Lake Trout Make Comeback in the Great Lakes

The recovery of lake trout in Lake Huron means that very soon, wildlife officials will no longer have to stock the species in the lake. According to michiganradio.com, lake trout are rapidly regaining ground after decades of parasitism by sea lampreys and complications with alewives.

ďż˝I felt we were so completely stymied by one thing after another after another. The litany of challenges working against the reestablishment of a self-sustaining lake trout population seemed insurmountable,ďż˝ said Jim Johnson, a researcher with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. ďż˝But then, with the collapse of alewives, everything changed.ďż˝

The lake trout is the largest trout native to the Great Lakes and was at one time economically vital to the areaďż˝s commercial and sport fishing industries. That era of prosperity for the species was interrupted when sea lampreys devastated the trout population from 1935 to 1965. Lampreys, sometimes referred to as ďż˝lamprey eels,ďż˝ feed by hooking onto fish and consuming their blood. They are considered an invasive species and

became a major problem after waterway construction in the early 20th century allowed them to enter many rivers and streams.

Lampreys are known to be detrimental to fish species where they are introduced. According to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC), a single lamprey can kill up to 40 or more pounds of fish in its lifetime. In fact, when the GLFC was formed in 1955, one of its primary goals was to control the lamprey population in the Great Lakes. Thanks to the efforts of multiple agencies, a lengthy reduction program has shrunk lamprey numbers to about 10 percent of what they were in 1955.

After the severe reduction of sea lampreys, the lake trout in Lake Huron began to make a slow recovery. However, the fish were having problems reproducing. Biologists identified part of the to be related to alewives, which lake trout fed on. Alewives are a small saltwater fish that colonized the Great Lakes several decades ago when trout numbers were low. Due to the lack of predators, alewives multiplied. Alewives also cause problems for lake trout young and eggs, stymying their population growth.

As the number of alewives dwindled due to new predators such as salmon, the lake trout began making a speedier comeback. This is welcome news to anglers who prefer lake trout, which is a popular game fish and often praised for its taste. ďż˝Oh yes. The end of stocking is in sight for the main basin of Lake Huron,ďż˝ Johnson said. Researchers are now working on making habitat more suitable for spawning lake trout.

Army Corps releases long awaited report on Great Lakes

The Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study

The GLMRIS Report presents the results of a multi-year study regarding the range of options and technologies available to prevent aquatic nuisance species (ANS) movement between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins through aquatic connections. Through a structured study process, USACE identified thirteen ANS of Concern established in one basin that posed a high or medium risk of adverse impacts by transfer and establishment in the opposite basin. USACE analyzed and evaluated available controls to address these ANS, and formulated alternatives specifically for the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) with the goal of preventing ANS transfer between the two basins.

The report contains eight alternatives, each with concept-level design and cost information, and evaluates the potential of these alternatives to control the transfer of a variety of ANS. The options concentrate on the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) and include a wide spectrum of alternatives ranging from the continuation of current activities to the complete separation of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins. The GLMRIS Report also includes an analysis of potential impacts to uses and users of the CAWS, and corresponding mitigation requirements for adverse impacts to functions such as flood-risk management, natural resources, water quality, and navigation.

The alternatives presented in the report include:

1.Continuing current efforts (i.e., the electric barriers) with ďż˝No New Federal Action ďż˝ Sustained Activities

2.Nonstructural control technologies (i.e., education, monitoring, herbicides, ballast water management)

3.A technology concept involving a specialized lock, lock channel, electric barriers and ANS treatment plants at two mid-system locations in the CAWS

4.A technology concept (CAWS buffer zone) using the same technologies as number 3, preventing downstream passage from Lake Michigan at five points and preventing upstream passage at a single point at Brandon Road Lock and Dam

5.Lakefront hydrologic separation with physical barriers separating the basins at four locations along the lakefront of Lake Michigan.

6.Mid-system hydrologic separation with physical barriers separating the basins at two mid-system locations

7.A hybrid of technology and physical barriers at four mid-system locations, leaving the Cal-Sag channel open

8.A hybrid of technology and physical barriers at four mid-system locations, leaving the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal open

The GLMRIS Report presents evaluation criteria to help readers distinguish among the alternatives. Evaluation criteria include design elements unique to each alternative such as initial or long-term operational costs and duration for implementation, as well as related qualitative features for each alternative, such as the magnitude of impact for existing waterway uses or relative effectiveness of preventing interbasin transfer.

