After receiving over $20 million in grant funding, the city is working to bring it back better than ever. The city recently revealed the first renditions of the repairs and upgrades they plan to make, including adding streams, ponds, trees, and environmentally friendly walkways. Read the full story by WWTV/WWUP-TV Cadillac-Sault Ste. Marie, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210304-carbide-dock
Minnesota officials announced a multi-step strategy to address PFAS contamination in the environment. Read the full story by Circle of Blue.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210226-pfas
With warmer weather in the forecast for the foreseeable future, the United States Coast Guard issued a warning on Thursday afternoon for the public to use caution when it comes to ice conditions on the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Soo Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210226-coast-guard
A new report shows one-third of all freshwater fish species globally are threatened by extinction, and the threat is just as serious in the Great Lakes as it is for the rest of the world. Read the full story by WOOD -TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210226-arctic-grayling
A new report by the Michigan Dam Safety Task Force says the state of Michigan has a lot to do to reduce the risk of future dam failures. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210226-michigan-dams
The Minnesota Supreme Court has reversed an appeals court’s rejection of a critical air emissions permit for the planned PolyMet copper-nickel mine and sent the case back for further proceedings. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210226-copper-mine
Joliet, Illinois, is the latest city to give up on groundwater deep aquifers for their public water supply, voting last month to tap into Lake Michigan water provided by Chicago. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210226-joliet-water
The Maitland Valley Conservation Authority is seeking to complete a land survey for a Lake Huron shoreline hazard update in Ontario. Read the full story by the Shoreline Beacon.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210226-mvca-mapping
University of Windsor researchers have received a grant of more than $1 million to collect data and lay the groundwork for establishing an early-warning system to protect water treatment systems in Southwestern Ontario from harmful algal blooms. Read the full story by the Windsor Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210226-habs-funding
Waukegan’s $9 million renovation of its century-old water plant, which almost doubled its output capacity, was recently recognized as one of the top projects of 2020 by a multistate professional organization. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210226-water-plant
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of National Marine Sanctuaries will consider the Lake Erie Quadrangle for national marine sanctuary designation until Feb. 22, 2026, according to a news release issued Thursday. Read the full story by Lake Erie News Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210226-erie-designation
As Indiana lawmakers debate dozens of bills addressing environmental matters, tensions are flaring over whether the state should adopt greener initiatives or step back current policy affecting water, energy and other resources. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210216-indiana-regulations
The Great Lakes- St. Lawrence Seaway will officially open for the 2021 navigation season during the third week of March. Read the full story by WWTI – TV- Watertown, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210216-seaway-opening
Warming rivers due to climate change is one of the factors that is changing the ecology of Michigan’s rivers. Read the full story Michigan Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210216-climate-change
Though Michigan’s Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proposed no tax increases in her 2022 budget last week, the budget calls for increases to more than 140 fees for state government services, ranging from getting a traffic crash report from the Michigan State Police to getting a permit to develop areas designated as wetlands. Read the full story by The Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210216-michigan-budget
Years into Michigan’s PFAS contamination crisis, the state’s experience with widespread PFAS contamination has made it an early research laboratory into how the chemicals spread through the environment, and what that does to the species that live anywhere near the toxic stew. Read the full story by the Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210216-pfas
After an unusually mild January, one of Michigan’s wonders was spotted recently on Lake Superior off the north shore of the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Read the full story by The Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210216-chedoke-creek
Hamilton says it cannot vacuum up the sewage sludge coating the bottom of Chedoke Creek until at least eight months after the deadline in a provincial cleanup order. Now it’s up to the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks to decide whether to give the city more time. Read the full story by the Hamilton Spectator.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210216-chedoke-creek
Olympic speed skater Brian Hansen, an Illinois native, looks forward to the winter season every year knowing that there’s a decent chance that Lake Michigan will freeze over, and he’ll be able to skate along the freshly formed ice. Read the full story by Milwaukee Magazine.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210216-lake-michigan
Three decades after completing a study looking to understand the effects of global warming on living creatures, The University of Michigan is conducting a first-of-its-kind analysis of questions looking at relevance for human migration. Read the full story by the Bridge Magazine.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210216-climate-refuge
Residents of Bright’s Grove, Michigan have been seeing coyotes and their tracks this past week on the ice shelves of Lake Huron, between Mike Weir Park and Waterworks Road. Read the full story by The Sarnia Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210216-coyotes
The frigid weather of February has frozen more than 80% of Lake Erie, and ice fishing is in full swing. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210216-ice-fishing
Despite uncertainty about the economy, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s two-year budget proposal hits the accelerator when it comes to his H2Ohio program targeting Lake Erie algae problems and other water quality issues, proposing a combined $68 million funding increase for the program’s third and fourth years. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210216-h2ohio-funding
Ice coverage on the Great Lakes has been low after a relatively mild winter, but with the arctic air that has moved into Michigan over the last few days, it has more than doubled on all of the Great Lakes. Read the full story by WXYZ -TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210211-ice-coverage
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) reminds potential grant applicants that pre-proposals for the 2021 Sustain Our Great Lakes (SOGL) grants are due Feb. 16. Read the full story by The Chronicle Express.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210211-sustain-great-lakes
