Indigenous leaders in North America, environmental and geographical experts, and volunteers are collaborating on the Biinaagami Project, a planned three-year initiative to engage Canadians and Americans in stewardship of the Great Lakes. Read the full story by The St. Catharines Standard.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220928-stewardship-project
The Great Lakes Water Authority announced that a repaired water transmission main that services several Metro Detroit communities is now expected to resume normal operations in early October, weeks after its expected resumption, after a leak closed the main in mid-August. Read the full story by WDIV-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220928-watermain-delay
This Thursday, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy is hosting a virtual public hearing on a push to restore the Grand River’s rapids in downtown Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids Whitewater and the city of Grand Rapids are seeking a permit to remove four low-head dams and replace them with rocks and boulders. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220928-restoration-publichearing
In Minnesota, Brighton Beach’s construction plan is an estimated $3.5 million dollars. However, Duluth’s Park and Recreation department are finding ways to reduce costs and be more sustainable, such as by reusing Brighton Beach’s current rocks and gravel. Read the full story by WDIO-TV – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220928-construction-sustainability
Eddie Olschansky, founder of Trash Fish Cleveland, organizes volunteers to clean up trash from waterways leading to Lake Erie. Olschansky aims to educate and encourage his community and hopes to give his volunteers a new perspective on plastic pollution. Read the full story by Spectrum News 1.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220928-erie-cleanup
The Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup, launched in 2020 by Pollution Probe and the Council of the Great Lakes Region, is focused both on cleanup technology and raising awareness of the plastic waste problem. Devices like the BeBot, a $55,000 beach-sifting robot that collects the waste buried in a defined area, aim to spark people’s curiosity and get them concerned about the issue. Read the full story by Axios.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220928-cleanup-technology
This year marks the 50th anniversary of both the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and the Great Lakes Public Forum. One topic of discussion at this year’s forum is how the Great Lakes are impacted by climate change and ongoing work to understand how they could be further impaired in the future. Read the full story by The Pointer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220928-forum-climate
A new film, “Against the Current 2: Keeping Invasive Carp Out of the Great Lakes” is documenting efforts to prevent invasive carp species from entering the Great Lakes. The film is a sequel to 2020’s “Against the Current,” which detailed work on the Brandon Road Lock and Dam project near Chicago. Read the full story by Finger Lakes 1.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220928-invasivecarp-film
The Great Lakes region sits at the intersection of two migratory super-highways, the Mississippi and Atlantic flyways, where more than 380 bird species fly through the region each fall. The Bird Migration Explorer, a new interactive map from the National Audubon Society, lets bird watchers track the journeys that globe-trotting birds make each year. Read the full story by Fond du Lac Reporter.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220928-bird-mapping
At Pere Marquette Beach in Muskegon, Michigan, Meijer announced the launch of two drones to clean up microplastics—small fragments of plastic in the environment resulting from broken down trash and debris—that have been polluting the Great Lakes shoreline. Read the full story by WOOD-TV — Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220824-cleanup-drones
In Ontario, trash that had been flushed down the toilet has ended up in Toronto Harbour due to combined sewage and stormwater pipes that overflow during heavy rainfalls. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220824-sewer-overflows
A circulating petition in Haldimand County, Ontario, is asking Conservation Ontario to streamline the process to allow property owners to conduct restoration work to remedy increased erosion to the Lake Erie shoreline. Read the full story by The Hamilton Spectator.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220824-lakeerie-erosion
Members of the Ojibwe Tribe in northern Wisconsin and Minnesota have stewarded land that grows wild rice for centuries. Now, chiefs and scientists with the tribes are working with the Department of Natural Resources and the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission to protect the remaining rice lakes from further damage. Read the full story by the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220824-ricelake-protection
According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, below-average precipitation will likely lead to Lake Ontario water levels dropping another five inches by September 19. Read the full story by WIVT-TV — Binghamton, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220824-waterlevel-dropping
In Marquette, Michigan, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service workers poured a chemical used to kill sea lamprey into Dead River, a spawning spot for the invasive species. Read the full story by WLUC-TV — Marquette, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220824-lamprey-treatment
Flint, Michigan, was unaffected by the water main break that affected 23 southeast Michigan communities due to Flint’s secondary water source from the Genesee County Drain Commission, a recent upgrade to the city’s water system. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220824-watersupply-upgrades
Property owners in Porter, Indiana, are seeking to undo a 2018 Indiana Supreme Court ruling that proclaimed the shoreline of Lake Michigan to be owned by the state and held in trust for the enjoyment of all Hoosiers. Read the full story by The Times of Northwest Indiana.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220824-lawsuit-publicshoreline
A bilingual children’s book is now available at Grand Haven State Park, Michigan, to educate children on water safety measures due to increasingly frequent drownings along the West Michigan shoreline. Read the full story by the Grand Haven Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220824-watersafety-education
