Save The River will be hosting it’s annual 5K Fun Run/Walk on Saturday, July 25th. Our course is flat and fast, winding along the banks of the St. Lawrence River. Walkers and jogging strollers are welcome.

Race registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. at Frink Park in Clayton, NY with the race beginning at 10 a.m. The first 150 registrants will receive a free t-shirt and water bottle. Pre-registration is $20 and registration on the day of the event is $25. Online registration fees do apply.

You can register now online! Or print a registration form and send it in.

Please visit our website often for registration and other event details.

As the St. Lawrence Seaway begins to celebrate its 50th anniversary, these celebrations ring hollow here on the shores of the St. Lawrence River and for many throughout the Great Lakes region.

A Legacy of 50 Years of Damage

The St. Lawrence Seaway has chronically over promised and under-delivered. Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River communities were promised an ‘economic renaissance’, but instead, we were handed significant environmental problems, from oil spills to invasive species.

Communities on the River and Lakes remember all too well the predictions and promises made back when the Seaway was being built – economic growth, new industry and jobs, and a surge in population that would transform our small towns into world class port cities.

(You can download our fact sheet to read some of the claims made by the Seaway over the years.)

No Time to Celebrate

Sadly, none of the forecasted benefits of the Seaway arrived. And today, those of us living along the River and Lakes are taking stock of 50 years of damage and wondering what the celebration is all about.

For example, after 50 years, River communities have been left with:

• 188 invasive species from around the world, brought into our freshwater system in the ballast tanks of ocean going vessels;
• 300,000 gallons of crude oil spilled out of a tanker onto our shorelines in 1976;
• nearly 50% of our coastal wetlands have been lost due to stabilized water levels since the Seaway was built; and
• spring icebreaking to open shipping lanes early has caused damage to fish and wildlife habitats.

And the list can go on and on.

Future Challenges Loom

In addition to historic damages, the navigation industry must start planning now for the realities of climate change. Forecasts show that water levels in the next 50 years may be significantly lower. Conservation groups are raising the alarm that attempts to continue business as usual will dramatically increase the Seaway’s environmental impacts.

Jennifer Nalbone, with Great Lakes United put it best:

“Right now the industry sees few options to address climate change: reducing loads, which increases costs, or pushing for more dredging and channelization, which seriously damages the ecosystem. This sort of antiquated thinking – molding the ecosystem to fit shipper’s desires – is the same thinking that got the Seaway and the Great Lakes where they are today,” said Nalbone. “The reality is, we cannot dredge our way out of climate change impacts. The Seaway has an opportunity and a responsibility to reinvent itself.”

A Time for Action

If the Seaway wants to remain viable for another 50 years, it must:

• ensure that the damaging influx of invasive species is stopped,
• aggressively plan to adapt to lower water levels in ways that will not damage the Lakes and River,
• and, in turn, be part of restoring the Great Lakes by charting a new, truly sustainable course for future operations.

Failure to do so will put the livelihoods of the people and species that rely on these waters, as well as the industry itself, at stake.

To Learn More

To read more about this issue, visit the following resources:

• A collection of Seaway quotes from news articles, spanning the past 50 years
• A factsheet exploring some of the claims made by the Seaway Corporation
• Read perspectives from experts throughout the Great Lakes region on 50 years of Seaway operation and future challenges to shipping on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River
• Read a joint press release from Save The River, Great Lakes United and National Wildlife Federation
• Visit Great Lakes United’s Seaway 50 website.

The St. Lawrence Seaway agencies recently put out a press release trumpeting the success of their new ballast inspection program: New Federal Report Highlights Improvement in Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System Ballast Water Inspection Process. Unfortunately, the standard that is being enforced is not nearly strong enough. Read on for Save The River’s response, which also ran as a letter to the editor in this week’s Thousand Island Sun.

Aquatic invasive species, including critters like the zebra mussel and round goby, are one of the most significant threats facing the River today. More than 180 aquatic invasive species are found in the River and Great Lakes, with nearly 2/3 of those having been brought in via ballast tanks on ocean-going ships.

Save The River applauds the increased inspection of vessels entering the St. Lawrence Seaway. Unfortunately, the article fails to note that increased inspection will not stop aquatic invasive species introductions because the standard being enforced is not nearly strong enough.

