According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, this year’s historic lack of ice coverage could have a big impact on people living in communities around the lake, as well as some fish species that use the ice for protection from predators during spawning season. Read the full story by WXYZ-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240221-ice-impacts
A study in Niagara County, New York, determined sport fishing put $58.55 million into the local economy in 2022. One facet of the county’s success story is the fishing pens operated and maintained by the Lake Ontario Trout and Salmon Association. The Niagara County Legislature will be looking at a resolution to grant the volunteer group $4,000 for the repair and replacement of those pens. Read the full story by The Lockport Union-Sun & Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240221-fish-pass
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced some $7.5 million earmarked for Barcelona Harbor, and other harbors in western New York. The funding came as a bipartisan effort between Schumer and Buffalo-area House Representative Nick Langworthy; both noted the state of disrepair the harbor has fallen into. Read the full story by WJET-TV – Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240221-harbor-funding
Michigan bills to get rid of the state’s Environmental Rules Review Committee are on their way to the governor after passing the state Senate on Tuesday. The committee was created six years ago as an extra check on the rulemaking process for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, or EGLE. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240221-environmental-review
About 250 acres of Indiana wetlands have been lost in the two years since wetland protections were eased in a 2021 law, according to the Hoosier Environmental Council. A new bill that advanced through the state Senate recently would further reduce wetland protections, allowing developers to avoid costly permitting and mitigation. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240221-wetland-protection
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) muskie hatchery has to start with hundreds of thousands of eggs to successfully stock tens of thousands of fish, but muskies have the added challenge of being highly cannibalistic. The key to keeping muskies from eating each other is making sure they have plenty of other options without being wasteful. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240221-muskie-hatchery
Lake Erie currently has about 3% ice coverage, up from 10 days ago when there was basically no ice. During a cold stretch in northeast Ohio earlier this year, ice coverage on the lake increased to 35%. Average ice coverage peaks in late February, but the lake is on pace to remain below average this season. Read the full story by WEWS-TV – Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240221-ice-coverage
Conservation groups and water policy experts feared that a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year would create a patchwork of state wetland protections, threatening water quality in the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds. Now they say that fear is becoming a reality with a new Indiana law that will roll back protections for many of Indiana’s most regulated wetlands. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240214-wetland-regulation
As of the morning of February 12, the Great Lakes have crossed the historic threshold and reached a record low of ice cover basin-wide. The measurement taken as of the morning was 2.69% ice cover. Read the full story by WWJ-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240214-ice-record
A study by Birds Canada shows wetland bird populations have increased along the Great Lakes coast over much of the past decade. Of the eighteen bird species counted as part of the study, nine increased their populations across all of the Great Lakes — some by as much as 50% per year. Read the full story by the News Advocate.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240214-bird-study
Researchers at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, examined fish consumption advisories for the upper St. Lawrence River issued by New York State, the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec, and the Akwesasne Mohawk community. They found that advice about how many fish to eat and how often can vary widely depending on the jurisdiction. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240214-fish-consumption
When the Great Lakes have low ice cover for much of winter, it can lead to a lot of evaporation and lower lake levels, but that’s not necessarily the case this winter. Researchers say a lack of cold air over the cold lakes is keeping evaporation in check, maintaining water levels. Read the full story by WLUK-TV – Green Bay, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240214-water-levels
Midwest tribal leaders are challenging Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline that has already spilled more than a million gallons of oil since the first recorded leak in 1968. Now Enbridge wants to start over and reroute Line 5 into a plan called the Great Lakes Tunnel Project. Read the full story by WBEZ – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240214-pipeline-challenge
A Wisconsin author contemplates the history and environmental change of Lake Superior in her new book. She describes her observations of Lake Superior, adventurous fishermen known as bobbers, threats to migrating birds and the lasting effects of mining over her more than 30 years owning a rustic cabin on the lake’s South Shore near Port Wing. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240214-lake-superior-book
The Great Lakes- St. Lawrence Seaway’s 2024 navigation season will officially begin on Friday, March 22. The Montreal, Lake Ontario and Welland Canal will all open at 8 a.m. on opening day. Read the full story by WWTI-TV – Watertown, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240214-seaway-opening
A new documentary follows the search for a Michigan village and church swept away by the rising waters of Lake St. Clair in 1855. The Macomb County Planning and Economic Development Department has been working on the project for several years with archivists and historians. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240214-st-clair-documentary
The historic S.S. Badger car ferry will hold three sunset cruises this summer which will board in Ludington, Michigan, and sail along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. Each of these shoreline cruises will feature a theme, live entertainment, food and a cash bar. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240214-sunset-cruise