Start with the Summary of the GLMRIS Report for an overview of these alternatives http://glmris.anl.gov/glmris-report/

A Lesson Learned As Chicagoďż˝s Gun Laws Fall

In his ruling last week that struck down one of the last relics of Chicagoďż˝s long-standing gun ban, U.S. District Court Judge Edmond E. Chang made a startling observation. Chang noted that while one of the fundamental duties of government is to protect its citizens, ďż˝certain fundamental rightsďż˝ are protected by the Constitution, and thus should be ďż˝outside government's reach.ďż˝ To put it more bluntly, government cannot ďż˝ and should not -- be trusted with those rights.

This was bad news for Hizzoner Rahm Emanuel, who along with President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder, have been trying to rewrite Americaďż˝s gun laws during their tenure in power (in the case of Holder, I have called publicly for his resignation, and for Obama, the ďż˝Iďż˝ word should no longer be off-limits).

Yet, Changďż˝s ruling was just one of many since 2010 that have struck down, blow by blow, key parts of Chicagoďż˝s gun ban that made it one of the most unfriendly cities in America for gun rights ďż˝ and, by no coincidence, among the most dangerous for its citizens.

In 2008, the Supreme Court case, District of Columbia v. Heller, established once and for all, that the Second Amendment codified an ďż˝individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation.ďż˝ Two years later, in a follow-up decision, the high Court ruled in McDonald v. Chicago, that the right guaranteed in the Second Amendment applied to local governments as well as the federal government. These two foundational rulings set the stage for a comprehensive and long-term campaign, waged by pro-Constitution organizations, against the city of Chicagoďż˝s gun laws, and those of the state as well.

Around this time last year, I wrote about the federal Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit striking down Illinoisďż˝ unconstitutional ban on private carry of firearms, in an opinion authored by well-known jurist Richard Posner. Since then, Illinois has been flooded by citizen applications for concealed carry permits -- in numbers that dwarf the inflated enrollment figures for ObamaCare in the state.

It appears citizens know which program will really keep them safe and healthy.

However, the lesson here is not entirely about guns. In fact, the real lesson we can learn from Chicago is just how dangerous conditions for liberty can become when we allow government to ignore the Constitution. Years ago Democrats in Illinois decided, for themselves, that the Rule of Law vested in the Constitution was no longer applicable in modern society. They believed, like most of today's Democrats (and some Republicans) in Congress, that unique, modern challenges warranted extra-legal solutions. The result was years of public policy designed specifically to crush individual freedom.

And, the scariest part? The people of Illinois were brainwashed into believing that ďż˝modern times called for modern answers,ďż˝ and this was the way ďż˝freedomďż˝ had to be presented in the ďż˝post 9/11 world.ďż˝ Only now, after pro-Constitution groups have spent millions in legal fees, are we seeing the true cost to undo years of wrong-headed laws; not to mention the rights violated, and the lives lost, because liberty was made illegal by Chicago politicians and their enablers in Springfield.

If we are to learn one thing from this weekďż˝s ruling in Chicago, it is not that liberalsďż˝ attempts at gun control are bad and unconstitutional. Americans already know this from watching countless gun crimes committed in ďż˝gun free zones,ďż˝ or while waiting for the police to arrive as an intruder prowls through their homes. Rather, the lesson is about how constitutional rights are nearly impossible to reclaim fully after being abandoned in favor of societyďż˝s understanding of ďż˝contemporaryďż˝ freedom.

So, as we debate the future of gun rights in America, as well as key policy decisions involving our other civil liberties, Americans must reject the claim that our Founding Fathers did not and could not envision the NSA, TSA, local police with armed drones, international terrorism, FISA courts, or no-knock warrants when they drafted the Constitution. They did understand, because they truly understood the inherent nature of government and its drive to control the citizenry with whatever tools are available to it, whether those be muskets or drones. We ignore their lessons at our own peril.

