Fish and Wildlife aims to reduce cormorants by 50 percent
Phil Wenzel
POSTED: March 25, 2008
Alpena County Coordinator Jeff Thornton said Tuesday that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is going to try reducing the number of cormorants in Thunder Bay this year by 50 percent.
Recent surveys have shown there are about 200 nests of the nuisance birds in the bay, Thornton said during the Alpena County Board of Commissioners’ monthly meeting. The Fish and WIldlife Service would like to reduce their numbers to coincide with the creation of a spawning reef for lake fish in the bay.
Cormorants are a problem because they eat fish and can cripple the vegetation of fisheries habitat.
“The cormorant project has been going on for years,” Thornton said. “They’ll never be eradicated, but they need to be contained.”
Wildlife professionals tried to reduce the number of cormorants in Thunder Bay last year by about 30 percent, Thornton said. Depleting the birds’ population is done by pouring oil over eggs in their nests, he said.
“If you destroy a cormorant egg they just breed and have another egg,” Thornton said.
But once the eggs are oiled they will not hatch. The parents do not know anything is wrong and continue to nurse the ruined egg.
The Fish and Wildlife Service also is eager to eliminate cormorants because it plans to plant steelhead and brown trout directly into Thunder Bay in the near future, he said.
In other business:
? Thornton said Alpena County Regional Airport officials are close to finalizing a plan for the airport’s upcoming drainage project.
Officials want to remove puddles of standing water in a couple of the airport’s catch basins. Standing water near airports is dangerous because it attracts waterfowl.
The plan being formulated now would have the water diverted west so it can drain directly into the South Branch of the Thunder Bay River, Thornton said. It will cost about $400,000, which will be paid for through federal grant money.
? Commissioners approved ballot language for an upcoming ambulance millage renewal. The county will seek 0.9720 mills over six years. The county also is in the process of negotiating a new contract with the city of Alpena regarding ambulance service.
Commissioner Gerald Fournier said the contract should be ready by the board’s next meeting in April. Commissioner Lyle VanWormer said no major changes from the current contract are planed and “So far, everything has gone well.”
? The board’s fairground committee was disbanded at the suggestion of Commissioner Mark Hall. He said that since a new managerial contract for the fairgrounds has been completed the committee’s work was done.
“We’re confident with what has been submitted,” Hall said.
? VanWormer announced to the board that the Alpena Area Recreation Commission has received both the Northern Lights Arena Oversight Committee Report and a reply from the Multi-Purpose Arena Coalition. No formal action on either report was taken.
Phil Wenzel can be reached via e-mail at pwenzel@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5689.