Currently, ocean-going vessels are only required to flush their tanks with ocean water prior to entering the Seaway. Ballast tank flushing is better than no treatment at all but not nearly enough to definitively halt further introductions. In January, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Center for Environmental Assessment, released a report that finds: “Despite these procedures [ballast flushing] and subsequent regulations, it is likely that nonindigenous species will continue to arrive in the Great Lakes.”

As a new shipping season is about to start, the agencies regulating shipping on the St. Lawrence Seaway are once again playing Russian roulette with our River by allowing ships with poorly treated ballast tanks to enter the Seaway. Alternatives exist for moving the limited amount of goods that arrive via ocean-going vessels. Until much more stringent ballast treatment technology is onboard each and every ocean-going vessel transiting the River, these ships must not be prohibited from entering the Seaway.

To learn more about the impacts of aquatic invasive species and what you can do, visit our Clean Up the Ballast campaign webpage.

| Great Lakes United | National Wildlife Federation | Save The River |

As Seaway Turns 50, it’s Time for a Reality Check

In light of historic damages and future challenges, conservation groups urge Seaway

to be a better steward of the Great Lakes

(BUFFALO, OTTAWA – March 30, 2009)-As the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway prepares to open, marking its 50th anniversary, conservation groups are providing a reality check by shining a light on the maritime corridor’s damaging environmental legacy. The groups are calling for policy and operational changes that address decades of environmental and economic damage caused by the operation of the Seaway. Additionally, the navigation industry must prepare for future challenges associated with the impacts of climate change.

“As the Seaway turns 50, it’s time for a reality check,” said Jennifer Nalbone, Campaign Director of Invasive Species and Navigation for Great Lakes United. “Now is the perfect time to critically ask: ‘What changes does the maritime community need to make to protect the Great Lakes and the economies that rely on them?”

The St. Lawrence Seaway is a 189-mile (306-kilometre) maritime waterway between Montreal and Lake Ontario and was at one time heralded as an engineering marvel. During construction, portions of the St. Lawrence River were channelized and flooded and seven locks were built.

The Seaway opened in 1959 amid forecasts that it would turn Great Lakes cities into world class ports by linking the interior of North America to global trade. History has proven otherwise. Today, less than 7 percent of Great Lakes shipping traffic is international. The Seaway’s busiest season was its first year of operation, while total tonnage peaked in 1978 at 56 million tons and has been declining since. The waterway was designed to handle 80 million tons per year.

“The Seaway has chronically over promised and under-delivered,” said Jennifer Caddick, Executive Director of Save The River. “Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River communities were promised an ‘economic renaissance’, but instead, we were handed significant environmental problems. Instead of celebrating, the Seaway must honestly examine the past 50 years of damages and begin taking immediate steps to fix the problems.”

The environmental and economic damage associated with ongoing Seaway operations are significant. Since 1959, international shipping has been the primary source of new non-native aquatic invasive species, such as the zebra and quagga mussels in the Great Lakes. The University of Notre Dame estimates that such species cost citizens, businesses and cities in the eight Great Lakes states alone at least $200 million per year in damage and costs to the commercial and recreational fishery, wildlife watching and water infrastructure, according to the University of Notre Dame. While exact economic data does not exist for the Great Lakes region in Canada, similar damages can be expected.

“The tremendous damage caused by invasive species from ocean-going vessel ballast water discharges are a prime reason why commercial shipping on the Great Lakes must change after 50 years,” said Marc Smith of the National Wildlife Federation. “We have a host of potential solutions to this problem. It is time to use them so that we can provide security to the people, businesses and cities that have borne the brunt of the damage from the invasions.”

In addition to historic damages, the navigation industry must start planning now for the realities of climate change. Forecasts show that water levels in the next 50 years may be significantly lower. Conservation groups are raising the alarm that attempts to continue business as usual will dramatically increase the Seaway’s environmental impacts.

“Right now the industry sees few options to address climate change: reducing loads, which increases costs, or pushing for more dredging and channelization, which seriously damages the ecosystem. This sort of antiquated thinking – molding the ecosystem to fit shipper’s desires – is the same thinking that got the Seaway and the Great Lakes where they are today,” said Nalbone. “The reality is, we cannot dredge our way out of climate change impacts. The Seaway has an opportunity and a responsibility to reinvent itself.”

The groups contend that if the Seaway wants to remain viable for another 50 years, it must ensure that the damaging influx of invasive species is stopped, that they aggressively plan to adapt to lower water levels in ways that will not damage the Lakes and River, and in turn be part of restoring the Great Lakes by charting a new, truly sustainable course for future operations. Failure to do so will put the livelihoods of the people and species that rely on these waters, as well as the industry itself, at stake.

