The EPA also awarded $994,350 to the U.S. Geological Survey to expand fish and bird monitoring along the Great Lakes’ beaches to fight botulism and other contaminants damaging wildlife. About 20 percent of that money, and 20 jobs, will come to Gary next year.

Just a few yards away from the Lake Michigan’s southern shore, in a serene part of the massive park, dignitaries gathered beneath shade trees to hear of the awards and what they will mean for the area.

Meanwhile, workers with heavy machinery continued the $28 million, RDA-funded facelift of the park nearby, including the popular Marquette Park Pavilion.

The grant to the RDA will go toward dredging the lagoon and using the soil to firm up the lagoon’s shoreline, said Cameron Davis, EPA senior adviser on the Great Lakes. Erosion and other natural forces have pounded the lagoon.

“It’s an area of concern that needs most of our help,” Davis said, adding the project will improve fish and wildlife habitats around the lagoon.

To get the money the RDA and its contractor, Ohio-based Los Alamos Technical Associates, had to agree to hire up to 20 unemployed residents to do the work. The work will include dredging soil from the bottom of the lagoon to expand the fish habitat and relocating that soil to the shoreline and other areas.

The U.S. Geological Survey also had to agree to hire 20 local employees to land its share of the federal money. The work will include collecting different animal species, including carcasses, to determine if botulism was the cause of the deaths.

“This $1 million is our tax dollars being put to good use,” said U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Merrillville. “This is an example of how our tax money can be wisely spent and put to use to put citizens to work.”

Christopher Meyers, Gary’s planning director, said the city would work closely with Los Alamos to ensure the company hires locally.

“There is the great environmental benefit, but, ultimately, it’s about creating jobs and helping the local economy,” Meyers said.Michael Gonzalez

Two acres of newly created fish habitat at the Chapman Mills Conservation Area is up and fully operating as of late summer.

A channel was cut through to connect an existing backwater bay of the Rideau to the main channel. A separate shallow embayment was created featuring a picturesque and important habitat island adjacent to the main river. Final landscaping and cleanup was done over the summer and new interpretive signs have now been installed to explain the kinds of fish and aquatic animals people will see in the area.  See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.

This new habitat project is expected to: improve water circulation through the connecting channel, create variable depths of water allowing more diverse aquatic vegetation, create spawning, nursery, rearing and food supply habitat for fish, provide new winter and summer refuge areas for fish, and improve the function of adjacent wetlands for aquatic species.

A five-year monitoring program is in place to measure habitat use by native fish species. The spring and fall surveys will also check on habitat integrity, makeup of the aquatic community and quality of the water with recommendations on how to improve any shortfalls in performance.

Steve Desroches, Ottawa Councillor for Gloucester-South Nepean and a Director of the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority, said “The city is proud of the partnership and cooperation that has gone into this project. All of the players – public and private alike – are to be congratulated on a good community-spirited job at Chapman Mills. It’s good for the river, it’s good for my community and it’s good news for Ottawa kids.”

This very welcome increase in the stock of fish habitat on the lower Rideau is in compensation for the partial loss of fish habitat on a tributary of the Jock River and another loss on Mosquito Creek.

Contractors in Port Mansfield have enlarged an artificial reef in the Gulf of Mexico.

The “Habitat for Today for Fish Tomorrow” project is a joint effort by the Coastal Conservation Association and Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. More than 4,000 concrete culvert pipes augmented previously submerged concrete box culverts and an old boat that was sunk in 2010.

The goal was to create a sea floor with nooks and crannies that attract fish. The man-made reef, less than 8 miles from the jetties at the land cut on South Padre Island, now provides more than five times its previous habitat for structure-loving fish such as red snapper—good news for sport fishing enthusiasts and the guides in the area.

“CCA Texas contributed $50,000 toward the total cost of about $537,000 to expand the existing reef, which already had an old tug boat and about 800 culverts,” CCA’s John Blaha said. “We can’t give enough credit to our partners at TPWD and Alamo Concrete Products.”

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.