LAKE - May 2025

PROBLEM GEESE PROGRAM | HEALTHY LAKE CLUES LEAD PARTICULATE MATTER FROM AIRPORTS

METRO INTELLIGENCER THREATENED PLANET LAKES LEVELS

David Hohendorf highlights the editorial offerings in the May issue.

There are a number of what are called indicators in nature that tell us if the general environment of a lake is doing well.

Dealing with problem geese

The state of Michigan has abandoned its program of relocating problem geese and not everyone agrees with the change.

View from above

An aerial view of Deer Lake in Independence Township.

Lead emissions from Oakland airport

The health and environmental problems created by lead-based aviation fuel still being used by some aircraft at Oakland County’s three airports.

Threatened Planet

Short notes on what’s happening on the warming planet here and around the world.

Metro Intelligencer

News and gossip from the dining world in the metro Detroit area.

The latest lake levels as measured by the office of the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner.

My weekend routine, during the many years we lived on White Lake in White Lake Township, always included having to wipe down the white metal railings that ran the length of the deck overlooking the water way, which during the course of a week ended up lightly covered with a black soot I always suspected that the soot came most likely from aircraf t from the Oakland Inter national Airpor t miles down the road on the edge of Water ford Township

The airpor t, one of the busiest small airpor ts in the state, was then and still is home to a number of small jets and what as a layman I call traditional small planes, many operated on leaded gas In 2022 there were about 120,000 landings and takeoffs from this airpor t, which is home to about 650 aircraf t, more than half of which are single piston engine planes that still use leaded fuel The Oakland Inter national Airpor t is owned and operated by Oakland County which has two other much smaller airpor ts, one in Troy and one in the southwest par t of the county in the New Hudson/Wixom area

For years the aviation fuel industr y has been looking for an alter native to leaded gas as an aviation fuel but no one seems to know when they will be successful Fur ther, this issue should ser ve as a reminder that while for the past several decades county officials liked to brag about the growth and development of the Oakland Inter national Airpor t, we must remain mindful of potential impact should anyone think about fur ther expansion of the three airpor ts in the county

Meanwhile, we plan on taking a fur ther look at the county ’ s main airpor t against the background of the growing concer n across the nation about the environmental impact of jet fuel and the fine par ticulate matter emitted by these aircraf t While jet fuel does not include lead, conventional fossil jet fuel does have an impact on health within a 12-mile area of an airpor t, according to studies I have been reading My logic says that there must be a direct impact on local lakes but I suspect no one tests for that

About a year ago our news staff took a look at the impact on the environment from leaded gas driven planes America banned leaded gas propelled autos in 1975 af ter documentation showed some serious health issues directly tied to leaded fuel That was one of the first major actions taken by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which was created in1970 by President Richard Nixon in response to growing public concer ns about the environment

You can read the longfor m piece in this issue that resulted from our work on the question of the impact from leaded gas aviation vehicles given the lead par ticulate matter generated in the atmosphere, especially in the area sur rounding airpor ts We include this stor y, which first appeared in our Downtown Newsmagazine, because we are convinced that general aviation vehicles operating on leaded gas will have an impact on the quality of life on the lakes in Oakland, although officials at the county note that the Oakland Inter national Airpor t, on the shores of Pontiac Lake and just south of Williams Lake, adheres to all federal lead limitations

Once again, we monitor issues such as this because the health of the lakes and those living on the water ways in Oakland County is our primar y concer n

Also inside this May issue readers will lear n about Michigan’s latest effor t to control geese across the state The latest program abandons the past effor t at relocating geese and instead involves killing of problem geese A second longfor m piece explores the variety of natural indicators that can tell us about state of the environment in the area of a lake

Lastly, our thanks to Heather Smith of White Lake for this month’s magazine cover She shot this late last October when the Nor ther n Lights put on a show above Lake Neva We still encourage anyone who has a cover-wor thy shot to email us a high resolution JPG image to photos@downtownpublications com If your photo is selected, we will send you a check for $100, so make sure you include your mailing address

David Hohendor f Publisher DavidHohendor f@DowntownPublications com

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L A K E C L U E S

THE NATURAL INDICATORS OF A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT – AN ORCHESTRA OF ECOLOGY

BY MARK H. STOWERS

The song of the American bullfrog echoes across a muggy, Michigan summer night The flight of the dragonfly across gentle splashing waves and the annual mayfly swar m fills the af ter noon gentle breeze. The dance of otters, the laziness of tur tles sunning themselves as the ever so majestic loons dive for their dinner and sing their songs to gather their mates The sight of Sisco swimming deep and multiplying to ever y fisher man’s delight combined with the sights of toads and mudpuppies all point to one thing – a healthy lake environment These natural indicators give us a repor t card of how Michigan lakes, streams and rivers are progressing health wise The lack of any of these pieces of the ecological sheet music can lead to an out of tune and less majestic and sometimes dying water body.

With the help of biologists, researchers, educators and more from federal, state and county leadership, the music of Michigan lakes, streams and rivers are fine-tuned and adjusted to man-made and natural imbalances and threats Erick Elgin, a Limnologist and Water Resources Educator with Michigan State University Extension, has responsibilities to promote and research the wise use, protection and restoration of Michigan freshwater systems As par t of the ecological orchestra, Elgin chimed in about what a healthy lake may or may not be

“It's tough to define a healthy lake because healthy is sometimes in the eye of the beholder,” Elgin explained “If you are on a shallow lake and there's aquatic plants, found throughout the lake basin in the middle of the lake and on the sides of the lake, some people might say something's wrong with the lake but in fact shallow lakes naturally have a lot of aquatic plants ”

Lakes var y so Elgin and his cohor ts and par tners look at a number of parameters to understand how a lake is doing through time

“ That’s the big key We would like to see data through time Some lakes naturally have more algae and if it kind of stays that amount of algae through time, then the lake is likely stable and it's just a lake that has more algae But now, what if you see that 20 years ago this lake had low amounts of algae and now have lots of algae some of those algae are tur ning into har mful algal blooms that contain toxins Now we would say, ‘ Well, wow, your lake is changing and it's changed pretty quick Something is happening You might have pollution sources or something's unbalanced in the system ”

He explained the “pulse of the lake” is taken by a Secchi Disc test that measures water clarity The disc is placed in the lake water and it submerges till it can’t be seen

“Is it the same year af ter year or is it getting more clear or less clear? But just because your lake is getting clearer doesn't mean your lake is healthier either If zebra mussels invade your lake, it can become more clear but that's not necessarily a good thing because now the zebra mussels are removing the algae, which is the base of the food web On the other hand, if you have worked through time to reduce your phosphor us – a key nutrient for algae growth – or reduced pollution into the lake and now, as a result, there's less algae, so your water clarity is more clear, that's a good thing because you are reducing the nutrient pollution that's entering into the water body ”

With 10,000 lakes in Michigan, Elgin and the organizations that r un the gamut from watersheds to extension and more, there still aren’t enough people and time to sample, test and check ever y lake The Cooperative Lakes Monitoring Program (CLMP) has tested lakes since 1974 and uses a volunteer staff for most of its work

“ We have data on the lake that volunteers collect through time using the same protocols And so now we can compare, or we can look at lakes through time comparing apples to apples And now we can see what direction a lake may be heading Some lakes are just ver y stable and let's say the phosphor us changes slightly each year but in general, if we put a trend line through it, it might be completely flat In some

circumstances, there's becoming more phosphor us, or in some circumstances, less I'm helping folks with a reliable scientific framework to collect that data and understand it I also help with lake conser vation statewide As lake communities have questions or r un into issues or want to improve their conditions, I can work with them on a variety of platfor ms We're also working with the state of Michigan on aquatic plant sur veys around the state Aquatic plants can tell us a lot as well There are a handful of invasive species but by far the vast majority of aquatic plants are native and are beneficial to our water bodies And so we're creating a protocol that can tell us more about this aquatic plant community ”

A deeper dive into each indicator explains their reasons to exist to create the needed har mony across Michigan lakes, streams and rivers

Michigan’s American Bullfrog, Nor ther n Leopard Frog and various toad species, are sensitive to water quality and habitat disturbance Their per meable skin puts them at risk to pollutants and other water hazards A healthy population of these amphibians indicates good water quality, a stable ecosystem and diverse habitats (wetlands, ponds, shallow shores) A decline in these species can indicate pollution, habitat degradation or the presence of invasive species Alexa War wick is a faculty member in the Depar tment of Fisheries and Wildlife at Michigan State University and also has an Extension Appointment The Iowa native and University of Nor ther n Iowa alum has a Ph D in Biological Sciences from Florida State University, in addition to her B S , Biology and B A in Dual Languages: Por tuguese/Spanish War wick has spent plenty of time studying Michigan frogs and their benefits as a natural indicator

“I r un a number of monitoring programs here in the state, especially through our Michigan State University proper ties, like the Corey Marsh Ecological Research Center,” War wick said “ We do a lot of monitoring of all different kinds of reptiles and amphibians, sometimes using just frog loggers and things So we're not out there checking them, but they'll call and we can ID them So it's always a good way to tell if you've got frogs around, because they'll let if it's a good spot for breeding, then you'll hear male frogs calling ”

The cour ting call is nor mally heard in war mer weather but she noted the “spring peepers ” won’t be quite as near lakes and streams as much as more of a wooded little pool like the wooded swamp areas Cricket frogs would be the ones you'd hear on ponds and lakes soonest they're a little more rare but and then the nor ther n leopard frogs and the toads and then green frogs and then pickerel frogs and then bullfrogs would be the last ones to star t calling

Frogs are susceptible to changes in lakes as their skin is quite per meable Even their eggs are susceptible due to not having an amniote (protective membrane) around them to safeguard them from pollutants and other dangers

“ That's par t of what the issue is for amphibians, both when they're in their baby, their lar val for m and of ten in the adult for m too, depending on how they use the water bodies Amphibians get a double whammy When they're little, if they're exposed to chemicals, they can get gross defects When a lot of r un- off from agricultural areas and the pesticides and things that were being used would accumulate in cer tain water bodies, then you might see funky for m frogs from that process But having any amphibians typically is a good indication that the water body is not too overly polluted and doesn't have a lot of excessive nutrients or sediments or contaminants ”

Yu Man Lee, a conser vation scientist and herpetologist with MSU Extension’s Michigan Natural Features Inventor y explained that consistent water levels are key for amphibians

“Maintaining the right hydrology so the right water levels in these areas help species use the vegetation along the edge of the lakes and that are submerged for cover and for food They use some of these areas to sur vive the winters In making sure we protect the different habitats that they use and making sure that where you have a diverse and healthy ecosystem, you're going to have all the different species that make up the food chain within these ecosystems ”

War wick explained when rare species are found, that’s an even better indicator of good health for a wetland area and water body

The Blanchard’s Cricket frog, that will be found in ponds and lakes “It’s just really cool if that one does pop up because we don't have too many of those around nor mally The more common things would be green frogs and bullfrogs They're bigger, so they can withstand a little bit more Even predation from fish in some of those habitats Of those larger-bodied frogs, the Pickerel frogs are probably the most sensitive You will not find them if it's any kind of polluted water body but they're much more of a rare species compared to a green frog or a bullfrog in those places ”

Frogs have to stay wet in order to sur vive and that puts them more at risk to pollutants and other dangers in water She also noted there’s one simple way to protect frogs and toads – don’t pick them up

“If you do pick up a frog or toad, make sure you don’t have bug spray or lotions on your hands Even the oil from your skin can be rough on them and dr y them out and something like bug spray can be ver y damaging to them,” War wick said

The biggest benefit of toads is for mosquito control

as they can consume up to 3,200 insects per day Frogs are also a benefit in this area as they eat mosquito lar vae As tadpoles, they eat algae and are par t of the function as the base of the food web

Among the indicators of a healthy environment are the dragonfly nymphs, which are aquatic and require clean water for proper development Their presence, especially in their lar val for m in the lake, signals good water quality and healthy aquatic habitats Dragonflies also help control mosquito populations A decrease in dragonfly populations may suggest water pollution or disturbances in aquatic vegetation War wick has studied dragonflies and noted their lar vae are quite br utal in their sur vival

“ They look like some sor t of ter rif ying monster, in my opinion, as lar vae in the water column They have this sor t of spoon-like feature that they stab at things and eat them They're a car nivorous insect in the water,” she said

