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Summer 2008
SAVE LAKE SUPERIOR ASSOCIATION summer, 2008
Dedicated to the restoration and preservation of this Great Lake
A Marvelous Lake Superior Day—
Not too often in life do plans come off as they were in tended to do, but it was a happy SLSA board of directors when we looked over a
standing-room-only crowd at the Trail Center in the Split Rock State Park July 20th.
Lake Superior, its beauty and the environmental threats it faces, depicted in art work, photos, verse and essays by children, dominated the
event.
A special committee picked winners from all categories and awarded lake-related prizes (including donated polished agates) to each
participant.
Thanks to Minnesota Sea Grant's Doug Jensen, preserved specimens of the invasive species and informative illustrations further educated
the youths and adults on some of the almost two hundred non-native pests.
It was a cooperative effort with Park Management represented by Lisa Angelos and our Board members.
Art contest winner Cedar Gordon of Two Harbors points to the collage she and her parents submitted.
Zebra mussel invasion long predicted
Great Lakes United reports that the appearance of this nemesis in the Great Lakes was anticipated 95 years before it arrived. Despite this
warning neither the United States nor Canada did anything to prevent the infestation.
The first one was found twenty years ago in the lower end of the Seaway by McMaster University grad student Bernie Muncaster . A week
later, says the Great Lakes News, Dr. Joe Leach of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources found the mussels in Lake Erie.
EPA administrator for the Great Lakes Fired
It seems that doing one's job too well can lead to being kicked out of job if working for the Environmental Protection Agency.
That was the fate of administrator Mary Gade who was axed after two years as head of the agency's Region Five encompassing the Great
Lakes Region 5.
John Jackson of the Great Lakes United staff reported that Gade had ordered Dow Chemical to clean up three sites where the dioxin level
reached 1.6 million parts per trillion; the hightest level of that toxin ever recorded in the USA!
Dow, said Jackson, went to officials in the Bush administration to intervene. It did. Mary Gade was told she had the choice of resigning or
being fired.
Dow has a long record of fighting demands to clean up the chemical messes it created.
At Last: Unity for Great Lake States
The message for those states hoping to slip a siphon into the Great Lakes to slake their thirst is that they should take note: all eight states
with shore lines embracing the Great Lakes have now entered into a compact to keep the water within their respective watersheds.
Getting congressional ratification is the next step. Rep. Jim Oberstar of Minnesota heads up that effort in the House and Carl Levin will work
for approval in the Senate.
SULFIDE MINING EDUCATION
By board member Todd Ronning
SLSA board members recently participated in two local educational forums about the environmental risks associated with sulfide mining. A
June 10th Two Harbors meeting drew 45 curious residents anxious to hear "the rest of the story" about this new type of mining being
proposed for Minnesota's Arrowhead Region. While mining interests are actively promoting nothing but benefits from Minnesota's new
mining district, there is precious little mention of the acid and heavy metal pollution which always follow mining of sulfide ore bodies.
On July 15, at Petrell Hall in Fairbanks Township, headwaters of the St. Louis River Watershed, locals gathered to hear of 9,000 acres of
new mineral leases recently purchased by mining companies in that area.
The forums are a crash-course on exploration areas, mineral rights ownership, active mineral leases, the chemistry of acid leaching rock,
the mining industry track record and more. Active question-answer periods conclude the meetings.
The forums were put together by Save Lake Superior Association, North Shore Watershed Watch, ACT NOW and concerned neighbors and
property owners. For the most complete source of information on sulfide mining in the Lake Superior basin, please visit http://www.
sosbluewaters.org/
SLSA president LeRoger Lind has these observations:
For each new venture into mining there is a new challenge in protecting the quality of the water and air of the Lake Superior basin. The entire
Lake Superior basin will be affected by pollution from huge expansions in iron mining and steel production in our watershed. The newest
venture, copper-nickel mines and processing plants, would pepper the landscapes in northeastern Minnesota and the Upper Peninsula of
Michigan.
Because of the length of time between cause and effect, the profits and profiteers will be long gone when the effects of the pollution from
these ventures become most evident. Millions of tons of pollutants causing acid rain, atmospheric haze, heavy metal releases into streams
and lakes, dangerous airborne fiber levels and, yes, good old global warming are scheduled for permitting in the next few years. The
promise of billions of dollars in investments has captured the headlines.
Environmental concerns have become mere taglines in even the most responsible media. Pervasive pollution would be the ultimate legacy
of these new ventures if our public agencies and politicians continue issuing and supporting toothless mining and pollution permits.
