What are we going to do to stop this fish?

In last week’s Community Development blog, which you can read here: u.osu.edu/extensioncd/2017/01/19/alien-invaders/, my colleague Tory Gabriel explained the threat of aquatic invasive species (AIS), also known as aquatic nuisance species (ANS).

Bighead carp

Bighead carp

The timing of his blog worked out well for me, because in this week’s blog I am going to tell you about a study Frank Lichtkoppler and I did that was published last month in the Journal of Extension on the topic of probably the most frightening alien fish we have in the United States right now: the Asian Carp. Check out the article here: joe.org/joe/2016december/a5.php.

The Asian Carp is actually four different species of fish: the black carp, grass carp, silver carp, and bighead carp. It has gained a stronghold in large portions of the Mississippi River basin in recent decades. It out-competes native fish species for habitat and food, and its population has skyrocketed as it has no local predators. It represents such an enormous threat to the fisheries of the Great Lakes that the US Army Corps of Engineers has been investigating the closure of the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS), the most likely route the Asian Carp could take to the Great Lakes. This system is incredibly important to shipping in the United States.

Let’s say you want to ship something from Cleveland, Detroit or a similar starting point down to Memphis or New Orleans. You must leave the Great Lakes basin and enter into the Mississippi River basin to do that. And of course the same thing goes for cargo coming the other way. Before railroads, canals linking various watersheds like this played an enormous role in contributing to the national economic integration of the United States. This was key in facilitating the economic development of our then young country. Today some of the canals are partially preserved as historical attractions. But the CAWS is different. It still plays a major role in shipping as it is the only waterway linking the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River basin. Estimates of the engineering costs of closing the CAWS and re-routing storm and sanitary sewers, combined with the economic losses that will result from losing it as a transportation corridor, are in the multiple billions of dollars.

So any consideration of the closure of this waterway system, which is also an important visitation attraction that I recommend you see when in Chicago, illustrates just how serious a threat the Asian Carp is. I chose the title to this current blog post partly in deference to a 2014 article from The Verge which underscores the urgency of the problem. The article is called, “America Must Kill This Fish.” I suggest that you take the time to read it here: theverge.com/2014/3/21/5533054/asian-carp-american-waterways.

Two years before that article appeared in The Verge, back in 2012, the US Army Corps of Engineers funded a set of public opinion surveys regarding closure of the CAWS. Because of OSU Extension Sea Grant’s experience in surveying Great Lakes charter captains on a host of issues and topics, the Corps selected our organization to undertake the survey for this key stakeholder group. Charter captains have a lot at stake here because, if the Asian Carp succeeds in reaching the Great Lakes, it will do heavy damage to the fisheries there. Recreational fishermen who hire charter captains are eager to catch walleye, trout, and yellow perch, but those species will be greatly reduced or even destroyed by the presence of Asian Carp. It is not an exaggeration to say that the Asian Carp could cause the worst ecological catastrophe in the history of the Great Lakes.

Our survey revealed that about 95% of charter captains favor closing the CAWS, and that the average captain is willing to pay about $95 a year to contribute to the cost of the closure. Our findings also show that charter captains who are making plans to expand their businesses are willing to pay more for closure, and the increase in willingness to pay is proportional to the magnitude of the expansions they are planning. About 17% of captains said they need more information in order to form a valid measure of their willingness to pay. And of course, the Extension Sea Grant network is currently conducting extensive outreach education to try to close this information gap.

It is not clear what the future is going to be as the country faces the challenge of protecting the Great Lakes from the Asian Carp. Our study plays a modest role in assessing the environmental economic opinions of one key stakeholder group, Great Lakes charter captains. Our contributions may be in the form of leading to surveys of the broader public – including boaters, shoreline anglers and even the American population in general. This would be appropriate since, in the final analysis the Asian Carp really is a national problem and the closure of the CAWS, if it comes, will eventually rely on general taxpayer funding of some type. Another contribution we have made is to the scholarly literature on the methodology of assessing public opinion, which will potentially have implications for how researchers measure opinions on all types of environmental economic topics ranging from global climate change to recycling to preservation of endangered species.