War wick also explained, “ a healthy ecosystem consists of all of the prey items You can have other predators and then the bigger predators, and on and on If you don't maintain the basics in the water system, then you're not going to have all these other things that are going to be able to eat those as well ” Mayflies, as aggravating as they are when hatching and swar ming, are also an indicator of a healthy lake Katri Studtmann, freshwater specialist for Oakland County Parks and Recreation, has studied the favorite fish treat

“ They're one species we look for in par ticular Because if you have a high diversity of different mayfly species, it indicates that the water quality is high enough to suppor t those species There's a lot of different species, a lot of different families They'll differ in different lake habitats you'll find some only in streams,” Studtmann said “Ever ybody gets disr upted and hates ever y year the big Mayfly infestation but that's actually a huge indicator that things are going well They are actually a really impor tant food source for animals and birds and amphibians that live around those lake ecosystems ”

She noted the nor mal pressure of ever y other indicator in the lake – too many nutrients, too much algae – affect them She also explained that light pollution hur ts the population

“ Those adults are attracted to polarized light, so if your lights are on around your lake, you're going to draw in those insects to your light,” she said “Instead of them actually going through their life cycle and laying their eggs back in the water ”

She advised for those living or spending time on lakes to use red lights or other longer wavelength lights if lights are needed on the shoreline

Then there are the lichens which you will find n

trees, rocks and water plants They are sensitive to air and water quality, par ticularly the levels of pollutants such as nitrogen and sulfur In a healthy lake ecosystem, lichens thrive because the air and water quality are high Fewer or unhealthy lichen populations could indicate air pollution or poor water quality

The presence of Nor th American river otters, top predators in aquatic ecosystems, suggests a balanced ecosystem with good fish populations and clean water Otters are sensitive to pollution and habitat disturbance If otters are absent, it could signal poor water quality, pollution or a lack of food sources like fish River otters are rarely found in Oakland County but would be a good indicator of a healthy lake

Among the other indicators are Siscowet (Sisco) are deep-water fish found in colder, cleaner lakes A healthy population of siscowet indicates a stable, clean lake environment with sufficient oxygen levels, deep, cold water and a balanced food web A decline in siscowet populations could be due to war ming water temperatures, over fishing or pollution Joe Nohner, adjunct assistant professor with the Depar tment of Fisheries and Wildlife, works with the development of an inland lake Sisco management plan with the DNR

“ That's a species that is a really strong indicator of water quality,” Nohner said “ They're what we call a flagship species or umbrella species If you benefit Sisco, you benefit a lot of other species Sisco live in deep, clear, cold, well- oxygenated lakes And so they're indicators of some of the highest water quality in the state Of the state's waters, we probably have about 160 inland lake Sisco populations right now and we've got somewhere around 10,000 lakes Sisco are really threatened by nutrient pollution and climate change Those are the two biggest threats to their populations ”

Glacial processes endowed Oakland County with a lot of deep lakes

“ There are a pretty substantial number of Oakland County Sisco lakes, despite the fact that it's a heavily developed area With Sisco, a lot of what we're doing is tr ying to help folks implement more natural shoreline processing programs and practices on their shorelines That means not mowing down to the edge of the lawn, not using fer tilizer on the lawn, not having seawalls, all the things that we want to have reduced erosion, reduced r unoff coming into the lake from shorelines And so we've done a lot of work through DNR and through EGLE in a group of people We've called the Natural Shoreline Par tnership to tr y to move that for ward So there's a whole culture ad collaboration of folks in Michigan State Extension and EGLE and DNR, private contractors and lake associations ”

Jeremy Har tsock, wetland/aquatic ecologist and outreach educator in the Institute of Water Research and Depar tment of Fisheries and Wildlife has studied spawning habits of Sisco and found Sisco need a healthy supply of Chara macro algae to lay their eggs “ They lay their eggs in the shallows in winter or early spring and then they go back down deep But when you lose the habitat and the Chara goes away, then they don't have their prefer red spots to do what they do,” Har tsock said “If you want a good Sisco lake, you want it to be cold, deep, with oxygen down in the deep layer When you lose oxygen, those deep layers become hypoxic And then that forces the Sisco to come up to the sur face where it's war mer And that stresses them out in the summer time ”

Federal and state protected freshwater mussels are also filter feeders and play a cr ucial role in maintaining water quality A diverse population of native mussels suggests clean, unpolluted water with stable sediment conditions Mussels are highly sensitive to changes in water chemistr y, such as excess nutrients, pollutants or sedimentation A drop in mussel populations of ten signals pollution, poor water quality or invasive species disr upting their environment

Studtmann, who also works with bioindicators such as marcrointrover ts, mussels and fish, said, “ There's a pretty strong cor relation on whatever macroinver tebrates you find in the water will indicate how good, how well the lake is doing We sample for them in the summer time, between June and September, and we have a lot of data that shows that the lake is doing really well We have a standardized process to take them back to the office and we identif y them Then r un stats on what we found to tell us how big a diversity there is, what species are found or not and based on what we can find we can get a good indication of how that aquatic system is doing ”

She noted one of their biggest threats is to native mussels are the invasive zebra and quagga mussels “Freshwater mussels are definitely something we want and all freshwater mussels in Michigan are federally protected You can’t har vest them and you are not supposed to move them If you find them, Fish and Wildlife Ser vice really like to know about it as well as the DNR ”

When looking for indicators, don’t forget mudpuppies which are aquatic salamanders that live in clean, oxygen-rich waters A healthy population of mudpuppies indicates that the lake is free from significant pollutants, with plenty of submerged str uctures like rocks and logs where they can live A decline in mudpuppy numbers may suggest poor water quality, habitat loss or pollution War wick also studies mudpuppies in her MSU education work

“ They are such an unusual creature given how funny they look Kind of like an eel type creature but they're definitely affected by pollutants so it is a good indicator species if you're having them,” War wick said

“ They will eat snails and snails can spread swimmer's itch,” she said “ They'll eat any small aquatic animal, crayfish, snails, insect lar vae They're another good indicator because they're there all the time as a lar val stage and as an adult stage They are pretty common in good quality habitats ”

Tur tle species that ser ve as indicators in Michigan include the spiny sof t-shell tur tle, snapping tur tles and the most common painted tur tles Each one in a water body is a good sign of a healthy environment

“ The sof t-shell tur tle is sensitive to pollution If you're seeing sof t-shell tur tles around, that's a good sign in ter ms of the condition of the water Snapping tur tles are also fairly common, ” War wick explained

But painted tur tles are more common and are “somewhat tolerant of pollution Just by finding painted tur tles, it's not necessarily super indicative of a healthy water system They're a little more of a trash tur tle, I'd guess They'll live in suburban areas, urban areas a lot more readily than a lot of other species ”

A diverse and healthy aquatic plant community, including submerged plants, emergent plants (like cattails) and floating plants, is a good indicator of a balanced lake ecosystem Healthy plant life helps stabilize sediment, provides food and shelter for aquatic creatures and maintains oxygen levels An overgrowth of algae (eutrophication) or a sudden loss of plant life may indicate nutrient pollution, invasive species or changes in water temperature Excessive algae blooms or invasive plants like Eurasian water milfoil can disr upt the natural plant balance

In Har tsock’s work with inland lakes across the state, he sur veys quite a bit of lake water vegetation

“ We sample the aquatic plant communities with different goals in mind but basically, we do it to evaluate what is the baseline plant community in the lakes across the state What we find is some communities are really good with native communities and then some are not so good and it can be that either they're not so good from a standpoint of their there's a lot of invasive species that are dominant or the other hand is there they might not be ver y good because the lakes just can't suppor t plants anymore One of the reasons in Oakland County why a lot of water bodies there are degraded and you'll probably see this is it's the shoreline disturbance Ever yone in Oakland County wants to build a large home with a big grassy lawn and put up a sea wall and it's the loss of shoreline that is the problem with lake health for the bodies over there ”

The presence of invasive species such as zebra

mussels, Eurasian water milfoil and invasive fish can disr upt the lake's natural balance and affect many of these indicators Pollution from urban r unoff, agricultural r unoff or sewage can cause water quality issues, impacting species like frogs, toads and mussels Habitat destr uction due to shoreline development or recreational activity (boating, fishing, etc ) can har m populations of otters, frogs and aquatic plants

A healthy lake in Oakland County would suppor t a diverse range of species, each contributing to the overall ecosystem health Monitoring these natural indicators can provide valuable insights into the lake's environmental quality and help detect potential issues before they become severe

Melissa Sano, senior herpetologist, wetland ecologist and owner of Herpetological Resource and Management (HRM) relies on her biology, geography and environmental studies degree, master ’ s in environmental science and biology and several cer tifications to help educate the public about natural indicators of a healthy lake environment

“Amphibians and reptiles (collectively regionally known as herpetofauna) are critical bioindicators of environmental health,” Sano explained “ Their ecological impor tance includes occupying mid-level positions in food webs as both predator and prey Their presence and abundance are valuable tools for accessing overall ecosystem health And their presence and abundance are valuable tools for accessing overall ecosystem health ”

She noted that Herpetofauna “ are among the most imperiled ver tebrates globally, making their protection and habitat conser vation increasingly impor tant ”

The HRM’s mission is to minimize environmental impacts and to mitigate damages while providing scientifically suppor ted recommendations for natural resource management such as ecosystem mapping and habitat assessment, environmental review and desktop analysis, Endangered Species Act consultation, wildlife clearance/rescue relocation, inventories monitoring, conser vation and restoration, Herpathon (citizen science initiatives), Herpetological ser vices, headstar ting and repatriation and training and stewardship HRM has helped inventor y, monitor, conser ve and manage rare Michigan species, including Blanchard’s Cricket Frogs, Pickerel Frogs, Fowler ’ s Toads, Small-mouthed Salamanders, Spotted Tur tles, Blanding’s Tur tles, Wood Tur tles, Easter n Box Tur tles, Easter n Massasauga Rattlesnakes, Butler ’ s Gar ter Snakes, Queen Snakes, and Easter n Fox Snakes

The state has fish stocking programs and other wildlife programs to help keep numbers up but for reptiles and amphibians, these programs are non-

existent HRM does help with headstar ting and reparation programs that help protect vulnerable life stages of species, increase juvenile sur vival rates by protecting eggs onsite, collecting eggs and release hatchlings, raise young for a period of time before release Headstar ting and reparation has been used to help tur tle populations

A healthy lake environment is actually more about prevention than maintenance or lake treatments Keeping pollutants out is the first step and the priority in lake health Sano noted that proper ty owners and anyone who enjoys spending time on Michigan water ways should “lear n about local wildlife and their habitats, reduce pollution in your area, suppor t conser vation groups, implement best management practices in your community and contribute to the Michigan Herp Atlas -- a collaborative par tnership involving private citizen scientists, consultants, nongover nmental organizations, municipal/county agencies, state agencies and federal agencies

Cleyo Har ris, a fisheries technician for the DNR Fisheries Division in the Lake Erie Management Unit, called upon a 2006 study regarding the effects of seawalls and other hard shoreline protection on lake’s ecosystems

“Once we get above 25 percent of a developed shoreline, pretty much ar mored, we star t to see habitat degradation and some impacts for the ecosystem as a whole We do know that it does have some impacts on early life histor y for some of our fish species Nor ther n pike need wetlands in vegetated areas for spawning And so when we have a lot more development, we have a lot less of that And sometimes there are scenarios where we can see that where a lake's ver y highly developed and there's really not a lot of good spawning areas for a species like Nor ther n pike So they don't persist in the lake Even though the rest of the lake environment is suitable for adults, we just don't get a lot of natural reproduction ”

With a master's degree in conser vation biology from Central Michigan University, Eric Calabro, inland lakes policy analyst at EGLE, has been teaching and preaching the benefits and best practices of shoreline development In the past centur y, development on lakes across the state has brought more tourists and lake proper ty owners to once pristine and undisturbed waters But development has put pressure on each ecosystem Sea walls and concrete and more substantial shore str uctures have disturbed the serenity of lakes but Calabro has been working on ways to create a compromise of sor ts for man and nature to co -exist on water bodies

“EGLE is huge, and there's many different aspects to lake management and lake water quality The program that I work in is our wetlands, lakes, and streams

program Our program implements the statutes on our water bodies around Michigan that regulate constr uction-based activities,” Calabro explained “Any kind of dredging, filling, str uctures on bottom land, in wetlands, lakes, streams, Great Lakes, floodplains –wherever land meets water around the state, our program does the per mitting and compliance for ”

Calabro works with the centralized unit in Lansing and is the inland lake statewide specialist

“A large par t of my job is providing suppor t to all of our nine districts around the state, and my job is providing suppor t to all of those district per mitting staff on inland lake issues,” he said

He noted there are three levels of per mits depending on the scope of work To deter mine what type of per mit is needed, a pre-application meeting can be made with EGLE to sor t it all out

“Before you even apply, fill out this shor t for m online and EGLE will come out to your site, talk with the homeowner directly and key out any potential problems,” Calabro explained “Any red flags that we see early on will hopefully save ever ybody time and money throughout the per mitting process I'd strongly recommend the pre-application meeting for anybody who's interested in some sor t of shoreline project ”

There are exempt projects such as seasonal docks for private, non-commercial use that doesn’t inter fere with lake traffic and water flow The general per mit and minor project categor y for expedited per mits “where if you can design your project to meet the criteria of the categor y, it's a lot cheaper and there's no public notice so it's a lot faster of a per mit and a lot of projects fall into this categor y ”

The third level – the individual per mit categor y– is mostly for larger projects that don’t fit the minor project categor y These include a 20-day public notice period and a $500 per mit fee

Calabro notes that EGLE’s main priority is to work with proper ty owners to find a balance of what they want to do with their proper ty and what will not har m the lake, wetland or water body

“Proper ty owners can't just do what they want because there is a whole ecosystem we've got to pay attention to and look af ter,” he said “ We're not wanting to stop development or stop people from doing what they want but we need to look at if somebody wants shoreline protection, for example, and say they want a seawall we ask questions such as, ‘how about you move more towards a nature-based approach that would be healthier for a lake opposed to this ver tical wall?’”

