High Waters, High Worries: Two news organizations ran stories this week connected to the high water levels being experienced by Lake Superior and the other Great Lakes. Some, including the Big Lake, have reached all-time highs. For MPR News, Dan Kraker reports on whether high water levels are the new norm for the Great Lakes. On Lake Superior, high waters mean, on the positive side, the ability for freighters to load more and, on the negative side, erosion damage that is amplified during storms. Mike LeBeau, construction project manager for the city of Duluth, tells Dan that three storms within two years have left nearly $30 million in damage in the city. The storms came in October 2017 and 2018 and in April 2018. For Wisconsin Public Radio, Danielle Kaeding reports that many local property owners blame the International Joint Commission, which regulates the outflow through gates at the St. Marys River, for maintaining high waters on Lake Superior. But Keith Kompoltowicz, chief of watershed hydrology with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, tells Danielle that those outflows don’t control the water levels. “It’s a matter of scale, to be quite honest. Lake Superior is extremely large and the variability in the rainfall, runoff and evaporation that falls on Lake Superior is much greater than the ability to increase or decrease outflow.” We all know Lake Superior can kick up waves that are awe-inspiring and occasionally awful in their power. This sunnier photo shows high waves at Split Rock Lighthouse, part of a portfolio of storm shots by Paul Sundberg.
Speaking of High Water: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, acting on behalf of the International Lake Superior Board of Control, today released its monthly water level report and notes that Lake Superior water levels increased by 1.2 inches in the last month, slightly less than the July average rise of 1.6 inches. Entering August, the Lake Superior is 0.8 inches above the record high for this time of year set in 1950 and is currently 14 inches above its long-term average 9 inches above its level one year ago. Lake Superior's water level is expected to remain stable in August. "Water levels across the Great Lakes system remain near or above record-highs for this time of year," the Corps reports. "As a result, there is a much increased risk of shoreline erosion, lakeshore flooding and coastal damages across the upper Great Lakes system."
Schooled by Sailing: Educators from Minnesota and Wisconsin set sail next week aboard the SV Denis Sullivan on their way from St. Ignace, through the Soo Locks and to the Festival of Sail Duluth, reports Wisconsin Sea Grant. The idea is for teachers to learn more about the Lake, knowledge they can impart to students. “Our goals for the educators’ shipboard workshop include helping participants gain an understanding of Great Lakes ecology, getting hands-on experience sampling water quality and fostering awareness and appreciation for tribal approaches to research and natural resource management,” says Marte Kitson, workshop leader and extension educator with Minnesota Sea Grant. The shipboard science workshop includes teachers, outreach professionals and Ojibwe knowledge keepers. “We will share the importance of Ojibwe cultural relationships to the ecology of Lake Superior and current tribal management strategies,” says Nikki Crowe, workshop leader and tribal conservation coordinator with Fond du Lac Resource Management. “Ojibwe communities’ connection to Lake Superior goes back hundreds of years.” Besides learning about treaty rights and tribal approaches to natural resource management, touring the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, measuring water quality and identifying parts of the lower food web, the educators will learn the fine art of sailing a 19th century wooden schooner from the crew of the Sullivan, Wisconsin's flagship. The 16 educators (eight from each state) will arrive for the Parade of Sail, which gets underway 9 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 11, under Duluth's Aerial Lift Bridge. (Just an FYI to YOU, the official program for the festival is now on sale and it's also in our current issue of Lake Superior Magazine for our subscribers.)
