Absolute Michigan's Michigan Blog: Defining Wetlands (and understanding their role in the Great Lakes ecosystem)

GLRC writes: "Developers are feeling encouraged by last month's US Supreme Court ruling on wetlands. The High Court was deciding on which wetlands deserve protection under the Clean Water Act. Some say it's more likely they'll get their building permits now. Defenders of the Clean Water Act think those high hopes are premature. The GLRC's Tracy Samilton takes us to the wetland where the fight began:"

Read or listen to DEFINING PROTECTED WETLANDS GETS MUCKY

Dave Dempsey (Dave's Blog) writes about the low Great Lakes Water Levels, which is seemingly disconnected from this issue. However, Dave references a CNN Article that states, "[w]ater levels declined in 1998 and have remained low, forcing ships to take on lighter loads and sparking concern about shorelines and wetlands in the Great Lakes, the world's largest supply of freshwater and a major commercial shipping route for Canada and the United States." They continue, "When homeowners on Lake Huron's Georgian Bay noticed wetlands were drying up, the Georgian Bay Association funded a $223,000 report that last year concluded shoreline alterations such as dredging and erosion in the St. Clair River, at the bottom of the lake, were responsible."

Trudge through these muddied waters to Absolute Michigan keyword "wetland" (type any word into that top right box: food, hiking, boat, etc.)

# posted by Tami @ 11:12 AM