Congressmen call BATFE sting tactics 'almost unimaginable'

Courtesy Milwaukee Journal- Sentinal

Calling the ATF's tactics appalling, alarming, disturbing and "almost unimaginable," congressional members on Thursday slammed the agency for how it conducted storefront stings across the nation and renewed their demand for answers. The sharply worded letter is the latest salvo from members of Congress to U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Director B. Todd Jones regarding the undercover operations.

Members of both parties have been demanding answers from the agency and Jones since last January when a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation exposed a series of foul-ups and failures in an ATF sting in Milwaukee dubbed Operation Fearless. Thursday's letter ďż˝ signed by lawmakers who led the congressional probe into the agency's flawed Fast and Furious operation in Arizona ďż˝ follows an investigation published by the Journal Sentinel in December that detailed how the ATF used rogue tactics in storefront stings across the nation, from Portland, Ore., to Pensacola, Fla.

"Much as in operation Fast and Furious and Operation Fearless, it appears that poor management was the norm in these other storefront operations," the letter said. The letter was signed by U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee; U.S. Rep. Darrell E. Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the chamber's head investigative panel; and U.S. Rep. Robert Goodlatte (R-Va.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), whose name was not on this letter, signed similarly worded letters critical of the ATF in the past.

The Journal Sentinel found that the ATF used mentally disabled individuals to promote their operations in at least five cities ďż˝ including paying one to get a tattoo on his neck advertising their storefront ďż˝ and later had them charged with gun and drug crimes. The tattoo was of a giant squid smoking a joint. In Milwaukee, three guns belonging to the case's lead undercover agent, including a machine gun, were stolen. The machine gun remains missing.

Across the country, agents put stings near schools and churches, increasing arrest numbers and penalties ďż˝ and attracting juveniles with free video games and alcohol. They paid so much for guns and other goods that in some cities it encouraged burglaries. In some cases, defendants bought guns at stores such as Gander Mountain and sold them to undercover agents hours later for more than double what they paid.

"In all of these cases, ATF apparently wasted taxpayer dollars on purchases," the lawmakers wrote, citing two examples detailed in the Journal Sentinel's reporting, including one where a defendant bought a gun at the store for $700 and sold it to undercover agents hours later for $2,000.

"Operations like this raise questions as to whether ATF was manufacturing crime that would not have otherwise occurred, effectively increasing the overall crime rates in the neighborhoods where the storefronts were located," the letter said. The lawmakers said they were particularly disturbed by the agency's placement of stings near schools.

"It is almost unimaginable that any law enforcement agency would recklessly endanger children in this way ďż˝ particularly an agency that is tasked with responding to school shootings," the letter said. The congressional members noted the Journal Sentinel investigation showed the ATF failed to follow its own policy on storefronts. That policy states the agency should only participate in such operations if the potential defendants "are active criminals worthy of federal interest."

"We are appalled by ATF agents' lack of judgment in recruiting juveniles and developmentally disabled individuals," the lawmakers wrote. Also

receiving copies of Thursday's letter were U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz and other members of Congress.

ATF spokeswoman Ginger Colbrun did not respond for comment on the letter Thursday. Earlier, she said the agency enacted reforms after the failures of the Milwaukee sting and the national problems identified by the Journal Sentinel happened before those changes were made. She also said the ATF created a best practices manual on storefronts in response to the Milwaukee operation, telling agents not to pay inflated prices for guns and to come up with plans in case armed felons try to leave the stings ďż˝ as happened several times, according to the Journal Sentinel investigation.

Questions unanswered

The agency has failed to answer many of the questions sent by congressional members starting nearly a year ago. The letter sent Thursday includes a batch of new questions and demands a response by Jan. 16. Such deadlines have been routinely ignored by Jones and the ATF in the past.

In a briefing with congressional staffers last April, ATF officials did not dispute any of the Journal Sentinel's findings regarding the Milwaukee operation, but indicated the problems found in Milwaukee were isolated. Citing an earlier letter, the congressional members wrote "we pointed out that ATF's failure to be forthcoming with information was a serious source of concern. In addition to creating significant image problems for an agency charged with upholding public trust, it is detrimental to the efforts of the vast majority of ATF agents and managers who are acting ethically and responsibly."

In that April meeting, ATF officials also told congressional members that personnel investigations were underway and a "disciplinary action was pending" against Bernard "B.J." Zapor, special agent in charge of the St. Paul Field Division, which oversees Milwaukee, according to the letter sent Thursday.