In the meantime, a number of measures have been taken to prevent the Asian Carp from crossing into the CAWS. One is an apparatus that sends a series of electrical shocks through the water as it approaches the CAWS. The level of electric shock intensifies with proximity to the waterway. For now, it seems to be effective. This brings up another point. Critics of the closure of the CAWS have been vocal in pointing out that basin separation, as attractive as it may seem to its proponents, is not a fool proof method of preventing the spread of the Asian Carp to the Great Lakes. And so the question remains: what are we going to do to stop this fish?

Tom Blaine is an Associate Professor with OSU Extension, Community Development.

Alien Invaders

They are all around us. Many humans interact with them on a daily basis. Even if you don’t have direct contact with them personally, all of us are impacted by their mere presence. They come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Some of them are terrifying, others falsely appear harmless, and still others are so tiny they are invisible to the naked eye.  I’m focusing on the ones that live in Lake Erie.

Aquatic Invasive Species

“Take me to your leader” (Photo by T. Lawrence, Great Lakes Fishery Commission)

That’s right ladies and gentlemen, I’m talking about aquatic invasive species (AIS). They go by many names: alien, introduced, exotic, non-indigenous, non-native. All of these descriptors just mean that it’s an organism that has been brought to a new environment where it doesn’t belong. If that new organism causes some harm, it is known as an invasive species. As in … it’s invading and taking over the new environment, causing harmful impacts on the aquatic natural resources and on the human use of these resources. Some of these species can cost communities millions of dollars due to pricey control efforts, damage to facilities and property, and negative impacts to local tourism opportunities.

According to the Great Lakes Aquatic Non-indigenous Species Information System, there are over 180 non-indigenous species reported to have reproducing populations in the Great Lakes basin, many of which are in Lake Erie. They’ve come from a variety of places and continue to spread, always with human help. Some major pathways include ballast water from international shipping vessels, aquarium introductions, intentional or accidental stocking, and barrier removal (such as shipping canals around Niagara Falls).

Controlling AIS

“If only controlling AIS in Lake Erie could be this much fun…” (Photo from www.gamefabrique.com)

So how can you help in the fight against these alien invaders?

  • Learn to recognize AIS and report new sightings to the Ohio Division of Wildlife.
  • Clean, Drain, Dry! When using boats or other aquatic recreational equipment, before leaving the water access: inspect and remove foreign material, drain water from all containers (bilge, livewell, etc.), clean with high pressure and/or heated water, and allow to dry for at least five days before transporting between bodies of water. Learn more at www.protectyourwaters.net.
  • Dispose of unwanted bait, worms and fish parts in the trash
  • Get Habitattitude! Never dump aquarium pets, plants, other organisms, or water, including bait, from one water body into another. Learn more at http://www.habitattitude.net/.
Independence Day movie poster

“We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight!”  (Photo from www.IMDB.com)

For more information on AIS in the Great Lakes, check out the resources below or contact me at gabriel.78@osu.edu. And good luck to you as you join us in the fight to stop these alien invaders!

Tory Gabriel is the Extension Program Leader & Fisheries Outreach Coordinator (Ohio Sea Grant College Program).

 

Collaborative ‘Work Zones’ transcend traditional office space

We spend a lot of our lives at work. How can we more effectively foster engagement, collaboration, and promote an atmosphere of teamwork? One approach is to develop intentional, multi-purpose collaborative space, or work zones.

“Space” is constantly being re-defined and re-designed. A couple decades ago public spaces were being reclaimed and re-purposed to increase civic engagement. Then classrooms started transforming their space to increase student engagement and incorporate innovative technologies. Today, the places where we actually go to work (our work spaces) are in the spotlight of innovation and debate.

There are dozens of new terms being used to describe innovative work spaces including, for example: smart work spaces, makers’ spaces, co-working spaces, projective spaces, engaged workplaces, and humanized spaces. Regardless of the term, the same principle stands; space impacts humans’ physical and mental capitals.

Effective work spaces can impact the upward mobility of our overall community capitals through our use of space, programming, and outreach efforts. The Harvard Business Review recently posted, “One of the things that environmental psychologists focus on is how design affects mood. Via a chain of psychological chain reactions, mood influences worker engagement; more positive moods link to higher levels of engagement. Designing for engagement is designing to make those positive moods more likely.” (Augustin, 2014)

workspaces-funkt-2017-01-12

Photo: the office of Siteground, designed by Funkt.eu. Photo by: Brava Casa, post on Swipes Personal Blog.

