Rick Rediske receives CLAS Outstanding Service Award

Rick Rediske recently received the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Outstanding Service Award for his role in bringing to public attention the dumping of toxic waste by Rockford-based Wolverine Worldwide. As a consequence of this activity, and subsequent leaching into the groundwater, the drinking water in parts of northern Kent County are now in violation of state health standards.  Rick has been in the forefront of this issue, starting with his concerns over a 2013 Michigan Department of Environmental Quality report that fish in the Rogue River had elevated levels of PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate, used in 3M’s Scotchgard coating on Hush Puppies). On Jan. 17 of this year, Rick wrote a memo to a MDEQ employee calling for investigation of PFOS waste from the tannery: “Wastes disposed on site, residuals from spills, production wastes disposed of offsite in landfills, local groundwater, scrap leather buried on site all have the potential to contain PFOS,” he warned.

Rick’s role in bringing to light this environmental disaster has been absolutely critical.  His knowledge, credibility, and passion resulted in DEQ’s movement on the issue, and he has been the “go-to” person by the print and video media because they know he will be both well-informed and objective in his assessments.  He has gained the trust of all parties, and has represented AWRI and GVSU with distinction throughout this episode, which is certain to continue well into the future.

Bopi Biddanda, members of his lab, and other collaborators reviewed a book for the GVSU Regional Math and Science Center publication InterChange:
Biddanda, B., A. Weinke**, R. Ratliff*, K. Knapp**, M. Villar-Argaiz, P. Carrillo, and J.M. Medina-Sanchez. A grander view of life: From backyard observations to the theory of our origins. A book review of “Darwin’s backyard: How small experiments led to a big theory” by James Costa. 2017. InterChange, Connections for the STEM Classroom. April 2018.

Shirley McIntire and Michele Smith, science instructors, had a display about AWRI at the earth fair in Grand Haven on April 21^st.

Charlyn Partridge attended a Dune Alliance workshop in Lansing, MI on April 3^rd.

Charlyn Partridge, Hailee Leimbach-Maus, and Emma Rice attended a summer planning meeting with The Nature Conservancy, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore biologists, Grand Traverse Land Conservancy, and the Michigan Invasive Species Network to discuss strategies for baby’s breath removal in spring/summer 2018. This meeting took place on April 24^th.

Rick Rediske served on a panel discussion as part of the Student Scholars Day events.  Mark Luttenton was the moderator of this event.

Carl Ruetz attended the Southern Lake Michigan Fishery Workshop in South Haven on April 19^th.

AWRI staff are bolded, undergraduate students are denoted with a single asterisk*, graduate students are denoted with two asterisks**, and post-doc researchers are donated with three asterisks ***.

Publications

Bopi Biddanda was lead author of an article published in Journal of Great Lakes Research:
Biddanda, B.A., A.D. Weinke**, S.T. Kendall, L.C. Gereaux**, T.M. Holcomb*, M.J. Snider**, D.K. Dila**, S.A. Long, C. VandenBerg*, K. Knapp**, D.J. Koopmans***, K. Thompson, J.H. Vail, M.E. Ogdahl, Q. Liu, T.H. Johengen, E.J. Anderson, and S.A. Ruberg. 2018. Chronicles of hypoxia: Time-series buoy observations reveal annually recurring seasonal basin-wide hypoxia in Muskegon Lake – a Great Lakes estuary. Journal of Great Lakes Research. 44: 219-229.

Anthony Weinke was the lead author of an article recently published in the journal Ecosystems:
Weinke, A.D.** and B.A. Biddanda. 2018. From bacteria to fish:  Ecological consequences of seasonal hypoxia in a Great Lakes estuary. Ecosystems. 21: 426-442.

Isely, P., Sterrett Isely, E., Hause, C., and A.D. Steinman. 2018. A socioeconomic analysis of habitat restoration in the Muskegon Lake Area of Concern. Journal of Great Lakes Research 44: 330-339.

Presentations

(Presenter listed first)

AWRI was represented at the Marine Technology Society conference held at the University of Michigan from April 9^th – 12^th.  Anthony Weinke and Katie Knapp both attended and gave an invited presentation:
Weinke, A.**, B. Biddanda, and S. Kendall. Oral. Nuts and bolts: The Muskegon Lake Observatory Buoy System 2011-2017.
Knapp, K.**, A. Weinke** and B. Biddanda. Oral. Observatory tracks

AWRI was represented at the 10^th annual Society for Ecological Restoration Midwest – Great Lakes Chapter meeting held at Stevens Point, WI from April 20^th – 22^nd.  Graduate students Sarah Lamar, Hailee Leimbach-Maus, and Emma Rice attended and presented at the conference.
Lamar, S.K.** and C. Partridge. Poster. Using herbarium specimens to reconstruct the invasion of Baby’s Breath (Gypsophila paniculata).
Leimbach-Maus, H.B.**, S.A. Parks**, and C.G. Partridge. Oral. Genetic analysis of invasive baby's breath (Gypsophila paniculata) populations in a northwest Michigan dune system.
Rice, E.K.** and J.N. McNair. Oral. Assessment of baby’s breath (Gypsophila paniculata) removal in the northwest Michigan dunes.

Kim Oldenborg attended and presented on her research at the 12^th International Symposium on Biogeochemistry of Wetlands: protecting the future of water held in Coral Springs, Florida from April 23^rd – 26^th.
Oldenborg, K.** and Alan D. Steinman. Impacts of sediment dredging on phosphorus dynamics of a restored riparian wetland.