The pre-application process helps deter mine from both sides what options are available and what options haven’t been thought about that can improve the proper ty from both sides of the ecological spectr um The negative impacts of some tried and tr ue methods have been found to do more har m than good

With ver tical sea walls reflecting wave energy, there is more erosion and degrading water quality that also doesn’t provide habitat More eco -friendly designs and creations are available that will provide a natural compromise for man and nature

“ You could achieve that same project purpose of protecting your shoreline and protecting your proper ty using a sof ter approach, using native plants and biodegradable materials,” Calabro said “ There's been a lot of demonstrated impacts statewide on the negative effects hardened shorelines have had across the state And we know that there's less impactful alter natives available ”

EGLE has created demonstration projects over the past two decades that show a sof ter approach can be effective in protecting shorelines and improving habitats – thus leading to a healthier lake Statewide shoreline development trends and technologies now have nature-based solutions being applied in higher energy environments much more successfully due to the designs evolving over time, according to Calabro

Before development came to lakes and other water bodies, there was plenty of natural shoreline protection from stor m r un- off and pollution but as more homes, businesses and buildings sur rounded lakes, that protection weakened and lakes suffered With more pollution including excess phosphorous r un off from yards and businesses, this caused good and bad algae and other aquatic plants to grow creating toxic problems and actually depleting oxygen and killing off those indicators that show a healthy lake or water body

“ These types of changes can impact the functions and values of the lake They can impact water quality They can impact habitat They can impact fisheries What we tr y to stress to folks is that it's really impor tant to avoid and minimize impacts at the proper ty scale,” Calabro said “All these homes didn't go in at once It happened little by little by little over the last 80 some years And it's also impor tant to think cumulatively while designing projects ”

He also noted the “ on more developed lakes like we see in Oakland County with sea walls that have been historically there for decades before our statutes have even gone into place And folks like to have a clean lakefront with grass right to the water ’ s edge

Of tentimes they clear out all the in-lake vegetation They remove woody str ucture and any other hazards or perceived hazards that, may be on their lakefront to ‘clean it up ’ But these different habitat features, shoreline vegetation, the vegetated buffer zone above the water's edge, woody str uctures – they're all valuable in ter ms of providing habitat for the animals that live there and the fish They also are intercepting any sediment or nutrient r unoff that may enter the lake This is one of the things that we really tr y and encourage folks to do Maintain a vegetated uncut buffer zone

above the water's edge to tr y and maintain the water's edge to provide water quality and habitat benefits ”

There's different ways of protecting a shoreline that don't involve concrete or steel or involve hardening of a shoreline Calabro, in his educational program, shows attendees some basic designs using a coconut fiber log that protects the toe of a slope while allowing native plants to grow and establish While the log naturally disintegrates, more shoreline is actually created by the plants providing more natural habitat and creating a natural bar rier to keep har mful r un off from entering the lake

“For a higher energy environment for bigger lakes that have wake boats and other recreational vehicles such as the developed lakes around Oakland County, we need a little beefier protection than just the core log,” he said “ We constr uct a lower slow revetment but we make a few changes to that revetment Typical revetments have geotextile fabric under neath and if they're going to be constr ucted in a way to inhibit the flow of the water and plant growth But we tr y to encourage folks to constr uct these in a way to promote plant growth because what will end up happening is you get the plants creeping out across it as waves wash in, it car ries in sediment that infiltrate into these rock spaces And af ter seven to 10 years, you won't even know that there was a rock revetment here at all It gets sedimented in and then you ’ ve gained proper ty because the plants ended up being out onto the proper ty and shoreline was restored ”

Elgin also offered, “ When landscaping your proper ty, have a balanced approach where you are maintaining aesthetics, maintaining recreational access but you're also balancing that with more of a functional landscape where you maintain some trees and shr ubs and other plants that maintain habitat, that also slow down erosion, and maybe even nutrient inputs Utilize native Michigan plants If you are a low proper ty and your proper ty typically is wet, you want species that can grow in more moist, wet conditions, whereas let's say you're on a bluff and it's much more dr y, you could grow plants that can handle more dr y conditions ”

Calabro noted that EGLE and other organizations work with the Michigan Natural Shoreline Par tnership to educate and offer ideas and solutions Membership in the MNSP includes universities, private companies, state agencies and a variety of proper ty owners

The soundtrack of a healthy lake – croaking bullfrogs and buzzing dragonflies, along with a backdrop of clear, cold water brimming with tasty fish – sur rounded by a protected shoreline that combines man made amenities blended with Mother Nature’s vegetation

CANADA GEESE NEW PROGRAM ALLOWS FOR THE CAPTURE AND EUTHANASIA

BY MICHAEL SCOTT

A new statewide program that allows for the capture and euthanasia of Canada geese for qualified applicants has animal rights advocates questioning The Michigan Depar tment of Natural Resources (DNR) while giving proper ty owners additional routes for the removal of nuisance geese.

The new Canada goose program went into effect Januar y 1 in Michigan, giving private landowners, both residential and commercial, expanded options to address goose nuisance issues – notably the ability to have Canada geese killed rather than relocated. Established as a one-year pilot program, it also establishes a per mit process that would lead to some Canadian geese being killed by suffocation through the use of carbon dioxide

The population of the once nearly extinct giant Canada goose has exploded over the past decade

According to an August 2024 memo

released by the Michigan DNR, Canada goose population estimates in the state have peaked over 300,000 in recent years, well above the state’s intended population goal between 175,000 and 225,000

The Michigan Water Stewardship Program, a grant-funded offshoot of the Michigan’s Groundwater/Freshwater fund, suppor ted by fees on pesticides and fer tilizers, estimated a statewide population of roughly 280,000 in Febr uar y The result has been a growing nuisance issue in areas around natural and manmade bodies of water throughout the state, including in Oakland County.

Statewide population is historically managed through a hunting season str ucture While that remains tr ue today, the ability of Canada geese to adapt to their sur roundings, especially in urban and suburban areas, can lead to both health and nuisance issues.

“Managing human-goose conflicts in urban and suburban areas has become increasingly challenging because of municipal development and ordinances that limit hunting, reduced human tolerance of geese, and increased disease concer ns, ” the DNR’s August 2024 memo stated That memo also introduced the details of the cur rent Canada goose program

In many ways effor ts to protect Canada geese, par ticularly the state’s wildlife management programs, are par tially responsible for its growing population, said Michigan DNR Acting Wildlife Specialist Kaitlyn Bar nes

But the inherent adaptability of Canada geese also plays a factor That adaptability is primarily why the DNR’s round up and relocation program failed to stem population growth over the last few years That program was designed to collect nuisance Canada geese and transpor t them to less populated areas in Michigan It did not allow for any type of euthanasia, except in special circumstances

The DNR uses a nest and egg destr uction process and gassing the geese through American Veterinar y Medical Association approved euthanasia methods, such as through carbon dioxide chambers, although Bar nes said that method will be avoided when possible

Y“Using a lethal approach should never be the first option,” Bar nes said “(The relocation effor t) was something we did for many years, and it just wasn’t as effective in controlling the population It did a great job of continuing to protect (Canada) geese But it was also a ver y substantial and costly effor t ” et euthanasia should never be considered a viable options, said Commerce Township resident Karen Stamper, who volunteers with the nonprofit animal protection advocacy organization In Defense of Animals in Califor nia, Stamper said she believes that the DNR doesn’t have the manpower to properly manage a program that includes such drastic measures

“I don’t understand why we go straight from relocation to killing them,” said Stamper, the deputy treasurer for Commerce Township

She questions the DNR’s estimate of 300,000 Canada geese in the state Her research, including the filing of “countless” FOIA requests, suggests that the DNR doesn’t have a reliable method of counting the state’s population

“I’ve heard they fly a plane across the state over a week with two people with binoculars,” Stamper said “I’ve heard they just double the number of (Canada) geese they can tell exist I don’t tr ust what they ’ re saying ”

The DNR had been relocating around 10,000 geese a year from an average of 200 sites prior to 2022, Bar nes said But that effor t slowed considerably in recent years Canada geese can car r y the highly pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) and other strains of influenza

Although the personal threat of human health issues is low with HPAI, the fact that Canada geese can be car riers is considered a health concer n HPAI became prevalent Michigan in 2022, causing the DNR to cancel its round up and relocation effor ts since those effor ts could spread the vir us to other par ts of the state

A“Round up effor ts af ter 2022 was only conducted in response to human health and safety situations,” Bar nes said, which amounted to fewer than 10 sites “ We were r unning out of places to relocate geese, and it was no longer an effective solution to control their numbers,” she added vian flu is highly contagious and spreads through the saliva, mucus, and feces of infected birds, said Jen Owen, associate professor and associate chair at Michigan State University ’ s Depar tment of Fisheries and Wildlife Owen agrees that direct infection of humans from Canadian geese is extremely rare, but Avian flu can spread in other ways

Plus, Canadian geese that car r y the Avian flu may not show many, if any, symptoms, Owen said They can have tremors or show other serious physical signs of flu infection that of ten means the vir us has spread to their brains, regularly leading to death But many geese show no outward issues There’s no danger to humans for stepping in goose droppings, but it can be hard to avoid in concentrated areas

“Let’s face it, they poop ever ywhere,” Owen said with a laugh

The volume of Canada geese feces might be the biggest reason for nuisance complaints, said Chris Compton, owner of Goose Busters Compton’s Oakland county-based company was founded in 1997 to exclusively provide Canada geese nuisance ser vices He estimates the average Canada goose is responsible for as much as three to four pounds of feces daily

Canada geese droppings are a type of nutrient, and like other nutrients, they can cause issues if they enter the water supply or water bodies Alan Steinman, a researcher at the Rober t B Annis Water Resources Institute at Grand Valley State University, says that bird manure typically contains around four percent nitrogen and one to two percent phosphor us, although he doesn’t have specific data for Canada geese

Given the volume of Canada goose droppings, the nutrients could stimulate the growth of algal blooms that may or may not be toxic in nature Algal blooms can for m in lakes, reser voirs, rivers, ponds, bays and coastal waters The toxins they produce can be har mful to human health and aquatic life, according to the U S Environmental Protection Agency

“ We don’t know if nutrients coming out of goose manure are more har mful than any other type of nutrient or dropping but there could be an effect there,” Steinman said “If we blame geese and their manure for (algal bloom) issues, it might be more because of the

volume of their droppings rather than the level of nutrients they contain Those (algal) blooms can also have an adverse effect on home values nearby ”

The for mation of an algal bloom doesn’t insure that it is toxic in nature, and Steinman said that it is unclear to researchers why some of toxic and others aren’t

That’s par t of the issue that Stamper said she has, based on her research, the state has little data to suppor t the ides that Canada geese are a health concer n for humans

“I just see (references to Avian flu) as an excuse to get rid of the Canada geese that people don’t want,” she said “I don’t see the proof and the data And believe me I’ve tried to find it ”

