AWRI Expands!

The Grand Valley State University Board of Trustees approved the construction of a new research building that will serve the needs of the university's Annis Water Resources Institute in Muskegon. The new facility will be located on the site of the existing field station building at 740 W. Shoreline Drive, just to the south of the university's Lake Michigan Center.

The $3.4 million project, which represents an investment in the Muskegon downtown waterfront, will meet the immediate and long-term needs of the Institute. Approximately 65% of the funding is already secured through a significant lead gift from an anonymous donor, an existing federal grant, and university capital development funds.

The building will be designed and built to meet stringent LEED certification standards by using materials and systems that will be selected for their durability, sustainability, energy efficiency, and their ability to decrease long-term maintenance and operations costs. Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr, and Huber, Inc. is serving as the project architect. Construction will begin in August 2012 and should be completed by May 2013.

The new two-story building will cover 14,800 gross square feet and include state-of-the-art laboratories, the most up-to-date instrumentation, a boat loading bay, researcher and graduate student offices, secure storage, and a mesocosm (aquatic tanks) facility.

Alan Steinman, director of the Annis Water Resources Institute, said the new research building will allow the Water Resources Institute to expand its fresh water research activities as the current Lake Michigan Center facility is heavily used, especially in summer, when lab space is virtually impossible to find. Steinman said, with the addition of the new facility, We will be able to address the critical issues facing the Great Lakes well into the 21st Century.

The Grand Valley State University upgrade of the Annis Water Resources Institute plays right into the communities economic development strategy of advancing the Blue Economy.

LMC Events

Feb 7
Students from the Muskegon Bunker Middle School visited the Annis Educational Foundation Classroom for hands-on activities.

Feb 9
The Muskegon Lake Watershed Partnership held a public meeting featuring a 3-year fisheries study led by Carl Ruetz, designed to help assess fish and wildlife-related impairments in the Muskegon Lake Area of Concern.

Feb 10
Series Seminar: David Janetski, post-doctoral researcher with GVSUs Annis Water Resources Institute, presented: Ecological effects of introduced Pacific salmon in Great Lakes tributaries.

Feb 17
The Owasippe Demonstration Project meeting was held at AWRI. Guests included representatives from: The Nature Conservancy (TNC), The Land Conservancy of West Michigan, The Chicago Area Council of Boy Scouts, Muskegon County, and Blue Lake Township.

Feb 21
A collaborative meeting was held with staff from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and AWRI.

 

Activities

Bopi Biddanda participated in the selection of awards while serving on a panel of the Michigan Space Grant Consortium (NASA) on February 7-8, 2012. GVSU obtained ~$50,000 in funding for 9 projects (5 Undergraduate Fellowships, 1 Graduate Fellowship, 1 Seed Grant and 2 Program Grants) for the 2012-13 year.

Al Steinman discussed AWRI and the new field station building at the GVSU Board of Trustees meeting in Allendale on February 10.

Al Steinman participated in an EPA Star Fellowship panel in Washington DC from February 27 March 1.

Al Steinman attended a Summit on the Great Lakes Region at the White House on February 29.

Al Steinman's lab coordinated a meeting with the USGS's Water Science Center of Lansing on February 21. Attending were 4 scientists from USGS, and Sara Damm, Mary Ogdahl, Rick Rediske, and Al Steinman from AWRI.

Janet Vail attended a climate education conference at Michigan State University on February 23.

Janet Vail and Amanda Syers completed the first draft of the Michigan Environmental Education Curriculum Support (MEECS) Climate Unit. They participated in a conference call on February 24 to plan the MEECS professional development workshops.

 

Presentations

AWRI was represented at the Joint Annual Meeting of the Wisconsin and Michigan Chapters of the American Fisheries Society in Marinette, Wisconsin on February 7-9. Graduate students (denoted by one asterisk) and a faculty member presented. AWRI personnel are in bold, with presenter listed first:

Comben, J.N., C.R. Ruetz III, K.M. Smith, and E. Binoniemi-Smith. Poster. Abundance and habitat use of lake sturgeon in two Lake Michigan tributaries.

Homola, J.J.*, C.R. Ruetz III, and S.L. Kohler. Oral. Population- and individual-level effects of a microsporidian infection on mottled sculpins in Michigan streams.

Wieten, A.*, M.E. Altenritter*, C.R. Ruetz III, and K.M. Smith. Oral. Movement and spatial distribution of lake sturgeon in Muskegon Lake, Michigan.

AWRI was represented at the Midwestern Aquatic Plant Management Society meeting held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on February 26 - 29. One of our graduate students (denoted by one asterisk) presented. AWRI personnel are in bold, with the presenter listed first:

LaRue, E.A.*, M.P. Zuellig*, and R.A. Thum. Distribution patterns and response of hybrid and Eurasian watermilfoil to 2, 4-D in the Menominee River Watershed.

Thum, R.A. and E.A. LaRue*. Evidence for reduced sensitivity to 2, 4-D among hybrid watermilfoils in Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas.

Sara Damm gave a presentation to introduce the Ruddiman Creek TMDL study at the Glenside Neighborhood Associations annual meeting on February 15.

John Koches presented at the Michigan Green Communities Regional Workshop at MAREC on February 17.