United States Army Corps of Engineers researchers looked across 24 sites and over 20 years of data to determine the frequency of certain scale seiches. Research on seiche is important because it helps residents and agencies to prepare for strong surge, which can create flash flooding-like hazards. Read the full story by WTVG-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240129-seiche-research
A project that encompasses Ohio, Illinois and Wisconsin is getting a $15 million National Science Foundation regional innovation engine award for a project to develop smart water recovery systems that will save water and make Great Lakes manufacturing more sustainable. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240129-sustainable-manufacturing
Massena, New York’s tourism director says millions of dollars have flowed into towns and villages along the St. Lawrence River due to the success of bass fishing tournaments. State officials indicated that the tournaments have generated $140 million of revenue for communities along the St. Lawrence River. Read the full story by North Country Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240129-fishing-revenue
Under the recent period of colder air advecting from the North Pole, shorelines along every Great Lake experienced notable ice accumulation, though ice cover remains historically low. A number of reasons exist for the shortage of sea ice this year within the lakes, most notably the mild temperatures brought on by a strong and persistent El Niño pattern. Read the full story by WBND-TV – South Bend, IN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240129-ice-conditions
Residents in Lakeshore, Ontario, have experienced increased flooding as warmer temperatures caused ice jams on Puce River and runoff from rain caused water levels to rise. The regional Conservation Authority noted that drains across the county are observed to be slow draining and are nearly or entirely full. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240129-ice-jams
The Narwhal’s Ontario bureau became the fifth member of the Great Lakes News Collaborative, a group of news outlets working together to enhance coverage of the Great Lakes basin. Funded by the Michigan-based Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the collaborative was established in 2020 and has collectively already achieved a 47-percent increase in the number of Great Lakes and water-related stories published by the outlets. Read the full story by The Narwhal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240129-news-collaborative
More than 100 environmentalists turned up for Save the River’s 35th annual Winter Environmental Conference in Clayton, New York to discuss topics like contaminants, slaughterhouses, and eels. Read the full story by WWNY-TV – Carthage, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240129-environmental-conference
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and University of Wisconsin-Extension are asking anglers to help prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species in Wisconsin’s lakes and rivers while fishing this winter. Aquatic invasive species such as curly-leaf pondweed and Eurasian watermilfoil remain hardy under the ice in the winter, giving them an advantage over native aquatic plants. Read the full story by the Lake Geneva Regional News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240129-invasive-species-prevention
This year’s Lake Superior Ice Festival in Superior, Wisconsin, had more ice than snow, though with temperatures right around freezing, it was cold enough to keep the ice sculptures from melting. Although most activities were landlocked this year, select portions of the ice were open for fishing and even skating. Read the full story by KBJR-TV – Superior, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240129-ice-festival
Fifth graders at Lake Superior Elementary School in Superior, Wisconsin, picked up trash at Billings Park this fall for a coastal cleanup. The students tested the water quality of Lake Superior, learning that Lake Superior is a healthy lake. Read the full story by Superior Telegram.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240129-coastal-cleanup
On Monday, the Conference of Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers organized a head-to-tail cook-off that challenged culinary students at Kendall College in Chicago to use the entire fish in their dishes. The event was the latest effort in a push toward utilizing 100% of the fish caught in the Great Lakes. Read the full story by WBBM – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240124-100-percent-fish
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Fisheries Division will be hiring a full-time malacologist – a biologist who studies mollusks, including mussels and clams – which will kickstart a two-year project to centralize mussel data collected across the state. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240124-mussel-research
Steel production at mills in the Great Lakes region, clustered mainly along the south shore of Lake Michigan in Northwest Indiana, fell by 10,000 tons last week, representing a decrease of 1.5%. Read the full story by The Times of Northwest Indiana.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240124-steel-production
Lake Erie is behind its typical freezing schedule, which depends on different weather patterns, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials. The recent cold snap has helped Lake Erie freeze at a faster pace, though if temperatures warm, it can thaw just as quickly. Read the full story by WKSU – Kent, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240124-erie-ice-cover
Large freighters were on the move in Door County, Wisconsin, on Monday morning to find somewhere to go during the winter season. The Winter Fleet will remain in port typically until the Soo Locks on Lake Superior open again for the season; this year, that’s scheduled for April 24. Read the full story by WTAQ – Green Bay, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240124-freighter-winter
Last Friday, northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana were hit with an extremely localized but intense band of lake-effect snow created by whirlwinds known as mesovortexes. They are formed by convergence, or a gathering of winds near the ground, and are akin to tiny low pressure systems. Read the full story by The Washington Post.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240124-mesovortex-snow
