Rob Ferrett talks with an astrophysicist about the story behind the neutrino, a hard-to-find particle that could hold the secret of the universe. Then, we look at possible sources for hormones found in Wisconsin well water and find out why, after a hundred-year absence, whitefish are returning to Wisconsin rivers.
Featured in this Show
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Whitefish Return To Wisconsin Rivers
Whitefish are returning to Wisconsin rivers after more than a century away.
The species, popular with ice anglers and commercial fishers, lives in the Green Bay and Lake Michigan. They historically traveled upstream to spawn, but that migration ended by 1870, according to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel environmental reporter Lee Bergquist.
The population was likely pushed out by pollution.
“At that time, there was a huge timber industry, the river was silted in. There wasn’t the habitat that there is today,” said Bergquist.
In the decades before Congress passed the Clean Water Act, Bergquist said waterways and lakes weren’t protected.
“As a society, we treated rivers as open sewers for many years,” he said.
Since then, rehabilitation projects have improved the quality of the Green Bay tributaries.
“Where a lot of the effort is, is on the Fox River, where you have the largest PGB (polychlorinated biphenyls) cleanup project in the country,” Bergquist said.
Although the fish are returning, when it comes to the cleanup, “if you would ask an ardent (environmentalist), they’d say it’s not fast enough and it should have been done a long time ago,” said Bergquest.
He is still optimistic.
“The proof is that the fish are returning to the river,” he said.
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Hunting For the Universe's Hidden Particle: The Neutrino
An astrophysicist talks about the neutrino’s discovery, and the subsequent chase for the elusive particle.
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Dairy Farms Could Be Source For Hormones Found In Wisconsin Water Wells
A reporter from the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism explains the center’s latest investigation on hormones found in water wells deep in Wisconsin’s farming country.
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Whitefish Return To Wisconsin Rivers
After a century in absence, Lake Michigan whitefish are returning to Wisconsin rivers – a good sign for conservation efforts.
Episode Credits
- Rob Ferrett Host
- Lee Bergquist Guest
- Ray Jayawardhana Guest
- Kate Golden Guest
- Chris Malina Producer
- Amanda Magnus Producer
- Galen Druke Producer
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