James Polidori (Page 3)

The Great Lakes Fisheries Commission convened its annual meeting in Traverse City, Michigan, focusing on the critical issue of invasive species. A significant topic of discussion was the FishPass project in Traverse City, which the commission highlighted as a groundbreaking initiative in controlling invasive species like the sea lamprey. Read the full story by WPBN-TV – Traverse City, MI.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250530-fisheries-commission

James Polidori

The Maritime Heritage Alliance, a nonprofit organization, is dedicated to educating the public about the lakes through various initiatives, including an annual boat auction and thrift sale. Proceeds from the auction will support the Alliance’s programs, which are conducted on vessels like the 92-foot schooner Madeline and the 38-foot Concordia cutter Champion. Read the full story by WPBN-TV – Traverse City, MI.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250530-maritime-accessibility

James Polidori

Every spring, adult midge flies emerge by the Milwaukee lakefront in giant swarms to mate, procreate and lay their eggs in Lake Michigan. Though they may be a nuisance, midges play an important role in the ecosystem in and around Lake Michigan; the larvae are a valuable food source for fish and other aquatic organisms in the water and once above water, the adult midge flies can be food for birds, bats and other vertebrates. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250530-midge-flies

James Polidori

Glass-bottom boat Lady Michigan cruises over the famous wrecks of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Alpena, Michigan. The 4,300 miles of federally protected crystal-clear waters offer a unique peek into Great Lakes maritime history. Read the full story by MLive.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250530-shipwreck-tours

James Polidori

Construction of a new Soo Lock on the St. Marys River in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, is facing an upcoming financial deadline. Under the current budget in Washington, the money for the new lock needs to be allocated before September 25. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250516-soo-lock-funding

James Polidori

On May 14, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced their plan to roll back significant portions of the Biden administration’s first nationwide drinking water standard for PFAS. While limits for PFOA and PFOS will remain, the agency is extending the compliance deadline and intends to reconsider rules for other PFAS, like GenX. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250516-pfas-strategy

James Polidori

According to the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, the severity of the harmful algal bloom in the western basin of Lake Erie is projected to be in the mild-to-moderate range this year. The prediction is for a bloom in the 2.5 to 4.5 range, which is milder than last year’s moderate prediction of 4.5 to 6 on the severity index. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250516-algal-bloom-prediction

James Polidori

Presque Isle State Park in Erie, Pennsylvania, won’t receive federal funding for sand replenishment work on peninsula beaches in 2025. Some sand work will still take place this year on the beaches using state funds, but it won’t be as much as in most prior years. Read the full story by Erie Times-News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250516-sand-work-funding

James Polidori

While Great Lakes water levels were up in early May from the previous month, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says they are all lower than their 2024 averages, by as much as 8 inches. Read the full story by The Detroit Free Press.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250516-water-levels

James Polidori

There is always room to improve program effectiveness and efficiency in government, as well as business, nongovernmental organizations and other institutions. However, the “chainsaw” approach of recent months to downsizing, defunding and dismantling federal environmental programs while degrading Great Lakes scientific capacity and deregulating environmental protections could have long-term consequences. Read the full story by The News-Herald.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250516-spending-cut-impacts

James Polidori

In a recently published book, a maritime historian tells the stories of ships lost to fire, storm and human error in Lake Michigan across more than a century of maritime history. Read the full story by the Door County Pulse.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250516-shipwreck-book

James Polidori

Vernal pools, Michigan’s fantastical temporary wetlands, are teeming with life. They’ve earned the nickname “powerhouse puddles” from state conservationists. They’re also sometimes referred to as Michigan’s “coral reefs.” Read the full story by MLive.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250516-vernal-pools

James Polidori

Federal funding cutbacks have impacted the staff at NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. Severe spending limits have made it difficult to purchase ordinary equipment for processing toxic algal samples, and while remaining staff plan to launch large data-collecting buoys into the water this week, it’s late for a field season that typically runs from April to October. Read the full story by Planet Detroit.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250507-algal-bloom-research-funding-cuts

James Polidori

For 8 hours overnight, there was a constant overflow and discharge of wastewater at Walter W. Bradley Wastewater Treatment Plant in Webster, New York, because of a power outage that shut down equipment and disabled the internet-based alarm system that would have alerted someone to the problem, according to New York State and Town of Webster officials. Read the full story by WROC-TV – Rochester, NY.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250507-sewage-overflow

James Polidori

The Duluth City Council will be considering a resolution requesting federal officials to keep the U.S. EPA’s Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division lab in Duluth, Minnesota, open. About 150 employees stand to lose their jobs at the lab that contributes $15 million to Minnesota’s economy each year. Read the full story by KBJR-TV – Superior, WI.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250507-lab-resolution

James Polidori

The Executive Office of the President’s proposed 2026 federal budget includes a 25% reduction — nearly $1.5 billion — to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. That could gut funding for research programs monitoring water quality, weather conditions and fish populations across the region. Read the full story by Spectrum News 1.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250507-research-funding-cuts

