A federal review of plans for a Great Lakes oil pipeline tunnel will take more than a year longer than originally planned, officials said Thursday, likely delaying completion of the project — if approved — until 2030 or later. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230324-oil-pipeline
Great Lakes ports are gearing up for the start of this year’s shipping season, which is bringing new developments at ports in Duluth-Superior and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Read and hear the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230324-port-development
Experts are warning that erosion along the Great Lakes shoreline will require an increased effort to curtail. Read the full story by WXYZ -TV – Detroit.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230324-erosion
Decades after being banned, some of the ‘dirty dozen’ pesticides now undetectable, but DDT and others linger. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230324-air-quality
On Tuesday, the Illinois House of Representatives passed legislation — by a 67-43 vote — that would phase out single-use polystyrene foam foodware beginning in January 2024. Read the full story by WTTW -TV – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230324-plastic-ban
Essex County’s surface water quality, forest conditions, and phosphorus levels have all received failing grades in a five-year environmental report card from the Essex Region Conservation Authority. Read the full story by the Windsor Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230324-water-quality
The Buffalo Niagara River Land Trust has finalized a conservation easement on a parcel owned by the City of Buffalo, New York as part of the broader Houghton Conservation Area preservation effort. Read the full story by The Buffalo News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230324-loons
Loons are now migrating north after spending the winter along the coastal United States. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230324-loons
Congressman Bill Huizenga and some colleagues are calling on Canada to do more to help protect the Great Lakes. Read the full story by the WSJM -St. Joseph, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230324-huizenga
The Ohio Lake Erie Commission is seeking submissions for the 31st annual “Life on Lake Erie” photo contest. Read the full story by WTVG -TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230313-photo-contest
Researchers who study ice cover on the Great Lakes, and the mysterious happenings beneath, have a problem: There’s precious little of it. And that’s thwarting their ability to understand what declining ice cover means for everyone else throughout the region. Read the full story by The Globe and Mail.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230313-ice-cover
Scientists believe they can now better forecast toxic outbreaks on lakes using satellites to detect the shade of green that cyanobacteria creates in water. Read the full story by the Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230313-algae-blooms
Members from Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project and The Lake Michigan Water Front Safety Initiative- Indiana traveled to Indiana’s statehouse to testify on behalf of the need for safety stations on all Lake Michigan beaches. Read the full story by The Times of Northwest Indiana.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230313-water-safety
A ferry service that’s a lifeline for residents traveling to and from a Lake Superior island may sell its assets to new owners this year. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230313-superior-island
The Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy said Star Line, which is now known as the Mackinac Island Ferry Company, will replace two 1988 diesel engines with new electric propulsion motors on the Chippewa Ferry. Read the full story by WXYZ -TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230313-mackinac-ferry
The Superior Watershed Partnership and Land Conservancy, in cooperation with Waucedah Township, Michigan has announced the purchase and protection of over four miles of waterfront property on the Sturgeon River in Dickinson County. Read the full story by The Mining Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230313-sturgeon-river
A restoration project carried out by the Little Calumet River Basin Development Commission features the installation of levees to reduce flooding and the restoration of native vegetation in an area of the West Branch of the Little Calumet River in Lake County, Illinois. Read the full story by The Times of Northwest Indiana.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230313-calumet-restoration
Scientists warn that the continued misuse of phosphorous could reach a calamity termed “phosphogeddon”. Read the full story by The Guardian.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230313-phosphogeddon
Following the winter closure, Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway is set to reopen later this month. During the winter closure the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (GLS) and St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) have coordinated to repair and upgrade canal infrastructure. Read the full story by the Project Cargo Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230313-gls
PFAS are the latest concern in Lake Superior, where fishing is central to the lifeways of the Red Cliff Band and other Indigenous nations. Read the full story by Wisconsin Watch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230227-native-fishing-rights
Canada’s Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra last week announced funding of C$12.5m ($9.2m) to launch the Ballast Water Innovation Program, part of its Oceans Protection Plan. Read the full story by Splash 24/7.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230227-canada-ballast-water
Gov. Tony Evers is hoping to use some of Wisconsin’s 2023-25 budget to address environmental issues. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230227-wisconsin-budget
The relationship between residents of coastal communities and their local water heritage can advance restoration efforts, create recreational opportunities and promote tourism and economic growth, a new study says. At the same time, that relationship can create tensions between environmental and economic interests, it says. Read the full story by the Capital News Service.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230227-coastal-tourism
Eleven environmental groups are urging the Michigan Supreme Court to reverse a ruling that stops the state from placing more permit restrictions on manure and other animal waste from large concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Read the full story by Michigan Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230227-cafo-litigation
About $74 million in taxpayer dollars aims to slow down the impact of erosion at Illinois Beach State Park in Zion, Illinois. The project is the largest capital project in the Department of Natural Resources history. Read the full story by The Center Square.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230227-erosion-protection