Ice volcanoes have formed along Lake Michigan after two winter storms in recent days brought frigid subzero temperatures to some areas. Read the full story by NBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210211-ice-volcanoes
Three projects by water and drainage agencies in Michigan’s Oakland and Wayne counties together expect to eliminate about 48 million gallons of stormwater mixed with sewage that otherwise makes it, untreated, into the Rouge River and beyond to Lake Erie. Read the full story by The Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210211-rouge-river
The Village of Waukesha, Wisconsin has filed a lawsuit against the city that aims to shut down construction of the water diversion project within its village limits. The hearing will take place on February 11 in Waukesha County Circuit Court. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Independent.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210211-waukesha
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy halted a portion of the demolition process due to concerns about dust coming from the demolition of a baghouse at the plant, EGLE officials said. Read the full story by The Mining Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210211-power-plant
The spiny water flea has been latching onto fishing equipment, traveling the Great Lakes for decades, but now they are being transported to some of the most pristine waters in the Upper Midwest. Read the full story by Outdoor Life Magazine.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210211-spiny-water-flea
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under President Joe Biden has yanked back the health assessment of a notable “forever chemical,” alleging the document was compromised by “political interference” in the final days of the Trump administration. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210211-pfas
Twenty-six people fishing on Lake Superior were rescued when an ice floe broke away from the Minnesota shoreline, stranding them in frigid weather. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210211-anglers-rescued
Indiana moved to protect seven remaining inland lakes with cisco; Illinois backs re-establishing them in southern Lake Michigan. Read the full story by the Chicago Sun Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210211-cisco
As issues with shoreline erosion on Lake Huron continue to plague Bluewater, Michigan residents along the lakeshore, councillors agreed to defer a decision on a policy to allow residents to install shoreline protections on municipal properties. Read the full story by the Shoreline Beacon.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210211-erosion-protection
The Roger Blough, a Great Lakes freighter with a special place in history caught fire overnight in a Wisconsin shipyard where it is being stored for the winter. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-roger-blough
Restoring the Great Lakes is a real-life example of how working together can deliver concrete results and perhaps even some national healing. Read the full story by The Chicago Sun Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-great-lakes-protection
Last week, business owners and supporters of the Erie Canal were informed during an online stakeholder meeting that the canal may not open until Memorial Day this year and could close as early as mid-September. Read the full story by The Buffalo News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-erie-canal
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. met with a small group of Indigenous leaders, water protectors, concerned citizens, politicians and activists on Saturday to learn more about their opposition to the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline replacement project. Read the full story by The Bemidji Pioneer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-line-3-opposition
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will host a public meeting to discuss updating the Wisconsin Walleye Management Plan for Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Walworth, Washington, and Waukesha counties. Read the full story by the Lake Superior News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-walleye-management
New evidence of beaver activity has been discovered on the Trenton Channel of the Detroit River in Trenton, Michigan. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-detroit-river
Despite the freezing conditions, a couple of brave surfers went out into Lake Erie on Monday afternoon. Read the full story by WTOL-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-lake-erie-waves
The annual sturgeon fishing season will take place on Black Lake this Saturday at 8am in the northeastern corner of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. The annual harvest quota – which this year is six fish total – is often reached very quickly. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-sturgeon
Locals in the Sarnia, Ontario area are voicing concerns about the devastation that will impact their community if the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline is disrupted or shut down in May by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Read the full story by CTV News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-line5
A major natural way of protecting the shoreline to enjoy summer on Presque Isle is the formation of ice dunes which not only preserve the environment they are around, but also help protect from sand erosion. Read the full story by WSMH – TV – Flint, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-presque-isle
For the second season in a row, Lake Superior and the Great Lakes as a whole are expected to have below-average ice, which could increase shoreline erosion and threaten organisms that depend on ice cover, sending ripples through an ecosystem already challenged by warming waters. Read the full story by The Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210128-low-ice
The Inland Seas Education Association based in Suttons Bay, Michigan is hosting a free virtual event today, where you’ll be able to watch the documentary about a group of women that attempted to dive one historic site in all five Great Lakes within twenty-four hours. Read the full story by WOOD- TV- Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210128-diving
As local residents expressed concerns about the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office being put into the Soo Locks Park, the Corps had a Town Hall to address some of these concerns and answered questions. Read the full story by the Sault News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210128-canal-park
Pre-COVID, economic and tourism leaders in Muskegon County, Michigan were expecting nearly 50 stops from Great Lakes cruise ships. Now, 20 would be a successful season. Read the full story by WTVG – TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210128-cruise-stops
The Great Lakes Research Consortium (GLRC), a collaboration of 27 universities and colleges in New York State and Ontario, has announced an update on the five projects receiving a total of $121,907 in small grants funding in 2020. Read the full story by Oswego County Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210128-research-projects
The Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project is urging Chicago area residents to stay off of the ice on Lake Michigan after a Facebook video was published showing a man plunging into the icy lake recently. Read the full story by WMAQ- TV – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210128-shelf-ice
