On Wednesday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency signed a $16 million project agreement to clean up contaminated sediment in the ponds behind Erie Pier in Duluth. Read the full story by KQDS-TV-Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210128-sediment-duluth
Congressman Dave Joyce (OH-14), whose district includes all of Ashtabula County, announced on Friday that dredging work for the Ashtabula and Conneaut harbors is included in the Army Corps of Engineers’ 2021 work plan. Read the full story by the Star Beacon.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210128-dredging
Florida’s Sand Dollar Island is an important wintering site for piping plovers, many of which nest on the Great Lakes, but a plan is underway to remove a huge portion of the island from the Critical Wildlife Area, threatening the species. Read the full story by Coastal Breeze News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210128-piping-plover
In Michigan, the Great Lakes State, we should be a leader in water quality efforts, and continuing to discharge sewage overflows, even if they’re treated and meet state permit requirements, should not be accepted. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210128-infrastructure
The issue of whether the Line 5 pipeline should continue its operations in the Great Lakes pits commerce against the environment. Read the full story by The Sarnia Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210128-line-5
This evening, the Midland-Penetanguishene Field Naturalists in Ontario welcomes guest speaker Kat Lucas, a Toronto Zoo Aqua-Links program assistant, who will deliver a virtual presentation on aquatic species at risk in the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Orillia Matters.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210121-aquatic-species
Great Lakes steel production rose by 20,000 tons last week but remains depressed by nearly 10% with U.S. steel mills only operating at about three-fourths of capacity, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. Read the full story by The Times of Northwest Indiana.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210121-steel-production
Due to the pandemic, this year’s wolf and moose study at Isle Royale National Park has been scrapped to protect the scientists and support personnel from possible exposure to the virus, Superintendent Denice Swanke said Friday. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210121-isle-royale
A recently published details the NASA-funded research of the 11 largest freshwater lakes. A combination of satellite observations and field data provided a new understanding of how water fixes carbon in large bodies of water and how climate change influences these interactions. Read the full story by The Science Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210121-climate-change
The Central Michigan Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (CM-CISMA) is hoping to continue research on invasive species in the area, this time focusing on the effects of last May’s flood on invasive species along the Tittabawassee River. Read the full story by the Midland Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210121-cisma
In passing an omnibus bill which included the Water Resources Development Act, Congress authorized a plan from the Army Corps of Engineers to restore the Chicago River’s South Fork, a 1.25-mile stretch more familiarly known as Bubbly Creek. Read the full story by WTTW-TV-Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210121-bubbly-creek
To address the issue of harmful algal blooms, Ohio Sea Grant, in conjunction with the University of Toledo, co-manage the Ohio Department of Higher Education’s Harmful Algal Bloom Research Initiative. These funds are leveraged with NOAA Sea Grant support to study Like Erie stressors. Read the full story by Ohio’s Country Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210121-erie-research
Pennsylvania’s Presque Isle State Park will receive a total of $3 million for sand replenishment in 2021, according to park operations manager Matt Green. Read the full story by Erie News Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210121-presque-isle
The Black River Area of Concern in Ohio removed another item of concern from its list, according to a news release from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Read the full story by The Chronicle Telegram.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210121-black-river
Three weeks into January the percentage of ice coverage on the Great Lakes is historically low with not even 2% of ice coverage on the lakes. Read the full story by WSYR-TV Syracuse, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210121-ice-cover
The Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational announced today that applications are now open for the 2021 #TeamUp for the Great Lakes Bay Region charitable program. Since its inception in 2019, this charitable giving effort has awarded over $200,000 to local charities throughout the Great Lakes Bay Region. Read the full story by the Midland Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210115-teamup-applications
Close to 5,700 lakes in the Northern Hemisphere may permanently lose ice cover this century, 179 of them in the next decade, at current greenhouse gas emissions despite a possible polar vortex this year, researchers at York University have found. Read the full story by WLUC – TV- Marquette, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210115-ice-cover
After a year without travel, international cruise line Viking is catering to built-up wanderlust and taking reservations for its new expedition ships, which are scheduled to sail to Minnesota in summer 2022 as the company makes its Great Lakes debut. Read the full story by the Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210115-viking-cruises
Environmental groups have filed a flurry of lawsuits against the Trump administration over its removal of Endangered Species Act protections for the gray wolf. Read the full story by Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210115-grey-wolf
Environmental groups have filed a flurry of lawsuits against the Trump administration over its removal of Endangered Species Act protections for the gray wolf. Read the full story by Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210115-grey-wolf
Four vessels will winter in the Twin Ports as the 2020-21 shipping campaign draws to completion Friday with the end-of-day closure of the Soo Locks connecting lakes Superior and Michigan. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210115-duluth-superior-port
Four vessels will winter in the Twin Ports as the 2020-21 shipping campaign draws to completion Friday with the end-of-day closure of the Soo Locks connecting lakes Superior and Michigan. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210115-duluth-superior-port
The latest estimates of Lake Michigan’s ice coverage are below average for the winter season so far, running at only 1.7%. The average ice coverage around this time is about 15%, 13.3% more than it is right now. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210115-lake-michigan
The latest estimates of Lake Michigan’s ice coverage are below average for the winter season so far, running at only 1.7%. The average ice coverage around this time is about 15%, 13.3% more than it is right now. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210115-lake-michigan
The National Museum of the Great Lakes is offering free admission Saturday through Monday as a gesture of gratitude to the Toledo, Ohio, community for its ongoing support, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210115-maritime-museum