An Ohio island conservancy and park district are asking for donations to preserve a historic home site and nearly 30 acres of forest, meadow and bayfront property on South Bass Island. Read the full story by the Fremont News Messenger.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230227-put-in-bay
A recent study has revealed just how toxic eating fish from lakes in New York State can be. Read the full story WYRK – Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230227-fish-contamination
The public is invited to give their input on a proposal that sets the stage for environmental cleanup and restoration in the Saginaw Bay watershed. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230227-restoration-settlement
A decline of ice cover on the five Great Lakes is becoming a normal occurrence over the years. NOAA has been documenting this since 1973. Read the full story by WITI – TV – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230227-low-ice
Plans to divert water from the Great Lakes to other states date back more than a century. But in 2008, the eight Great Lake states signed a formal agreement, known as the Great Lakes Compact, outlining how states will manage and protect the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230217-water-access
A release provided by the Wisconsin DNR on Wednesday states that over six million fish were stocked in the past year to fill stocking quotas that are established by fisheries biologists for Wisconsin’s inland waters and the Great Lakes. Read the full story by WFRV -TV – Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230217-dnr
The Detroit District of the United States Army Corps of Engineers and Great Lakes Fishery Commission announced Monday the completion of the permanent sea lamprey trap in Iosco County, Michigan. Read the full story by the Huron Daily Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230217-lamprey
PolyMet Mining and Teck Resources finalized a joint venture Wednesday to complete the copper-nickel mine that PolyMet has been developing in northeastern Minnesota, and the partnership hopes to eventually build a separate mine next door in an even larger ore body that Teck controls. Read the full story by the Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230217-polymet
A Canadian energy firm said Wednesday there’s no “credible scenario” where a significant rupture on a proposed reroute of its oil and gas pipeline would reach Lake Superior. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230217-line5
The Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan will be stocked with more chinook salmon in 2023 but all other salmon and trout species will be unchanged, according to a plan recently announced by the Department of Natural Resources. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230217-chinook-restock
Cruise ships on the Great Lakes may be smaller in stature than their ocean-going counterparts, but they’re making a big financial impact on lakeside local economies. Read the full story by The Petoskey News-Review.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230217-cruise-benefits
Cleveland, Ohio, has informed city residents that their water is safe amid growing concerns about the environmental consequences from the derailment of a train hauling chemicals in the northeastern part of the state. Read the full story by The Hill.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230217-dunkirk
New York state has made a $10 million investment in the city of Dunkirk, starting with its marina and pier, on Lake Erie. Read the full story by Spectrum News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230217-dunkirk
The Montreal/ Lake Ontario section, which includes the St. Lawrence River, and Welland Canal are set to open for the next navigation season on Wednesday, March 22 at 8 a.m., according to a press release from the Seaway System. Read the full story by WWTI -TV – Watertown, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230217-st-lawrence
A map of forever chemicals detection in the Great Lakes reveals samples caught in the Detroit River, the southern opening of the St. Clair River, the Black River at the north opening, and multiple spots of Lake Erie all came back positive for dangerous amounts of PFAS. Read the full story by WJBK – TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230123-pfas
Researchers have developed a new way to combat erosion and save money by using environmental processes to feed sediment to the shore. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230123-erosion
Over the next five years, the city of Yorkville, Illinois will need to complete a $17 million to $18 million engineering project to replace old, leaky water mains, if it is to receive a permit from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to tap into the lake. Read the full story by Shaw Local News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230123-water-source
A fishing company and two of its boat captains are facing hefty fines and lengthy license suspensions after conservation officers deemed them to be overfishing lake trout in Lake Huron. Read the full story by CTV News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230123-overfishing
The proposed “rule” for the Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary has been released by NOAA, which has decided not to include the St. Lawrence River as part of the proposed boundary. Read the full story by Yahoo News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230123-marine-sanctuary
Cottagers and conservationists clash over real estate as vulnerable as it is valuable. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230123-shoreline-wall
Dr. Robyn Wilson, of the Environmental and Social Sustainability Lab at Ohio State University, notes the gap between developing conservation methods and implementing them. Read the full story by the BG Independent News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230123-conservation
The SS Alpena is the oldest steam-operated ship operating in the Great Lakes. Read the full story by the KROC -Rochester, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230123-oldest-ship
The Freshwater Research and Innovation Center, a new facility planned for the Discovery Center & Pier property on West Grand Traverse Bay, Michigan is expected to provide a space for students, scientists and entrepreneurs to test new technologies. Read the full story by the Traverse City Record-Eagle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230123-freshwater-lab
As of January, 19th, 2023, according to the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory the Great Lakes total ice coverage is currently at 3.2%. Read the full story by WETM -TV – Elmira, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230123-ice-coverage
A feasibility study by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority released late last week does not support the placement of turbines in the Great Lakes of Erie and Ontario. Read the full story by The Post-Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230104-turbines