The Michigan Water Stewardship Program has published repor ts indicating that high levels of phosphor us and nitrogen are nor mally found within goose feces The nutrients within their droppings, combined with other nutrients, can deplete oxygen for fish and other aquatic life, the stewardship program repor ted Canada geese can also produce bacteria and parasites that can har m animals above ground

Canada geese droppings can also contain pathogens like vir uses and E coli To Stamper ’ s point, Steinman isn’t aware of scientific data that concludes how pathogenically har mful goose droppings may or may not be to humans or aquatic life He downplays the health threat to animals, including dogs who might eat Canda goose droppings, but illnesses are possible, and dog owners should discourage their pets from eating the feces

“Ever y (species) is different,” Steinman said “For example, racoons have been shown to be a significant source of E coli in water bodies from their own droppings ”

Algal blooms are a significant issue in Michigan lakes Steinman said that decomposing algae sinks to the bottom of a water body, releasing nutrients and potent toxins into the water and sur rounding ecosystem, which can kill other organisms that drink the water, Steinman said The addition of nutrients, such as Canda geese droppings, could limit the availability of phosphor us, which can prevent excessive algae growth

However, Steinman adds that there are multiple types of nutrients that could be feeding algal bloom growth He believes that more studies are needed to help deter mine the direct impact of goose waste on water quality

“ We don’t have a great feel for what the impact is on goose (dropping) on phosphor us and the (growth) of these algal blooms,” Steinman said “It causes a lot of uncer tainty But chances are it doesn’t help ”

Contrar y to some assumptions, Steinman said he doesn’t believe goose droppings have an adverse impact on aquatic life in the lakes, ponds, rivers and

streams He said fine dropping par ticles that essentially function as dust could get into the air, but that natural air dilution would limit or eliminate any impact on humans, even around poultr y bar ns

S“ The state has done a good job helping poultr y far mers in creating a clean, cage-free environment,” Steiman said Canada geese are simply an issue because of their high population numbers more than anything Other birds, such as mallards, don’t cause the same level of nuisance issues “It’s a perception more than anything,” he said ecuring a per mit for the new Canada goose program involves multiple steps, according to Bar nes of th DNR First, interested applicants should connect with a wildlife biologist at a local Michigan DNR office to discuss their Canada goose nuisance issue The depar tment will review alter native options with residents that could minimize nuisance before euthanasia is considered

Options include bar rier fencing, the use of manmade scare devices such as predator decoys, letting one or more dogs r un free to scare off the geese, and other habitat modifications Stamper said many homeowners and commercial landowners either do not realize all the potential alter native options available that can temporar y and consistently eliminate the nuisance issue with Canada geese

For example, she’s lear ned that a co -worker has used a small laser pointer at the Canada geese in her yard to chase them away for a week or more at a time When they ’ ve retur n, her neighbor has used the laser pointer effectively to rid her proper ty of the geese for another week or more

“I don’t know what to tell people who don’t want to take the time to find a deter rent without looking to (euthanize) these birds,” Stamper said “People don’t want to wait more than a week or two to find out what works There are options on there You just need to do some research and figure out what works ”

Before receiving approval, a per mit applicant must establish that Canada geese are causing a significant nuisance issue Lakefront associations must have the approval of 70 percent of its members to qualif y Other public spaces such as parks require approval from the local municipal body, such as a city council or township board Private proper ty owners also must give approval for the Canada Goose Program to be car ried out on their land

Eligibility for the capture and euthanasia per mits requires that an applicant would have received a per mit and par ticipated in Canada goose nest and egg destr uction in the cur rent year In addition, a minimum of 100 birds are required to be at the site at the time of per mit application, or a human health and safety situation must exist

A recent beach or public water access closure as a result of E coli qualifies as such a human health and

safety example Common human health and safety issues also include the nearby presence of people with compromised health or mobility issues, broad-scale, health-related concer ns that can’t be prevented such as contamination in water treatment plans or fire suppression devices, or public parks that have a histor y of rounding up a minimum of 500 Canada geese since 2017

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Ser vices’ Wildlife Ser vies team, (USDA-APHIS Wildlife Ser vices) conducts the site visit to confir m it meets the criteria before approving capture and euthanasia under program guidelines USDA-APHIS Wildlife Ser vices car ries out the work once the need for population control is confir med

A non-refundable fee of $200 is required for all applicants, or $100 for single-family residents Once the application process is completed and a per mit is issued, the applicants cover all costs associated with the goose roundup and culling if their per mit is approved, which range from hundreds to thousands of dollars, Bar nes said Approved sites that meet the criteria for capture and euthanasia will require a cooperative ser vice agreement with USDA-APHIS Wildlife Ser vices to car r y out the capture and euthanasia activities

It’s unknown how long it may take the average applicant to find out if they qualif y for the per mit, given the program pilot’s status

“ The requirements are based on the type of ownership of the proper ty,” Bar nes said “ We’ll see how many applications we get That will impact the length of time ”

USDA-APHIS Wildlife Ser vices and Michigan DNR has modeled the Canada Goose Program af ter similar processes instituted by other states Residents may hire private companies and contractors to address aggressive geese on a case-by-case basis, however they will not be per mitted to conduct capture and euthanasia

The pilot program includes a limited number of sites per mitted for capture and euthanasia to assess costs, logistics, landowner interest, and capacity, Bar nes said Her expectation is that a per manent program would be in place for 2026

Yet a per mit approval doesn’t guarantee that capture and euthanasia will occur this year, depending on capacity and depar tmental funding, Bar nes said Given this is a pilot program, there are many uncer tainties sur rounding program demand, and the time needed to execute it Additionally, the uncer tainty of the federal funding of many environmental programs under the administration of President Donald Tr ump could limit the number of per mits that are completed, now or in the future

“ There may be some applications that have a higher

priority because of the human health threat based on) the volume of geese on the proper ty,” Bar nes said “ We’re going to have to see how this all works out The goal of the program is not to get rid of the geese in their entirety But there’s a cer tain level of tolerance that is (built in) to this process, especially for lake residents ”

While nuisance and public health concer ns are among the frequently referenced challenges posed by Canada geese, they can cause safety issues as well The state has allowed nest and egg destr uction activities to be conducted at airpor ts over the years Airpor ts of ten face Canada geese overcrowding because their environments allow the specific thrive, Owen said Airpor ts offer open water sources, plentiful grassy strips and are absent of any natural predators to Canada geese

A flock of Canada geese can be a hazard on the ground or in the air for depar ting or ar riving planes In fact, the highly publicized landing of U S Air ways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River in New York City in Januar y 2009 was necessitated because a flock of Canada geese took out both engines just af ter takeoff from LaGuardia Airpor t

“ They are hard to get rid of if you don’t take active steps (to control the population),” Owen says “ They go where they want to go and aren’t bothered by the noise or (activity of airplanes) It’s really the per fect environment for them ”

Airpor ts have been utilizing an egg and nest destr uction system as a result , which Owen calls an effective process for controlling the geese population in a localized area The new Canada geese program also allows egg and nest destr uction as an option for per mit holders

“ The tricky par t can be both locating the eggs and then getting to them without being aggressively pursued by their mother, Owen said

One additional benefit of the egg and nest destr uction option is that it allows the geese to molt migrate The process of molting happens for Canada geese in the summer when they shed all their flight feathers for new ones to grow in During the molting period, the geese are unable to fly Their new flight feathers generally take about a month to grow back, which of ten occurs around early August

Stamper, as an opponent of the new program, said she believes the process of securing a per mit can be manipulated because DNR should have stricter regulations approving applicant petitions for new program per mits She contends that email communications do not provide the level of cer tainty of a homeowner ’ s approval for the euthanasia of birds through the new program

“ These (homeowners association) boards should have to go door to door and collect the signatures If

Deer Lake

Deer Lake, a 137-acre all- sports lake in Independence Township, Oakland County, is a key feature of the Clinton River system. Reaching 63 feet deep, it's the first major lake the river flows through in the township, entering from the north below I-75 and exiting south into Middle Lake (23 acres), Dollar Lake, and Greens Lake. It also connects to 5-acre Dark Lake on its northeast side.

© Aerial Graphics

they believe that what they are doing is so great, then they should have to face their neighbors and get their signatures, instead of taking the sneaky, cowardly way through email,” Stamper said She contends the DNR does not verif y petition signatures or confir m that a 70 percent threshold is met

Stamper said that Commerce Township offered to verif y signatures from its residents applying for a Canada goose program per mit, but that the DNR denied its request

“If they do not have the manpower, they should not be giving out per mits to gas the geese or (other birds),” Stamper said

It’s not the responsibility of the DNR to validate petition signatures, according to Bar nes, who said she believes it is the responsibility of the petitioner or applicant to clearly state what they are petitioning to do, and to collect valid signatures

A“If it were brought to our attention that a petition was not valid, of course we would address that prior to issuing a per mit,” she said pplicants who make a false statement on the application or per mit for m or fail to comply with the provisions of their per mit is in violation of state law Penalties could include revocation of their per mit, denial of future per mits, and criminal penalties, Bar nes added

While the Canada Goose Program essentially removes birds from specific locations, it is not designed to control the Canada goose population at large, she added Bar nes stressed that the purpose of the pilot program is to provide residents and businesses with more options to limit possible human health and safety conditions

Michigan has generally created a hunting policy that is the least restrictive allowed by the U S Fish and Wildlife Ser vice That policy covers bag limits, which references the number of Canada geese that a licensed hunter is allowed to kill in one day during approved seasons in Michigan

“ That’s the tool we want to lean on to help control the (Canada) geese population,” Bar nes said “ We want our hunters to help control the population where local ordinances allow The intent of the capture and euthanasia program is really to help deal with nuisance geese in areas where hunting is not an option,” she added “ This is most common in heavily populated or commercialized areas ”

The state has three different hunting management zones for nor ther n, central and souther n counties The hunting season for each zone can var y but generally allows for the hunting of Canada geese for much of September through December The souther n region may include a few shor ter seasons between Christmas and early Januar y and in late Januar y and early Febr uar y as well, Bar nes said As the population of Canada geese has increased, hunter bag limits have

recently been as high as five per day during approved seasons

The Michigan DNR though still must follow guidelines from the U S Fish and Wildlife Ser vice That framework can var y from year to year “ We can’t allow (higher bag limits) than what the federal framework calls for,” Bar nes said

The goal is for the capture and euthanasia operational program to be in place for 2026, she added “ We have modeled the program af ter successful programs in other states, but there is the possibility that changes to the program could occur depending on what we lear n this year I don’t have any anticipated changes in mind, but we are hoping to use the pilot year to gauge and assess costs, logistics, landowner interest, and capacity ”

In ter ms of the state’s cur rent program, the gassing of Canada geese is a process Stamper calls “inhumane” saying that she has watched videos of geese being killed in this manner She doesn’t like the process of egg and nest destr uction either, but adds it is preferable since it doesn’t kill living geese

Even the old capture and relocation program had an adverse impact on the geese, Stamper said Not only were they moved to an area where they are more likely to be killed by hunters, but the process separates geese families, causing them stress Stamper said her research has indicated that tr ying to alter the flocks of migrator y birds like Canada geese can har m their migrator y patter ns

“ These geese mate for life Plus, they are a native bird,” Stamper said “ Why would we want to mess with that?”