Before the Journal Sentinel investigation was published, Zapor was promoted by Jones, who as the former U.S. attorney for Minnesota worked with Zapor. Zapor was later transferred back to being in charge of a field division, taking over the Phoenix office, where Operation Fast and Furious was conducted.

"The continued lack of accountability at ATF is disturbing," the letter says. Last month, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) sent a letter to Horowitz critical of the ATF operations and seeking further investigation, and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) issued a statement calling for greater congressional oversight of ATF.

Horowitz, the inspector general, already is investigating the ATF's Milwaukee storefront sting, as part of a review of reforms promised by the agency in the wake of its disastrous Operation Fast and Furious, where agents watched as criminals obtained thousands of guns, many which ended up at crime scenes in Mexico.

The Department of Justice issued a statement saying Horowitz "can and should" widen his probe to include the Journal Sentinel's new findings. The ATF also asked Horowitz to expand his investigation. Horowitz has not indicated if he will widen his investigation to include storefront stings in cities other than Milwaukee. His spokesman declined to comment Friday.

Following the Journal Sentinel investigation in December, The Arc, a national disability rights group, sent a searing letter to Holder questioning how the ATF used mentally disabled people and then charged them. In a subsequent meeting with Arc officials, ATF leaders defended the operations but agreed to consider new training to avoid it happening in the future.

State universities postpone vote on guns

The governing body of Pennsylvania's 14 state universities has delayed consideration of a policy that would allow guns on open areas of campus, such as sidewalks and parking lots, the system's chancellor said Thursday.

Frank T. Brogan, chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, said more study was needed before adopting a policy and no vote would be taken at the board's next meeting on Jan. 23. "We still have far too much work to do," Brogan said at a special meeting of system officials in Harrisburg where the proposal was discussed. Brogan offered no timeline on when a policy may be considered. "This is too important to rush," he said.

The proposal was put forth by a task force of board members, university presidents, students, faculty and law enforcement, but the driving force for making the change came from the system's lawyers, who feared that current bans could not survive constitutional challenges. Current practice is to allow each school to dictate whether firearms or weapons would be allowed on its campus.

Several faculty union leaders spoke against the tabled proposal, and called for campuses to be gun-free zones. "The best policy . . . is to prohibit weapons on all areas of campus unless carried by police, security officers, or other security personnel," said Steve Hicks, a professor at Lock Haven University and president of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties.

Justin Amman, student government association president at East Stroudsburg University, urged the board to seek more student input and raised questions about the ability to enforce a policy allowing guns in open areas. If he were allowed to walk on campus sidewalks with a gun strapped to his hip, he said, "who will stop me at the door to the student union building?" Also, will metal detectors be needed, he asked.

The 14 state universities also include Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester.

Seven of the universities - California, Edinboro, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Millersville, Shippensburg and Slippery Rock - have individually adopted policies that closely mirror the proposal for open-carry in some areas. Their policies, the first of which was adopted in April 2012, followed recommendations from lawyers for the state system, who said a blanket prohibition was legally unenforceable.

State Supreme Court cases in recent years have struck down blanket bans, though allowing regulation in sensitive places. Brogan noted a Florida appeals court ruling last month that knocked down a gun ban at the University of North Florida.

Kutztown last spring began to allow firearms in open areas of its 289-acre campus in Berks County. The university still restricts weapons in buildings and athletic facilities "or while attending a sporting, entertainment, or educational event on university property or sponsored by the university." Such narrowly tailored policies have withstood constitutional challenge.

And in 2011, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that George Mason University's ban on guns in buildings and at events did not violate the Second Amendment. George Mason also is a public university. Under the Pennsylvania system's proposal, deadly weapons, including firearms, would continue to be banned inside all campus buildings, including dorms, student unions and cafeterias.

They also would be banned from sporting and entertainment events, commencement ceremonies, and other indoor and outdoor areas where large numbers gather, as well as outdoor class meetings, field trips and camps. Deadly weapons include knives with blades longer than three inches, swords, clubs, bows and arrows, explosives and ammunition.

A Lesson Learned As Chicagoďż˝s Gun Laws Fall

It appears citizens know which program will really keep them safe and healthy.

