All aboard the rolling robot! An autonomous electric bus will begin a monthlong deployment at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in northern Michigan as part of a grant-funded project by a self-driving software company. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240731-driverless-bus
A Michigan State University Extension program called the Reduce Invasive Pet and Plant Escapes or RIPPLE program works with hobbyists, retailers and gardeners to minimize the release of invasive species into the wild. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240719-rehome-program
The wreck of the 157-year-old, 140-foot-long cargo schooner Trinidad was named to the national register by the Wisconsin Historical Society. Its remains lie about 9.5 miles off the Algoma shore, partially embedded about 270 feet below the surface of Lake Michigan. Read the full story by Green Bay Press Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240719-historic-shipwreck
Researchers are exploring new techniques to remove an invasive crayfish from Michigan waters, including pesticide treatments, introducing predatory fish, adding lights to traps, and increasing public awareness. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240719-invasive-crayfish
The Eurasian ruffe is suspected to be spreading east along the northern shores of Lake Erie and has been recently confirmed just outside of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and the United States. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240719-new-invasive-fish
The more than 30 million Americans who rely on Great Lakes water every day need federal leadership and action to help keep the Great Lakes healthy and economically thriving, argues Joel Brammeier, CEO of the Alliance for the Great Lakes. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240719-imperiled-great-lakes
The New York State Department of Health has released new fish consumption guidelines for Great Lakes connected waterways. Read the full story by WGRZ – Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240719-fish-consumption-guidelines
A U.S. Fish and Wildlife service crew is preparing to look for sea lamprey larvae in the Boardman River. It’s the first step in sea lamprey control: finding which Great Lakes tributaries are infested with the parasitic species. Read the full story by Up North Live.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240719-sea-lamprey-control
The recent decline in Great Lakes’ water levels puts the lakes in a rare spot as of late – normal. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240719-water-levels-normalizing
The Great Lakes Sea Kayak Symposium being held in Grand Marais, Michigan is underway. The symposium is the longest running of its kind and includes five days of instruction, food, live music and of course, kayaking. Read the full story by WLUC – Marquette, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240719-kayak-symposium
More than 1.3 billion liters of partially treated sewage were discharged into Toronto’s waterways after the severe storm in the region. Six public beaches in Toronto are currently marked unsafe for having elevated levels of E.coli. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240719-toronto-sewage
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is seeking people to give advice about a proposed national marine sanctuary in Lake Erie adjacent to Erie, Pennsylvania. Adding a sanctuary would enable NOAA to protect the region’s maritime heritage resources, including a nationally significant collection of shipwrecks, according to the agency. Read the full story by Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240715-erie-marine-sanctuary
The Wisconsin Department of Administration’s Wisconsin Coastal Management Program is donating nearly $1.3 million in grants to 31 communities to support quality of life, foster economic development, and protect and improve Great Lakes resources. Read the full story by WLUK-TV – Green Bay, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240715-wisconsin-coastal-grants
As a result of warming waters, increasingly variable seasonal changes and lakeshore development, walleye numbers in some lakes are dwindling. Losing the species would mean losing a food source for Great Lakes community members, a sovereign right to fish, and a deep connection to tradition and nature. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240715-spearfish-future
New York Sea Grant and the Center for Great Lakes Literacy have announced 20 teachers and educators representing 17 school districts and organizations will participate in the first of five professional development workshops focused on New York’s unique Great Lakes’ ecosystem, species and climate. Read the full story by Niagara Frontier Publications.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240715-professional-development-workshops
A Great Lakes freighter called the Michipicoten is now in Fraser Shipyards after cracking and taking on water near Thunder Bay, Ontario. Read the full story by the Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240715-freighter-emergency
The Great Lakes 360 living museum is now open in Niagara Falls, New York. It is located inside the former Gorge Discovery Center at Niagara Falls State Park. There are 16 interactive exhibits featuring turtles, amphibians, insects and many species of fish, representing the diverse ecosystems of the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Spectrum News 1 Buffalo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240715-great-lakes-exhibit
According to legend, the whitefish were once “so bountiful in the St Mary’s River Rapids that you could walk on their backs.” Now, the fish are struggling to survive. But this month, over a million more walleye and whitefish swim through northern Michigan waters thanks to a release by the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240715-tribal-fish-stocking
