Now that winter is over, freighters are fanning out around the Great Lakes. But much has changed since the Soo Locks closed. Read the full story by The Times Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200420-freighters
Birds flocked around Minnesota’s Interstate Island while construction workers distributed dirt around the island on Wednesday, April 15, in an effort to double the size of the island and expand the dwindling nesting sites of the common tern. Read the full story by the Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200420-tern-nesting
Rep. Brian Higgins (N.Y.-26) announced on Monday that the Smith Boys Shipyard in North Tonawanda, New York will receive a federal grant worth over $300,000. Read the full story by WKBW – TV – Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200420-shipyard
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ weekly report released Friday shows Lake Michigan is four inches above the April record set in 1986. Read the full story by WOOD – TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200420-lake-michigan
A series of projects on Wisconsin’s Menominee River, funded by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, have enhanced fish passage, added fish and wildlife habitat and helped reconnect its upstream tributaries with Lake Michigan. Read the full story by The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200420-menomonee
A coalition of watchdog groups have filed a formal petition to stop Fermi 2 nuclear reactor in Michigan from further operations, claiming long-required repair work needs to be fully completed in order to avoid a potential “major nuclear accident.” Read the full story by the Windsor Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200420-nuclear
One of the biggest historical sources of pollution to the St. Clair River is about to be fully eliminated. Port Huron, Michigan, has awarded a nearly $2 million contract to separate combined sewers around the Blue Water Bridge Plaza, wrapping up a 21-year, $178 million project. Read the full story by The Voice.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200409-port-huron
The American chair of the International Joint Commission said Friday that precipitation amounts in the coming months will determine the risk of high water or flooding on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. Read the full story by The Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200409-ijc
The EPA is asking the city of Duluth, Minnesota, to apply to receive funding from the agency’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. If awarded, the EPA would give $900,000 to help restore and maintain the St. Louis River Natural Area. Read the full story by KQDS-TV – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200409-duluth
Lakes Michigan and Huron, along with Erie and St. Clair, set new monthly mean water level records for March, breaking the previous record from 1986, the Detroit District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Tuesday. Read the full story by the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200409-water-levels
Enbridge Inc. applied Wednesday for state and federal authorization to construct an oil pipeline tunnel beneath the Michigan waterway that connects two of the Great Lakes. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200409-enbridge
The first saltwater ship of the 2020 shipping season has made its way to Duluth, Minnesota. Read the full story by KWDS-TV – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200409-shipping
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s $172 million H2Ohio plan to save Lake Erie from harmful algal blooms might be cut because of budget deficits created by the coronavirus pandemic. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200409-habs
The International Lake Ontario – St. Lawrence River Board is predicting rising water levels on Lake Ontario this spring, however the international body says current forecasts suggest the levels may not be as high as they were in 2017 and 2019. Read the full story by the Niagara Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200409-flooding
Theodore J. Karamanski’s sweeping maritime history, Mastering the Inland Seas: How Lighthouses, Navigational Aids, and Harbors Transformed the Great Lakes and America, demonstrates the far-ranging impact that the tools and infrastructure developed for navigating the Great Lakes had on the national economies, politics and environment of continental North America. Read the full story by the Door County Pulse.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200403-navigation
The United States Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District announced in early March that Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie all set new monthly records for their levels, beating records set in 1986 for Superior, Michigan, and Huron and 1987 for Lake Erie. Read the full story by the Huron Daily Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200403-lake-levels
Scientists have created a lake thermal classification system and noted that a significant proportion of lakes could be reclassified as warmer types as global temperatures rise. Read the full story by Eos.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200403-lake-classification
Enbridge Energy will not delay submitting permits for its controversial Great Lakes Tunnel Project because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read the full story by the Traverse City Record Eagle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200403-enbridge
Members of the Michigan Congressional PFAS Task Force sent a letter outlining their priorities to address in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act to address harmful PFAS chemicals. Read the full story by WNEM – TV – Bay City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200403-pfas
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, announced that an agreement has been signed that will help them directly assist Detroit neighborhoods in fighting against flooding events expected during this upcoming spring and summer seasons. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200403-detroit-flooding
The Presque Isle Conservation District plans to restore fish and wildlife habitat at the Trout River Dam in Rogers Township, Michigan. Read the full story by the Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200403-trout-river-dam
The Essex Region Conservation Authority on Thursday issued long-term flood watch for the entire region. The flood watch includes all shorelines along Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair and Detroit River. Read the full story by the Windsor Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200403-flood-watch
Lake Michigan buoys that operate off Port Sheldon and South Haven, Michigan were placed on Thursday, April 2, 2020. Read the full story by WHTC – Holland, MI
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200403-buoys
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) Thursday announced that it has extended the public comment deadline for a plan on battling algal blooms in Lake Erie until June 19. Read the full story by Patch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200403-algal-blooms
Northeast Michigan Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative is encouraging the public to participate in H.O.M.E.S. at Home, a streaming online video program offered by Michigan Sea Grant and Michigan State University Extension. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200324-livestreaming