Great Lakes Water Authority officials announced that a replacement pipe scheduled to be delivered Tuesday to the site of a major water main break in Metro Detroit has been delayed until the end of the week. This delay could postpone repair efforts and cause another boil water advisory if water pressure is impacted by repairs. Read the full story by WDIV-TV — Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220824-watermain-repairdelay
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy announced that the City of Flint’s water system’s lead level is higher than the previous 6-month period result. Despite this, the lead level is still below the federal action level of 15 parts per billion. Read the full story by WPBN-TV – Traverse City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220727-flint-lead
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources recommended that all water systems in the state be tested for PFAS chemicals. The DNR is providing free, voluntary sampling projects for municipal water systems across the state. Read the full story by WKBY-TV – La Crosse, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220727-pfas-testing
American eels, once abundant in tributaries to Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, are now listed as endangered under Ontario’s Endangered Species Act. Known to the Algonquin people as Kichisippi Pimisi, the American eel has been an essential part of Algonquin culture. Restoring the Kichisippi Pimisi is essential to re-establish the ancestral connection between them and the Algonquin people. Read the full story by MuskokaRegion.com.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220727-eel-restoration
While tourism helps the Northern Michigan economy thrive, the region’s popularity can have an impact on its lakes. Solutions such as boat cleaning stations are helping the region’s residents take care of their water systems. Read the full story by The Petoskey News-Review.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220727-tourism-impacts
The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and the U.S. Forest Service signed a memorandum of understanding in 2019 for shared stewardship of the Chippewa National Forest; now, with more diverse trees and shrubs and less underbrush, the forest has responded to this holistic management approach incorporating traditional ecological knowledge. Read the full story by MPR News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220727-indigenous-management
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-Mich.) authorized $45.6 million in Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grants to create more opportunities for outdoor recreation. The Fund was created in 1976 to provide funding for public acquisition of land for resource protection and outdoor recreation. Read the full story by The Daily Mining Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220727-recreation-grants
After a 5,300-gallon oil spill in the St. Marys River on June 9, Lake Superior State University’s Center for Freshwater Research and Education and LimnoTech placed sensors to monitor its containment. As of the end of July, the sensors continue not to detect any signs of lingering hydrocarbons from the spill. Read the full story by SooToday.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220727-oil-sensor
Lake Erie Awareness Day will take place in Put-in-Bay, Ohio, on Thursday, August 11. This event will feature activity stations to explore the cultural, historical, and ecological importance of the islands and draw attention to aquatic and terrestrial conservation efforts. Read the full story by WTOL-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220727-erie-awareness
Lake Superior’s surface temperature is the coldest it has been since 1997 at this point in the year. These cold temperatures could discourage the spawning of invasive species and set native populations up to thrive. Read the full story by WSAW-TV — Wausau, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220713-temperature-spawning
In Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, the Sault Tribe is expanding its walleye stocking program that has released nearly 19 million walleye through the Great Lakes since its inception in 1995. With the addition of a third breeding pond, the program released over two million walleye this year. Read the full story by The Sault News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220713-walleye-stocking
Muskegon Lake, a designated Area of Concern in Michigan, is celebrated as being virtually clean of its industrial past after an investment of over $80 million over more than 30 years. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220713-muskegonlake-restoration
A team aboard the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ research vessel Lake Char discovered the deepest occurrence of lake trout spawning in the Great Lakes at over 400 feet. This study uncovered the mystery of the spawning location and habitat of the deep-water lake trout. Read the full story by Up North Voice.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220713-laketrout-spawning
As the threat of high Lake Ontario water levels worries shoreline communities in New York, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer visited Sodus Point to push for activating FEMA’s $500 million revolving-loan program to help pay for flood-prevention projects. Read the full story by Finger Lakes Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220713-floodprevention-funding
A Leamington, Ontario, environmental group is calling for governmental action to prevent the possibility of destructive flooding due to rising Lake Erie water levels. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220713-flooding-prevention
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy laid out a $250 million plan to repair dams that failed in May 2020, draining Secord, Smallwood, Sandford, and Wixom Lakes. Read the full story by WNEM — Saginaw, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220713-dams-funding
A month after the Illinois DNR officially rebranded Asian carp as copi, Gordon Food Service, one of West Michigan’s largest food service companies, is working to find a supplier to sell Asian carp products. Read the full story by WOOD-TV — Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220713-gordonfoodservice-asiancarp