Prior to ending relocation of Canada geese in 2022 due to HPAI, the DNR conducted round up and relocation at an average of 30-40 lakes per year in Oakland County In recent years, the depar tment issued roughly 100 nest and egg destr uction per mits on lakes in Oakland County, Bar nes said

Besides airpor ts, the environment in southeaster n Michigan is ideal for Canada geese because of the abundance of water and temperate conditions, Owen said Humans also create ideal environments by creating residential or commercial water features and maintaining finely manicured grass Geese are attracted to unfrozen bodies of water and exposed grasses, two requirements for their easy feeding They especially thrive in many suburban areas near water, such as golf courses and beaches

As climate change has evolved, states like Michigan and Ohio in the upper Midwest provide the type of temperate environment with less snow cover that appeal to the species, Owen said Less snow cover in the winter has allowed Canada geese to find food over a larger par t of the calendar year So, while Canada geese generally star t to appear in the late winter and

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early spring af ter the ice melts, many may not fly fur ther south than Indiana or Ohio each winter

Additionally, Canada geese have few natural predators outside of coyotes to help control the population naturally, Owen said Although their meat can be consumed by humans, they aren’t a common food source

Most subspecies of Canada geese are migrator y, taking a similar flight path if heading south for the winter However, some remain in, or ver y close to their prefer red summer destination in Michigan year-round, Owen said These Canada geese are larger and can better handle the cold weather months, especially as data indicates winters are war ming, she added Some exper ts refer to them as resident geese

The fact that resident Canada geese stay in or ver y close to Michigan has evolved over the years as well “As (ear th) has gotten war mer, and thus our winters war mer, and the (Canada) geese population has grown, we get more resident (birds),” Owen said “ There are different subspecies of geese that have slight differences including whether they migrate

“ They do well in this area, ” Owen added “ There aren’t many threats that they need to wor r y about (Mothers) are ver y protective of their children if the they sense any potential threat which can help ”

That level of protection can tur n aggressive at times, against other animals and humans, Owen said, a fact many residents who have come across Canada geese may well know While Canada geese rarely attack humans or har m them physically, their aggressive nature can cause distress to people not expecting it

CHowever, Canada geese generally aren’t aggressive toward humans unless mothers feel their babies or a nest is threatened, said Chris Compton, owner of Goose Busters anada geese won’t actively attack humans but may threaten them verbally and through bodily actions If they sense extreme danger, Canada geese will fly away, or mothers will gather their young children who are unable to fly and find the neatest body of water for safety, Compton said

Even if they aren’t threatened, Canada geese are smar t The state’s longstanding policy of relocation also failed because af ter relocation or getting scared away, they frequently retur n to the exact same location where they were removed from in the first place, Owen said

“(Canadian geese) naturally have an incredible sense of direction and knowing how to get back to somewhere they ’ ve been,” Bar nes said “ You could relocate them to a new location in another par t of the state and they would be just as likely to retur n ”

Compton agreed but said that Canada geese of ten retur n to the specific location where they fledged or first

lear ned to fly That is even more common than the geese retur ning to the place where they were bor n, he added “ We’ll scare them away for clients and a few days later they might just come back unless you put other (strategies) in place like bar rier fencing,” Compton said They ’ re ver y aware of where they ’ ve been and feel comfor table in those areas ”

Goose Busters is one of the fir ms that the DNR used to suppor t its Canada geese round up and relocation needs before 2025, and Compton said his company handled a majority of those statewide needs Most of his client requests today involve populations of Canada geese that range from 10 to 30 Goose Busters is not involved in any euthanasia activities allowed by the state’s pilot program

Compton of ten uses border collies to help scatter the Canada geese naturally for the clients he does have He estimates that Goose Busters may visit 300 locations daily during “peak Canada geese ” season in the summer to help manage a population issue Perhaps 65 percent of his business is from commercial clients

Despite the overpopulation of Canada geese, killing or even physically har ming them remains a federal offense based on mandates laid out in the Migrator y Bird Treaty Act of 2023, Bar nes said Anyone found guilty of such an offense could be prosecuted at the federal level, but the extent of penalties is largely up to the ar resting officer(s) and the cour t that would hand down a penalty The DNR does not have any ar resting powers, so local law enforcement agencies are responsible for repor ting a crime

Shor t of imprisonment, penalties for violating the Migrator y Bird Treaty Act and a cor responding Class B misdemeanor include a fine of up to $15,000, a maximum of six months jail time, or both, according to the U S Fish and Wildlife Ser vice

Compton believes that the extensive process required by the DNR for capture and euthanasia of Canada geese could cause some residents to take matters into their own hands, despite the potential for prosecution, resulting in safety hazards Federal law also prevents humans from touching or har ming Canada geese physically unless special approval is granted Other birds such as sand hill cranes, ducks and swans are also protected under the Migrator y Bird Treaty Act

“(The high population) is a problem and you just wonder how much it will affect people’s decisions on how to handle it,” Compton said “ We wouldn’t be so busy if they weren’t an issue,” Compton said “ You just hope people make smar t decisions and let the exper ts handle it ”

TLEAD FALLOUT

THERE’S MORE THAN AIR AT OAKLAND’S

BY STACY GITTLEMAN

he United States banned leaded gasoline beginning with cars made in 1975 During this time, the nascent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which had just been founded in 1970 under the Clean Air Act, r uled that leaded fuel posed health hazards for humans, especially in brain development of fetuses, infants and young children The last gallon of leaded gasoline was pumped into the last car by Januar y 1, 1996 As a result, there was a dramatic decrease in ambient lead levels nationwide

Still, there remains a significant sector in the transpor tation industr y that continues to use leaded fuel And to find the culprits of the last emitters of leaded gasoline, all you have to do is look up

Flying single piston engine airplanes (PEA), also known as general aircraf t, is a popular hobby for flying enthusiasts Not only that, but according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), smaller planes are used for critical purposes, including business and personal travel, instr uctional flying, aerial sur veys,

JUST PLANES IN THE THREE AIRPORTS

agriculture, firefighting, law enforcement, medical emergencies and express freight

The state’s busiest general aviation airpor t, and the 12th busiest airpor t of its kind in the world, is the Oakland County Inter national Airpor t (OCIA) located on M-59 (Highland Road) in Water ford Township, resting on the shores of Pontiac Lake and immediately south of Williams Lake On average, 120,000 takeoffs and landings occur at this county- owned and operated airpor t each year, with an average 390 flights per day as documented by the FAA in 2022 More than 150 corporations base their aircraf t at OCIA, many with several aircraf t According to county data, 658 aircraf t are based at the airpor t, including 325 single piston engine aircraf t, 95 multi-engine aircraf t and 18 helicopters

Oakland County owns and operates two other airpor ts – the Oakland/Troy Airpor t located between Maple Road and 14 Mile Road, between Coolidge Highway and Crooks Road, and the Oakland/ Southwest Airpor t on Pontiac Trail in New Hudson

According to research studies focused on the use of leaded gas in aviation, nationwide, there are 16 million people and three million children who live within a kilometer of the 19,000 airpor ts that ser vice the nation’s fleet of around 170,000 registered single piston aircraf t, or PEAs These small aircraf t comprise about 70 percent of the nation’s air fleet In 2011, these aircraf t consumed an estimated 225 million gallons of a high- octane fuel called avgas, according to a 2013 study, which found that emissions into the environment at that time were about one million pounds of lead each year The flow of lead from PEAs constitutes between half and two -thirds of remaining lead emissions in the United States, according to a 2008 EPA study

While this amount is small compared to the amount of leaded fuel that old gas guzzlers used in decades past, and ambient lead levels have dropped off precipitously in the last several decades, the impact is spatially concentrated near the thousands of smaller general aircraf t airpor ts and airstrips that dot the nation

Though there has been a push from environmental groups, researchers and public health officials to get the lead out of aviation fuel since the early 2000’s, as with other policies, regulations have not caught up with the mounting research Aviation gover nment authorities, organizations and pilots contend that until there is a safe fuel alter native that will not cause a risk of engine failure while in flight, the general aviation fleet continues to power itself with high- octane leaded fuel Though the EPA, along with the Federal Aviation Agency, have pledged since 2010 to remove lead from avgas, an easy-to -produce, affordable and safe fuel that can be used across a range of PEAs has yet to come on the market

Unlike the countr y ’ s fleet – 6,000 of them – of larger commercial jets, which use kerosene-based jet fuel, PEAs rely on a fuel for mulated with Tetraethyl lead It is added to avgas to increase octane and thereby prevent “knock,” or uncontrolled fuel detonation, which can damage aircraf t engines and even cause sudden engine failure Many aircraf t engines have been designed to deliver a lot of power while weighing as little as possible, and they need high- octane fuels to do so Today the most widely available avgas is 100- octane low lead, or 100LL, which would be equivalent to 105octane automobile gasoline This grade of avgas satisfies the requirements of all piston engines using avgas, regardless of their per for mance level

Jet aircraf t and turbine-powered, propeller aircraf t do not use avgas, but instead use fuels ver y similar to kerosene, which does not contain a lead additive

Nilton Renno is professor of climate and space sciences and engineering at the University of Michigan When he is not busy with his award-winning

research with NASA working on better rover technologies to explore the sur face of Mars or instr ucting classes, he is a general aviation hobbyist pilot

Renno began flying at the age of 14, first honing his skills in unmotorized gliders and then sailplanes when he was a researcher at the University of Arizona He now clocks in a few flights per week in his singleengine Lear jet to destinations on the East Coast or Chicago out of Ann Arbor ’ s municipal airpor t

As a pilot, Renno explained there is yet to exist a safe enough fuel to fly general aviation piston aircraf t Though aircraf t designers are experimenting with new types of engines that do not require a high compression rate that demands leaded fuel, it is the older model engines – which have not changed much in the last 50 years – that have a better coolant high-compression rate and are more reliable in ter ms of safety

“As of yet, there is no safe solution for a replacement to leaded gasoline in general aviation,” Renno asser ted “ The reason this entire fleet of aircraf t cannot choose a different fuel is those engines are air coolant dependent and have a high compression ratio This means the temperature in the engine cylinder gets much hotter than a typical car Because of this, if there is not the proper balance between air and fuel – there is a risk of an explosion And premature explosions can cause great damage and danger to the engine So that’s the basic reason we still need the leaded fuel for these types of aircraf t ”

On the horizon, Renno said there are experimental aircraf t engine designs in the works from European companies such as Diamond which feature twin engines akin to an automobile But their heavier engines are a drawback for flight and the complexities of their engines make them less reliable than older engines

Renno said that the FAA has been working for over a decade in pursuit of alter native fuels that do not contain lead and is “getting close ” The challenge is in the price point and the economic practicality of developing such a specialized fuel that will only be used by a tiny slice of any of the countr y ’ s fleet of aircraf t

“ The problem is that fuel produced for general aircraf t makes up less than one percent of the fuel sold for all of aviation,” said Renno “So there really is no economic incentive for companies to develop such a fuel, unless they get help from the gover nment ”

The quest for an unleaded avgas that will deliver high, safe per for mance has been an arduous under taking Under the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the authority (in consultation with the FAA) to regulate emissions from aircraf t There have been talks in the works since 2010 to rid avgas of lead In 2013, the FAA announced the for mation of the Piston Aviation Fuel

Initiative, a joint effor t between the FAA and industr y par tners with the goal of for mulating an unleaded replacement fuel that could be used by the entire general aviation fleet by 2018 This has yet to happen and now the deadline has been pushed back to 2030 for a complete ban on leaded avgas

In 2012, this committee released a repor t that included five key recommendations to facilitate the development and deployment of a replacement unleaded aviation gasoline The plan called for bolstered research and development funding across gover nment and private industr y sectors to for mulate unleaded avgas by 2018

To meet this goal, the FAA in June of 2014 petitioned the world’s fuel producers to submit proposals to help the general aviation industr y make a transition to an unleaded fuel and received 17 submissions from six manufacturers Af ter an initial review from a technical evaluation committee, four were selected into a testing phase one, which began in 2015 Af ter another review from the technical evaluation committee, two fuels were selected from two companies – Swif t and Shell – to move onto phase two, which revealed issues during engine and aircraf t testing, and testing was halted in 2018

Swif t announced that it was suspending its work for this sector as Shell continues its research on this type of fuel for mulation

At this time, the FAA stated that it was seeking new authorization to use unleaded fuel in engine and aircraf t, which was granted in October 2018

Unfor tunately, the FAA stated that differences in the Piston Aviation Fuels Initiative fuels as compared to 100LL had issues and were evaluated for impacts and mitigations and testing completions again were projected for the end of 2021

A third initiative as par t of the 2012 FAA Moder nization and Refor m Act established an unleaded aviation gasoline research and development program with deliverable requirements The FAA has issued the Unleaded Avgas Transition (UAT) Action Plan that will integrate these three activities

The four th initiative involves private-sector companies that have applied for supplemental type cer tificates for specific piston engine and aircraf t models to operate with new, unleaded aviation gasoline for mulations The FAA stated it is actively working to suppor t all of these initiatives Now, the FAA, along with the EPA, stated that benchmark can be met by 2030 or sooner

In tandem with the quest for an alter native fuel has been the push on the EPA to strengthen restrictions on using leaded avgas from environmental and grassroots activists, from local gover nment officials who cannot make changes to federal law, to academic researchers whose work provides the evidence as why ending

leaded avgas is vital to the overall health and wellbeing of the general population

