A young double crested Cormorant eyes its only natural enemy - a human

The double breasted Cormorant is a bird that’s very good at the basics.

In flight, it’s narrow body, long neck and streamlined head combine with powerful rapid-beating wings (adult wingspan 45-48”), to produce straight line airspeeds superior to other species found near water, including ducks, geese, and gulls – an ability that fits well with the Cormorant’s pattern of seasonal migrations.

In the water, Cormorants can dive to depths of 60 feet. They capture their prey in a long beak, the upper part of which is hooked, carry it to the surface and toss the captive in the air, swallowing it head first. Reportedly, prey up to 12” in length are within their capability.

The cormorant does not have a significant natural enemy, and is indigenous to virtually the entire world, including the United States and much of Canada. However, in the second half of the 20^th century, the North American species’ encountered a man-made enemy so potent that by 1973, only 125 mating pairs remained on the largest national rookery, Galloo Island at the eastern end of Lake Ontario, prompting the bird’s addition to the migratory bird protection act.

The enemy was DDT. In the 50’s and 60‘s before it was banned, the pesticide was responsible for the destabilization of many species, but few have recovered as emphatically as the cormorant.

If you care to listen to Lake Ontario charter fishing captains, cormorants were to blame for what in the late 1990’s was seen as a sharp drop off in smallmouth bass populations, especially in the Henderson Harbor area near Galloo, where some 8,000 nesting pairs had taken up residence.

More recently, reports of cormorant population explosions have come from virtually everywhere in the United States. But until now, nowhere has the hue and cry been so loud as from Henderson Harbor, home to a few dozen charter operators. In 1998, apparently frustrated by what they saw as government foot-dragging, an unknown individual or individuals landed on Galloo and slaughtered 1000 birds, including nestlings.

A California animal rights group offered a $1,000 reward for the capture of those responsible for what it called "a brutal act of animal cruelty." Federal wildlife officials labeled the incident, "a brazen act of environmental terrorism," and initiated a full field investigation that netted…zip. Instead of co-operation, investigators encountered a group of locals, virtually all of who had motive, opportunity, and the weaponry to have committed the slaughter. In the face of such a united front, the investigation went nowhere and no one was ever arrested.

Fast forward ten years. Cormorants have now spread to every available roost on the lower Great Lakes. They line the breakwall at Oswego like silent homeland security sentinels. In tributaries, they perch on every deadfall and exposed rock, and the problems they present in Lake Erie extend beyond their predatory habits. Cormorants don’t just multiply rapidly, their droppings are highly acidic and where they nest in large numbers, droppings change the PH of the soil. Trees die, and native plants disappear. Other birds abandon their nests, and the islands cormorants take over become barren. 

In an interview quoted in a May 11, 2008 issue of the Toledo Blade, Mark Sheildcastle, of Ohio’s Crane Creek Wildlife Research Station, said the problem is largely a product of excessive human development. “It’s a symptom,” he said. “We really shouldn’t be looking at the cormorant as the problem. The problem is the lack of habitat...”

On Lake Erie, the backbone of management plans of both Canadian and US agencies now routinely include selective culls conducted by sharpshooters. This is in stark contrast to government reaction on Lake Ontario back in 1998; ("A brutal act of animal cruelty.") ("A brazen act of environmental terrorism.") The murder of thousands of birds is no longer cruel, it’s “a management plan.” I suppose those responsible for the Galloo massacre will now qualify for patriotic medals.

According to the official new spin, left unchecked, cormorants have the potential to significantly alter the ecosystem they dominate, but this view is challenged by Wildlife advocates such as Liz White, director of Animal Alliance of Canada, (as quoted in the Toledo Blade). White insists that if not for human intervention in the first place (DDT, etc) the islands now being managed would have evolved differently. She claimed that controls are being applied to appease people, not because there’s any scientific justification.

