Waterways across the state of Michigan struggle with the adverse effects of factories. To protect the water bodies of the state, clean-up projects for waterways are essential to combat ecosystem damage and maintain human health. Read the full story by The Michigan Daily.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251124-waterway-restoration
The surface water temperatures on the Great Lakes have cooled in the past few weeks after warmer weather in October. This will affect the likelihood of lake-effect snow this winter. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251124-temps-snow
An aquatic creature that is extinct in the wild everywhere except Mexico City was discovered in a Pennsylvania waterway. The axolotl was found swimming in Walnut Creek near Lake Erie and brought to a local pet shop. Read the full story by CBS News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251124-axolotl
Meet a maritime archaeologist who explores the historic ships and dugout canoes that lurk beneath the surface of the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Smithsonian Magazine.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251124-shipwrecks
The Royal Canadian Navy is considering expanding its training-ship operations to the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River, a move that would enable it to assist in patrolling the maritime border between Canada and the United States. Read the full story by The Globe and Mail.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251124-canada-navy
Great Lakes water levels are continuing to fall, which is entirely normal for this time of year. Fall and winter typically see less precipitation and more evaporation in the region. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251124-lake-levels
Bridge Michigan has spent the past several months chronicling the demise of the lower Great Lakes whitefish, investigating causes, consequences and potential solutions. Now, they’re teaming up with Detroit PBS to bring the story to your screens on the latest episode of Great Lakes Now. Read the full story by the Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251124-whitefish-race
A cruise-ship operator introducing its first Great Lakes cruises next year has scheduled Toledo, Ohio, port calls as part of its four itineraries. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251124-toledo-cruise
Waves on the Great Lakes are steeper and packed closer together, making them harder to read and faster to change. Experts say that volatility can make navigating the Great Lakes even more dangerous than the open ocean. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251124-ocean-danger
Airborne toxins from the annual harmful algal bloom on Lake Erie are the subject of two studies by researchers at the University of Toledo. The studies are the first of their kind in the Great Lakes. Read the full story by the Port Clinton News Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250905-asthma-algal
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) opened a new research facility for local biologists to conduct proper lab testing on Lake Erie’s native species and learn more about them. Read the full story by WJET-TV – Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250905-pfbc-facility
As fishing for burbot, a native Great Lakes fish species, has grown increasingly popular, anglers and researchers believe the population is disappearing. Researchers say invasive zebra mussels siphoning nutrients from the water are to blame. Read the full story by WJBK-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250905-burbot-fishing
A recent grant aims to support waterway navigation training and cultural reconnection to Anishinaabe canoeing for the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250905-anishinaabe-canoe
The Ohio State University and Ohio Sea Grant program are celebrating the 100-year anniversary of the Franz Theodore Stone Laboratory through an open house this weekend. The lab, which moved to its current location on Gibraltar Island in 1925, dates to the late 1800s, making it the oldest freshwater biological field station in the country. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250905-island-lab
The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District is studying how to prevent the release of untreated water and sewage into Lake Erie which occurred three times this summer at the waters of Edgewater Beach. Read the full story by WEWS-TV – Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250905-sewer-district
Construction is underway on Milwaukee’s $17 million South Shore Cruise Dock, which will be Milwaukee’s third designated cruise dock. It will have the capacity to serve the Great Lakes’ largest cruise ships and is expected to open ahead of the 2026 cruise season, which in Milwaukee typically starts in April or early May and runs through October. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250905-cruise-dock
The Michigan Maritime Museum in South Haven will host a presentation this month on a major effort to restore lake sturgeon to the Big Manistee River. Read the full story by WSJM – Benton Harbor, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250905-sturgeon-presentation
Environmental agencies are searching for the source of pollution that has created two contaminated hot spots in the lower Clinton River. Samples taken in 2017 and 2019 showed high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from two sites in the lower Clinton River in Mount Clemens, Michigan. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250905-clinton-pollution