Much of the infor mation on avgas, the number of general aviation aircraf t and airpor ts, the histor y of attempts to regulate avgas and health implications of lead exposure for this repor t were sourced from research studies mentioned below

Lead contamination occurs through inhalation or ingestion of lead in food, water, soil, or dust par ticles The heavy metal primarily accumulates in the body ’ s blood, bones and sof t tissues and damages the ner vous system as well as the cardiovascular system, reproductive system, blood, kidneys and other organs Excessive lead exposure during early childhood is associated with lower IQ scores and neurological impair ment such as seizures, mental development and behavioral disorders Even at low doses, lead exposure may be a factor in high blood pressure and subsequent hear t disease

In 2006, the environmental group Friends of the Ear th petitioned the EPA to officially designate the danger coming from lead emissions from PEAs and better regulate the general aircraf t industr y While both the EPA and the Centers for Disease Control have historically concluded there is no known safe level of lead exposure, the EPA r uled against the petition, calling for more studies to substantiate the risks

In late 2008, the EPA established more stringent National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for lead concentrations, changing the standard from 1 5 micrograms per cubic meter that can be measured in the span of four months to 0 15 micrograms per cubic meter measured over a three-month rolling average

In conjunction with lowering the lead NAAQS, the EPA required monitors to be placed in areas near industrial facilities with estimated lead emissions of 0 50 tons or more per year, at airpor ts with estimated emissions of one ton or more per year, and on a case-bycase basis in locations where infor mation indicates a significant likelihood of exceeding the standard

This lead monitoring is conducted by state and local air quality agencies such as the Michigan Depar tment of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE)

In 2010, the EPA released a monitoring study from data collected in 2008 on 17 airpor ts that had estimated lead emissions greater than or equal to 0 50 tons per year and less than one ton per year, airpor ts that had greater frequency of operations from one or two r unways and ambient air within 150 meters of the locations of maximum emissions In this study, Oakland County Inter national Airpor t had a reading of 59 tons of annual lead emissions The airpor t with the most lead emissions, at 1 32 tons, was Phoenix Deer Valley in Maricopa County, Arizona

According to the latest data from 2020 in the EPA’s National Emissions Inventor y, OCIA released 262 tons of lead; Oakland/Troy Airpor t released 069 tons of lead;

and Oakland/Southwest Airpor t in New Hudson released 030 tons of lead

The EPA in 2020 released a study titled “Modelextrapolated Estimates of Airbor ne Lead Concentrations at U S Airpor ts ” It was developed to provide estimated ranges of lead concentrations that may occur at and near airpor ts where leaded avgas is used The study estimated air lead concentrations at the “maximum impact area ” around over 13,000 U S airpor ts and took into account airpor t-specific infor mation such as the kinds of aircraf t the airpor t hosted and the amount of takeoffs and landings that take place annually The study concluded that the cr ucial area studied lies just at the end of the r unway where pilots are required to conduct safety checks with engines r unning just prior to takeoff

“ This area is expected to have the highest concentration of lead in air, and in fact air monitoring has repor ted concentrations of lead above the lead NAAQS near some airpor ts,” explained the EPA’s Brann “ The model-extrapolated lead estimates in this study indicate that some additional U S airpor ts may have air lead concentrations above the NAAQS at this area of maximum impact The airpor ts in Oakland County were not among them The repor t also shows that estimated lead concentrations at airpor ts that may have concentrations above the NAAQS decrease to below the standard within 50 meters from the area of highest concentration ”

The EPA in 2020 also released a repor t titled, “National Analysis of the Populations Residing Near or Attending School Near U S Airpor ts ” The repor t was written with the intent to show the contrast of the larger footprints of the nation’s 500 larger, commercial airpor ts, whose landing strips are located at large distances from residential areas, and the nation’s some 20,000 smaller general aviation airpor ts, which may have setbacks of less than 50 meters from residential and recreational areas

The EPA and local air quality management district studies indicate that over a threemonth averaging time (the averaging time for the EPA National Ambient Air Quality Standard for Lead), the impact of aircraf t lead emissions at highly active airpor ts extends to approximately 500 m downwind from the r unway These same studies suggest that on individual days, the impact of aircraf t lead emissions can extend to almost/ 1,000m downwind from the r unway of a highly active airpor t

This study indicated that 5,179,000 people live in census blocks within 500 meters of these r unways, and 363,000 of them are children aged five and under On October 17, 2022, the EPA issued a proposed deter mination that lead emissions from cer tain aircraf t cause or contribute to lead air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health

and welfare under section 231(a) of the Clean Air Act

Late in 2022, the agency began collecting comments from the public on the proposed deter mination Included in these submissions was a Januar y 17, 2023 letter signed by public officials from Califor nia to Texas to Massachusetts In the letter, officials expressed both their concer n of the use of leaded gas from a public health and a child development standpoint and their fr ustration in the slow progress to find alter native, unleaded fuels, lax regulations at the federal level in not being able to do anything about, such as passing regulations, from a local level

“A rapid phaseout of lead from avgas is technologically feasible and can be done safely, without undue cost,” the letter stated “ The FAA has already cer tified a fully unleaded fuel that is safe for use by the entire piston-engine fleet (which at the time was only being used in Santa Clara County, Califor nia) Urgent action is fur ther compelled by the Biden-Har ris Administration’s and the EPA’s own commitments to advancing environmental justice, including the EPA’s recent strategy to reduce lead exposures in communities overburdened by pollution Moreover, rapidly banning leaded avgas is ethically necessar y In the decades that this endanger ment finding has been pending, millions of children nationwide have suffered ir reversible har m from unregulated leaded avgas We ask that the EPA finalize its proposed findings and fulfill its mandate by quickly eliminating this pollutant ”

It continued: “ Though the EPA presents leaded avgas primarily as a danger to public health, the societal costs of this lead exposure also do profound har m to the public welfare The Clean Air Act section 302(h) defines ‘welfare’ to include ‘effects on economic values and on personal comfor t and well-being, whether caused by transfor mation, conversion, or combination with other air pollutants ’”

The signatories of the letter contended that as local gover nment officials, they have little power to control, limit or restrict how many general aircraf t take off and land in their localities, nor do they have the authority to ban aircraf t using leaded avgas

One of the local signatories of the letter to the EPA was Washtenaw Prosecuting Attor ney Eli Shavit His county is home to five general aviation airpor ts including Ann Arbor Municipal Airpor t, which hosts more than 180 aircraf t and handles approximately 75,000 annual operations “ There is significant scientific evidence that leaded aircraf t gas can har m children,” said Shavit “ We have seen this through a number of other contexts, including use of leaded gas in the past, lead paint, and of course, we are all too familiar with the danger of lead ser vice lines in Michigan For that reason, we need the EPA to appropriately regulate avgas and take necessar y steps to protect our children ”

Shavit said that no lawsuits or cases have been brought to his office against smaller airpor ts that host single piston engine aircraf t, and he is unsure that if any case arose, it could even be tried at a local level

“I’m not entirely sure that we would have the legal authority to do something like that (on a county level) Air regulation is done primarily at the federal level by the FAA and it’s up to the EPA to regulate substances such as fuel The only thing we can do for public health, especially the health of young children with developing brains is advocacy, and that is what we are doing ”

According to EPA spokesperson Khanya Brann, the agency has been spending 2023 reviewing and considering all the comments that were provided to the EPA regarding its proposed finding

“In the fall of this year, we plan to issue the EPA’s final deter mination on this matter,” Brann stated “If EPA makes a final deter mination that aircraf t engine lead emissions cause or contribute to lead air pollution that may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare, the EPA would have a duty to propose and promulgate regulator y standards for lead emissions from aircraf t engines Should EPA make this final deter mination, the FAA would also become subject to a duty under their authority to prescribe standards for the composition or chemical or physical proper ties of aircraf t fuel to control or eliminate aircraf t lead emissions It is premature to speculate on the timing and content of any possible follow - on regulator y actions at this stage in the process ”

At the state level, in 2017, the Michigan Depar tment of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) repor ted that the largest emitter of airbor ne lead by sector were mobile vehicles, meaning single-engine piston aircraf t, at 10 shor t tons per year However, this measurement was at a cumulative, state-wide amount, and most smaller airpor ts ser vicing general aircraf t only have to repor t if their emissions exceed one metric ton per year According to EGLE Spokesperson Jeff Johnston, Michigan’s airpor ts do not exceed this level

According to EGLE’s 2022 Air Quality Division Monitoring Repor t, some of the counties with the highest emissions of lead – between 0002 - 0016 metric tons per square mile – are in southeast Michigan Still, they fall below the latest EPA NAAQS levels for lead

“EGLE conducts ambient air pollution monitoring through a network of 40 monitoring sites statewide for six air contaminants including lead,” said Johnston “As of 2022, the entire state of Michigan is in attainment for lead, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and par ticulate matter Lead levels are well within NAAQS standards at all locations One of the 40 monitoring sites is in Oak Park, about five miles from OCIA ” Johnston maintained that EGLE’s regulator y role is

over stationar y sources of air pollution – such as industrial sites like lead smelters, and not vehicles such as aircraf t

Though Cher yl Bush, the OCIA’s regulator y manager, could not be reached for comment, Oakland County spokesperson Bill Mullan maintained that airpor ts which ser vice general aviation aircraf t have few regulations when it comes to lead testing and monitoring

“Airpor ts who host these aircraf t are not required to test for lead emissions in the air, or in the blood of children who live and/or go to school around these airpor ts,” said Mullan “Sustainability and healthy residents are two of Oakland County ’ s strategic goals Eliminating the use of lead in aviation fuel is a necessity to ensure a healthier future for our residents and we suppor t the FAA’s goal to eliminate lead in aviation gas by 2030 We hope they can reach that goal even sooner Oakland County Inter national Airpor t is proud it will be par ticipating in EGLE’s PurpleAir monitoring program, which will be installed at the airpor t ”

The most recent study to offer laser focus on the threat faced by children exposed to avgas emissions was “Leaded Aviation Gasoline Exposure Risk and Child Blood Lead Levels,” published in the Januar y 2023 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) Researchers included Sammy Zahran, affiliated with the Depar tment of Economics and Depar tment of Epidemiology at Colorado State University, Christopher Keyes, affiliated with the Depar tment of Economics at Colorado State University and the Mountain Data Group of For t Collins, Colorado

This study analyzed over 14,000 blood lead samples of children aged five years and younger residing near the Reid-Hillview Airpor t in Santa Clara County, Califor nia between Januar y 2011 to December 2020 Researchers discovered that the closer the children lived to the airpor t, the higher their blood lead levels, especially those who live east and downwind from the airpor t Blood lead levels also increased depending on the amount of airpor t activity and the amount of avgas sold at the airpor t

Subsequently, af ter these samples were taken, Santa Clara County became the first and only place in the countr y which banned the sale of 100LL at Reid-Hillview and San Mar tin Airpor ts in Januar y 2022, according to General Aviation News Now, these airpor ts only sell 94- octane unleaded avgas and jet fuel and expect to be among the first in the nation to sell 100- octane unleaded avgas

The study published in PNAS referenced an earlier study, “ The Effect of Leaded Aviation Gasoline on Blood Lead in Children,” published in July 2017 in the Jour nal of Environmental Economics (Sammy Zahran, Colorado State University; Ter rence William Iverson, Colorado

State University; Shawn P McElmur ray, Wayne State University; Stephan Weiler, Colorado State University)

In this study, researchers poured through data from 400 census tracts in proximity to 448 airpor ts and airstrips in Michigan Of the 400 census tracts within two kilometers of an airpor t in Michigan, 41 percent also live within two kilometers of a lead-emitting industrial facility

The study collected data of the blood lead levels in children in the months prior and immediately following the September 11, 2001, ter rorist attacks through December 2009 in a confidentiality agreement with the Michigan Depar tment of Community Health, now known as the Michigan Depar tment of Health and Human Ser vices The data contains blood samples from 1,043,391 children under the Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention program At the time, that number was representational of one-sixteenth of all children under 72 months in Michigan

Upon their findings, researchers issued the following: “Children exposed to lead have diminished life chances Studies link lead exposure to adverse mental and behavioral outcomes, such as IQ loss, poor academic achievement, attention-deficit disorders, delinquency, and violence and to ir reversible physical health problems such as hyper tensive disorders, damage to renal and cardiovascular systems, and tooth decay ”

Blood lead level data are repor ted in units of micrograms per deciliter of blood (mg/dL)

Previously, Zahran, Keyes, and other researchers in a 2011 study analyzed blood lead levels as a variable of less than five micrograms per deciliter of blood and (greater than or equal to 5mg/dL 5 1, less than 5mg/dL 5 0, and greater than or equal to 10mg/dL 5 1, and less than 10mg/dL 5 0) They used these thresholds of greater than or equal to 5 and greater than or equal to10 mg/dL because they cor responded to the CDC ’ s present and past reference levels of elevated blood lead Children with blood lead levels exceeding these “levels of concer n ” required case management Secondly, they repor ted that 40 2 percent of children sampled have blood lead levels that are at or below test detection limits

Some of these children could have been living in older homes where lead paint is more present, which could have inflated estimated health risks from avgas exposure This coincidental problem was addressed by including neighborhood factors of housing age and location of industrial points within each census tract

In addition to factoring in possible additional lead exposure points, researchers also took into account other variables, such as volatility of wind patter ns and fluctuations in general aviation traffic that can also impact the blood test results, so much so that two children living the same distance from the same airpor t may have different blood lead levels depending on the

angle of the child’s home and school

In Michigan, populations of lower socioeconomic and educational status are more likely to reside within two kilometers of an airpor t compared to those who may live in neighborhoods at least 10 kilometers away

The researchers also accounted for concentrations of legacy lead in soils, lef t behind from decades of leaded automotive gasoline, which they said is an underappreciated source of lead exposure

Across all their testing and datasets, one thing remained consistent: the use of avgas was significantly linked to elevated blood lead levels in children living near airpor ts

The researchers recommended a reduction of flights in the summer months, when children are outside and may already be playing in fields already polluted with legacy lead dust Can there be a price tag put on the har m caused to children living, playing and lear ning within a flight path of aircraf t fueled by leaded avgas?