First-of-its-kind documentary All Too Clear: Beneath the Surface of the Great Lakes will mark its world premiere at the Stockey Centre in Parry Sound, Ontario. The immersive film uses cutting-edge underwater drones to explore how quadrillions of tiny invasive mussels, known as quaggas, are re-engineering the ecosystem of the Great Lakes at a scale not seen since the glaciers. Read the full story by Muskoka411.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240715-great-lakes-documentary
The Great Lakes region’s potential future as a water technology leader has gotten a big boost this year with new funding and projects leading to new investment opportunities, businesses, technologies, and thousands of good-paying jobs in the process. Read the full story by the Brookings Institution.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240715-blue-belt
After many years of planning, a state-of-the-art scientific facility has broken ground in Traverse City, Michigan. FishPass is an experimental fish passage system that will replace the aging Union Street Dam with a barrier that has the ability to sort and selectively pass native fish while blocking harmful, invasive species like sea lamprey. Read the full story by Northern Express.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240715-fishpass-history
Chemicals like perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) were likely spilled after the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. A low-pressure storm system moved these chemicals across the Great Lakes region affecting all of the Great Lakes except Lake Superior. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240701-regional-pfas
Pennsylvania Sea Grant announced a new online platform to help citizens learn more about commonly found aquatic invasive species (AIS) in waters near them and offers tools to help accurately identify them. Read the full story by WJET – Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240701-new-ais-app
Studies show that indoor air can be more polluted than the outdoor air in the biggest, most industrial cities in the Great Lakes region. Therefore seeking refuge indoors may actually be posing greater health risks. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240701-air-quality
Genetics is being pointed to as a major factor in the downturn in mallard numbers in the Atlantic Flyway and the Great Lakes region. Read the full story by Outdoor News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240701-mallard-population-decrease
Newly hatched Great Lakes piping plovers are all feet and fluff. A captive rearing program in northern Michigan is working to help their population increase. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240701-plover-rearing
Since 2006, the number of new invasive species entering the Great Lakes has declined by 85%, but with climate change warming the lakes, the number of freshwater species that can ultimately survive in the interconnected body of water is only increasing. Read the full story by the Daily Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240701-michigan-invaders
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its seasonal outlook for Lake Erie’s algal levels this summer. The annual bloom, commonly known as blue-green algae, is expected to become visible by early July and last into September. Read the full story by KDFW – Dallas, TX.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240701-summer-algae-bloom
Volunteers and invasive species partners will be at boat launches all over the state of Wisconsin this weekend, working to educate boaters on how to follow clean, drain, dry protocols to prevent the spread of invasive species. Read the full story by WCLO – Janesville, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240701-landing-blitz
The plastic pollution problem is widespread in the Great Lakes region. At a beach cleanup at Chicago’s North Avenue beach in May of 2024 participants picked up litter including lots of bits of plastic. Read the full story by Environment Illinois.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240701-beach-cleanup-mi
The Superior Watershed Program’s Lake Superior Volunteer Corps teamed up with the Great Lakes Climate Corps and community volunteers to clean up the new city pier in Marquette, Michigan. Volunteers pulled weeds and invasive plants from the area while planting native flowers and seeds. Read the full story by the WLUC – Marquette, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240701-native-planting
A couple of Michigan communities have considered a technology that’s just beginning to be used in the U.S.- floating solar panels. But the new technology has both benefits and drawbacks. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240621-water-solar-panels
Many parks and communities along the shore of Lake Michigan can no longer afford to staff full-time lifeguards and that’s where “EMILY” is beginning to make a difference. EMILY (Emergency Integrated Lifesaving Lanyard) is a remote-control robot designed to get out to potential drowning victims much faster than a lifeguard could. Read the full story by WLHT – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240621-robot-lifeguard
The Michigan Maritime Museum’s latest exhibit, “Full Steam Ahead: The Golden Age of Great Lakes Passenger Steamships,” transports visitors back to what traveling the Great Lakes was like in the early 1800s. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240621-sailing-history
The Brandon Road Interbasin Project in Illinois is one of the best lines of defense to keep invasive carp from entering into the Great Lakes. Governor Pritzker has until the end of June to sign the agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, or the project will incur additional costs and continue to face delays. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240621-carp-barrier-delay
A Michigan artist has found that not everyone recognizes how important the Great lakes are so he made sure they could be seen from outer space in his mural which depicts a scene from the stars with two astronauts in the foreground with the Great Lakes seen behind them. Read the full story by WKAR – East Lansing, MI .