Other naturalist agencies such as the Aububon Society are taking a softer "it's complicated" line. The sad fact remains that when animals and humans come into conflict, animals always lose, and cormorants, one of nature’s marvels of evolution, seem to be next in line. It’s impossible not to admire them for the things they do well. Might it be conceivable that they’ve become so dominant not in spite of us, but because of us?

Consider the man-made creation we call the St. Lawrence Seaway and the round goby, one of thousands of ballast water immigrants polluting the Great Lakes; the goby feeds on Zebra mussels (another invader) and has now established itself in huge populations. Fortunately, the goby is not an agile creature. We’ve heard reports of perch populations rebounding – in direct contradiction to dire predictions that the goby would outcompete smaller species like perch and cause populations to decline even further, it appears that perch (not particularly agile themselves) are finding the goby to be an excellent new source of food - right along with the cormorant. As they say, it’s an ill wind that blows no good, and in this case we’re thankful that nature, though stressed by us, can be trusted to always work toward equilibrium. Meanwhile, have you petted a cormorant today? Might as well learn to love them, cause unless we invent some new form of DDT just for birds, they’re probably here to stay.

Recent record low water levels in the upper Great Lakes Basin have given rise to speculation that due to global warming the lakes might be poised on the edge of a calamitous decline. Lake Superior, largest body of temperate fresh water in the world, has been nearly two feet below its long term averages during the past two years. Lakes Huron and Michigan have experienced the same trend.

A recent report in The Duluth News Tribune seems to offer at least a little hope. In April, Superior’s level rose six inches, double the normal increase for the month, and on May 1 the lake stood ten inches higher than at the same time in 2007. Still 8 inches below its long term average, but compared to the 22 inches measured early in 2007, current levels are seen as a cause for optimism.

According to the International Lake Superior Board of Control, after three dry months, April rain and snowfall over the Superior basin were well above normal, leading to the surge in water levels and continuing an upswing that began last fall. Still, it’s unclear whether the current increase is part of a long-term return to normal or a hitch before low water levels re-assert themselves. While the science is far from conclusive on either side of the matter, the most commonly advanced theory is that that warmer winters will contribute to decreased snow melts and reduced seasonal ice cover which increases the potential for evaporation - resulting in continued low water.

The International Joint Commission (IJC), controversial controlling agency of the St Lawrence Seaway, is in the midst of a $15 million study designed to determine if human intervention is required to help stabilize water levels in the upper lakes. Of the five great lakes, Lake Ontario, smallest in area and furthest downstream, is the only one in which water levels can be controlled, and the IJC has regulated it since 1958.

Regardless of future developments, current Lake Superior levels are cause for optimism because all that water is on its way downstream. Environmental advocates say the lakes have always fluctuated in this manner. Its part of the way things work in the ecosystem, and this rebound is nothing more than nature continuing a cycle thousands of generations old. As if to add an exclamation point to this conclusion, a great deal of the criticism the IJC has received of it’s handling of Lake Ontario over the past few years has been centered around its refusal to allow Ontario to fluctuate in the same way the other lakes do. As environmentalists say, low levels reduce cattail populations and allow the boundary layer between lake and shore to develop and retain more diversity, which has been demonstrated to lead to a healthier environment for both aquatic and nearshore landlocked creatures.

Ironically, lakefront property owners in Michigan are begging the IJC to recommend the exact kind of regulation property owners on Lake Ontario have loudly rejected via their support of IJC Plan B+, which would require the IJC to artificially create the same kind of fluctuations that benefit wildlife to the potential detriment of the interests of property owners and boaters. Seems like it’s all a matter of perspective. Those who don’t have enough water, want more; those who’ve got it, can often have way too much. Regulation of levels might be just what's needed to keep everyone only a little bit unhappy.  

In recent news of interest to Lake Ontario boaters, the Bush administration is attempting to enlist the 80 million boaters it says use America’s 95,000 miles of waterways each year as potential eyes and ears in the fight against terrorism. According to a report by the Associated Press, the government believes small boats remain the most likely weapon al-Qaida might employ during an attack in a maritime environment.