Many more examples of huge pollution potential from new mining ventures could be cited. Unfortunately SLSA can't issue citations for
pollution. However, we can still actively oppose permitting mines and processes that have little or no hope for leaving anything but a legacy
of illness and a burden of cleanup for those who least deserve it.
Finn-Fest audience hears about SLSA
Thanks to member Arlene Lehto, we were represented at the immensely popular late July event in Duluth. (It attracted about 7000)
Arlene, the co-founder of SLSA and its past president, was on a select panel with Finnish President Tarja Halonen. Lehto told of her family's
struggle to finally settle on the North Shore in the early 1900s and the fight to stop the Reserve Mining Company from polluting Lake
Superior with its disposal of taconite tailings.
Bad news and good news on Hemorrhagic Septicemia, (VHS)
The bad news is that it has now been found in fish in southern Lake Michigan. The good news, at least for now, is that the virus has not
been detected in Lake Superior as of July, 2008. The gizzard shad shown above is from Lake St. Clair. Though not quite visable in a black
and white photo, it has hemorrhagic skin and faces fatal internal bleeding. It spreads when infected fish are moved from one body of water
to another. The Minnesota DNR says this includes live game fish caught in infected water and live bait fish caught or used in an infected
water, then transported and used elsewhere.
www.stopvhsfishvirus.com
Economic impact in the millions
A recently released survey by the University of Notre Dame Center for Aquatic Conservation reveals losses from invasive species runs about
two hundred million dollars a year! That loss is felt by commercial and sports fishing and by, firms dealing with clogged water intake pipes.
Vote Yes for Minnesota
A plea from Julie O'Leary, NE MN Programs Coordinator for the Minn. Environmental Partnership
This November you have the opportunity to vote Yes for Minnesota — dedicating funds to preserve clean water, protect game, fish and
wildlife habitat, arts, parks and trails.
This is a once in a lifetime chance to make an investment in protecting Minnesota's quality of life and preserving it for future generations. We
need clean water for drinking, fishing and swimming, for the benefit of ourselves, our children and future generations. This initiative will
protect our drinking water and provide funding the clean-up of our rivers, lakes and streams. Nothing is more important than having clean
water.
The amendment will offer tremendous help to protect our environment. The outdoor fund will preserve our many forests, prairies and natural
areas that both Minnesotans and our tourists enjoy so much.
Protecting our lands for wildlife, fishing, hunting, wildlife watching and hiking is critical at this time and passing the amendment now is the
right thing to do for our state's future.
Lastly, this amendment will support and enhance our parks and trail system. While we
enjoy ample opportunities for outdoor recreation, we will ensure that we upgrade existing facilities and expand our current network of parks
and trails.
If you would like to volunteer with our campaign to protect the Minnesota you love, please contact Yes for Minnesota by phone at (651) 644-
2088 or e-mail info@ yesformn.org
A Better Way for a Driveway
You've all heard of the polluted runoff from black top paving. Becoming more common today, though more costly, is the type that has a
“pervious” surface.
The basic idea is to create a surface in which the rainwater or snow melt flows down instead of draining horizontally. In the latter system the
water carries chemicals and other detritus that often end up in our rivers and lakes. The runoff from the lot shown above drains, unfiltered
into St. Louis Bay.
Concerned that their customer parking lot at their Lake Superior Dental Associates office, 1225 E. First Street, could be a source of leakage
into nearby Chester Creek the firm took action.
Though the existing paved lot was still in fairly good condition but in need of some repairs, the blacktop was torn out. The earth beneath it
was excavated to a dept of two feet, drain tiles were installed. Six inch rocks were laid down covered by a construction mat and then
successively smaller levels of crushed rock placed on top.
Eleven inch-long concrete bricks with a width of 4X5 inches were imbedded in the mixture with 3/4 inch spaces for the water to escape.
The project expense was four to five times more than conventional blacktopping but results, said Dr. Scott Polzin, are highly rewarding.
He told us, "We watched as a recent heavy rain fell on the lot. Not a drop ran off from the surface."
Due to new regulations, more and more lots in Duluth will have pervious surfaces.
the type that has a surface.
The Big Lake is Up!
The July rains caused problems such as wash-between Duluth and the Canadian border, but they also helped increase the water level in
Lake Superior. This meant an additional two inch rise..Five more inches would needed to return this water body to the average summer time
level..
Lakes Michigan and Huron gained an inch in July but remain thirteen inches below average.
Your SLSA Board of Directors
LeRoger Lind (Pres.), Nancy Paisley, Glenn Maxham ( VP), Will Munger, Jr., Debbie Ortman, Alice Pierce (Treas.), Arnold Overby, Todd
Ronning, Mary Jo Keefe (Twin Cities Rep.) Allison Contos-Member Emeritus)
SLSA membership still only $5.00 per person per year.
