EPA awards biology department grant of nearly $250,000 to aid beach research
The Environmental Protection Agency awarded Central Michigan University $247,159 to create gull-free zones in Ottawa County beaches used for biology research.
The department will lease border collies to keep the seagulls away.
Biology Professor Elizabeth Alm said she hopes there will be an improvement in water quality for swimming.
Currently, there are concerns about microorganisms carried by the seagulls that can cause disease or illness in humans.
“It’s an issue in the eyes of both the public and the public health department,” Alm said.
The grant was awarded through the EPA's Great Lakes Restoration Initiative program.
The program will begin in May 2012 and will run for two years.
“Dr. Alm and I have been interested in this topic for many years,” said Biology Professor Thomas Gehring.
The biology department applied for the competitive grant in March and was awarded funding in September.
Whitecloud senior Dustin Jordan will conduct research on how bacteria levels are affected by removing the seagulls.
“This project is fairly unique in that there isn’t much literature on the subject,” he said. “Dogs have been used in chasing geese off airport runways in the past, but this is a first ... It’s pretty cool to be working on something so innovative.”
Using dogs will provide not only a non-lethal method of clearing up the beaches, but also a more attractive means than using string or pyrotechnic flares, Alm said.
“This is the most acceptable method to the public, less interfering,” she said.
The dogs will be considered working animals and will possibly have to wear jackets to identify them while they are working. There is no concern that the dogs will harm or kill the seagulls, Alm said.
The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is part of a program set up by the Obama administration to deal with systemwide problems in the region, such as invasive species, habitat destruction and toxic pollution.
Ten other recipients have received funding in Michigan as part of the grant, which was $4.7 million total. The proposals were selected based on a scientific review.
“We are very excited," Alm said. "We have been wanting to do this for a few years and we’re glad to have the money to get started"