The result was years of public policy designed specifically to crush individual freedom.

State universities postpone vote on guns

The 14 state universities also include Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester.

Trucking co. fined $75,000 for Importing Live Asian Carp

An Edmonton, Alberta, trucking company and a Markham, Ontario, truck driver have been fined total of $75,000 for possessing live Asian carp in Ontario. Alltheway Trucking Inc. and Yong-Sheng Zhang were each found guilty under the federal Fisheries Act for possessing live invasive fish. The company was fined $70,000 and the truck driver was fined $5,000. In addition, over 3,000 kilograms of grass carp was forfeited to the Crown.

The court heard that on January 25, 2012, a truck from Alltheway Trucking Inc. entered Canada at the Ambassador Bridgeďż˝s Windsor/Detroit border crossing carrying grass and bighead carp from Arkansas. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) contacted the Ministry of Natural Resources to assist with the inspection of the truck. Conservation officers with the Lake Erie Enforcement Unit inspected the truck and found that some of the grass carp were still alive. They subsequently seized all of the fish.

On February 28, 2012, the same truck and driver again entered Canada at the Ambassador Bridgeďż˝s Windsor/Detroit border crossing carrying bighead carp from the state of Arkansas. After being contacted by the CBSA, conservation officers found 6,350 kilograms of bighead carp, some of which were alive. They seized the truck and fish. Both the truck and the fish were held until such time as officers were able to determine that all of the bighead carp in the truck were dead.

Justice of the Peace Maureen Ryan-Brode heard the case in the Ontario Court of Justice, Windsor, from June 3 to June 7, 2013, and rendered her decision on January 16, 2014.

It has been illegal to possess live invasive fish, including bighead, grass, black and silver carp, in Ontario since 2005 because of the significant threat they pose to the provinceďż˝s lake systems. As part of the ongoing efforts to protect Ontarioďż˝s environment from the importation of invasive species, the Ministry of Natural Resources will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to monitor compliance with the legislation.

$72,500 in Fines for Illegal Activities at Lodge

Eleven people have pleaded guilty to a total of 68 charges and been fined $72,500 for offences that took place at a hunting and fishing lodge in northwest Ontario.

Steve Herbeck, former owner and carrying on business as Andy Myers Lodge, on Eagle Lake, west of Dryden, was fined a total of $7,500 and his business was fined a total of $27,000 for 22 offences. He is not allowed to hunt in Ontario for ten years.

Ten others including employees and guests from ON, NY, WI and New Zealand pleaded guilty and the total charge for all 11 were 68 charges under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, Ontario Fishery Regulations and Migratory Birds Convention Act.

Their offences included:

ďż˝ unlawfully hunting wolf

ďż˝ unlawfully using a hunting licence belonging to another person

ďż˝ making a false statement in a document

ďż˝ making a false statement to a conservation officer

ďż˝ having a loaded firearm in a vehicle

ďż˝ possessing uncased firearms at night

ďż˝ discharging a firearm from a roadway

ďż˝ unlawfully selling game wildlife

ďż˝ unlawfully selling migratory birds

ďż˝ fishing with more than one fishing line

ďż˝ failing to comply with the requirements for an Ontario Hunting and Fishing Licence Issuer, and

ďż˝ possessing an over-limit of Canada geese.

The court heard that Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources conservation officers conducted a two-year covert investigation in cooperation with the USFWS, the DNRs WI, MI, NY & MN, and the New Zealand Commission of Wildlife. Conservation officers discovered that Steve Herbeck and his staff encouraged clients to hunt wolves without a license. Staff then used their own resident licences to validate the wolf or arranged for guests to buy licences afterward. Steve Herbeck allowed guests to fish without a licence and later sold them backdated fishing licences.

As part of their package, guests were fed grouse and mallard duck and advised they were fed American elk, all of which the lodge was not allowed to sell. Steve Herbeck also took guests muskellunge fishing and used more than the allowable amount of fishing rods.

Justices of the Peace Daisy Hoppe and Edith Baas heard the cases between January 15 and December 17, 2013, in the Ontario Court of Justice, Dryden.

NY Adopts plan to improve Hudson River Water Quality

Lake Trout Make Comeback in the Great Lakes

Questions unanswered

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