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that a new Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative Regional Dredging project has begun at Little Sodus Bay on Lake Ontario and more are planned. This Initiative was original developed in response unprecedented flooding along the shores of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River to help communities build resiliency. Read the full story by WWTI–TV – Watertown, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210115-st-lawrence-dredging
The Town of Newfane, New York, recently took another step to secure a breakwall in Olcott Harbor by submitting an application to the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Read the full story by the Niagara Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210115-olcott-breakwall
The rescue of a swan in Lake Ontario highlights the plight of many birds killed or injured by garbage carelessly discarded in parks and lakes. Read the full story by BlogTo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210115-swan-rescue
Cargo shipments within the Great Lakes are down compared to 2019, but some shipping companies are beginning to see a small increase in demand. Read the full story by Michigan Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210104-shipping
The sucker, a freshwater fish species dubbed the “wildebeest of the Great Lakes” due to their similar long-range migration patterns, begins an annual exodus every spring from the waters of the Great Lakes into tributary rivers and creeks to spawn. Read the full story by WTTW – TV – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210104-sucker-fish
The EPA recently announced the completion of a $6.6 million Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Project in Muskegon, as well as the completion of a $2.9 million project on the Detroit Riverwalk. Read the full story by WXMI-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210104-muskegon
Construction on FishPass, a selective two-way fish-sorting system slated to replace the Union Street Dam in Traverse City, Michigan, could start in mid-January. Read the full story by the Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210104-fishpass
The International Lake Superior Board of Control reports that the level of Lake Superior dropped 4.7 inches in December, more than the average 3.2-inch December decline. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210104-superior-levels
Three years after an emergency caribou airlift to isolated islands on Lake Superior, there are still concerns about the future of the world’s southernmost caribou herd. Read the full story by CBC.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210104-superior-caribou
The S.S. Badger, a coal-fired ferry that carries people and cars across Lake Michigan between Michigan and Wisconsin, has been sold. Read the full story by the Wisconsin State Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210104-ss-badger
With help from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources acquired Chinook salmon eggs to be used to stock Lake Michigan. Read the full story by The Times of Northwest Indiana.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210104-salmon-stocking
The Rouse Simmons, also known as the “Christmas Tree Ship”, disappeared one cold November day. It is now a shipwreck at the bottom of Lake Michigan just off Rawley point in Wisconsin, about 160 feet underwater, after many years as a mysterious disappearance. Read the full story by WBND-TV – South Bend, IN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210104-christmas-ship
Chesterfield Township, Michigan is in the midst of making its own little portion of the planet a better place for fish, waterfowl and families, via shoreline restoration at Brandenburg Park. Read the full story by The Voice.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201224-brandenburg-park
Seiche events and early spring weather events have affected the year class strength of northern pike in Lake Erie. Read the full story by GreatLakesNow.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201224-pike
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is restricting international cargo at one Michigan port. Other Great Lakes ports don’t face the same restrictions. Read the full story by Michigan Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201224-port-monroe
Allen County, Ohio is getting ready to embark on a new drainage project to improve the water quality in the Lake Erie and Maumee River watershed. Read the full story by WLOK-TV- Lima, Ohio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201224-allen-county
With the Earth on track to finish out another year among the warmest on record and the impact of climate change mounting around the globe, advocates around the Great Lakes are looking ahead to what a new administration could mean for the Midwest, the region containing one of the world’s largest freshwater sources. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201224-climate-change
The Minnesota Invasive Species Advisory Council (MISAC) bestowed Carol Mortensen Invasive Species Management Awards at their virtual Upper Midwest Invasive Species Conference in November. Read the full story by the Herald Review.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201224-ais
The Michigan state government has expanded its PFAS guidelines to set groundwater cleanup criteria for another five chemicals. Read the full story by WLNS – TV – Lansing, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201224-pfas
Help could be on the way for shoreline property owners after a bipartisan bill this month passed the Senate. Read the full story by the Huron County View.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201224-shoreline-grants
The City of Port Huron, Michigan is offering space along the Black River to the Naval Sea Cadet Ship Grayfox this winter. The ship has docked there in the past for events in the city and is still seeking a more permanent home. Read the full story by the Times Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201224-black-river
Facts matter, and they help people reach informed conclusions about issues that impact their lives. In this light, we want to correct the misinformation included in a recent opinion piece from State Rep. Rachel Hood. Read the full story by the Traverse City Record Eagle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201224-line5
Nine harbor maintenance and improvement projects are receiving grants from the state, including four in Northeast Wisconsin. Gov, Tony Evers announced that more than $6 million is being invested in waterfronts around the state to boost statewide economic development. Read the full story by WLUK-TV Green Bay.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201224-wisconsin-harbor
Crews have started emergency construction work on a portion of a central Michigan dam that collapsed last spring and contributed to flooding that destroyed homes and forced the evacuations of about 10,000 people. Read the full article by WDIV- TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201214-dam-construction
In anticipation of high volumes of water entering Lake Ontario in 2021, the International Joint Commission has granted pre-emptive permission to deviate from its controversial Plan 2014 and increase outflows in an attempt to avoid flooding. Read the full story by the Watertown Daily Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201214-ijc-lake-ontario