Rick Rediske gave a presentation on the topic of PFOs at the Grand Rapids Board of Realtors on April 30^th.

Al Steinman was in China from April 19^th – 26^th.  While there, he gave a presentation (Restoration Efforts in West Michigan Aquatic Ecosystems) at the Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Janet Vail and Amanda Syers presented a workshop on the Project WET preschool curriculum and Population Education at the Michigan Association for the Education of Young Children Conference held in Grand Rapids on April 14^th.

Janet Vail gave a presentation on invasive species at the Loutit Library in Grand Haven on April 26^th.

AWRI was represented at The Graduate School’s Dean Citation Awards celebration held at Loosemore Auditorium on April 20^th.  Students were nominated by faculty for academic performance.
Justin Wegner, graduate student working with Mark Luttenton, received the Academic Excellence in the Degree Program, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Award.
Emily Kindervater, graduate student working with Al Steinman, received the Excellence in Sustainability, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Award.

Suse LaGory, graduate student who worked with Carl Ruetz, received the Excellence-in-a-Discipline Award in recognition of exceptional academic achievement in Biology (M.S.) at GVSU’s Student Awards Convocation held at the Eberhard Center on April 9^th.  Both Carl and Suse were in attendance.

Bopi Biddanda received an award for $1500 to cover Michigan Space Grant Consortium (MSCG) Campus Administration, and another for $5000 to cover MSCG Campus Research.

Paige Kleindl, graduate student of Al Steinman, received the 2018 Megan E. Cook Memorial Scholarship ($1500) from the Michigan Stream and Lake Association for her graduate thesis work.

Paige Kleindl, graduate student of Al Steinman, received a Presidential research grant of $1500 for her project “Littoral Zone Restoration and Source on Nutrient Enrichment Impacts on Macrophyte and Epiphytic Algae Communities”.

Sarah Lamar, graduate student of Charlyn Partridge, received a Presidential research grant of $1500 for her project “Biological Invasions on a Large Scale: Investigating Baby's Breath's (Gypsophila paniculata) Spread Across North America”.

Molly Lane, graduate student of Rick Rediske, received a Presidential research grant of $1500 for her project “A Comparison of Colilert and qPCR Methods at Lake Michigan and Inland Lake Beaches of Muskegon County, MI”.

Mark Luttenton was awarded $30,055 by the Higgins Lake Foundation Funding to “Assess nutrients, sediments associated with algae production, and Stagnicola abundance”.

Rick Rediske received an award under the 2018 REACH Scholars Program in the amount of $2750.  He will be mentoring scholar Safiya Best.

Carl Ruetz was awarded up to $31,000 by the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians to research in-stream incubators for future re-introduction of Arctic Grayling in the Manistee River.

AWRI In the News

“Sturgeon: Bringing us together again”
Muskegon River Watershed Assembly, Spring 2018 newsletter
GVSU-AWRI is a partner in helping to grow the sturgeon population.  Former graduate student Brandon Harris is pictured with a juvenile sturgeon.

“Grad students receive Dean’s Citation Awards”
GVNext, April 24, 2018
Recent graduate Justin Wegner, who worked with Mark Luttenton, received the Academic Excellence in the Degree Program, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and recent graduate student Emily Kindervater received the Excellence in Sustainability, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

“Researchers from Grand Valley State University discuss findings in plant proteins (from bacterial to fish: ecological consequences of seasonal hypoxia...)”
NewsEdge (online publication), April 24, 2018
This is a summary of the article by former graduate student Anthony Weinke and his mentor Dr. Bopi Biddanda.

“New freshwater research study findings reported from Grand Valley State University (Chronicles of hypoxia: Time-series buoy observations reveal...)”
NewsEdge (online publication), April 26, 2018
This is a summary of the article by Bopi Biddanda and others regarding his buoy data.

“Investigators from Grand Valley State University target freshwater research (A socioeconomic analysis of habitat restoration in the Muskegon Lake...) “
NewsEdge (online publication), April 26, 2018
This is a summary of an article that Al Steinman was a co-author on.

“Watch them go: once nearly vacant and abandoned, downtown Muskegon finds new life”
MiBiz, April 29, 2018
AWRI is mentioned as one of the catalysts for the growth in downtown Muskegon.

LMC Events

April 2
The Regional Sustainability Committee held a strategic planning meeting at the Lake Michigan Center.

April 3
The Muskegon Lake Watershed Partnership held a public meeting at the Lake Michigan Center.

April 10
Special Seminar Speaker: Dr. Tamie Veith, Agricultural Engineer with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, presented: “Using SWAT simulation modeling to assess impacts of watershed management on long-term water quality”.

April 13
Seminar Speakers: Dr. Carmen Aguilar & Dr. Russell Cuhel, with the School of Freshwater Sciences at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, presented together: “Intertwined expression of episodic ecological and meteorological events in a 20-year continuum of reproducible seasonal cycles for the Great Lake Michigan”.  

April 19
Students from Ealy Elementary (Muskegon County) visited the Annis Educational Foundation Classroom for hands-on activities and took a vessel cruise on the W.G. Jackson.

April 24, 25, 30
Students from Cherry Creek Elementary (Kent County) visited the Annis Educational Foundation Classroom for hands-on activities and took a vessel cruise on the W.G. Jackson.

April 26
Students from Rockford Elementary (Kent County) visited the Annis Educational Foundation Classroom for hands-on activities and took a vessel cruise on the W.G. Jackson.