Considering this deeper story, the mayfly swarms may not be so unpleasant after all.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen millions of mayflies emerge from Lake Erie, I see more than a summertime nuisance. I see evidence of what is possible when we invest in clean water,\u201d said Crystal Davis, NPCA\u2019s Midwest senior regional director. \u201cThis is a reminder that progress requires continued stewardship, funding and vigilance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Change That Works<\/p>\n
With decades of advocacy<\/a> in the region, NPCA has helped secure more than $3.8 billion in federal funding through the bipartisan Great Lakes Restoration Initiative<\/a> to clean up and restore the Great Lakes, which are the largest source of fresh water on the planet. <\/p>\n The National Park Service has used GLRI funding to protect and improve 10 national parks in the region through projects that clean up toxic waterways, restore wetlands and improve the health of the landscape and waters \u2014 helping people, plants and wildlife.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Blog Post<\/p>\n The Great Lakes make up the largest freshwater system in the world. Can you name the national parks found near and along their shores? They preserve natural phenomena and cultural\u2026<\/p>\n See more \u203a<\/p>\n Mayflies also appear in Lake Huron and Lake Michigan and other parts of the country, but not in the large swarms found in Lake Erie. Scientists consider them an important indicator of water quality and environmental health. To survive, the insects need high levels of dissolved oxygen, which is only found in clean, healthy waters. <\/p>\n For many years, mayflies did not appear around Lake Erie because its watershed had absorbed too much industrial waste and agricultural run-off in the decades after World War II. Combined with warming waters, algae would take hold, and after dying, would sink to the lake bottom and rot. Some sensitive aquatic insects, such as the mayfly larvae, could not survive these oxygen-deprived conditions. <\/p>\n After the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970 and the signing of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between the U.S. and Canada two years later, things started to look up for the mayfly.<\/p>\n With policies in place to drastically cut pollution entering Lake Erie, the aquatic insect began reappearing in the 1990s<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cPeople didn\u2019t really know what they were when these bay hatches started happening again, they had to ask the old timers, because they were the only ones that remembered it,\u201d Autumn Moore told the educational media organization Midstory this summer. Moore is the Northwest Ohio stream quality monitoring coordinator for the Ohio Scenic Rivers Program, part of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.<\/p>\n Midstory reported<\/a> in July that mayfly populations have shown a notable resurgence, based on information<\/a> from the Ohio EPA Lake Erie Nearshore Monitoring Program. Between 2021 and 2023, several monitoring stations recorded levels rated \u201cGood\u201d or \u201cExcellent\u201d \u2014 or even higher. <\/p>\n The Life Cycle of a Mayfly<\/p>\n The National Park Service explains the mayfly\u2019s life cycle as consisting of four stages \u2014 egg, nymph, subimago and imago. The third stage is the brief period when the adult is sexually mature. The cycle begins with an egg burrowed in a lake or stream bottom. Depending on the species, mayflies emerge as winged adults after three months to two years and live only another few minutes or days.<\/p>\n Mayflies also thrive in Yellowstone National Park, Sitka National Historical Park in Alaska, Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens in Washington, D.C., Buffalo National River in Arkansas, and Niobrara National Scenic River in Nebraska. They are a food source for fish, frogs and other creatures in these locations, according to the Park Service.<\/p>\n At Lake Erie, mayflies spend a year or two in the lake bottom. As larvae, they emerge from the mud to float to the surface and hatch, usually in early June. The adults only live for 24 to 48 hours. In that time, they rush to mate and lay eggs before they die.<\/p>\n Mayflies are attracted to bright lights in their search for love, and Ohio\u2019s coastal towns from Toledo to Sandusky sometimes have to turn off street lights<\/a> to reduce the swarm.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t Take These Bugs for Granted<\/p>\n Decades of stronger clean water protections and sustained public investment and awareness helped restore Lake Erie and its insect life, Davis said. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n 10 Great Lakes National Parks to Know and Love
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