Boy Scout Troop 290 - 3 Day Sailing & Science

On September 5 - 7, 14 Boy Scouts and 6 adults sailed with us on Grand Traverse Bay.  Most of these Scouts had never sailed before.  In 3 days they were sailors and scientists! 

Abandon Ship Drill prior to leaving dock

Abandon Ship Drill

Sampling for Micro-Plastics with the Manta Trawl

Manta Trawl coming aboard

Chief Scientist Jeanie with Manta Trawl

Happy Helmsman

Reed's Poster

 

We had a great time with these Scouts.  Hope to sail with you again soon! 

 

-- Capt. Tom & the Crew (Ben Hale, Jim Herman, Jeanie Williams, Allen Wolfe)

Schoolship Inland Seas Fit-Out Underway at Northport Bay Boat Yard

Lower "skirt" cover added to allow work on the bottom

Inside the lower cover, ready for sand blasting off the old paint

Capt. Ben fairing out a repaired area of the Pilot House roof

Control for the new inverter/charger.  We also replaced a VHF radio, radar, GPS plotter and added an isolation transformer this winter.

More photos from fit-out coming soon.  We hope to launch as soon as we have open water.  The Bay is still completely frozen, except for a few places around the edges. -Capt. Tom

Tonight at Inland Seas: Life Aboard a 19th Century Schooner



Report from the Avian Botulism Seminar

Researchers Share Findings on Avian Botulism in the Great Lakes...a report from TV 9 & 10 News.  Watch it here.

Thanks to Taaja Tucker, Kelly & Paige.

The next ISEA Great Lakes Seminar will be on October 8th and the subject will be waste water treatment in the Grand Traverse Bay area. 

First Bloody Red Shrimp Record for Suttons Bay

The first sighting of a bloody red shrimp, Hemimysis anomala, was made today in a sample from an experimental plankton pump, set up to run overnight at the ISEA Schooner Dock in Suttons Bay.  This animal is an invasive species from the Black - Azov - Caspian Sea area of Eurasia.  It likely got to the Great Lakes in the ballast water of ships.  For more on Hemimysis ecology, look at the USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species web site.

The plankton pump was in its first overnight test, starting on Friday afternoon, April 5, 2013.  The pump was at 0.84 meters depth on a rocky substrate. Unfortunately the battery did not have enough capacity to run the pump for 24 hours, so the next test will incorporate an inverter or battery charger to keep the battery voltage the same throughout the pumping period.  Despite the failure of this first test to give a quantitative result, we did find what we were looking for, the bloody red shrimp.  This zooplankton has been previously found in Muskegon Lake and Elk Rapids. 

After the plankton pump sampler is perfected we intend to sample a number of harbors in NW Michigan, and we will add this to the sampling gear of the Schoolship Inland Seas to sample ports visited this summer.

Hemimysis collected from Suttons Bay, April 5 - 6, 2013

Hemimysis tail section showing telson

Hemimysis showing characteristic twin spikes on the squared-off telson

More results will be posted on this blog as they become available.

-Thomas M. Kelly - ISEA Executive Director
-Graham P. Kelly - ISEA Student Intern

Sea Lamprey Seminar Tuesday March 12, 2013

The Inland Seas Education Association will present a seminar focusing on innovative sea lamprey control methods at 7:00pm on Tuesday, March 12th, at the Inland Seas Education Center in Suttons Bay. The program will be presented by Dr. Michael Wagner, with the Fisheries & Wildlife Department at Michigan State University. This seminar is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

Dr. Michael Wagner joined the faculty of Michigan State University in September of 2004. He now serves as a Great Lakes Fishery Commission PERM scientist. Dr. Wagner’s research focuses on the behavioral ecology of native and invasive fishes. He has worked in oceans, estuaries, rivers, and small highland streams. He is particularly interested in identifying mechanisms that promote the success of invasive species.

Dr. Wagner will be at Inland Seas Education center to present the results from some recent work attempting to understand the ecology of sea lamprey pheromone communication, and to develop that understanding into new control tactics for use in the Great Lakes.

ISEA Seminar on Avian Botulism Tuesday Evening

Inland Seas Education Association is excited to offer a seminar focusing on the avian botulism monitoring program at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Dan Ray, the Project Lead, will give an overview of botulism in the Great Lakes, as well as a bird’s eye view of the monitoring activity conduced in 2012.