James Polidori

The sturgeon spawning run is continuing in parts of Northeast Wisconsin, including the Green Bay area, and the lower Fox River below the De Pere dam. Experts say the prehistoric sturgeon make it up the Fox River every year to begin spawning when the water temperature reaches 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit. Read the full story by WLUK-TV – Green Bay, WI.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250507-sturgeon-spawning

James Polidori

As hundreds of thousands of alewife from Lake Ontario have been spawning for the season, authorities say recent weather changes have caused a surge in dead fish along the Greater Toronto Area shoreline. Read the full story by CityNews Toronto.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250507-fish-die-off

James Polidori

The Great Lakes, and the fisheries sustained within them, support a multi-billion-dollar economy and countless jobs, all of which depend on the crucial scientific research conducted by many state and federal entities. The proposed elimination of funding for the U.S. Geological Survey’s Ecosystems Mission Area, under the guise of fiscal responsibility, is a dangerous misstep. Read the full story by The Post-Standard.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250507-research-funding

James Polidori

According to a recent study by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, smallmouth bass in Lake St. Clair are bigger than they used to be. Because the bass are often released back into the water instead of going home with fishers, they can live longer and grow bigger. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250507-bass-study

James Polidori

On May 7, 1965, the SS Cedarville sank beneath the waters of the Straits of Mackinac after a collision just one mile east of the Mackinac Bridge. The freighter plied the waters of the Great Lakes for almost 40 years before it crashed, ferrying loads of limestone from port to port. Read the full story by The Sault Ste. Marie Evening News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250507-freighter-sinking-anniversary

James Polidori

The educational team at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is unveiling a new program, “Sleeping Bear from Below.” The underwater documentary will be projected on the park’s 12-foot inflatable planetarium to bring an immersive experience for elementary students. Read the full story by MLive.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250507-educational-program

James Polidori

The Ohio House recently approved a state budget bill that would heavily cut H2Ohio, the clean water program that aims to scale back harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie. The measure would reduce Governor DeWine’s proposal of about $270 million over two years to about $150 million. Read the full story by the Review Times.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250430-water-cuts

James Polidori

A federal judge in Detroit has ended litigation against one of the companies that consulted with the city of Flint when lead contamination led to a drinking water crisis 10 years ago. Read the full story by Michigan Advance.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250430-flint-settlement

James Polidori

Regulators from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy are demanding that BASF, an international chemical manufacturing company, stop the flow of contaminated groundwater into the Detroit River, alleging the company is violating a 39-year-old consent agreement with the state. Read the full story by The Detroit News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250430-contamination-regulation

James Polidori

In New York state, the Onondaga County Water Authority has embarked on the biggest expansion of the regional water system since it was first built in the 1960s. Micron Technology’s planned semiconductor manufacturing complex in Clay, New York, and the growth expected to follow, could more than double the amount of water the authority draws from Lake Ontario. Read the full story by The Post-Standard.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250430-water-supply-expansion

James Polidori

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, has established a safety zone extending 150 feet downstream of the Soo Locks Hydro Plant to ensure the safety of all mariners. The area immediately downstream of the power plant has many boils and whirlpools, making it unsafe for vessels. Read the full story by Soo Leader.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250430-marine-safety

James Polidori

According to a recent study, recreational fishing trips in the Great Lakes generate $884 million per year. It found that almost 9 million people over age 18 were licensed to fish in one of the Great Lakes at the time of the study’s data request during the 2020 season. Read the full story by the Capital News Service.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250430-angling-research

James Polidori

U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-IN) on April 30 reintroduced bipartisan legislation, known as the SHIPS Act, that intends to revitalize shipbuilding in the U.S. and close the ship vessel gap between America and foreign adversaries, such as China. Read the full story by The Indianapolis Star.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250430-shipbuilding-bill

James Polidori

In Ontario, lake sturgeon is a culturally significant and nutritionally important species for many communities. It’s also Ontario’s oldest fish, but that legacy could blink out without help and dedicated conservation. Read the full story by The Narwhal.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250430-sturgeon-conservation

James Polidori

The Steamship William G. Mather, a 618-foot freighter, opens for public tours on Saturday, May 3, and celebrates 100 years on lakes Erie, Huron and Superior on May 23. Once the working flagship of Cleveland Cliffs, Inc., the Mather now serves as a museum behind the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250430-steamship-anniversary

James Polidori

Ontario’s government wants to “unleash” its resources with sweeping changes to its laws on protecting species at risk aimed at speeding up environmental approvals. The government has portrayed the current system as slow and cumbersome, driving away resource and development companies from Ontario, but the new bill is raising alarms from environmental groups. Read the full story by CBC News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250430-species-protections

James Polidori

A new study found that microfibers are present in several types of algae from lakes Michigan, Erie, Huron, and Ontario in areas with high and low populations. Because the pollutant is stringy, other toxic chemicals like PFAS attach to microfibers and can get to other organisms more easily. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250425-microfiber-research