Researchers think so

The 2017 study stated: “ We find that reducing PEA traffic in Michigan from the 50th national percentile (407 monthly operations) to the 10th percentile (133 operations) would generate a social benefit, measured in ter ms of the net present value of future ear nings, of about $120 million This translates to a bit over $10 in exter nal social cost per gallon of avgas sold, which can be compared to a pump price of about $6 per gallon This estimate may be regarded as conser vative because we consider only deposition near airpor ts on a subset of the population (children under five), and we only account for the impact of IQ loss on ear nings, one of several known damage channels ”

Zahran, Keyes and other researchers noted that a hypothetical reduction in PEA traffic from the 50th to the 10th percentile would generate a five-year cohor t benefit of $126 million for Michigan and $4 9 billion nationwide

Accompanying such a reduction, the number of children falling below the CDC cur rent reference threshold of 5 mg/dL would also increase by about 1,600 children in Michigan and 64,000 children nationwide To put this in perspective, the recent catastrophic failure of the water treatment system in Flint, Michigan, increased the number of children with elevated BLLs by approximately 200 Researchers contend that this comparison is imper fect since the Flint water crisis occur red at a different time period, with a lower baseline fraction of children with BLLs ≥ 5 mg/dL, and because the Flint case involved explicit acts of commission

In an email exchange with this publishing group, Keyes emphasized the impor tance of studying the adverse health impacts lead can have through this lens in order to affect changes in policy and regulation

“Before we can do anything from a policy

perspective, we need some sense of the benefits of minimizing the risk against the cost of doing so, ” Keyes wrote “Environmental regulations are required by the federal gover nment to pass a benefit cost analysis before being enacted Our research on lead exposure aims to provide evidence which can aid policy makers in their decision making, as well as infor m the general public in their understanding of this par ticular risk factor ”

Keyes added that other health economists in earlier studies from 1994, 2002 and 2009, have linked lead exposure and childhood blood lead levels to lost IQ points and how this will impact a child’s future income ear nings For example, a one-IQ-point gain results in an estimated gain in the present discounted value of lifetime ear nings of roughly $22,000

Keyes explained: “Star ting with childhood lead exposure as measured by blood lead levels, we can estimate the expected gain in IQ points attributable to a reduction in lead exposure from avgas emissions Multiplying the expected gain in IQ points times ear nings per IQ point provides a rough estimate of the social benefits from the reduction of source lead exposure ”

Keyes reiterated that lead exposure comes from a multitude of sources: paint chips in aging homes, older toys, soldering that comes off in older copper piping Exposure to lead from avgas is also deter mined by numerous factors: proximity to living, playing or attending school near a general aviation r unway, prevailing wind direction, and the volume of piston engine aircraf t traffic

But Keyes fears that unlike the Flint Water Crisis, which was a well-defined one-time episode that is now finally being addressed, exposure to lead from avgas continues from thousands of airpor ts all across the nation

“From a public health risk perspective, the Flint Water Crisis was a one-time episode, while piston engine aircraf t emissions are an unabated source of lead exposure occur ring seven days a week, 365 days a year ”

Keyes said it is the job of researchers to stay out of politics and provide the evidence and the data to then be reviewed by agencies such as the FAA and the EPA It is then up to policy makers to make changes

“Ultimately it is up to policy makers, we just supply infor mation,” said Keyes “Authorities must work through the on-balance implications of making the transition to unleaded fuels From an economic standpoint, the benefits are sizable and lasting To the extent that the alter natives are made widely available to the aviation community, it is my understanding that they want to transition to unleaded avgas as much as anyone else ” Even so, health exper ts have long known that the

only acceptable level of lead spewed into the environment, whether in our water infrastr ucture or in the air, is zero

At the grassroots level there are a few local residents who have made it their mission to make sure this issue stays front and center to local gover nment officials and make other residents aware of the dangers of living downwind from r unways that host PEAs They wish Michigan’s county gover nments would go the route of Santa Clara County and swap in unleaded high- octane avgas

Matthew Grisius of Canton, retired from working as a consultant in defense, aviation and aeronautics, describes himself as an angr y and concer ned taxpaying father and grandfather He has spoken out on the issue for 25 years to limit and even completely restrict the flight of aircraf t which use avgas

The population density of Canton is 2,700 people per square mile, and all are in the flight path of the 1D2 Canton-Plymouth Mettetal Airpor t The airpor t also lies two miles south of Plymouth

Operational since the 1930’s, it is a small airstrip operated by the Michigan Depar tment of Transpor tation The facility r uns about 38 flights per day and hosts 78 aircraf t, most of them PEAs, plus three multi-engine planes and three helicopters

The airpor t’s manager, Jim Morency, said the airpor t has not received many complaints or concer ns about lead air emissions from school officials or neighboring residents According to his records, the airpor t is busiest in the war mer months, as general aircraf t are unheated He said on average, there are about 20 flights per week between April and November, and traffic is light as the airpor t does not offer flight instr uction

But Grisius argues other wise His grown children attended schools just across the street from the airstrip and have suffered from chronic lear ning and emotional disabilities He has friends whose children went to Plymouth Christian Academy who also told him they also had behavioral problems Grisius said there was never a notification to have their children’s blood tested for lead But in his opinion, what is known about lead contamination should be enough evidence to limit – and even ban – what he describes as unnecessar y flight activities that are enjoyed by those wealthy enough to fly their own aircraf t

“ There is nothing like r ules or regulations or advisories from gover nment that war ns people living next to an airpor t of their risks,” Grisius said “ There are no regulations and no war nings And airpor ts don’t have to say anything about it That’s why I call the use of this leaded gas a well-kept secret ”

For decades, Grisius has tried to bring this up in public comment sections at local meetings and is fr ustrated with decades of inaction to even reduce the number of flights

at the airstrip He keeps up a blog, Close 1D2 – CantonPlymouth Mettetal Airpor t, that documents activities, has ar ticles on avgas and lead poisoning, research papers, contact infor mation for local, state and federal gover nment representatives, and documented repor ts that back up his opinion that it is now safe for all PEAs to switch to unleaded avgas He believes that flight hobbyists and lobbyists are responsible for holding back progress in removing lead from avgas because smaller planes are for the rich and there is much profit to gain

“For the most par t, those who are using these planes are rich hobbyists,” Grisius said “ There is no vital reason these planes need to be flying and it does nothing to progress anything ”

His blog includes links to a 2019 repor t which showed that autism rates in schoolchildren in the Plymouth- Canton school district had increased by 47 percent since 2010

Grisius pointed to the fact that the school district cannot keep up, pay for, or find the kinds of specialized teachers, therapists, and paraprofessionals it needs to address the burgeoning number of children with lear ning or behavioral difficulties And though there is a direct link between lead exposure and these neurological disorders, there has been little to no testing of blood lead levels in the school district

“Plymouth- Canton Schools need to employ a great amount of special education teachers, but nobody wants to conduct (blood lead level) testing,” asser ted Grisius “ They know that lead is a problem; they know about the connection between lead exposure and neurological and epidemiological development in children If you bring this up (at a board of education or township meeting), pilots for a little while will shif t their activity They might fly less for a little while But at one time, there was about 200 general aircraf t hosted (at Mettettal) And there were about 30,000 monthly operations, so I don’t believe any of the official statistics ”

Jim Coon is senior vice president of gover nment affairs and advocacy of the Aircraf t Owners and Pilots Association, an organization for med in the 1930’s to promote enthusiasm for 300,000 flying hobbyists He maintains that his organization wants to find an end to the use of leaded avgas

Coon said that the entire fleet of aviation aircraf t uses 180 million gallons of avgas per year That’s the same amount that all the automobiles in the United States use in four hours

“All those automobiles at one point used leaded fuel, so you can see why it was impor tant to first tackle the leaded gasoline challenge used by cars first,” justified Coon He said his organization, along with hundreds of other representatives in the private and public sector, are working with the FAA to eradicate the use of lead in avgas by 2030, just as the FAA is striving for a goal of 2050 to be carbon emission neutral

“ There is no fight or opposition here, we as general aviation flying enthusiasts want to remove lead from our fuel as soon as possible,” he said “ The brightest chemists and engineers have been working on this and if it were easy to for mulate a lead-free fuel that would be safe to use across the wide range and types of aircraf t and engines that are out there, we’d be using it by now ”

T H R E AT E N E D P L A N E T

Threatened Planet is a newsletter of curated information gleaned from over 30 print and online news sources where reliable information is provided on the health of the environment and the efforts to remedy problems facing the planet We constantly monitor a diverse list of sources – the major daily newspapers in the country and in Europe, a variety of scientific journals and government websites, along with newsletters from environmental groups, as well as a wide-ranging list of other reliable print and online news outlets For those concerned about the environment, we do the legwork by aggregating relevant information from a wide swath of sources and attempt to offer links mostly to those sources not restricted by a paywall Those interested can sign up for the newsletter at ThreatenedPlanet com

Research and composition of the Threatened Planet newsletter is the work of Austen Hohendorf

A new proposal passed in Paris making over 500 city streets car free and replacing miles of asphalt with trees across the city (Reuters)

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The Tr ump administration EPA was temporarily blocked from stopping more than $14 billing in grants to climate groups (Cristen Hemingway Jaynes/EcoWatch)

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A first- of-its-kind assessment finds more than 22 percent of native pollinators are at an elevated risk of extinction in Nor th America (Doyle Rice/USA Today)

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President Tr ump repeals America’s first-ever tax imposed on greenhouse gas emissions before it fully went into effect (Zoya Teirstein/Grist)

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The U S Energy Infor mation Administration finds Texas is leading in the countr y ’s renewable energy growth, including solar and wind power (Dan Gearino/Inside Climate News)

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Utility providers are flying blind on data center energy needs as AI increases demands (Jeff St. John/Canar y Media)

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A new study finds one-third of U.S. bird species are in critical need of conser vation action, as populations across ever y habitat are in decline (Sarah Metz/CBS News)

Extreme temperatures and severe droughts are affecting coffee har vests in Brazil, driving up costs for consumers as demand grows (Marina Dias, Ter rence McCoy/The Washington Post)

A jur y orders the environmental group Greenpeace must pay a pipeline company over $660 million for its role in protests against the Dakota Access pipeline (Karen Zraick/The New York Times)

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Analysis finds one in eight Califor nia residents face extreme fire danger living in the designated most dangerous wildfire zones (Anna Phillips, John Muyskens, Naema Ahmen, Brady Dennis/The Washington Post)

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New inter nal records show the National Institute of Health (NIH) will no longer fund research work on the health effects of climate change (Annie Waldman, Sharon Ler ner/ProPublica)

Michigan Gover nor Whitmer is proposing increasing landfill dumping fees to offset state landfills nearing capacity and bring more revenue to local communities (Rachel Mintz/Michigan Public Radio)

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A new analysis finds most major U S cities are suffering from longer allergy seasons driven by human caused climate change (Alex Fitzpatrick/Axios)

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Companies are downplaying sustainable achievements to more closely align with the new administration’s agenda - even if they ’ re continuing the same level of effor ts behind the scenes (Coco Liu, Olivia Rudgard/Bloomberg)

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The U S State Depar tment shut down a longstanding program that monitors and shares data about foreign air pollution meant to help residents working and traveling abroad (Lisa Friedman, Brad Plumer/The New York Times)

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According to a new repor t, London’s “Ultra-Low Emission Zone” has effectively reduced air pollution in the city, including amounts of nitrogen dioxide, fine par ticulate matter and carbon emissions (Paige Bennett/EcoWatch)

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Microplastics could be disr upting photosynthesis globally, which could impact the health of large-scale crops humans depend on, according to a first- of-its-kind study (Shannon Osaka/The Washington Post)

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NASA finds climate change was a major driver to an unexpected rise of global sea levels in 2024 (Julia Jacobo/ABC News)

Metro Intelligencer is a monthly column devoted to news stories, tidbits and gossip items about what's happening on the restaurant scene in the metro Detroit area Metro Intelligencer is reported/ created each month by Gigi Nichols who can be reached at GigiNichols@DowntownPublications com with news items or tips, on or off the record.