Carl Ruetz gave an invited oral presentation about his Muskegon Lake fish monitoring to the Muskegon Lake Watershed Partnership in Muskegon on February 9:

Ruetz, C.R., III. Muskegon Lake AOC - evaluating targets for two BUIs: loss of fish habitat and degradation of fish populations.

Carl Ruetz and Alex Wieten, one of Carls graduate students, attended the Great Lakes Acoustic Telemetry Observation System, Second Annual Project Coordination Meeting in Rogers City, Michigan on February 14-15. Carl gave an invited presentation at the meeting:

Ruetz, C.R., III, A.C. Wieten*, M.E. Altenritter*, and K.M. Smith. Lake sturgeon research in the Muskegon River system.

Janet Vail, Amanda Syers, and Karen Meyers (GVSU Regional Math & Science) facilitated a Climate Change workshop at the Regional Math and Science Center on February 3. There were 27 teachers in attendance; the workshop was funded by a grant from the GLOBE program.

Janet Vail and Amanda Syers presented a program at the Lakeshore Museum on February 8 for third grade students from Nims Elementary School.

Janet Vail was a guest speaker for Environmental Studies 201 at the GVSU Allendale campus on February 14. Her topic was the Great Lakes.

 

Publications

Rick Rediske and co-author Xuefeng (Michael) Chu had an article accepted for publication:

Chu, X. and R. Rediske. In Press. Modeling Metal and Sediment Transport in a Stream Wetland System. Journal of Environmental Engineering.

Alan Steinman and Mary Ogdahl had an article accepted for publication:

Steinman, A.D. and M.E. Ogdahl. In Press. Macroinvertebrate response and internal phosphorus loading in a Michigan Lake following alum treatment. Journal of Environmental Quality.

Ryan Thum and Matt Zuellig, his former graduate student, were co-authors on an article accepted for publication:

Zuellig, M.* and R.A. Thum. In Press. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP)s identify multiple distinct biotypes of Eurasian ( Myriophyllum spicatum) and hybrid ( M. spicatum x M. sibricum) watermilfoils. Journal of Aquatic Plant Management.

 

Grants & Contracts

Michael Snider, graduate student working with Bopi Biddanda, was awarded a graduate fellowship of $5000 by Michigan Space Grant Consortium (NASA) for his project: Probing photopigments in cyanobacterial mats.

 

AWRI In the News

Western Michigan Regional Green Communities Workshop
GVSU Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center, February 3, 2012 John Koches is mentioned as one of the speakers for this event.

Muskegon's Blue Economy future?
MiBiz, February 6, 2012 AWRI is mentioned in the article as an important piece of the Triple Bottom Line concept.

¼ page ad in the Grand Valley Lanthorn (student run newspaper)
February 6, 2012 Brandon Harris is highlighted in the article, a brief overview of what AWRI does, and a reminder AWRI is currently taking applications for internships/scholarships.

More dredging, less boating expected on lakes this summer
WOOD News, February 7, 2012 Al Steinman is quoted regarding lake levels.

Water Resources Institute expansion plays into the Muskegon blue strategy
MLive, February 10, 2012 GVSU announced that the Board of Trustees approved a new field research building for AWRI.

GVSU to upgrade Water Resources Institute facility in Muskegon
MLive, February 10, 2012 GVSU announced that the Board of Trustees approved a new field research building for AWRI.

GVSUs Annis Water Resources Institute set to construct new research facility
WGVU, February 10, 2012 Al Steinman is interviewed regarding the new field station project at AWRI.

GVSU approves new water institute facility in Muskegon
Whtc.com, February 10, 2012 GVSU announced that the Board of Trustees approved a new field research building for AWRI.

GVSU approves AWRI research facility
WOOD News, February 11, 2012 Al Steinman is interviewed regarding the new field station project at AWRI.

Grand Valley to buy in downtown Detroit, build in Muskegon
CBS Detroit, February 12, 2012 GVSU announced that the Board of Trustees approved a new field research building for AWRI.

Grand Valley researchers work on projects to restore lake
GVNext, February 13, 2012 Also run by Holland Sentinel and Federal News Service Al Steinman and Rick Rediske are highlighted regarding projects to improve Muskegon Lake.

GVSU working to restore Muskegon Lake
CBS Detroit, February 13, 2012 Al Steinman and Rick Rediske are highlighted regarding projects to improve Muskegon Lake.

New phase of Muskegon Lake restoration begins
MichiganRadio.org, February 14, 2012 Rick Rediske is quoted regarding projects to de-list Muskegon and White Lakes.

Board approves new AWRI building, housing increase
FORUM, a newsletter for the Grand Valley State University Community, February 20, 2012 GVSU announced that the Board of Trustees approved a new field research building for AWRI.

Grand Valley researcher finds salmon link to contaminated fish
GVNext, February 22, 2012 The article is about David Janetskis project linking pollutant levels in stream-resident fish and stocked Pacific salmon.

GVSU researcher finds link between stream pollution, stocked fish
CBS Detroit, February 22, 2012 The article is about David Janetskis project linking pollutant levels in stream-resident fish and stocked Pacific salmon.

Grand Valley researchers work on projects to restore lake
FORUM, a newsletter for the Grand Valley State University Community, February 27, 2012 Al Steinman and Rick Rediske are highlighted regarding projects to improve Muskegon Lake.