Where:
The Inland Seas Education Center
100 Dame St. Suttons Bay
When:
Tuesday February 12th at 7:00 pm

Free and open to the public
Please contact 231-271-3077 with any questions

Climate Change to have Marked Effects on Midwest According to New Report

ANN ARBOR—Climate change will lead to more frequent and more intense Midwest heat waves while degrading air and water quality and threatening public health. Intense rainstorms and floods will become more common, and existing risks to the Great Lakes will be exacerbated.

Those are some of the conclusions contained in the Midwest chapter of a draft report released last week by the federal government that assesses the key impacts of climate change on every region in the country and analyzes its likely effects on human health, water, energy, transportation, agriculture, forests, ecosystems and biodiversity.

Three University of Michigan researchers were lead convening authors of chapters in the 1,100-plus-page National Climate Assessment, which was written by a team of more than 240 scientists.

In the Midwest, extreme rainfall events and floods have become more common over the last century, and those trends are expected to continue, causing erosion, declining water quality and negative impacts on transportation, agriculture, human health and infrastructure, according to the report.

Climate change will likely worsen a host of existing problems in the Great Lakes, including changes in the range and distribution of important commercial and recreational fish species, increases in invasive species, declining beach health, and more frequent harmful algae blooms. However, declines in ice cover on the Great Lakes may lengthen the commercial shipping season.

The draft National Climate Assessment report is available at http://ncadac.globalchange.gov. A summary of associated technical input papers is available at www.glisa.umich.edu. Public comment on the draft report will be accepted through April 12.  The U of M news release is at http://www.ns.umich.edu/new/releases/21105-climate-change-to-profoundly-affect-the-midwest-new-report-says

ISEA and the Leelanau Conservancy will host a public seminar on climate change and invasive species on May 4, 3 pm at the Suttons Bay High School Auditorium.  More details on this event will be available soon.

Invasive Species Live Web Broadcast on Tuesday, January 15th

Detroit Public Television and The Nature Conservancy invite you to participate in a special broadcast seminar on Tuesday, January 15th, from 10am to 12 noon. The broadcast will feature representatives from science, business, and government throughout the Great Lakes region including:


Tom Barrett, Mayor of Milwaukee

Kathryn Buckner, President, Council of Great Lakes Industries

Lindsay Chadderton, Director, Great Lakes Aquatic Invasive Species, The Nature Conservancy

Patrick Doran, Director of Conservation Science, The Nature Conservancy in Michigan

Matt Doss, Policy Director, Great Lakes Commission

Marc Gaden, Great Lakes Fisheries Commission

Hugh MacIsaac, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Chair, Invasive Species Research, University of Windsor

Phil Moy, Assistant Director for Research and Outreach, Wisconsin Sea Grant

Paul Pacholski, President, Ohio-Lake Erie Charter Boat Association

Great Lakes Now Connect: Invasive Species will be broadcast on DPTV Channel 56.2* and will be streamed online at www.GreatLakesNow.org. A live discussion will take place simultaneously on Twitter through hashtag #GreatLakes.

Invasive Round Goby Caught on the Schoolship

Join us at the Inland Seas Education Center Tuesday at 10 am to watch this broadcast.  Or watch it at home at http://www.greatlakesnow.org/2013/01/live-stream-great-lakes-now-connect/

Inland Seas is on her way to Frankfort

Our schooner Inland Seas left Suttons Bay today for Frankfort under the command of captain Ben Hale.  We will be doing programs for the public and the Friends of Betsie Bay and the Benzie Water Council.  Join us for an open house (boat) at Jacobson's Marina on Tuesday evening.  Contact the ISEA office for sailing opportunities in Frankfort.

Young scientists check out the fish catch with Capt. Ben Hale 

We will also be stopping in Leland on the way home on Thursday.  We will have an open house in the evening and a free "Making the Great Lakes Great Sail" on Friday morning.  Call for times and sailing reservations.

High School Students to Study Lake Michigan Ecology Aboard Tall Ship

Inland Seas Education Association is recruiting high school-aged young men and women who will become scientists and crew for two days onboard the schoolship schooner Inland Seas as they conduct research projects related to the ecology of Lake Michigan. To accomplish their research objectives, students will learn to perform water chemistry analyses; determine the thermal structure of the lake; collect fish, plankton, and benthos; and analyze lake sediment. Students will also record weather observations several times a day for the National Weather Service. Students will enter their data on the shipboard computer for analysis, and prepare and present a short research report. Research results will be posted on ISEA’s website.