While seeming to lament the fact that small boats exist by the million and are not nationally regulated, the Bush administration is considering creating a federal licensing program that would change all that. Coast Guard and Homeland Security representatives have toured the country over the past year, testing the waters to see how much resistance such a program would encounter.

The latest step toward regulation, effective April 28, asks states to develop safety standards for recreational boaters, and once again asks boaters to look for and report suspicious behavior on the water (the Coast Guard has had it's "waterways watch" program going four years now). Of course, no state is likely to implement such a plan. It would first need to establish a regulatory infrastructure (read expensive) which in a weak economy simply doesn't seem likely to happen. This would open the door to a federal program. The spin the administration is trying to give this thinly disguised first step toward federal regulation is that it would be much like a neighborhood watch program.

According to the government’s long range plan, the strategy is to create a layered defense based on radiological and nuclear detection equipment deployed with harbor patrols and police departments, and in addition to the above “suspicious behavior watch,” would include national federal standards to operate a small boat. The Coast Guard will be detailed to work with states in establishing minimum safety standards and to enforce the new laws. This could include requiring boat operators to have a current safety certificate on board with them, and a piece of identification that links to the certificate.

Among the suspicious behaviors detailed are boaters taking photos of a bridge or measurements of a dam, a boat lingering near a piece of critical infrastructure, people who seem strangely unfamiliar with boats, any person or watercraft that appears to be loitering or has no specific reason to be in the area, unattended vessels in odd locations, unusual night operations, lights flashing between boats, or anyone recovering or tossing items into waterways or onto shorelines.

Hey, I just realized the suspicious actor is me. In the last year, I have committed most of the above suspicious acts.

Combined with the other measures implemented by the Department of Homeland Security; the hostile new attitude of the Coast Guard, the fencing in of government structures and facilities, this new program has further ominous overtones. It sure feels like in the name of “security,” big brother is standing a lot closer to our backs than ever before. Almost close enough to reach around and eat our lunch for us. And you know what? If we let him know he can, he’s almost certain to go ahead and eat.

What did they say?

 "Riveting...Rhapsodic...Accomplished"

 Read the full review below.

 ForeWord Magazine

 Art Tirrell

The Route 104 bridge in the heart of historic Oswego has now been closed for two weeks, and will remain closed for several months. At Oswego, Route 104 spans the Oswego River, second in volume only to the Niagara River as a tributary to Lake Ontario. During the summer, Route 104 carries a good portion of New York State’s Seaway Trail traffic, so the closing and resulting detours should be considered in making overland travel plans. The closing will not impact recreational boaters, other than during certain periods when Lock 8, adjacent to the eastern side of the bridge, will be temporarily closed. The project is expected to be complete late this year.

The bridge on Sunday, April 13

To date, the traffic plan devised by state and local authorities has been working well. The plan diverts local traffic to the Utica Street bridge (a half mile south). Delays have been short and confined to the busier morning and afternoon drive times.

Not without a certain amount of tongue in cheek, local observers say that because local police officers stationed at either end of the Utica Street bridge haven’t tried to help too much, they’ve made major contributions to smooth traffic flow. The officers will step in and direct traffic to expedite things for emergency vehicles, but otherwise they haven’t interfered.

This is a variation on the long-time local joke that has its origins in the huge annual traffic snarls that follow the Harborfest fireworks display each summer. With an officer ignoring the traffic control signals and directing traffic at every important intersection, it seems as if essentially, you can’t get where you’re going from where you are for at least an hour after the fireworks end. If police would only stop trying to help, things would go a heck of a lot better.

Progress update: 

It appears that whole sections of the old bridge will be lifted out one by one. Today, the crew is using a Komatsu Shovel to pick out the guard fence and crews are jackhammering through the concrete sidewalks over each bridge support.

A Kobatsu PC2000 Shovel plucks a section of guard rail. What a machine: 430,000 lbs and can grab 14.4 Cu yds with one bite.

The red steel underneath the spans was put in position last fall, mostly at night. It appears to be the framework for the lifting slings. We're looking forward to seeing the actual lifting of the spans.