Additional Materials:
Additional background material is available at www.glu.org/seaway50 including:
• a collection of Seaway quotes from news articles, spanning the past 50 years;
• a factsheet exploring some of the claims made by the Seaway Corporation; and
• expert contacts for more in-depth information on various impacts of Seaway operations
.
Contacts:
• Jennifer Nalbone, Campaign Director of Navigation and Invasive Species, Great Lakes United, 716-213-0408
• Jennifer Caddick, Executive Director, Save the River, (315) 686-2010
• Marc Smith, State Policy Manager, National Wildlife Federation, 734-255-5413

As our Common Tern Monitoring volunteers know, monitoring terns can be a dirty job. Adult birds often dive bomb you while you are on sight and there is definitely lots of projectile excrement involved. The job is SO dirty that it was featured on the Discovery Channel’s Dirty Jobs show.

The tern nesting site featured on the show is actually located in Ohio, where Common Terns are actually endangered and features an interesting habitat restoration project. It’s an excellent look at what tern monitoring is all about. Enjoy! And thank you to our dedicated volunteers here on the River that volunteer to complete a very important, very dirty job.

The St. Lawrence River Institute of Environmental Science, located in Cornwall, Ontario, is hosting it’s 15th Anniversary Celebration on Tuesday, May 5th at the NavCanada Conference Center. The River Institute strives to be a leader in environmental research, education and community action on the St. Lawrence River and other large river ecosystems in Canada and the world. This year’s Anniversary celebration will feature keynote speaker David Doubilet, National Geographic Underwater Photographer. Read more about this event and how to RSVP here.

In late February, Save The River hit the halls of Washington to lobby for River and Great Lakes protection programs. It was an exciting few days of lobbying with the Healing Our Waters Coalition which organizes the great Healthy Lakes, Healthy Lives campaign. While in Washington, Save The River staff met with the offices of Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, Congressman McHugh and many other members of the New York delegation.

Historic Boost for Lakes/River Restoration included in President’s Budget

While in Washington, President Obama released his budget that included a strong commitment to Great Lakes restoration. In addition to strengthening many existing programs, the President’s budget included $475 million for Great Lakes programs – the largest ever commitment to Great Lakes restoration made by a President! The funding will support critical programs to stop aquatic invasive species, prevent polluted runoff, and clean up contaminated sediments. Other areas of the President’s budget also included increases in national programs to fix sewer overflows, which is a key concern for many River communities.

Budget Could Help River Projects in Need of Funding

North Country Public Radio and the nationally syndicated radio program Living On Earth ran a great story last week profiling how the President’s investment in Great Lakes restoration could help clean-up and restore the River. You can listen to the story here: Great Lakes defenders see hope in Obama In the story, newly appointed Senator Gillibrand commits to using her new role on the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee to press for Great Lakes/St. Lawrence River restoration programs.

Take Action! Tell Congress You Support Funding for Great Lakes/St. Lawrence River Restoration!

While the recently released budget is an important first step, Congress ultimately dictates federal funding levels. The first step in that process is the Congressional Budget Resolution, which is currently being debated in Congress. The House and Senate plan to pass their budget resolutions by the first week of April.

Please call Congress today to urge your Representative and Senators to make sure Congress matches the President’s Great Lakes funding commitment in their own budget.

Here’s how:

1) Call your Representative and two U.S. Senators. You can reach them through their direct line or by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and asking to be connected. Not sure who’s your representative in Congress? Visit this handy website to find out.

2) Not sure what to say? All you need to tell the staff person is: “President Obama has included a $475 million Great Lakes Restoration initiative in his fiscal year 2010 budget to restore the Great Lakes and revive our economy. I urge [Representative / Senator _________] to reach out to Members of Congress on the Budget Committee in support of including the President’s Great Lakes restoration initiative in the Congressional Budget Resolution.”

The following Great Lakes members of Congress are on the Budget Committee: Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI), Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN), Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Rep. Steve Austria (R-OH), Sen. Russell Feingold (D-WI), and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). If you are calling these offices, just tell them directly that you urge them to include the funding in the Budget Resolution and urge them to work with their colleagues to build support.

3) Let us know what kind of response you get by sending us an e-mail!

Thank you for your action to protect the St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes! Each phone call and letter does make a difference!

