Low water levels in the Great Lakes, exotic species such as the gobi fish and the zebra mussel, tumors in zooplankton, and erosion will be among the more than 25 topics of discussion November 8-9 at the State of the Lake '99 conference in Muskegon, Michigan. The conference will be at the Muskegon Holiday Inn, 939 Third Street.
The Robert B. Annis Water Resources Institute at Grand Valley State University is convening the first major conference on Lake Michigan that will bring together scientists, public policy makers and the general public. Conference attendees and presenters will include representatives of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, Great Lakes Fisheries Commission, and scientists from universities and local agencies in shoreline communities around Lake Michigan.
State of the Lake '99 follows the September meetings of the International Joint Commission in Milwaukee. The conference in Muskegon will focus on Lake Michigan in particular, including recent studies on water quality, exotic species, economic considerations, and upcoming policy issues affecting the second largest Great Lake and the sixth largest lake in the world.
The conference comes at a time when the United States Environmental Protection Agency is completing the Lakewide Management Plan (LaMP) for Lake Michigan, explains Janet Vail, senior program manager at the Water Resources Institute and organizer of the State of the Lake '99 conference.
Public Input Session Planned
Vail, who is also co-chair of the Lake Michigan Forum, has planned an evening session for citizen input on Lake Michigan issues. That session will be from 7-9 p.m. on Monday, November 8. Specific sessions during the conference will address Great Lakes fishing, hydrologic and economic issues, the impact of exotic species, climate change, historic lake
level fluctuations, tumors in zooplankton, agriculture and water quality, habitat protection and many other issues.
[A conference brochure is available by calling GVSU News & Information Services at 616-895-2221. Mention that you read about it at GVNow)
The conference is also the culmination of the Making Lake Michigan Great Tour of Lake Michigan this past summer and fall by the W. G. Jackson, the Water Resource Institute's 65-foot research vessel. The vessel visited 11 Lake Michigan port cities to provide information about Lake Michigan planning and to give lakeshore residents educational cruises.
The Robert B. Annis Water Resources Institute is in the process of moving from GVSU's Allendale campus to the shore of Muskegon Lake. University officials plan for a Lake Michigan Center that will become nationally known for fresh water research.
