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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240214-water-levels

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240214-pipeline-challenge

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240214-lake-superior-book

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240214-st-clair-documentary

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240214-sunset-cruise

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240129-seiche-research

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240129-sustainable-manufacturing

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240129-fishing-revenue

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240129-ice-conditions

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240129-ice-jams

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240129-news-collaborative

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240129-environmental-conference

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240129-invasive-species-prevention

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240129-ice-festival

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240129-coastal-cleanup

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240124-100-percent-fish

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240124-mussel-research

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240124-erie-ice-cover

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240124-freighter-winter

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240124-mesovortex-snow

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240124-lake-protection-coalition

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240124-ice-volcano-photographer

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240124-fish-stock

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240124-wisconsin-ice-cover

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240112-invasive-species-regulations

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240112-shipping-boost

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240112-educator-research-vessel

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240112-port-grants

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240112-lead-advisory

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240112-lock-maintenance

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240112-fishing-threats

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240112-waterfront-access

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240112-ice-breaker-lecture

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240103-ice-cover

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240103-permit-appeal

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240103-ice-fishing

James Polidori

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.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240103-shipping-season

James Polidori

Proposed legislation that would create a statewide water affordability program in Michigan is drawing backlash from several Macomb County communities who worry it will raise rates for all users and say a Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) program already exists to help those in need. Sponsors of the legislation said the proposed water affordability program would actually subsidize the program already in place through the GLWA. Read the full story by The Detroit News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240103-water-affordability-program

James Polidori

Each fall and winter, the Milwaukee River receives runs of brown trout from Lake Michigan. The fish, among the largest of the species available to river anglers anywhere on the planet, travel upriver on spawning migrations and provide world-class fishing opportunities. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240103-fishing-opportunities

James Polidori

Upcoming changes to the fishing regulations in part of northeastern Ontario are drawing mixed reactions from anglers. A particular point of contention in the changes, which took effect on January 1, 2024, is a reduction in the keeping size of walleye in Fisheries Management Zone 10. Read the full story by CBC News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240103-fishing-regulations

James Polidori

The mysterious disappearance of a commercial fishing boat in Lake Michigan, and the 18-month-long search that followed, is the topic of the next program in the Maritime Speaker Series offered by the Door County Maritime Museum in Wisconsin. The public can attend the program on January 4 in person at the museum or see it online via Zoom. Read the full story by the Green Bay Press Gazette.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240103-shipwreck-program

James Polidori

Michigan’s three-person Public Service Commission approved a $500 million plan Friday to encase a portion of an aging oil pipeline in a protective tunnel that runs beneath a channel connecting two Great Lakes, leaving just one more regulatory hurdle for the contentious project. Read the full story by the Associated Press.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231204-pipeline-tunnel-approved

James Polidori

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation this week to make manoomin – wild rice – the state’s official native grain. The keystone aquatic plant with special importance to Indigenous peoples is now a Michigan state symbol just like the Petoskey stone and white pine tree. Read the full story by MLive.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231204-state-grain

James Polidori

Researchers at the Large Lakes Observatory at University of Minnesota Duluth say Lake Superior has warmed one degree per decade since the 1980s, making it one of the fastest-warming lakes in the world. Read the full story by WCCO-TV – Minneapolis, MN.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231204-lake-warming

James Polidori

The Michigan Department of Transportation has been awarded $10,000,000 in federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding to build a new passenger ferry between Charlevoix and Beaver Island, Michigan. Read the full story by WWTV-TV – Cadillac, MI.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231204-ferry-funding

James Polidori

A 13-year-old Champion, New York, resident started an educational YouTube channel about maritime history along the Great Lakes, which has been well received by thousands of followers. You can check out his work on his YouTube channel, Top Impressive Line. Read the full story by WWNY-TV – Carthage, NY.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231204-maritime-youtube-channel

James Polidori