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation confirmed the Great Lakes Cheese factory in Franklinville, New York, was not in compliance with its discharge permit and has paused discharges from its wastewater treatment facility following a significant fish kill on Ischua Creek last week. Read the full story by WGRZ-TV – Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250905-cheese-discharge
The Franklin-St. Lawrence NYSUT United Retirees will host a boat tour with Clayton Island Tours to Rock Island Lighthouse on the St. Lawrence River in a glass-bottom boat on Monday, September 8. The event is open to all teacher retirees and spouses. Read the full story by the Watertown Daily Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250903-lighthouse-tour
Michigan’s Great Lakes could see powerful waves up to 14 feet high throughout Friday, September 5, according to the National Weather Service. Gale warnings, small craft advisories and high swim risks are in place for select beaches of Lake Michigan, Lake Superior and Lake Huron. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250903-gale-warning
The Great Lakes are in the midst of a waterspout outbreak, and the whirlwind of activity is expected to last into the middle of this this week, forecasters say. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241014-water-spout
Scientists from multiple agencies work together each spring and fall to help migrating sturgeon move around the first two of five hydroelectric dams on the Menominee River in Michigan. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240923-sturgeon-elevator
The Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan announced Thursday it has released a smart phone app to guide people toward safe consumption of Great Lakes fish. The app provides personalized recommendations for eating fish from Lakes Huron, Michigan, Superior, from inland lakes in northern Michigan and northern Minnesota and store-bought fish. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240823-fish-app
The Great Lakes Research Center at Michigan Technological University and members of the Great Lakes Smart Ships Coalition will gather to deploy an autonomous surface vessel in hopes of finding the wreckage of a 1968 plane crash in Lake Superior. Read the full story by WWTV-TV – Cadillac, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240823-autonomous-vessel
Over the last week there have been numerous occasions when the Lake Michigan car ferry, S.S. Badger, has encountered boats that failed to give way. In some cases, the captain of the S.S. Badger was forced to take action to avoid a collision. In response, officials are imposing temporary fishing prohibitions. Read the full story by WWTV-TV – Cadillac, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240823-ferry-collision
Efforts by Pennsylvania Game Commission staff, and others, to bring an orange-legged, extirpated bird home to Erie County have “terned” out well. It is an uncommonly common milestone. Read the full story by Gettysburg Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240823-tern-return
Five hundred young sturgeon reared from a facility opened by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Michigan State University were released last week at four locations in the Saginaw River system. Read the full story by Midland Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240823-young-sturgeon
In 2023, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers signed a law, which set aside $125 million to remediate per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS). However, Republicans in the state legislature now disagree to the terms, and it’s been over a year that these funds have been frozen. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240823-pfas-divide
At the Great Lakes Experience VIP Fishing Day two weeks ago, held at Chadwick Bay in Dunkirk, New York, several charter captains, in collaboration with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, showcased the record-breaking fishing season on Lake Erie this year. Read the full story by the Observer Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240823-erie-fishing
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, removed a spare set of miter gates, constructed for the Davis and Sabin Locks, from the St. Marys River this summer. The miter gates were hidden in the river for over 80 years and weighed about 350,000 pounds each. Read the full story by Big News Network.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240823-amry-corps
The Great Lakes Fishery Commission has put together a team of researchers from Michigan State University and other universities to work on FishPass, a project that broke ground in May and will replace a local dam in Traverse City, Michigan. The goal is to let fish like walleye and lake sturgeon into the Boardman-Ottaway River while keeping out invasive species like sea lamprey. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240823-vampire-fish
A federal judge has sentenced an Ohio business owner to one year on probation and a $5,000 fine for illegally dumping a hazardous ammonia-containing substance into the Scioto River near Kenton. The crime killed more than 40,000 fish. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240823-illegal-dumping
