Joe Fitzgerald: From Plankton Guy to Water Resources Policy Economist

Wisconsin Sea Grant student, Joe Fitzgerald, spent the past two years working with Northland College Professor Randy Lehr collecting plankton. He hopes one day to focus on water resources policy and economics. Not bad for a student who started out as an assistant custodian in the lab where he is now a research scientist!

Joe Fitzgerald: From Plankton Guy to Water Resources Policy Economist

Wisconsin Sea Grant student, Joe Fitzgerald, spent the past two years working with Northland College Professor Randy Lehr collecting plankton. He hopes one day to focus on water resources policy and economics. Not bad for a student who started out as an assistant custodian in the lab where he is now a research scientist!

Free Webinar Series on Oil Transport in the Great Lakes

Wisconsin Sea Grant’s water quality specialist is a member of a work group on oil transport in the Great Lakes area. Now, there’s a free webinar series on the topic. Oil moves to and through the Great Lakes Basin by truck, rail and pipeline. Though pipelines are the preferred and more heavily used mode of transportation, some have objected to their use and specific routes due to environmental concerns.

Radio Tower Bay Restoration is Topic of April River Talk

The monthly River Talk continues in Duluth this month. On Wed. April 27, 7 p.m. at Vikre Distillery (525 Lake Ave. S., Suite 102, Duluth, Minn.), Martha Minchak with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, will present, “Radio Tower Bay to ‘Restoration Bay.’ ”

Shelby LaBuhn–Love of Math and Nature Leads Student to Lake Michigan Mud

Shelby LaBuhn grew up playing in the forests of Michigan’s rural “thumb.” Although she liked math more than science, when it came time to choose her undergraduate degree, her experience in nature tipped the scales. “The forest was my world,” LaBuhn said. “That got me interested in environmental sciences and wanting to protect that at an early age.”

March River Talk Highlights Mammal Cams

The monthly River Talk series heads over to the Duluth side of the river this month. On Wed. Mar. 30, 7 p.m. at Vikre Distillery (525 Lake Ave. S., Suite 102, Duluth, Minn.), Bryn Evans, a University of Wisconsin-Madison wildlife ecology graduate student, will present, “Smile, You’re on Candid Camera! Mammal Cams in the Estuary.”

New Advisory Council Member Spends Time in the Dead Zone

Where lakes and water are concerned, J. Val Klump gets around. Klump, the newest addition to Wisconsin Sea Grant’s Advisory Council, has traveled the world researching large lakes, including Lake Baikal in Russia.