Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
equallyawful.(Itcancausecancer.)MercurywarningsforU.S.watershaveincreasedmore
than 100 percent since 1993. Scientists announced a somewhat shocking discovery—that
dioxins were the likely culprit of swooning lake trout stocks, not invasive species or over-
fishing.
Whether you agree or not on the dangers, here are official government statistics. In bot-
tom feeders such as carp and Mississippi River channel catfish, the ppm contamination
levels are at 0.11 and 0.09, respectively. Contrast this with predators such as bass and wal-
leye, both with much higher levels—the latter at a somewhat whopping 0.52 ppm. North-
western Wisconsin, oddly enough, despite all those lush tracts of trees, has a rather high
level of mercury contamination when compared to the rest of the state, mostly because of
airborne contaminants.
This is in part why recommended daily intake of fish for women of childbearing years,
nursing mothers, and children under 15 is one meal per week of bluegill, sunfish, yellow
perch, and bullheads (among panfish), and one meal per month of walleye, northern pike,
bass, channel catfish, and flathead catfish (among predators and bottom feeders). Note: Do
not eat walleye longer than 20 inches, northern pike longer than 30 inches, or muskellenge.
Formenandwomenbeyondchildbearingyears,theformergroup(panfish)isn'tlimited,
while the latter group (predators and bottom feeders) is recommended at one meal per
week. If you eat fish only during vacation or sporadically otherwise, you can double these
amounts. To increase your chances of eating a healthy fish, eat smaller fish, eat panfish
(sunfish, crappies, etc.) rather than predators (walleye, northern pike, etc.), and trim skin
and fat.
Sprawling Mall
With 90.1 people per square mile, Wisconsin ranks in the middle of American states for
population density. However, two-thirds of the people dwell in the dozen southeastern
counties,creatingaseriousland-useandurban-sprawlissue.InsoutheasternWisconsin,ag-
ricultural land is being converted to urban use at a rate of 10 square miles per year. All
of southern Wisconsin may be in danger—Scenic America declared three sites (Vernon
County's Kickapoo River Valley, Washington County around Erin, and Mississippi River
bluffs) as some of the worst examples of rural landscape degradation; then again, we're not
as bad as Colorado (the entire state made the list).
Northern forests are being encroached upon as flight from burgeoning urban areas con-
tinues. This sprawl results in diminished air quality (from excess use of commuters' auto-
mobiles), loss of farmland and wildlife habitat, more toxic runoff, and continued erosion.