Students will also experience shipboard life and the demands of sailing a traditionally-rigged vessel. Students will learn boating safety, navigation and sailing theory. They will stand watch, help in the galley, and assist the crew with all phases of vessel operation including raising the anchor, hoisting sails, sail handling, and steering the boat. Team-building techniques will promote the students’ ability to work cooperatively with their peers.

The Young Men in Science trip, August 23-24, 2012, is free to all participants through scholarships from the Traverse City Optimist Club and the John Schulz Scholarship fund. This trip will begin and end in Suttons Bay, MI. The Young Women in Science trip, August 15-16, 2012, only has four spots available with two scholarship spots for Petoskey-area girls and two pay spots, $300 for the two days, open to any girl. This trip will begin in Charlevoix, MI and end in Suttons Bay, MI. High school students interested in attending should contact Inland Seas Education Association at (231) 271-3077!

Sail This Summer & Get College Credit!

Last summer's LSSU Native Cultures students just after sailing under the Big Mac bridge.

ISEA is partnerning with Lake Superior State University on two classes this summer.  Island Biology and Oceanography will both involve shore-side class work and a week aboard Inland Seas.  For details click here. 

Join us this Evening for Friendship & Science

Please join us tonight for an evening of friendship and science as we welcome Captain Ben Hale and Education Director Dr. Tim Davis to the Inland Sea Education Association. The Welcome Reception will begin at 5:30 pm and continue until 7:00 pm when Dr. Davis will give a presentation entitled Why are our Lakes the Same Color as our Lawns - Studying the Ecology of Toxic Algae. The reception and presentation are free and open to the public. 

Where: 
Inland Seas Education Center
100 Dame Street
Suttons Bay, MI

Hamilton Harbor, Lake Ontario on a very green day. 
Tim Davis in the Green (how appropriate) shirt

The Sea Lampreys are Coming!

Great Lakes Seminar at Inland Seas on Tuesday, March 13, 7:00 pm. 

Business end of a Sea Lamprey.  In ISEA's tank last June.

Please join us at the ISEC for a presentation by Michael Wagner, Assistant Professor and PERM Scientist at MSU, about new sea lamprey barrier methods. Check out the link below to see what Michael has been working on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxvorkIBbOo

You can visit Dr. Wagner's web site at http://www.fw.msu.edu/~mwagner/

Sturgeon Feeding Frenzy

Here are ISEA's five little lake sturgeon feeding on bloodworms and mysis shrimps. 

Learn more about efforts to rehabilitate Lake Michigan's lake sturgeon populations on February 14 when Marty Holtgren of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians presents "Sturgeon Research in the Great Lakes and Planning for their Future" at the next ISEA Great Lakes Seminar.

Tuesday February 14

7pm

Inland Seas Education Center, Suttons Bay

Free and Open to the Public

Building the Schooner Inland Seas Program to be Repeated Dec. 29

Here is another teaser photograph from my presentation to be given on Thursday December 29 at 3pm at the Inland Seas Education Center...

Homeward Bound in the Atlantic, June 7, 1994. Rick Steenersen at the helm.

Jerry Dennis Speaks, Stone Hut Films....

I think you will enjoy this video by Stone Hut Studios, with Jerry Dennis reading from his new book Windward Shore.  A gift to and of the Great Lakes.  Thanks Jerry and Aaron.  http://vimeo.com/33752811
-Capt. Tom

Building the Schooner Inland Seas Program to be Repeated Dec. 29

I will repeat the program "Building the Schooner Inland Seas" on Thursday December 29 at 3pm in the Inland Seas Education Center.  If you missed it the first time here is a second chance. --Capt. Tom

Welding on plating at the stern, fall 1993.  Mark Treworgy is at the right.

Round Goby Invades Streams

See the video of round goby invasion of streams in Wisconsin.  Click here!  --Capt. Tom

Round Goby.  Photo by Chris Doyle.

Climate Change and the Great Lakes

Get the climate change facts from Don Scavia at University of Michigan.  Don Scavia is Graham Family Professor and Director, Graham Sustainability Institute; Special Counsel to the U-M President on Sustainability; Professor, School of Natural Resources & Environment; and Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering. 

Prof. Don Scavia

This is a 33 minute video, so find some quality time for yourself, and you will be well rewarded for your interest.

Click here to begin the video Climate Change in the Great Lakes Region.

--Tom Kelly