In the frigid winter of 1994, ice cutting on the lakes had to continue until May 18.
A long period of ice cover could devastate the populations of young fish in Lake Michigan, leading to a cascading drop in lake wildlife populations, said Solomon David, a fish ecologist at the Shedd Aquarium.
Minnows and other small fish that mate a year after they hatch could drop in numbers after a long cold spell, which would make catching dinner more difficult for walleye and perch, David said. At the same time, the eggs of whitefish, which incubate over the winter in the shallows of the lake and hatch in the spring, could have trouble surviving if the lakes warm late in the year.
“One little change in the food web can have an effect on the entire food web,” with populations of some fish taking a few years to recover, David said.
On the upside, all the ice likely will have the benefit of helping restore the water levels of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, which have been close to historic lows in recent years, Leshkevich said.
“If there’s a prolonged spring because the ice melt is slow, and the water temperatures are cold, that will likely slow evaporation further, and that may help the water levels,” Leshkevich said.