New research shows that fishes on either side of Niagara Falls—one of the most powerful waterfalls in the world—are unlikely to breed with one another. Read the full story by phys.org.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200324-niagara
The 2020 Twin Ports shipping season got underway over the weekend as the “Burns Harbor” became the first laker to depart the Port of Duluth-Superior. Read the full story by KDAL – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200324-shipping
The Flagship Niagara league announced today that it will delay the sailing season for the U.S. Brig Niagara until August. Read the full story by WJET- TV – Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200324-sailing
The Duluth Seaway Port Authority has been allocated a $10.5 million MARAD Port Infrastructure Development grant to help fund construction of a 56,000-square-foot, rail-served warehouse at the Clure Public Marine Terminal, along with rehabilitation of 1,775 lineal feet of deteriorating dock walls at Berth 10 and 11 of the Clure Terminal Expansion. Read the full story by Marine Log.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200324-infrastructure-grant
Lake Michigan cities continue to face erosion along their shorelines and, despite dwindling reserves, the problem is far from over. Read the full story by the Indianapolis Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200324-erosion
Guide Mike Hanson was catching sauger and walleye Saturday on the Illinois River below the Starved Rock Lock and Dam when he caught the fish of a lifetime. Read the full story by the Chicago Sun Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200324-sturgeon
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Alder set sail Sunday from Duluth and are heading south for Lake Michigan to start setting summer aids to navigation (buoys). Read the full story by Business North.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200324-navigation
Michigan Senator Gary Peters has introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at providing support to local communities facing rising water, coastal erosion, and flooding that has put homes and property at risk and already caused millions in damages. Read the full story by the Huron Daily Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200324-legislation
The International Joint Commission is opening the floodgates even more to help get as much water out of Lake Ontario as possible before the spring melt. Read the full story by the Recorder and Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200324-ijc
The discovery of 51 invasive carp in the Mississippi River on the southeastern Minnesota-southwestern Wisconsin border — the largest number of invasive carp found so far upstream — has state authorities mobilizing to boost netting and monitoring of the destructive fish. Read the full story by Minnesota Public Radio News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200316-mississippi-carp
Jia Wang, Ph.D., an ice climatologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, admits that this year’s ice coverage prediction model overestimated ice cover and provides a plan to improve the model. Read the full story by Blackburn News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200316-ice-predictions
A Michigan county has hired a diver to keep farm fields from flooding amid rising water levels in Lake Huron and other Great Lakes. Read the full story by the Associated Press
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200316-farmland-flooding
Traces of genetic material can help in tracking the invasive species. But a positive detection may not mean live fish. Read the full story by Undark.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200316-asian-carp
For the first time, an international community-based effort, the Great Global CleanUp: Detroit River, will hold a one-day river cleanup event from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 25. Read the full story by the News-Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200316-detroit-river-cleanup
Visitors to the lakefront in New Buffalo, Michigan will see a wall built to hold back water from a rising Lake Michigan. Read the full story by the Northwest Indiana Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200316-lake-michigan-seawall
The City of Vermilion, Ohio and the Western Reserve Land Conservancy have released a rendering of a revitalized Main Street Beach with an expanded beachfront, increased green space, new public amenities, and handicapped-accessible paths. Read the full story by Cleveland News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200316-beach-renderings
Five years ago, lead seeped into the tap water in Flint, Michigan, while state and local officials said everything was fine. Now, the same doctor who proved something was wrong is taking the first comprehensive look at the thousands of kids exposed to lead in Flint. Read the full story by CBS News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200316-flint-crisis
The announcement of an expedited review of Plan 2014 comes following the awarding of $1.5 million from the U.S., plus $1.5 million from Canada, to address the continuing water outflow problem that exists in Lake Ontario, according to the IJC Great Lakes Connection monthly newsletter. Read the full story by Niagara Frontier Publications.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200316-ijc-lake-ontario
Indiana lawmakers have passed legislation to embrace a landmark state Supreme Court decision affirming that the Lake Michigan shoreline is publicly owned and open to all for recreation. Read the full story by the Daily Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200316-lake-michigan-ruling
The U.S. and Ohio environmental protection agencies need to stop resisting their clear responsibility regarding Lake Erie: Enforce the Clean Water Act. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200316-ohio-clean-lake
Macomb County is overrun with disposable wipes washing ashore from nearby Oakland County’s sewer overflow. Read the full story by WJBK – TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200310-disposable-wipes
Wreckage from a freighter that sank in Lake Huron around 115 years ago has moved toward Michigan’s shoreline due to high water levels and waves, weakening the ruins further, officials said. Read the full story by WNEM – TV – Bay City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200310-shipwreck
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers announced a $4.9 million Harbor Assistance Program grant on February 24 to support the construction of a new agricultural commodity bulk vessel transload facility at Port Milwaukee. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Independent.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200310-port-milwaukee
The plentiful, dramatic formations at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore that lured 138,000 ice cave trekkers to northern Wisconsin in 2014 haven’t been accessible in recent years because of unsafe lake ice conditions but intrepid trekkers can often still get an ice cave fix. Read the full story by the New Hampshire Union Leader.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200310-ice-caves
The lake’s clobbering of the shore has left Chicago waterfront home owners on edge — and put doubts in buyers’ minds. Read the full story by Chicago Magazine.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200310-chicago-real-estate
