{"id":26713,"date":"2026-04-14T08:52:45","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T12:52:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/?p=26713"},"modified":"2026-04-14T08:52:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T12:52:47","slug":"great-lakes-conservation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/great-lakes-conservation\/","title":{"rendered":"This Student Looked to the Past to Help Protect the Great Lakes Today"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Student
Luke Werner ’26 holds a pike.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
\n
\n

On summer mornings along the shores of the Great Lakes, Kalamazoo College student Luke Werner \u201926 recognizes the rhythm of the water as something almost instinctive, shaped by years of fishing trips, charter boats and stories of salmon runs. And what began as a personal connection to Michigan\u2019s waters became something far more ambitious: a deep historical investigation into how those waters were nearly lost and what their past can teach us about protecting them today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Werner spent the past year immersed in archives, government reports and decades-old ecological data to complete his Senior Integrated Project<\/a> (SIP). Unlike many sustainability-focused projects rooted in biology or environmental science, Werner\u2019s work emerged from the history department\u2014an intentional choice that underscores a central argument of his research: understanding environmental crises requires an understanding of the past.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His project traces the rise, collapse and partial recovery of fish populations in the Great Lakes, revealing how human decisions over centuries, rather than a single ecological disruption, set the stage for disaster. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wanted to go back and really look at the history of the region,\u201d Werner said. \u201cWe tend to latch onto big moments, including the invasions and the tipping points. But the more I learned, the more I realized those were just the final dominoes.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Crisis Centuries in the Making<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Long before invasive species such as sea lampreys and alewives devastated the lakes in the mid-20th century, the ecosystem had already been strained by human impact. Werner points to a gradual shift away from the reciprocal relationship Indigenous communities such as the Anishinaabe had with the land. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe crisis wasn\u2019t just caused by these fish showing up,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was enabled by hundreds of years of decisions, including overfishing, damming rivers and pollution. We refused to cooperate with the lakes.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the time invasive species entered through shipping routes and canals, native fish populations were already vulnerable. The result was catastrophic as sea lampreys decimated large fish, while alewife numbers escalated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt genuinely became an international crisis,\u201d Werner said. \u201cYou had industries collapsing, thousands of jobs lost, and entire ecosystems out of balance.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Man Behind the Salmon<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the 1950s, Howard Tanner, a fisheries biologist, was at the center of the most pivotal response to that crisis, as his bold proposal helped reshape the Great Lakes. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Student
Werner holds a large mouth bass.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
\n

Sustainability SIP Symposium Scheduled<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kalamazoo College will celebrate Environmental Education Week April 20-24. Events will include the annual Sustainability SIP Symposium on April 22, which is Earth Day, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership. The event will honor more than a dozen students from a variety of majors who pursued themes of climate change, the environment, and sustainability in their research and projects. For more information, watch envirostewardship.kzoo.edu<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Tanner, who had experience studying salmon in the Western United States, proposed introducing Pacific salmon, specifically coho and Chinook, into the Great Lakes as a biological control for alewives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe knew salmon were strong, cold-water fish that could survive in the lakes,\u201d Werner said. \u201cAnd more importantly, they prey on alewives.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time, the idea was far from an assured solution. Introducing another non-native species carried risks, especially in an already unstable ecosystem. But Tanner framed it as a calculated, science-driven intervention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a gamble, but it was an intentional one,\u201d Werner said. \u201cThat\u2019s the difference. These fish were chosen.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within a year of Tanner\u2019s proposal, hundreds of thousands of salmon were released into the lakes. The alewife populations plummeted, and a new recreational fishing economy took shape. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTanner\u2019s work didn\u2019t just help stabilize the ecosystem,\u201d Werner said. \u201cIt created this entire multi-billion-dollar recreational industry that still exists today.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Solution That Requires Constant Attention<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Werner is careful not to describe the salmon introduction as a clean victory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more like it was managed into something sustainable and only with constant effort,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, fish populations in the Great Lakes are still carefully balanced through a combination of stocking decisions, invasive species control and strict regulations. Too many salmon can deplete alewife populations, which in turn harms the salmon themselves. Too few salmon allow alewives to rebound. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a cat-and-mouse game,\u201d Werner said. \u201cThey actually have to adjust how many salmon they introduce each year to keep everything in balance.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That balancing act extends beyond species management. Werner points to modern environmental protections such as limits on commercial fishing, pollution controls and habitat preservation as direct responses to past failures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At one point, Michigan alone had more than 10,000 commercial fishing licenses. Today, that number has dropped to just a few dozen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s one of the biggest changes,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve shifted from this mindset of extraction to something much more intentional.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why History Matters<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For Werner, the most important takeaway from his project isn\u2019t just what happened, but how we understand it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really critical to analyze and reflect on our past,\u201d he said. \u201cWe repeat the same mistakes all the time if we don\u2019t.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By placing environmental issues in a historical context, his work reveals the complexity behind them, showing that crises are rarely sudden and solutions are rarely simple. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing a history major, it\u2019s impossible for me to take things at face value,\u201d Werner said. \u201cThere are always layers\u2014economic, social, political\u2014that shape what happens.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That perspective, he argues, is essential for anyone working in sustainability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wanted to move beyond the big headlines, the big titles, and the simple understanding of history and look at the myriad causes of these issues from the late 1600s through the 1950s,\u201d he said. \u201cRealistically, there were hundreds of different factors that led to this crisis.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking Ahead<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As Werner considers a future in environmental work\u2014whether with state agencies, conservation groups or fisheries management\u2014his SIP serves as a capstone and a starting point. What began as a personal connection to the Great Lakes has evolved into a deeper understanding of how fragile yet resilient those systems can be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s changed how I see the lakes,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just about what\u2019s in them, it\u2019s about our relationship with them.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As his research clarifies, that relationship\u2014shaped over centuries\u2014will determine how the Great Lakes are sustained for generations to come. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we could get some agreements between governments\u2014even if it\u2019s just state and provincial governments\u2014I think that would be a big boon for the environmental and economic success of the region,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What began as a personal connection to the Great Lakes became something more ambitious: an investigation into how those waters were nearly lost.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":147,"featured_media":26714,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,231],"tags":[52,176,64,161,38],"post_formats":[],"class_list":["post-26713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-students","tag-biology","tag-environmental-studies","tag-history","tag-senior-integrated-project","tag-students"],"yoast_head":"\r\nGreat Lakes Protection Starts with Look Back - News and Events<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What began as a personal love of the Great Lakes became something more ambitious: an investigation into how those waters were nearly lost.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/great-lakes-conservation\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Great Lakes Protection Starts with Look Back - 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aria-label=\"archive of category News Stories\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/category\/news\/\" rel=\"category tag\">News Stories<\/a><a aria-label=\"archive of category Students\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/category\/students\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Students<\/a>","tags_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/biology\/\" rel=\"tag\">biology<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/environmental-studies\/\" rel=\"tag\">environmental studies<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/history\/\" rel=\"tag\">history<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/senior-integrated-project\/\" rel=\"tag\">Senior Integrated Project<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/students\/\" rel=\"tag\">students<\/a>","social_share_info":"<a data-share=\"facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/great-lakes-conservation\/\" class=\"pl-facebook-share social-share-default pl-social-share\" 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