The Alliance for the Great Lakes invites volunteers from across the Great Lakes region to join for a Great Lakes Day of Action. Hundreds of Adopt-a-Beach volunteers will clean and celebrate Great Lakes shorelines as part of the International Coastal Cleanup. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250822-beach-cleanup
Two Ohio state lawmakers want to ban any drilling for oil and gas under public state lands or the bed of Lake Erie. In early 2023, Ohio governor Mike DeWine signed a law clearing hurdles for drilling companies to obtain leases to extract resources from public lands and parks, although drilling under them has been legal since 2011. Read the full story by WOUB-TV – Athens, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250804-drilling-legislation
According to researchers, last month’s temporary hypoxic and anoxic conditions at the bottom of western Lake Erie, caused by rapid warming of the water column’s upper layers, will most likely kill off a lot of mayfly nymphs that would have emerged in 2026. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250804-mayfly-impacts
The SS Keewatin at the Great Lakes Museum in Kingston, Ontario, has been selected as the Museum Ship of the Year for 2025 by the Steamship Historical Society of America. The ship – the world’s oldest surviving Edwardian-era passenger steamship – received this honor for its distinguished accomplishments and significant contributions to preserving the historical importance of engine-powered vessels. Read the full story by OrilliaMatters.com.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250804-ship-honors
The 29th Biennial Trans Superior International Yacht Race officially started Saturday August 2 in Whitefish Bay, Michigan. It is the world’s longest known freshwater sailboat race at 350 miles across Lake Superior. Read the full story by SooToday.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250804-yacht-race
Nine volunteer Coastal Conservation Youth Corps spent time identifying and removing invasive plants and removing plastic waste and tires along the Lake Huron shoreline in Goderich, Ontario. Read the full story by CKNX News Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250804-shoreline-cleanup
Ottawa County, Michigan, is experiencing a groundwater shortage as wells dry up amid moderate drought conditions. Despite the fact that Ottawa County is surrounded by lakes, rivers, and streams, its growing population relies heavily on wells for water. Read the full story by WXMI-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250801-groundwater-shortage
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) confirmed a recreational angler reported finding a dying grass carp – a massive invasive fish – floating in Baie du Doré on Lake Huron on July 14. The DFO collected the fish and confirmed it was a triploid (sterile) female. Read the full story by InsideHalton.com.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250801-grass-carp-detection
This year’s Manure Expo, held at the fairgrounds in Fulton County, Ohio, showcased the high-tech transformation of manure management. New tools on display at the expo aim to solve the issue of nutrient runoff that contributes to harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie’s western basin. Read the full story by WTOL-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250801-manure-tech
On late Tuesday night, a 1,000-foot tugboat, Presque Isle, was travelling along the southeast side of Neebish Island on the St. Marys River when it had maneuverability issues before dropping anchor to investigate the problem. According to public health officials, around 14-20 liters of hydraulic oil were spilled in the incident, though the oil sheen is no longer an issue. Read the full story by Soo Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250801-oil-spill
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has released the 2024 fish stocking numbers for inland waterbodies and the Great Lakes. The Wisconsin DNR stocked more than 3 million fish in lakes Superior and Michigan, including more than 1,000 lake sturgeon. Read the full story by The Star News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250801-fish-stocking
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District will start a maintenance dredging project at Manistique Harbor in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula as early as August 7. The $1.865 million project will remove 92,500 cubic yards of sediment and place it along the west breakwater beach area below the ordinary high-water mark. Read the full story by WLUC-TV – Marquette, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250801-dredging-project
More than 70 volunteers joined Save the River’s Trash Free River Days Weekend to remove 1,501 pounds of trash from the Upper St. Lawrence River last week. The volunteers retrieved a variety of trash which would otherwise contribute to rising microplastic levels in the St. Lawrence River or be consumed by fish and birds. Read the full story by the Watertown Daily Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250801-river-cleanup
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) completed more than 280 fisheries surveys across the state in 2024. Collecting key data on Michigan’s fisheries is critical for successful management of the state’s diverse fisheries, though critical fisheries management activities are at risk of reduction due to funding shortfalls, according to the Michigan DNR. Read the full story by the Iosco County News Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250801-fisheries-surveys
A business in Sheboygan, Wisconsin’s “Malibu of the Midwest” is known for being the state’s first surf shop. People have been surfing on Lake Michigan since the early 1950s, and Sheboygan surfers began forming surf clubs by the ’60s, though the city did not have a surf shop until 1998. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250801-surfing-great-lakes
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) shared a video of freshwater jellyfish at Presque Isle Bay in Lake Erie. The incredibly rare jellyfish is super hard to find, according to the DEP. Read the full story by KDKA-TV – Pittsburgh, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250801-freshwater-jellyfish
Great Lakes piping plovers hit a record count of 85 nesting pairs this year, which is four more pairs than in the last two years. Since being put on the Endangered Species Act list in 1984, the plovers are recovering, but only with the protection and assistance of a significant coalition of people and organizations. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250711-plover-record
