Larry W4CSC wrote:

Back on topic....is Lake Erie still "dead" or have the two governments
gotten that under control?

Phosphates in detergents and agricultural runoff were some of the
primary causes of the stagnation of the lake in the 60's. Banning
phosphates and getting farmers to be a smarter in the use of fertilizers
and disposal of "nutrients" from stock-rearing operations started the
ball rolling on the clean-up. Water clarity and oxygen content improved
steadily throughout the 70's and 80's. In the late 80's the zebra
mussel found its way into the ecosystem. Net result of its explosive
growth was a shocking improvement in water clarity in the space of a
dozen years. Whereas in the 60's good water clarity would be in the 6'
range, clarity in the late 90's and currently can be in the 40-60'
range. The bottom of the western basin -35-55' depth- is frequently
clearly visible from altitude when overflying in calm conditions.
The water is clear, but is the lake healthy? No. Recently there have
been blooms of blue-green algae that are toxic for certain species of
fish. The filtration of micro-organisms by the zebra mussels, combined
with the idiotic program of fish-stocking undertaken by Michigan, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, New York and the province of Ontario in order to support
the sport fishing industry has caused a general collapse of the natural
food chain in the lake.