The city of Buchanan, Michigan, is a new member of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, an international coalition of more than 240 municipal and regional U.S. and Canadian mayors and local officials working to advance the protection and restoration of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River basin. Read the full story by WSJM – Benton Harbor, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240124-lake-protection-coalition
Amidst severe winter conditions last week, a Windsor-based photographer perched at Point Pelee on the northern shore of Lake Erie to photograph ice volcanoes, also known as ice shelves. The stunning formations appear when powerful winds hurl water against the shoreline, where it freezes on impact and builds up an ice shelf layer by layer. Read the full story by The Windsor Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240124-ice-volcano-photographer
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) stocked Michigan waters with six different species totaling more than one million fish and 14.5 tons at 103 locations throughout the state at the end of 2023. That came after the DNR announced it had stocked waters with more than nine million fish as of September 2023. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240124-fish-stock
After a mild start to winter in Wisconsin, most lakes across the state are now frozen after a week of bitterly cold temperatures. But in the future, Wisconsin’s state climatologist says residents can expect more winters where lakes take this long to freeze — or winters where lakes never freeze. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240124-wisconsin-ice-cover
New regulations to combat the spread of aquatic invasive species went into effect in Pennsylvania on January 1. Boaters are now required to check their boats and trailers for aquatic life and plants before leaving a waterway property. Read the full story by WMPT-TV – York, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240112-invasive-species-regulations
According to lake carriers’ data, there has been a more than 20% increase in shipments across the Great Lakes this year. The weather conditions have made it easier for ships carrying iron ore to sail with fewer ice delays. Read the full story by WWMT-TV – Kalamazoo, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240112-shipping-boost
Educators from all eight Great Lakes states will have the chance to spend a week with scientists aboard the research vessel Lake Guardian as it crisscrosses Lake Erie this summer. The 2024 shipboard science workshop is open to educators and other professionals whose students are in fifth through 12th grades. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240112-educator-research-vessel
In New York, the Port of Oswego Authority is pressing for an equitable share of Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The Authority argues that most of the PIDP grants have gone to East and West Coast ports, while only 2% of the funds went to two Great Lakes ports. Read the full story by Oswego County Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240112-port-grants
During the last week of 2023, the city of Eastpointe, Michigan, issued a public advisory for water customers after several homes in the area with known lead service lines were tested and were found to have high lead levels in their drinking water. This was the third such advisory since the end of 2022. Read the full story by C & G Newspapers.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240112-lead-advisory
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Thursday that the Soo Locks are set to close for more than two months while crews perform seasonal maintenance. The 1,200-foot Poe Lock will reopen March 25 and the 800-foot MacArthur Lock will reopen April 24. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240112-lock-maintenance
A new study from Cornell University warns that climate warming and lake browning – when organic matter from forests turns the water brown – is making the bottom of most lakes in the Adirondacks unlivable for cold water species such as trout, salmon and whitefish during the summer. Read the full story by WNBF – Binghamton, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240112-fishing-threats
In Ohio, Cleveland Metroparks sees its purchase of a key property along the Cuyahoga River as a big step toward creating a continuous path on or near the waterfront. The $3.5 million acquisition of 3.3 acres from Grain Craft, a onetime flour mill, is seen as an opportunity to secure land for public access on the river. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240112-waterfront-access
The Michigan Maritime Museum in South Haven will host the next entry in its lecture series on January 17 with a presentation on the Mackinac Railway Ferries. Mackinac Railway Ferries operated on the Great Lakes from the 1880s until 1984 and became a model for ice breakers around the world. Read the full story by WSJM – Benton Harbor, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240112-ice-breaker-lecture
The Great Lakes had the smallest amount of ice cover this New Year’s Day in at least the past 50 years. The Lakes are on track to see less ice cover than the seasonal average this winter, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. Read the full story by The Washington Post.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240103-ice-cover
Four Michigan tribes are appealing the Michigan Public Service Commission’s decision to allow Canadian oil company Enbridge to move forward with building a tunnel around Line 5 beneath the Straits of Mackinac. Read the full story by WLUC-TV – Marquette, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240103-permit-appeal
By this time of year, Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade, Québec, is usually teeming with thousands of visitors eager to angle for tomcod that swim upstream from the St. Lawrence River estuary every winter. The start of the season can attract as many as 15,000 visitors and at least $1 million in revenue. But this year’s ice fishing season is lacking a key element: ice. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240103-ice-fishing
This winter’s mild temperatures and lack of ice are making the end of the shipping season much smoother for the Port of Duluth-Superior. The ships will be able to travel through the Soo Locks at a much faster speed and the Port will have its latest closure date in history. Read the full story by KBJR-TV – Superior, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240103-shipping-season