Ohio’s two-year operating budget was officially signed into law by Governor DeWine, solidifying a massive cut to DeWine’s own H2Ohio program, a statewide water quality initiative. The cut has resulted in worries about environmental causes across Ohio, particularly those involving Lake Erie. Read the full story by the Akron Beacon Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250711-funding-cuts
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has added four new K9s to their staff, including Jet, a four-year-old black lab trained to detect and track zebra mussels, an aquatic invasive species. Read the full story by KBJR-TV – Superior, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250711-invasive-species-detection
The advisory council for the Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary will meet later this month amid the specter of massive budget and staff cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is charged with managing the sanctuary. Read the full story by Oswego County News Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250711-marine-sanctuary-council-meeting
The Great Lakes whitefish population is in steep decline, particularly in the main waters of lakes Michigan and Huron. Invasive quagga and zebra mussels are largely to blame for the decline, as they have gobbled up the vast majority of the small creatures such as shrimp-like Diporeia that were critical to the Great Lakes food web. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250711-whitefish-decline
Several Great Lakes advocacy groups have called for a second Great Lakes icebreaker which could help open up commerce on the Great Lakes during the winter. The funding was briefly included in the U.S. House-passed version of President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill – a sprawling reconciliation package – but appears to have been removed from the Senate’s version and what was ultimately signed by Trump. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250711-icebreaker-funding
The Robinson Bay, a historic tugboat, was donated by the U.S. Great Lakes Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation to the Great Lakes Maritime Academy in Traverse City, Michigan, providing cadets with new training opportunities. Read the full story by WPBN-TV – Traverse City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250711-tugboat-donation
According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Lake Superior’s water levels are sitting roughly 18 centimeters below the long-term average, and 16 centimeters below the level of a year ago. Read the full story by SNnewswatch.com.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250711-water-levels
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency contractors resumed the deployment of 8,100 tons of activated carbon used to remediate industrial pollutants along the St. Louis River – Lake Superior’s largest river – in the second phase of the $36 million project. Read the full story by the Pine Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250711-river-cleanup
The National Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo, Ohio, is connecting young people to engineering and education through a hands-on summer program that will instruct participants how to design, build and race mini-boats made from recycled material to teach about buoyancy, balance and sustainability. Read the full story by WTOL-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250711-summer-program
U.S. Representative Dave Joyce (OH-14) says that while Great Lakes ports may not always make headlines, they are central to our national security, economic efficiency, and domestic supply chain resilience. As the federal government considers infrastructure priorities, investing in the Great Lakes port system must be a top-tier objective. Read the full story by The Washington Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250625-great-lakes-ports
The Ohio legislature has proposed severe cuts to the H2Ohio program, and yet the initiative that works to reduce farm runoff into Lake Erie is showing the first signs that it may be working; a recent analysis estimates the amount of “dissolved reactive phosphorus” flowing into the lake during the spring has declined about 30% since 2008. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250625-budget-cuts
The draft environmental impact statement details serious environmental concerns linked to the proposed Line 5 tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac, including permanent loss of wetlands and vegetation, disruption of groundwater systems, and harm to aquatic wildlife from noise and vibration. Read the full story by The Manitoulin Expositor.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250625-line-five-plan
Three climate monitoring and maritime safety buoys have been deployed for the season from the south shore of Lake Superior to collect important navigation and climate planning data including wave height, wind speed, and water temperature. Read the full story by The Newberry News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250625-monitoring-buoys
According to a new study, toxins deposited on the shoreline by Lake Erie’s annual summer algae blooms can concentrate on the beach and persist for almost a month. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250625-algae-study
Five years after record-high Great Lakes water levels, legislation to curb construction on coastal dunes or make it easier for homeowners to protect their homes with temporary barriers have failed to gain traction. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250625-coastal-policies
Researchers have launched a first-of-its-kind community health project to find out if people who live, work or recreate on or near a harmful algal bloom are being exposed to airborne toxins in ways that could impact their long-term health – and how to better prevent, diagnose and treat potential effects. Read the full story by The Beacon.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250625-toxin-study
Wisconsin boaters are encouraged to do their part to help stop the spread of invasive plants and animals during the Great Lakes Blitz, which will take place from June 30 through July 13. Read the full story by WLUK-TV – Green Bay, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250625-landing-blitz