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240621-lansing-art
You can fish on the Great Lakes, go boating, swim, partake in water sports, all the while enjoying the spectacular views they provide. But here are some facts you may not know about our Great Lakes. Read the full story by Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240621-fun-facts
The Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center in Alpena, Michigan, is offering drop-in sessions to pilot their ROV (remotely operated vehicle) in a test tank and to learn how these vehicles are used for science and industry. Visitors can modify their ROV’s to perform tasks such as lifting debris and restoring fish habitat. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240621-rov-fun
The U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee advanced a bill reauthorizing the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative through 2031. The bill would increase annual funding levels from $475 million in 2026 to $500 million from 2027 through 2031. Read the full story by Soundings Trade Only.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240621-bill-advancement
The Great Lakes are warming up as the official start of summer nears and more people head to the beach. A regional heat wave may speed up the heating process. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240621-heat-wave
Cruise ship season in the Great Lakes is in full swing, and northern Michigan’s Thunder Bay has seen its fair share of cruise ships anchoring in its waters. A partnership between Alpena Shipwreck Tours and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has brought new tourists to the area. Read the full story by the WCMU- Mount Pleasant, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240621-great-lake-cruises
A nearly 700-foot-long bulk carrier hauling taconite struck an underwater object on Lake Superior causing the ship to take on water and the crew to evacuate. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240610-carrier-hits-object
Local legends and anecdotal observations often describe the Great Lakes’ water levels as having a tidal quality. However, scientific examination reveals that these changes are due to different mechanisms. Read the full story by CIND – Toronto, ON.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240610-great-lakes-tides
The joro, or “parachute” spider, is a species native to eastern Asia, but has been observed cropping up in the southeastern United States for the past decade. Environmental research has found that the creatures could comfortably live much further north, with the potential to inhabit the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence region. Read the full story by CTV News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240610-joro-spider
Over the last century, natural erosion of Lake Michigan’s shoreline has exposed logs from an ancient, buried forest, spilling them onto the beaches among modern driftwood near Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Read the full story by the Herald Times Reporter.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240610-hidden-forest
A recent outbreak of biting flies has been creating horrible conditions on Lake Michigan beaches in northwest Indiana and southwest Michigan. Read the full story by WBBM – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240610-biting-flies
A WWII training plane was recovered from the bottom of Lake Michigan in 2012 after spending 68 years submerged. After a decade of restoration by Air Zoo Aerospace & Science Museum volunteers and staff, the WWII era plane is now restored. Read the full story by the MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240610-plane-restoration
A fire last year shutdown of the Cheboygan Tissue Plant in Cheboygan, Michigan, which is now causing fluctuating water levels on the inland waterway. Without the factory’s generator, precise changes in water level can no longer be made. Read the full story by WPBN/WGTU – Traverse City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240610-water-fluctuation
A recent study reveals that rain has played a large role in spreading PFAS into all five Great Lakes. Commonly found in household products such as cleaners or personal care products, PFAS chemicals resist breaking down in the environment. Read the full story by the Quetico Superior Foundation.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240610-pfas
There are five Michigan beaches closed or under contamination advisories due to high bacteria levels resulting from stormwater runoff, wildlife, and other unknown sources. Read the full story by the MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240610-beach-closed