More than a Century Lost, Now Found: The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society announced recently a shipwreck find in Lake Superior near Eagle Harbor, Michigan. "We're very excited to announce we discovered another shipwreck: The S.R. Kirby that sank in 1916 off the coast of the Keweenaw Penensula," posted the society, which operates the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point. Corey Adkins of 9&10news.com reported on the discovery, made with the use of side-scan sonar and thanks to research and use of the society's 50-foot vessel, David Boyd. The 294-foot Kirby sank May 8, 1916, while towing 352-foot steel barge George E. Hartnell from Ashland, Wisconsin, when it was hit by the spring storm with gale winds clocked up to 76 mph at the Duluth weather station, Bruce Lynn, executive director of the shipwreck historical society told Corey. The Monroe News also carried news of the discovery, quoting the society's director of marine operations, Darryl Ertel Jr.: “We found what appeared to be wreckage last year while searching in this area. We weren’t certain that it was a shipwreck, but were able to take a closer look this year. We thought it might have been the Kirby." The team used an ROV – remotely operated vehicle – to make the final positive identification. Only two of the 24-member Kirby crew survived the wreck, which sank extremely fast, Bruce says. There was one surprise survivor, he adds. "The captain’s dog was reportedly seen to be swimming next to the captain, his name was David Girardin from Cleveland. The dog was seen swimming next to his master, and when the captain lost any strength that he had and slipped beneath the waves, and the dog ended up getting up on a piece of wreckage and was later picked up by the Coast Guard out of Eagle Harbor."
A 90-year-old Picnic: This is the weekend that Grand Marais, Minnesota, celebrates its 90th Fisherman's Picnic. Joe Friedrichs traced the festive roots and current fun – including those famous Lion Club Fish Burgers – in a story from our June/July issue. "The street scene felt like something straight from an old newspaper clipping, handed down from the 1950s," writes Joe. "My city of Grand Marais was the driver, with time in both the rearview mirror and standing on the road in front of me. This was Fisherman’s Picnic, this year a nine-decades old annual tradition here that combines quirky competitions, flavorful foods and heartfelt hometown charades and parades." Read the story, then catch the fireworks and fun this weekend.
A Scary Fish Video: Fox2 out of Detroit posted a story and video about efforts by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources to manage the invasive Asian carp in its waterways. In the video, mass numbers of the jumping carp come to the surface after the water is electrically shocked. "The fish aren't dead, merely stunned," Fox2 reports, "but for the millions of people and fish that inhabit the Great Lakes hundreds of miles away, it should set off alarms." Asian carp are those potentially poised to enter the Great Lakes system after an accidental release of the species, used in aquaculture farming, into the river systems. "All four subspecies of Asian carp – Bighead, silver, black and grass – present the perfect cocktail of catastrophe," Fox2 notes. "Bighead and Silver carp feed on plankton, a key foundation in the food web. Black carp eat mollusks and snails, of which the Great Lakes has an abundance. Grass carp naturally eat the vegetation that many native species use as shelter."
Dry Time: Boatnerds and maritime history lovers will be glad to read that the William A. Irvin headed into dry dock at Fraser Shipyards on Thursday. The final contract for restoration includes blasting and coating the hull around the waterline, plus blasting and coating the hatch crane. Fraser estimates the restoration will be completed in four to seven weeks, according to a press release this week from the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC), which manages the retired freighter as a museum ship. A specific date for its return to the Minnesota Slip in Canal Park has not been determined and will depend on weather and other factors once the work is done. The Irvin was moved in October last year in conjunction with repair of the Minnesota Slip seawall and remediation of contaminated sediment there. It will not return for public tours until at least 2020. Since July 13, 1989, the SS William A. Irvin has been included on the National Registrar of Historical Places.
The Paper-Plus Place: In its store at 106 E. Superior St., Hucklebeary packs in a pleasing variety of gifts, greeting cards and paper goods. The locally owned store brings a fresh artistic flavor with cheerful colors and unique products. Owner Emily Ekstrom also hosts events and workshops. She sits down with Nik Wilson for this week's installment about businesses within Duluth's Superior Street construction zone.
Photo & graphic credits: Paul Sundberg; David Ruck, Great Lakes Outreach Media; historic photo of the S.R. Kirby courtesy of the Fr. Edward J. Dowling, S.J. Marine Historical Collection, University of Detroit Mercy; David Johnson/Explore MN; Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources; Visit Duluth; Nik Wilson