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Wisconsin and Michigan reported some of the worst air quality readings in the world Tuesday due to wildfire smoke from Canada.
WXPR’s Katie Thoresen spoke with one of the tribal-owned air monitoring stations in the northern Wisconsin region about their work.
Part of Natalene Cummings’ job as the Forest County Potawatomi Air Quality Program Manager is making sure people know when the air quality worsens.
She issues orders to raise a couple of flags throughout the reservation indicating the air quality.
The color matches the national Air Quality Index which ranges from green for good to mauve or maroon for hazardous.
Cummings has done this work for nearly 20 years, but it wasn’t until recently that she’s seen some of the worst air quality.
“Just in the last three years that has just jumped up. This year, I don’t know how many I’ve issued. Two years ago, when there was the Canadian and northern Minnesota fires that’s the first time since I’ve been here, since we’ve been monitoring that we went purple, even when mauve which is the highest level.”
Forest County Potawatomi is one of seven tribal reservations in the country to hold the same air quality designation as National Parks and wilderness areas.
The station monitors for particulate matter, ozone pollution, and sulfur dioxide in the air as well as a visibility monitor.
“That is the data that’s used then for the AirNow site which gives you what the current air quality is. They also use modeling then to do forecasting.”
Cummings urges people to take air quality reports seriously, especially for things like wildfire smoke.
Breathing in smoke particles and gas can lead to respiratory and cardiovascular issues.
A Cook Inlet beluga calf (gray color) swimming with three larger beluga whales (white). (Photo: Paul Wade / NOAA Fisheries)
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released an updated population estimate for Cook Inlet beluga whales in Alaska.
In 2018, the best estimate stood at 279 whales, but it has now risen to 331.
However, this development comes after a staggering decline of more than 75% from their historical population of 1,300 in 1979.
Hannah Bissett from our flagship station KNBA has more.
The population estimate for Cook Inlet beluga whales has been delayed since 2018 due to challenges such as the pandemic and weather restrictions. It has been conducted this year, providing important information about the current status of this endangered species.
The population estimate pool has been raised by about 100 whales.
According to NOAA biologist Paul Wade, the new development shows that the population is finally stable.
“However, when we look back over the ten-year window, cause ten years gives us enough data points to make a conclusive statement…it looks like it actually was declining then increased and then overall that even outs to being stable.”
According to the latest population survey conducted by NOAA, the new estimate indicates an improved count.
This change could be impacted by several factors, including, but not limited to, points of pollution and decreased noise pollution. The actual cause of the median increase is still being studied, as to get an accurate idea, you would need multiple years to showcase the incline.
Ragen Davey is a chemist dedicated to advancing research and resources to enhance our understanding of Cook Inlet belugas.
Davey emphasizes that a decade ago, a list of contaminants in Cook Inlet was identified. There are hundreds of mixing zones that are approved for the Cook Inlet. However, the tests carried out in the mixing zones do not yield definitive results regarding every impurity found in the area.
“What I think what would be great is if they did had to test every contaminant because then you can directly relate it to a source but that’s not how it goes. They do issue and report what’s over the limit but they don’t have to test for everything.”
The incline in the median still needs to be thoroughly dissected to get a completed picture of how the belugas are truly doing.
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