Consumers Energy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service collaborate on Great Lakes conservation
Consumers Energy will assist the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in conservation work taking place this week at Tippy Dam in Dickson Township, Mich.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service expressed its appreciation for Consumers Energy’s assistance in the application of lampricides that will protect salmon and lake trout in the Great Lakes from sea lamprey larvae through 29 miles between the hydro facility to Lake Michigan.
“A key to successfully protecting the $7 billion sport and commercial fisheries of the Great Lakes from the invasive, fish-killing sea lamprey is to treat rivers on a 3- to 4-year rotation to effectively kill the parasite’s larvae before they transform and head out to the Great Lakes to feed,” Jenna Tews, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist in the Sea Lamprey Control Program based in Ludington, Mich., said.
Preparations, staging, testing, and application will take place over the course of approximately one week, with Consumers Energy personnel and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service personnel cooperating to determine optimal conditions for discharge.
“Throughout our company, we are committed to leaving the areas we work, live and play better than we found them,” William Schoenlein, Consumers Energy’s manager of hydro and renewable generation, said. “We enthusiastically welcome working with the resource experts at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect important fish species that live in the Great Lakes as that enhances the environment and the quality of life for many who call the Great Lakes State home.”