Have you ever wanted to help the River, but you were not quite sure what to do? Well we have the program for you! Save The River’s Riverkeeper Program will teach you what you need to know to help be our ‘eyes and ears’ on the River.

To become a volunteer, all you need to do is attend one of our hour-long training session that will get you acquainted with River issues from pollution to wildlife die-offs and will give you the knowledge you need to identify these issues and report them effectively. Not only will you learn more about the River you love, but you’ll also be given the tools to do something about the bad things that can happen to the River as well.  All volunteers will be provided with a take home Riverkeeper Identification Guide to assist them in identifying and reporting River issues.

Summer 2009 training dates are as follows:

Wednesday, June 17th @ 5 p.m. at the Antique Boat Museum Education Room

Saturday, July 11th @ 10 a.m. at the Antique Boat Museum Education Room

Interested volunteers should contact Save The River’s Program Manager, Sarah at sarah@savetheriver.org to RSVP as class size is limited.

Can’t make the training date? If you have a group of 15 people or more, Save The River Staff can schedule an alternative date to train your group. Just send a note to sarah@savetheriver.org to schedule your date.

Save The River’s 20th Annual Winter Weekend focused on Climate Change Impacts on the River and Great Lakes among other River issues. To see what you missed check out the presentations below.

“Impacts to Climate Change: Findings from the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Study” Tom McAuley, Engineering Advisor, International Joint Commission, Canada.

Read about Tom McAuley here.

“New York State Programs to Help Save Energy and the Environment” Ann Heidenreich, North Country Energy $mart Communities Coordinator, Community Energy Services, Inc.

Read more about Ann Heidenreich here.

“An Update on Recent Muskellunge Population Trends in the Thousand Islands Region“ Professor John M. Farrell, Ph.D., Sr. Research Associate and Director, Thousand Islands Biological Station, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

Read more about John Farrell here.

“VHSV in smallmouth bass and round goby: What have we learned?” Geofrey E. Eckerlin, Graduate Research Assistant, Thousand Islands Biological Station, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

Read more about Geof Eckerlin here.

“Working for the River: Emerging Opportunities for Volunteering at Save The River.” Sarah Walsh, Program Manager, Save The River.

Read more about Sarah Walsh here.

The past few months have seen a flurry of activity and news about aquatic invasive species and ballast – read on for a round-up of recent news!

Aquatic Invasive Species Damage Severely Impacting Regions beyond Great Lakes

Dan Egan, a reporter with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, has written a great piece – Great Lakes scourge infects West (MJS, 2/21/09) – which details the impact aquatic invasive species that are brought in via ships on the Great Lakes are having on the rest of the country. These critters, particularly zebra mussels, are not just harming the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River, they’re impacting nearly every waterway in the U.S. It’s an eye-opening article and should be yet another wake-up call for immediately implementing strict federal ballast regulations on the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence River.

States Stepping in to Regulate Ballast in Absence of Strong Federal Rules

Egan followed up a few days later with a report focusing on the efforts being made by Great Lakes states to clean up ship ballast tanks – Patchwork ballast rules emerging to battle invaders. (MJS, 3/1/09). Because of the lack of coordinated federal action, states are being forced to step up and implement their own regulations. It’s not a perfect solution, as Egan’s article highlights, but it’s an attempt to stop the invasive species disaster.

As Save The River members know, New York state has taken a leadership role in creating strong state-level regulations, which we heartily applaud. In addition to supporting state efforts, Save The River continues to press for strong federal ballast treatment regulations.

Good News at EPA

In a speech to the Great Lakes Commission in February, the new Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, Lisa Jackson, committed to reconsidering the weak EPA ballast permit. The Associated Press reported on her remarks in this story: EPA chief reconsidering ship ballast permit. Earlier this winter, as the result of a court order, the EPA released a permit program under the Clean Water Act to address aquatic invasive species introductions by ships. Unfortunately, the program did not set a discharge standard that was a strict as has been proposed in federal legislation. It’s exciting news to hear that the EPA is willing to step back and re-examine their weak program.

Learn More and Take Action

To learn more about the aquatic invasive species issue visit the following sites:

• Save The River’s Clean Up the Ballast Campaign
• Great Lakes United special report – 20 Years of the Zebra Mussel
  
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Special Report: Great Lakes, Great Peril

Urge Congress to take action! Call your representatives in Congress and urge them to pass strong ballast clean up legislation this session! Not sure who represents you in Congress? Visit this handy page to find out.