An ode to Queen Teuta

Teuta, a new Bir mingham breakfast and lunch spot, has officially opened its doors on W Maple Road Stepping inside, guests will immediately notice a large mural that honors Queen Teuta, who r uled ancient Illyria in 230 BC The restaurant is owned by the Skelaj family, originally from Albania (once par t of Illyria), and interestingly, Teuta is also the name of the family matriarch The cozy interior is a collaborative design between Teuta and her daughter, Jaclyn The mother-daughter duo selected rich, ear thy tones of moss green and tobacco, complemented by pendant lighting featuring macramé shades and wood slat wall paneling accents The menu is dedicated to craf ting comfor ting, made-from-scratch dishes Freshly baked scones, breads, and pastries are prepared daily The breakfast menu includes a variety of omelets, wraps, and Greek yogur t par faits The indulgent breakfast dishes such as crepes, pancakes, waffles, and French toast are topped with decadent choices like blueber r y compote with lemon curd, candied bananas with hazelnut ganache, and baked peaches and cream At lunch, customers can enjoy a variety of salads, sandwiches, roll-ups, burgers, and hear th-baked pizzas As a tribute to the family ’ s Albanian heritage, the restaurant proudly ser ves “Speca Me Maze, ” a traditional dish prepared with peppers in a rich crème sauce, accompanied by a cucumber salad 168 W. Maple Road, Bir mingham teutabir mingham com

Japanese cuisine with modern flair

Korean-American restaurant Black Ginger opened during the summer of 2024 and became an instant success in Corktown but closed abr uptly af ter just five months The owners posted on their Instagram page that “Due to a dispute with the proper ty, Black Ginger is unfor tunately closing our doors We hope to bring you exciting updates in the future Please stay tuned ” The exciting updates proved to be a brand-new concept called Soraya which has opened in Detroit’s historic Federal Reser ve Building in the space for merly occupied by Mar u Sushi Soraya’s owner, Harold Kim, is a Korean American who grew up in the metro Detroit area He is also the owner of Izakaya Sanpei in Canton Kim, who is knowledgeable in many Asian flavors Japanese, Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese cuisine has worked with many different types of seafood and has also traveled extensively to understand both traditional and moder n flavors Inspired by traditional techniques and flavors, Soraya claims to offer “ an experience that celebrates the har mony of Japanese cuisine with a moder n flair From traditional nigiri to a twist on Okonomiyaki, each dish is craf ted with precision by Executive Chef Jorge Morales and Sous Chef Coy Weller ” Soraya ser ves

a unique and consistently evolving Japanese-American menu that caters to both veterans of and newcomers to Japanese cuisine The curated drink menu features craf t cocktails using unique ingredients and a selection of rare Japanese whiskies 160 W For t Street, Detroit sorayadetroit com

Michigan’s only Colombian restaurant

Last spring, the De la Mora family introduced Café Del Olla, a Mexican restaurant sharing a space with Royal Oak’s Café Muse, on Washington Avenue However, by Januar y of 2025, that restaurant closed, making way for Rosita’s Cocina, a Colombian eater y This marks the second location for owners Patrick and Rosandys Henderson, who also own a Rosita’s location in Shelby Township According to the Hendersons, Rosita’s Cocina is the only Colombian restaurant in Michigan Rosandys, a native Colombian with a background as a professional singer, and Patrick, an automotive engineer, met in Asia, mar ried, and later relocated to Michigan, Patrick’s home state During the pandemic, Rosandys began making empanadas from their home, eventually opening their first restaurant in Shelby Township A few of the main dish specialties at Rosita’s include: grilled octopus featuring three tender tentacles ser ved with grilled vegetables and small potatoes; Cazuela de Mariscos, a rich seafood soup made with coconut milk, spices, and vegetables; and red snapper, a whole deep-fried fish ser ved with rice, salad, and fried plantains In addition, Rosita’s features over 20 rotating varieties of handmade Colombian-style empanadas with cor n shells, filled with both sweet and savor y options For those not familiar with Colombian cuisine, the waitstaff is more than helpful in making recommendations and all of the food at Rosita’s is 100 percent gluten-free The restaurant also boasts a full bar, offering wine, beer, and cocktails 418 S. Washington Avenue, Royal Oak (inside Café Muse) rositastreats com

Brunch sounds Nice

Heirloom Hospitality ’ s moder n Italian- Califor nia inspired concept, Mad Nice, has launched a weekend br unch ser vice Br unch is ser ved ever y Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 a m to 3:30 p m , offering an elevated yet playful take on classic and seasonal br unch favorites Located in Detroit’s Midtown at 4120 Second Avenue, Mad Nice is known for its focus on naturally fer mented and preser ved ingredients, with a special emphasis on naturally leavened pizza dough and house-made breads The new br unch menu showcases these elements while blending Italian flavors with fresh, West Coast influences Guests can enjoy signature sourdough waffles, French toast, pancakes, and wood-fired bagels and open face bagel sandwiches, ser ved with inventive toppings and housemade preser ves The menu also features creative takes on the classic br unch staples like eggs Benedict, far mer ’ s quiche, and cor ned beef hash, alongside West Coast-inspired bowls for a lighter option Staying tr ue to Mad Nice’s Italian roots, the menu includes a selection of pizzas and pastas with br unch-themed variations For a more indulgent experience, the Zeppoli & Caviar pairs delicate fried dough

with crème fraîche and Osetra caviar To complete the br unch experience, guests can enjoy a full bar menu featuring seasonality inspired cocktails, mimosas, Bloody Mar ys, and non-alcoholic fresh spritz cocktails 4120 Second Avenue, Detroit madnicedetroit.com

Flagship restaurant shutters

The Bobcat Bonnie’s location in Corktown has shuttered, according to a statement on social media by owner Matt Buskard This is the four th restaurant in the chain to close since August of 2024 “It is with great sadness that we announce the closure of our original Bobcat Bonnie’s in Corktown Af ter almost a decade of ser vice, we have had to make the toughest decision to close this location Over the years we have proudly ser ved the downtown community, and Detroit’s oldest neighborhood Corktown This decision is hear tbreaking, but we must make one based on where things are cur rently in the economy, ” said Buskard The post goes on to say “ We would be so honored and grateful if you chose to come to Bobcat Fer ndale, or Bobcat Lansing (and eventually Grand Rapids) over the next few weeks as we star t to make changes You’ll find us with a new menu (bringing back some favorite), new focus on ser vice, and more impor tantly, having a bit of fun along the way ”

The world is your oyster

“Ostrea, ” derived from the Latin word for oyster, is a fitting name for Detroit’s newest seafood-focused restaurant Upon entering, guests are greeted by a striking nine-foot mer maid sculpture that hovers above the entrance, accompanied by an illuminated sign beneath her that reads: “ The World is Your Oyster ” Chef RJ Scherer has par tnered with Nico Gatzaros and the Gatzaros family to bring this culinar y gem to life which is located next to the London Chop House in the historic Murphy Telegraph Building Scherer, who ser ved as executive chef for the London Chop House for 12 years, was recently promoted to Corporate Chef for Inter national Marketplace, overseeing Gatzaros’ restaurants, including the London Chop House, three Fishbones restaurants, and the Inter national Banquet Center in Detroit Scherer explains that the distinct atmosphere of Ostrea compared to its iconic counterpar t, The London Chop House, is quite different “ The London Chop House is ver y old school It’s Sinatra It’s center of the plate proteins with traditional sides and red wine Ostrea is more moder n and less for mal but still ver y professional and polished The composed dishes are meant to be mixed and matched,” said Scherer The menu showcases a rotating selection of oysters from renowned regions, including Island Creek Oysters from Massachusetts, Henderson Bay Oysters from Washington, and Pink Moon Oysters from Prince Edward Island Many of the entrees reflect Mediter ranean influences, with dishes like cioppino, featuring rock fish, mussels, scallops, fennel, peppers, and sourdough; king salmon paired with Yukon potato mash, ar tichoke, pistachio cream, and cher vil; grilled swordfish ser ved with Acqua Pazza and fingerling potatoes; and grilled Spanish octopus with saffron aioli, focaccia cr umbs, char red shallots, and mint chimichur ri Thomas Phillips ser ves as the restaurant’s beverage director, curating an inventive cocktail menu that includes creative concoctions as well as an extensive wine list and a selection of unique craf t beers 536 Shelby Street, Detroit ostreadetroit.com

Lakefront homeowners in Oakland County are a special set and now they have their own special niche publication.

LAKE MAGAZINE

Upscale, full- color, direct mailed to over 17,000 homes on the shores of Oakland County ’s waterways. Produced by a seasoned group of award-winnng professionals directing their talents to the issues surrounding the concerns of living on the waterfronts.

Ride on our coattails into the homes of this important, affluential segment of the buying public before the start of each month.

Contact Pat Collins at 586.215.1400 or PatCollins@DowntownPublications.com to discuss how to include your message.

June issue reservation deadline is Friday, May 2. Issue mailed May 19.

A) Oxford Multi includes: Cedar, Clear, Long, Squaw, Michelson & Tan Lakes

B) Waterford Multi includes: Cemetery(Middle), Dollar, Greens, Maceday, Lotus, Lester, Van Norman, Williams, Mohawk, Wormer, Schoolhouse, Silver, Upper Silver & Loon Lakes

C) The Loon Lake control structure also controls Mohawk, Wormer, Schoolhouse Silver & Upper Silver Lakes

D) The Van Norman control structure also controls Green, Maceday, Lotus & Lester Lakes

E) Lake Angelus, Huron River, and Clinton River levels are not under the jurisdiction of this office

F) The Dawson Mill Pond and Sylvan-Otter Lakes are controlled by the Price Dam

G) Crystal Lake is controlled by the Walter Moore Dam

H) Lake Louise and Huff Lake are controlled by the Ruth Johnson Dam

I) Waumegah Lake reading in N.G.V.D (1983)

J) Some Winter Levels are set by Court Order Others reflects customary drawdown

LakeLevelChangeSummerWinterDifference Angelus( Bevins(

BunnyRun( BushLake913.70-0.08913.60N/A0.10 Cass( CedarIsland( Cemetery&Dollar(WML)( ClintonRiver-M-59( Commerce( Crystal( DawsonMillPond( Duck( Fox( HuronRiver( Indianwood( Lakeville( Long(CommerceTwp.)( Loon(WML)( Louise-Huff( Middle&LowerStraits( Mohawk(WML)( Oakland-Woodhull( Orchard( Oxbow( OxfordMulti( Pontiac( Schoolhouse(WML)( Scott950.640.02951.00N/A-0.36 Sylvan-Otter( Tipsico( Union( UpperStraits931.000.00930.80N/A0.20 VanNorman(WML)( Walled&Shawood933.55-0.02932.80932.101.45 Watkins( Waumegah( White( Williams(WML)(

THE RIGHT HOME THE RIGHT REALTOR THE RIGHT PUBLICATION

Fish where the fish are biting, as the saying goes.

If selling / searching for lake proper ty, then look to the publication with readership on the water ways of Oakland.

Reaching by direct mail over 40,000 lakefront homeowners. Quality editorial content.

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