Wisconsin Sea Grant Littoral Drift 06

June 1995 issue

Sea Grant Reauthorization Update

HR 1175 - the House bill that means life or death for the National Sea Grant College Program - continues to wend its way through Congress.

The bill, authored by House Resources Committee chair Don Young (R-Alaska), would reauthorize the program through 1999 at the current funding level of about $54 million. The Resources Committee approved it on a voice vote in late April, and to date more than 61 representatives - including Wisconsin Republican Scott Klug - have signed on as cosponsors of the measure.

HR 1175 has not gone to the House floor for a vote because the House Science Committee, chaired by Robert Walker (R-Pa.), requested what is termed "sequential referral," in light of this committee's jurisdiction over most of the other research programs in the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In mid-June, however, the Science Committee passed its own version of the bill that recommends an $18 million cut in funding from the current level.

"We were concerned that the Science Committee might zero out our program, so the fact that it supports reauthorization of Sea Grant at all, even at maybe a lower funding level, is really good news," said UW Sea Grant Director Anders W. Andren. "Compared to many other federal programs, it's starting to look like we'll be in the enviable position of at least being around to take a budget cut."

Efforts are underway to sign up more cosponsors for HR 1175 to help ensure approval in the House and to line up support for as strong an appropriation as possible this fall, Andren said. "At present we're cautiously optimistic that the program will survive."

A national network of 29 colleges, programs and consortia involving more than 300 university and research institutions, Sea Grant supports a wide range of multidisciplinary marine and aquatic research, outreach and education projects in about 40 states, including all coastal and Great Lakes states. It is the only source of federal funding for focused university research and outreach on coastal, ocean and Great Lakes resource issues.
- Stephen Wittman

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UW Big Winner in National Competition

UW Sea Grant was highly successful in this spring's special national competition for supplemental funding from the National Sea Grant College Program.

The National Sea Grant Office (NSGO) approved funding for two of the four "thematic area" suites of projects submitted by the Wisconsin program - "Chemical/Biological Interactions: Receptor-Mediated Effects on Reproduction and Development in Aquatic Species" and "Nonindigenous Species Ecosystem Impacts."

Wisconsin researchers and outreach specialists will also receive funding in connection with regional aquaculture and nonindigenous aquatic species outreach efforts organized by the Illinois-Indiana and Ohio Sea Grant programs, respectively.

"We are very pleased with the outcome of this competition, which demonstrates once more that University of Wisconsin scientists and outreach specialists are among the best in the nation," UW Sea Grant Director Anders W. Andren said. "This additional funding firmly places Wisconsin among the top states in the nation in terms of federal Sea Grant awards."

The NSGO received a total of 103 peer-reviewed proposals seeking nearly $31 million for the first year alone of a wide range of coastal, ocean and Great Lakes research, outreach and education projects.

"Given that only $8.4 million was available for first-year funding, the competition for these funds was fierce," said NSGO Acting Director Chandrakant Bhumralkar.
- Stephen Wittman

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Fishing for Rockets

Great Lakes commercial fishers are always looking for new ways to get a bang out of their fishing efforts. But hauling in old rockets is not exactly what some Lake Huron fishers had in mind. Chippewa tribal fishers in the area say they've netted about a half dozen waterlogged, two-foot-long missiles in Hammond Bay, just east of the Mackinac Bridge.

After inspecting one of the rockets, U.S. Coast Guard officials determined the missile was a dummy practice round filled with plaster. However, they warned that other missiles may still contain propellant.

"It's a bycatch I'd rather not find," said Michigan Sea Grant Extension agent Jim Lucas, based in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. Lucas usually works with Michigan tribes on fishing matters, but these days he's also helping educate people about the missiles.

"People were concerned divers might find these," Lucas said. "With the possibility that propellant is still there, bringing the missiles to the surface could cause them to be activated."

As a safety measure, Lucas is helping circulate signs around northern Michigan warning divers, fishermen and charter operators about the presence of the projectiles. Great Lakes fishers take note: the Coast Guard says if you reel in a rocket you can keep it, but you should check it out first with the local sheriff
- Laurence Wiland

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This page created June 1995
Last updated 21 December 1995. T. Yao and J. Eischens
All contents copyright 1995 University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
Designed by Tina Yao tlyao@seagrant.wisc.edu

http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/Communications/Publications/1995Drift/6_95drift.html