 total fish representing 16 different species, including one Northern Pike which was a target species. Our post-removal Stream Quality Index shows a slight increase in the health of our project area (26 with 12 taxa identified). All signs of an ecosystem that, with a little help from the community, is beginning to right itself.

The ecosystem is beginning to right itself.

The Project Team plans to continue monitoring the improvements in this area of the Rouge River as part of other ongoing efforts in the Rouge River Basin. Stay tuned for updates and other exciting work in the Rouge River! For more information on this project, please contact Sarah Opfer at NOAA (sarah.opfer@noaa.gov) or Tim McGahey at AKT Peerless (mcgaheyt@aktpeerless.com).

Tim McGahey is Region Manager of Operations for Southeast Michigan at AKT Peerless; John Kerr is the Director of Economic Development & Grants Management for the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority; and Sally Petrella is the Volunteer Monitoring Program Manager at Friends of the Rouge.

Google Earth Blog Features Marine Debris Tour

Google has partnered with NOAA to offer a visual tour of marine debris around the world available on the Google Earth Blog.  The timing couldn’t be more perfect in light of the 5th International Marine Debris Conference taking place in Honolulu, HI this week.

Marine debris is everyone’s problem and Google now offers stakeholders from around the world an opportunity to see some of the major problems our oceans face, as wells the main sources of marine debris around the world.

To learn more about marine debris link to this blog, visit our website or follow us on Facebook/NOAAmarinedebris.