“Nightmare. But also, cool.” – Host Bella Isaacs on the sea lamprey.
The Great Lakes Fishery Commission is a binational organization that works to control sea lamprey populations in the Great Lakes and promote scientific research in the region. This week, Ross Shaw and Cory Brant of the GLFC joined hosts Bella Isaacs, Prachiti Dhamankar, and Isabelle Brogna to talk about why sea lamprey pose such a major threat to the Great Lakes, how the commission works to control them, and why, despite appearances, these aquatic invaders are actually pretty fascinating creatures.
The Stewardship Network is a nonprofit dedicated to empowering individuals and organizations who are committed to working on conservation issues at the local level. They also help connect communities across the regions they serve in order to facilitate their collaboration. Lisa Brush is the Network’s executive director, Robert Luzynski serves as network administrator, and Jason Frenzel is co-cordinator of the Huron Arbor Cluster, the Ann Arbor region’s Collaborative Conservation Community.
Editor’s note: We know the phone sounds get annoying at some points during this conversation, and we apologize.
This week, it’s all about the music, man. Matthew Burtner is an Alaskan-born composer, sound artist, and eco-acoustician whose music is inspired by the sounds of glaciers and, in many ways, the reality of climate change. David Jude is research scientist emeritus at the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability, a renowned fish biologist, and the discoverer of the invasive round and tubenose goby fish in the Great Lakes. Finally, Jerry Mack is the host of “Nothin’ But the Blues” and “Yazoo City Calling” on WCBN, and he leads the band “Jerry Mack and the Terraplanes.”
Water conservation is the focus of this week’s show as we discussed conservation efforts in the White Lake area, invasive species and their effect on the local food supply, regulating levels of harmful chemicals like PCBs in the Great Lakes, the spotted gar, and more!