Bird or Animal Deformities or Reproductive Problems Beneficial Use Impairment Assessment for the State of Michigan Areas of Concern

The State of Michigan has four Areas of Concern which have the Bird or Animal Deformities or Reproductive Problems Beneficial Use Impairment (Wildlife BUI). These areas are diverse locations which provide important habitats to the birds and fish of the Great Lakes, yet concerns as to the health of these animals and their reproduction remains. Limited research has been conducted to address the extent of the impairment and or the degree to which remediation has addressed the Wildlife BUI. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife (USFWS) working with state partners have identified information gaps that need to be addressed to help inform restoration needs and ultimately Wildlife BUI removal. The USFWS requires the following studies to more completely address the Wildlife BUI. 1. Assessing bald eagle health: measuring perfluorinated compounds in bald eagle nestling plasma. 2. Assessing mink health: measuring contaminant levels in mink livers and measuring lesions in mink jaws. 3. Assessing fish health and food source contaminant levels: measuring contaminant levels in forage fish. The USFWS intends to award a grant to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) without competition under justification 505DM 2.14.B.(4). Competition for the award is not practical as MDEQ is uniquely qualified to perform the research needed to inform the removal of the Bird or Animal Deformities or Wildlife BUI assessment. They are familiar with the issues associated with the Wildlife BUI, the locations which the USFWS requests be investigated and will provide data which will be comparable to other data collected by the state of Michigan. They will utilize the state agency laboratories at a cost reduction to the USFWS increasing the utility of the resulting data. MDEQ personnel have provided high quality relevant work on past research culminating in a easily understood report which has become an important tool in assessing Wildlife BUI removal for the USFWS and other state agencies. The proposed research will greatly benefit from the past knowledge and experiences of the MDEQ personnel and is important to the USFWS directive of providing information to state agencies to inform BUI removal.