Dedicated to the restoration and preservation of this Great Lake
A Marvelous Lake Superior Day—
Not too often in life do plans come off as they were in tended to do, but it was a happy SLSA board of directors when we looked over a
standing-room-only crowd at the Trail Center in the Split Rock State Park July 20th.
Lake Superior, its beauty and the environmental threats it faces, depicted in art work, photos, verse and essays by children, dominated the
event.
A special committee picked winners from all categories and awarded lake-related prizes (including donated polished agates) to each
participant.
Thanks to Minnesota Sea Grant's Doug Jensen, preserved specimens of the invasive species and informative illustrations further educated
the youths and adults on some of the almost two hundred non-native pests.
It was a cooperative effort with Park Management represented by Lisa Angelos and our Board members.
Art contest winner Cedar Gordon of Two Harbors points to the collage she and her parents submitted.
Zebra mussel invasion long predicted
Great Lakes United reports that the appearance of this nemesis in the Great Lakes was anticipated 95 years before it arrived. Despite this
warning neither the United States nor Canada did anything to prevent the infestation.
The first one was found twenty years ago in the lower end of the Seaway by McMaster University grad student Bernie Muncaster . A week
later, says the Great Lakes News, Dr. Joe Leach of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources found the mussels in Lake Erie.
EPA administrator for the Great Lakes Fired
It seems that doing one's job too well can lead to being kicked out of job if working for the Environmental Protection Agency.
That was the fate of administrator Mary Gade who was axed after two years as head of the agency's Region Five encompassing the Great
Lakes Region 5.
John Jackson of the Great Lakes United staff reported that Gade had ordered Dow Chemical to clean up three sites where the dioxin level
reached 1.6 million parts per trillion; the hightest level of that toxin ever recorded in the USA!
Dow, said Jackson, went to officials in the Bush administration to intervene. It did. Mary Gade was told she had the choice of resigning or
being fired.
Dow has a long record of fighting demands to clean up the chemical messes it created.
At Last: Unity for Great Lake States
The message for those states hoping to slip a siphon into the Great Lakes to slake their thirst is that they should take note: all eight states
with shore lines embracing the Great Lakes have now entered into a compact to keep the water within their respective watersheds.
Getting congressional ratification is the next step. Rep. Jim Oberstar of Minnesota heads up that effort in the House and Carl Levin will work
for approval in the Senate.
SULFIDE MINING EDUCATION
By board member Todd Ronning
SLSA board members recently participated in two local educational forums about the environmental risks associated with sulfide mining. A
June 10th Two Harbors meeting drew 45 curious residents anxious to hear "the rest of the story" about this new type of mining being
proposed for Minnesota's Arrowhead Region. While mining interests are actively promoting nothing but benefits from Minnesota's new
mining district, there is precious little mention of the acid and heavy metal pollution which always follow mining of sulfide ore bodies.
On July 15, at Petrell Hall in Fairbanks Township, headwaters of the St. Louis River Watershed, locals gathered to hear of 9,000 acres of
new mineral leases recently purchased by mining companies in that area.
The forums are a crash-course on exploration areas, mineral rights ownership, active mineral leases, the chemistry of acid leaching rock,
the mining industry track record and more. Active question-answer periods conclude the meetings.
The forums were put together by Save Lake Superior Association, North Shore Watershed Watch, ACT NOW and concerned neighbors and
property owners. For the most complete source of information on sulfide mining in the Lake Superior basin, please visit http://www.
sosbluewaters.org/
SLSA president LeRoger Lind has these observations:
For each new venture into mining there is a new challenge in protecting the quality of the water and air of the Lake Superior basin. The entire
Lake Superior basin will be affected by pollution from huge expansions in iron mining and steel production in our watershed. The newest
venture, copper-nickel mines and processing plants, would pepper the landscapes in northeastern Minnesota and the Upper Peninsula of
Michigan.
Because of the length of time between cause and effect, the profits and profiteers will be long gone when the effects of the pollution from
these ventures become most evident. Millions of tons of pollutants causing acid rain, atmospheric haze, heavy metal releases into streams
and lakes, dangerous airborne fiber levels and, yes, good old global warming are scheduled for permitting in the next few years. The
promise of billions of dollars in investments has captured the headlines.
Environmental concerns have become mere taglines in even the most responsible media. Pervasive pollution would be the ultimate legacy
of these new ventures if our public agencies and politicians continue issuing and supporting toothless mining and pollution permits.
Many more examples of huge pollution potential from new mining ventures could be cited. Unfortunately SLSA can't issue citations for
pollution. However, we can still actively oppose permitting mines and processes that have little or no hope for leaving anything but a legacy
of illness and a burden of cleanup for those who least deserve it.