This topic is being studied by academia as well as creating a new niche for design professionals, like Funkt, which are reinventing workspaces and the reason Smart Workplace Design Summits are being held around the world. The evidence is growing for experimenting and breathing new life into our office spaces.

There is a growing demand for such work environments as new employees enter the workplace and seek out work spaces that are welcoming and inviting and promote a general sense of well-being. Comfortable work spaces promote an atmosphere of teamwork, keep minds focused and can limit distractions.

workspaces-spark-lab-2017-01-12

Spark Lab in Hardin County, OH. Photo by Mark Light. Welcome to the Sparks Lab

Mark Light (Hardin County Ohio 4-H Youth Development Educator and CED) has been involved in transforming his traditional office space into a dynamic makers’ space. Mark stated, “The goal of the Hardin County Ohio Spark Lab is to instill that inspiration or ‘spark’ that youth and adults need to discover, learn, and grow in a creative environment. This setting is more than just a futuristic classroom or makers’ space. It is a center of innovation in a rural county framed through the education lens of a land grant university system.” (Light, 2016)

The Hardin County Ohio Spark Lab makers’ space was made possible through a combination of funding sources: an OSU Extension Innovation grant, Columbus Foundation funding, and the Hardin County Commissioners. Sometimes, funding needs to be as creative as the spaces we are trying to create. These are exciting times to be working in!

Walk around your work space in the New Year and talk among your peers. See if creative steps and funding streams can be explored to make your work space more innovative and engaging for you, your colleagues, and your community’s benefit.

Meghan Thoreau is a new OSU Extension Educator in Community Development with a focus on providing leadership and programming to meet current and future needs related to STEM education with Pickaway County schools. Meghan grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; is an avid traveler and has lived in a number of places, including Western Wyoming, Upstate New York, and Eastern South Dakota, before moving with her family to Central Ohio. She’s worked with communities both at the municipal and grassroots levels and has always strived to strengthen communities and increase the quality of life for residents.

Post References:

Augustin, Sally. (2014, October 28) Rules for Designing an Engaging Workplace. Harvard Business Review. Available at: hbr.org/2014/10/rules-for-designing-an-engaging-workplace

Light, Mark. (2016, May 16) Welcome to the Spark Lab. Hardin County Spark Lab. Available at: u.osu.edu/sparklab/2016/05/22/welcome/

2017 New Year’s Resolutions – How wide is your impact?

resolutions-2017-01-05With the beginning of 2017, many of us are creating our New Year’s Resolutions. These resolutions are often focused on our individual welfare, benefiting our physical and mental well-being. So we may resolve to join the local gym to get more exercise, go to bed earlier to get 7-8 hours of sleep and commit to eat more fruit and vegetables. With these lifestyle changes, we hope to live a long and healthy life.

While personal resolutions are good, might we also add New Year’s resolutions that challenge our leadership abilities to benefit the health and long-term vitality of our community?

Engaging in Your Community in 2017

There are many different ways to engage in community and many different levels of involvement. For example, one can volunteer within a local organization, using their skills to help advance organizational goals. One may also resolve to involve the business, institution or organization they work for in bringing resources to assist local communities. Another possibility involves donating one’s work place technical skills to assist local governments, non-profits or faith-based communities to complete tasks they cannot fund. For example, if you have the skills needed to create or manage a website, you could contribute that skill to keep web-based information current and relevant. Another example is volunteering one’s facilitation skills to aid in goal setting, strategy building or other planning processes.

Call to Action!

Now is the time to get creative with your New Year’s resolutions that cause you to become more engaged in your community. Work with others if needed, to identify ways that you can benefit the health, well-being and long-term vitality of your community and its residents. And don’t forget to also keep those personal resolutions regarding your own health and well-being. Chances are, by accomplishing both, you will feel more empowered, realize you have made a difference during 2017 and your physical/mental health benefits will be multiplied.

Myra Moss is an Associate Professor and Extension Educator (Heart of Ohio EERA).