Area marinas might become a little cleaner thanks to a research grant issued by the Ohio Lake Erie Commission. Ohio Sea Grant is getting $49,998 for a marine debris prevention and removal program. The grant will, among other things, help support three case studies, one marine debris workshop, and five presentations or displays. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240617-cleaner-marinas
The Ohio Lake Erie Commission recently announced nearly $150,000 in Lake Erie Protection Fund Grants for three projects at the Commission’s meeting last week. The Lake Erie Protection Fund is supported by the Lake Erie license plate proceeds and tax-deductible donations. Read the full story by The News-Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240617-license-plates
Set sail on the Great Lakes this summer with Inland Seas. Inland Seas Education Association or ISEA, offers a unique educational sailing experience for people of all ages. The non-profit organization introduces students to hands-on learning on and around the Great Lakes through their public sail programs. Read the full story by WPBN-TV – Traverse City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240617-inland-seas
A program launched in 2022 is taking the effort to clean up shorelines along the Great Lakes into a realm of high technology. Read the full story by The Herald Bulletin.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240617-litter-drone
The Michipicoten, the freighter rescued in Lake Superior after water poured into a mysterious 13-foot gash in its hull last weekend, is forever tied to Cleveland. Originally named for a Clevelander, the 698-foot ore boat was once the largest vessel to ever sail the Cuyahoga River. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240617-cleveland-freighter
Pearl Seas Cruises will offer its biggest season ever on the Great Lakes this summer. The cruise line will offer four unique itineraries, visiting 16 ports of call, including a brand-new 14-night “Great Lakes Explorer” cruise. Read the full story by TravelPulse.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240617-pearl-cruises
Lake Ontario has received a new designation as a National Marine Sanctuary and with it added protections and emphasis on its historic and cultural resources. Read the full story by Lockport Union-Sun & Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240617-marine-sanctuary
E.M.I.L.Y. is a remote-controlled robot that zips over waves to help struggling swimmers, which is being introduced on a pair of Lake Michigan beaches this summer. Supporters of the technology say it could save lives. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240617-rescue-robot
The oldest freighter still active on the Great Lakes arrived on the Saginaw River on Friday after departing Detroit on Thursday morning. The SS Alpena is a 519-foot cement carrier built in 1942. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240617-oldest-freighter
With summer just around the corner and a heat wave predicted for Michigan, there’s no better time for a trip to the beach. The Berrien County, Michigan, sheriff’s office shared several tips for beach goers to keep them safe. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240617-beach-safety
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has designated a National Estuarine Research Reserve bordering Green Bay on Lake Michigan. It is the 31st national site along the Great Lakes, coastal states, and territories. Read the full story by Public News Service.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240531-green-bay
A cross-border collaboration between stakeholders on both sides of the St. Mary’s River aims to further protect the Great Lakes by bolstering research into oil spills and their impacts upon freshwater environments. Read the full story by Soo Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240531-oil-spills
3rd Coast Cruising, a sailing academy, has helped hundreds of Chicagoans, many over the age of 50, discover new adventures on the lake. Read the full story by the Chicago Sun-Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240531-sailing-academy
A new study by researchers at the University of Indiana has broken down how PFAS circulates through the Great Lakes and shows that the so-called forever chemicals are building up in Lake Michigan. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240531-pfas-study
Before you head out, check this list of Michigan beaches closed or under contamination advisories for water quality that’s unsafe or questionable for human contact. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240531-michigan-beaches
Both state and federal organizations are working to keep Lake Erie and surrounding streams healthy, but an invasive species called the sea lamprey threatens local ecosystems. Many groups are involved in making sure sea lampreys are held in check and they’re bringing in more measures to combat them in west Erie County, Pennsylvania. Read the full story by WJET-TV – Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240531-invasive-species
Yellow perch used to be a common catch in Saginaw Bay and people would come to Michigan’s Thumb from all over to fish for them. Now, the population is dwindling and the DNR is working to boost their numbers. Read the full story by the Midland Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240531-perch-numbers