Finn-Fest audience hears about SLSA
Thanks to member Arlene Lehto, we were represented at the immensely popular late July event in Duluth. (It attracted about 7000)
Arlene, the co-founder of SLSA and its past president, was on a select panel with Finnish President Tarja Halonen. Lehto told of her family's
struggle to finally settle on the North Shore in the early 1900s and the fight to stop the Reserve Mining Company from polluting Lake
Superior with its disposal of taconite tailings.
Bad news and good news on Hemorrhagic Septicemia, (VHS)
The bad news is that it has now been found in fish in southern Lake Michigan. The good news, at least for now, is that the virus has not
been detected in Lake Superior as of July, 2008. The gizzard shad shown above is from Lake St. Clair. Though not quite visable in a black
and white photo, it has hemorrhagic skin and faces fatal internal bleeding. It spreads when infected fish are moved from one body of water
to another. The Minnesota DNR says this includes live game fish caught in infected water and live bait fish caught or used in an infected
water, then transported and used elsewhere.
www.stopvhsfishvirus.com
Economic impact in the millions
A recently released survey by the University of Notre Dame Center for Aquatic Conservation reveals losses from invasive species runs about
two hundred million dollars a year! That loss is felt by commercial and sports fishing and by, firms dealing with clogged water intake pipes.
Vote Yes for Minnesota
A plea from Julie O'Leary, NE MN Programs Coordinator for the Minn. Environmental Partnership
This November you have the opportunity to vote Yes for Minnesota — dedicating funds to preserve clean water, protect game, fish and
wildlife habitat, arts, parks and trails.
This is a once in a lifetime chance to make an investment in protecting Minnesota's quality of life and preserving it for future generations. We
need clean water for drinking, fishing and swimming, for the benefit of ourselves, our children and future generations. This initiative will
protect our drinking water and provide funding the clean-up of our rivers, lakes and streams. Nothing is more important than having clean
water.
The amendment will offer tremendous help to protect our environment. The outdoor fund will preserve our many forests, prairies and natural
areas that both Minnesotans and our tourists enjoy so much.
Protecting our lands for wildlife, fishing, hunting, wildlife watching and hiking is critical at this time and passing the amendment now is the
right thing to do for our state's future.
Lastly, this amendment will support and enhance our parks and trail system. While we
enjoy ample opportunities for outdoor recreation, we will ensure that we upgrade existing facilities and expand our current network of parks
and trails.
If you would like to volunteer with our campaign to protect the Minnesota you love, please contact Yes for Minnesota by phone at (651) 644-
2088 or e-mail info@ yesformn.org
A Better Way for a Driveway
You've all heard of the polluted runoff from black top paving. Becoming more common today, though more costly, is the type that has a
“pervious” surface.
The basic idea is to create a surface in which the rainwater or snow melt flows down instead of draining horizontally. In the latter system the
water carries chemicals and other detritus that often end up in our rivers and lakes. The runoff from the lot shown above drains, unfiltered
into St. Louis Bay.
Concerned that their customer parking lot at their Lake Superior Dental Associates office, 1225 E. First Street, could be a source of leakage
into nearby Chester Creek the firm took action.
Though the existing paved lot was still in fairly good condition but in need of some repairs, the blacktop was torn out. The earth beneath it
was excavated to a dept of two feet, drain tiles were installed. Six inch rocks were laid down covered by a construction mat and then
successively smaller levels of crushed rock placed on top.
Eleven inch-long concrete bricks with a width of 4X5 inches were imbedded in the mixture with 3/4 inch spaces for the water to escape.
The project expense was four to five times more than conventional blacktopping but results, said Dr. Scott Polzin, are highly rewarding.
He told us, "We watched as a recent heavy rain fell on the lot. Not a drop ran off from the surface."
Due to new regulations, more and more lots in Duluth will have pervious surfaces.
the type that has a surface.
The Big Lake is Up!
The July rains caused problems such as wash-between Duluth and the Canadian border, but they also helped increase the water level in
Lake Superior. This meant an additional two inch rise..Five more inches would needed to return this water body to the average summer time
level..
Lakes Michigan and Huron gained an inch in July but remain thirteen inches below average.
Your SLSA Board of Directors
LeRoger Lind (Pres.), Nancy Paisley, Glenn Maxham ( VP), Will Munger, Jr., Debbie Ortman, Alice Pierce (Treas.), Arnold Overby, Todd
Ronning, Mary Jo Keefe (Twin Cities Rep.) Allison Contos-Member Emeritus)
SLSA membership still only $5.00 per person per year.