James Polidori

A preliminary budget outline from the Office of Management and Budget requests that federal involvement in many aspects of Great Lakes science be eliminated entirely by next year. It calls for NOAA’s budget to be reduced by nearly $1.7 billion from 2025 levels, including ending funding for Sea Grant programs nationwide. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250425-proposed-spending-cuts

James Polidori

An ice buildup in the Soo Locks caused an eight-hour delay for some big freighters, prompting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to send its tug to break up the ice and pass it downstream so shipping could resume.  Read the full story by MLive.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250425-freighter-delay

James Polidori

As one of the first major initiatives of the new Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary, a research vessel will spend several weeks near Oswego, New York, using a remotely controlled robot to document shipwrecks located hundreds of feet below the surface of Lake Ontario. Read the full story by Oswego County News Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250425-shipwreck-documentation

James Polidori

After the seasonal decline during the winter months, the water levels in Lake Erie are on the rise again and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers predicts the levels will rise for the next six months. Current levels are around the long-term average for April. Read the full story by the Erie Times-News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250425-water-levels

James Polidori

Governor Pritzker of Illinois said he’s still awaiting written guarantees that the federal government will fund the $1.15 billion project to block invasive carp from reaching the Great Lakes. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers needs Illinois to transfer property in order to begin construction on the long-awaited fortifications at a chokepoint dam on the Des Plaines River. Read the full story by MLive.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250425-invasive-carp-funding-assurance

James Polidori

Steelhead, a type of rainbow trout that head to the Knife River in Minnesota’s North Shore to spawn, have experienced dramatic population decline over the past decade. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources are weighing, measuring, and tagging the fish to learn where they’re coming from, where they’re going, and why their numbers have dropped. Read the full story by WCCO-TV – Minneapolis, MN.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250425-fish-tagging

James Polidori

Pennsylvania’s Presque Isle typically receives $3 million annually for its sand replenishment project, with half coming from the Commonwealth and the other half in federal funding. Because of current federal funding uncertainty, sand work likely won’t start until July, despite the work typically beginning in the spring. Read the full story by the Erie Times-News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250425-funding-uncertainty

James Polidori

Ozaukee County’s main marina in Port Washington, Wisconsin, received a shipment of 60,000 salmon from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in preparation for the summer’s charter fishing ventures. Read the full story by WTMJ-TV – Milwaukee, WI.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250425-fish-shipment

James Polidori

The Trump administration’s new trade rules aimed at penalizing operators of Chinese-built ships and boosting domestic shipbuilding appear to have spared the Great Lakes shipping industry from fees on ships built in China. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250425-ship-fees

James Polidori

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, met with President Donald Trump on Wednesday to discuss the need to ensure barriers are put in place to keep invasive carp out of Lake Michigan. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250411-invasive-carp-barriers

James Polidori

U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten of Grand Rapids, Michigan, says harbor dredging efforts along the Lake Michigan shoreline are uncertain right now with federal spending cuts, even as ports are increasingly busy. Scholten says Grand Haven could lose $88 million in business revenue if the dredging to clear the channel doesn’t happen. Read the full story by WGHN – Grand Haven, MI.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250411-dredging-funding-cuts

James Polidori

Newly published research from the U.S. Geological Survey looked at more than 25 years of annual sea lamprey data to assess the effectiveness of lamprey control funding. The research showed that after 2020 and 2021, years when control activities stopped altogether or were scaled back to varying degrees on all five Great Lakes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, lamprey populations increased the most in the lakes with the largest reductions in control. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250411-lamprey-impacts

James Polidori

Anxieties are mounting that a water pollution laboratory buttressing Lake Superior’s North Shore is slated to be closed, potentially terminating work for dozens of scientists and shuttering an economic engine for northern Minnesota. Read the full story by The Minnesota Star Tribune.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250411-epa-lab-closure

James Polidori

Despite decades-long efforts to clean up toxic hot spots along Michigan’s Great Lakes shores, a recent study shows that the health of waterbirds in some areas continues to suffer. It found that infertility and weakened immune systems were more prevalent at the contaminated sites than in birds in more pristine areas along Lake Superior at the St. Marys River. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250411-waterbird-health

James Polidori

Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller is asking the State of Michigan to take action following an alleged “sickening release” of 1.2 million gallons of raw sewage from neighboring Oakland County on April 3. Read the full story by MWYD-TV – Detroit, MI.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250411-sewage-release

James Polidori

The H2Ohio program helps farmers grow crops more efficiently while also protecting the environment. A recently proposed 44 percent reduction to the program could have serious consequences, not just for farmers but for the general public as well. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250411-h2ohio-spending-cuts

James Polidori

The Wisconsin Supreme Court could hear a case in the coming years centered around Enbridge Energy’s reroute of the pipeline known as Line 5. About 12 miles of the pipeline cuts through the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa’s reservation, though the easements for the land the pipeline is on have expired. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250411-pipeline-reroute-case

James Polidori