The lake sturgeon population in Michigan and the Great Lakes is on the rebound thanks in part to a collaborative effort between many entities. While efforts span the Great Lakes overall, the sturgeon population in Cheboygan County’s Black Lake has doubled from about 600 to around 1,200 since the start of restoration and stocking efforts more than two decades ago. Read the full story by WILX-TV – Onondaga, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250620-sturgeon-restoration
Researchers have identified a species of blue-green algae in the Duluth-Superior harbor that’s capable of producing harmful algal blooms, which may lead to better monitoring. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250620-algal-toxin-research
Temperatures across Michigan are expected to hit the 90s through the weekend, warm enough to tempt people to swim in the Great Lakes. Lake Erie and Lake Huron have posted readings at or near 70 degrees Fahrenheit, although lake temperatures typically don’t peak until late summer/early fall, according to GLISA. In Lake Superior, though, the high temperatures were in the 58-degrees Fahrenheit range in some places. Read the full story by The Sault Ste. Marie Evening News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250620-lake-temperatures
According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, large die-offs of alewives are typical this time of year. The invasive fish species is sensitive to sudden temperature changes, which can occur as they move from the deeper waters of the lake toward shore in the spring to spawn. Read the full story by WXXI – Rochester, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250620-fish-die-off
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it may dredge the Grand Haven inner harbor this fall as planned after reaching a compromise with Michigan state regulators to avoid certain areas suspected to contain toxic PFAS contaminants. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250620-pfas-testing
Lakewood, Ohio’s 100-year-old sewer system wasn’t designed to handle large storms. So as part of its efforts to address combined sewer overflows and meet Clean Water Act requirements for its high-rate system at the city’s wastewater treatment facility, the city is planning a $40 million sewer overflow storage tank. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250620-sewage-overflow-storage
Shallow-water ciscoes, a native fish species extirpated from Lake Erie in the mid-20th century, have been rediscovered in a lake in northeastern Pennsylvania. Efforts are underway to determine if the lost native species of fish in Lake Erie can be reintroduced from its descendants. Read the full story by the Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250620-fish-reintroduction
The U.S. Department of Energy is helping to restart Palisades nuclear power plant in Covert, Michigan, with a loan worth up to $1.52 billion. Local residents say the history of safety problems at Palisades, some of which date back nearly two decades, are cause for concern as the plant is restarted. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250620-nuclear-restart-concerns
The Michigan Maritime Museum in South Haven is offering a rare chance to step into the role of a Great Lakes scientist with some expedition cruises coming up this month. The limited-engagement event in partnership with the Annis Water Resources Institute, will give everyone a chance to climb aboard the W.G. Jackson, a working research vessel, to join researchers collecting Lake Michigan data. Read the full story by WSJM – Benton Harbor, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250620-research-cruise
Michigan’s first surf shop is hosting its second annual freshwater festival, Beryl Days, which runs June 20-22 at various locations including the Sleeping Bear Surf Shop, Empire Public Beach Lighthouse and South Bar Lake. Funds will go toward beach cleanups, scholarships for the shop’s junior waterman camps and surf lessons, and lobbying trips to Washington D.C. with the Great Lakes Business Network. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250620-freshwater-festival
A new study from the Medical University of Wisconsin shows hundreds of Chippewa-Ottawa Resource Authority tribe members are using information from a new mobile app called GigiigooApp to decide how much of what types of fish to eat. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250530-fish-consumption-app
Illinois officials took possession last week of a 50-acre stretch of riverbed in the Des Plaines River near Joliet to build a $1.15 billion barricade to keep invasive carp from entering the Great Lakes. While the state still needs to acquire more land along the riverbank to be able to build the barricade, the ground is contaminated by coal ash, a byproduct of burning coal to generate electricity that is known to cause cancer. Read the full story by the Chicago Sun-Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250530-carp-barricade
The Northeast-Midwest Institute led a virtual briefing this week aimed at giving lawmakers and their staff a deeper understanding of the impacts of, and solutions for, PFAS in the Great Lakes region. Read the full story by The New Lede.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250530-pfas-briefing
In Ohio, Toledo’s harbor will see its first cruise ship in decades when a Great Lakes vessel docks there Friday. Victory Cruise Lines’ 286-foot ship, called Victory I, will dock at One Maritime Plaza at 11:30 a.m., where multiple local organizations and elected officials will welcome nearly 200 passengers to the Glass City. Read the full story by WTOL-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250530-cruise-destination
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Friday released a long-awaited draft study that found that most of the environmental effects resulting from constructing a tunnel to house Line 5 beneath the Straits of Mackinac would be temporary and tied almost exclusively to construction activities. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250530-impact-study
New details are emerging about a proposed hovercraft service that aims to transport tourists and commuters across Lake Ontario between Toronto and Niagara Region in just 30 minutes. Officials with Hoverlink Ontario say the service will alleviate congestion along one of the province’s busiest highways and make it more attractive for people to travel to two of Ontario’s largest tourist destinations. Read the full story by CTV News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250530-hovercraft-service
