The U.S. Coast Guard says the submerged tugboat near Marquette’s Lower Harbor was removed and successfully salvaged Monday, with no fuel spilled between Friday’s submersion and Monday’s removal. Read the full story by WLUC – TV – Marquette, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210119-ship-tug-recovery
In Traverse City, MI the FishPass project was designed to replace the Union Street Dam and protect native fish, while keeping out any invasive species. The project was put on hold by a judge citing concern over misrepresentations about the project effort. Read the full story by 9&10 News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210119-fish-michigan
A water reservoir in Scanlon, MN was recently deemed an area of concern as a result of sediment contamination and has been selected for a collaborative environmental cleanup project beginning this fall by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Great Lakes National Program Office. Read the full story by Pine Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210119-pollution-minnesota
Work on the new stretch of Lakewalk in Duluth, MN will be completed this spring, but more construction is planned over the next several years to build a more climate-resilient Lakewalk all along Lake Superior. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210119-duluth-lakewalk-climate
Protesters set up camp Monday next to the Line 3 replacement pipeline construction project in Cloquet, MN. About two dozen protesters said they hope to slow down the project by trespassing during construction where the line runs through the Fond du Lac Reservation. Read the full story by KBJR – TV – Cloquet, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210119-minnesota-protests-line-3
Nearly 38 million tons of cargo were shipped last year along the route stretching from the lower St. Lawrence River to the Great Lakes, with record shipments of grain offsetting a decline in liquid bulk, dry bulk and iron ore, the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. said. View the full story by Canadian Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210119-st-lawrence-shipping-grain
Members of the Kawartha Nishnawbe are holding their ground at Lock 28 in Burleigh Falls, ON, located about 200 km northeast of Toronto. Six days ago they put a halt to repair work at a dam, owned by Parks Canada, because there was no consultation. Read the full story by APTN News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210119-indigenous-dam-protest-ontario
Wildlife researchers and scientists use aquatic birds as environmental change indicators in freshwater and marine environments. For about 50 years, herring gulls have been used to get a better idea of how the Great Lakes are changing through time, and have found in that time period a decline in volume and density. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210119-ecological-monitoring-gull
The Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority based in Exeter, ON will be joining a group that includes the University of Michigan, the National Atmospheric Oceanic Administration, and the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers to study water quality in the lower Great Lakes starting this summer. Read the full story by BlackburnNews.com.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210119-sediment-water-quality
Canadian and U.S. officials are at odds over the fate of a pipeline underneath the Great Lakes, exacerbating disagreements over energy policy between the two nations as the Biden administration prepares to take office. Read the full story by The Wall Street Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210119-line-5-energy
The Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland, OH went virtual this year for its Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration, putting the spotlight on diversity in the science, engineering, technology and mathematics fields. Read the full story by Spectrum News Ohio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210119-mlk-day-ohio
As part of an access grant that the Port Authority received through the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission construction continues on Erie’s Bayfront as crews fix Holland Street Dock and restore recreational areas. View the full story by WJET – TV – Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210114-pennsylvania-dock-construction
The price increases will raise more funds for beach upkeep, freeing up more money for needed improvements at the city’s other parks, city staff said. The first year of paid parking raised roughly $500,000 last summer. Read the full story by the Muskegon Chronicle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210114-michigan-beach-improvement
The Port of Thunder Bay shipping season closes today, marking the completion of the Port’s most successful year in over two decades. Annual cargo volumes tallied 10.2 million metric tonnes (MMT), exceeding the ten million mark for the first time since 1997. Read the full story by Lake Superior News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210114-shipping-season
MV American Courage, a 634-foot Great Lakes self-unloading bulker, is the largest ship ever to perform automatic dock-to-dock operation. This follows a decision by its owner —American Steamship Company, a subsidiary of Rand-ASC Holdings LLC —to fit the 1979-built ship with Wärtsilä SmartMove solutions for hands-off transit along the Cuyahoga River in Ohio. Read the full story by Marine Log.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210114-shipping-automatic-docking
The wait continues for the second phase of the Little Lake cleanup project in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin’s Sunset Park. Lake Michigan’s high water levels have seeped in during the past two years, deepening the normally shallow water body and helping to mitigate water-quality issues. Read the full story by DredgeWire.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210114-restoration-wisconsin
Federal officials say a bird called the interior least tern is being dropped from the endangered species list, after conservation efforts have boosted the interior least tern’s numbers in recent decades. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210114-endangered-tern-bird
A recently signed federal law will provide $11.6 million to begin restoration of the 1.25-mile creek, officially known as the South Fork of South Branch of the Chicago River. The investment in ecological health will benefit both people and wildlife. Read the full story by Chicago Sun-Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210114-chicago-restoration
The agency is looking to fund 10 large-scale projects as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a multi-agency project that provides funding for projects affecting Great Lakes states, with at least $300,000 grants. Read the full story by the Indiana Environmental Reporter.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210114-epa-grant-pollution
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) had granted a wetlands permit to the company for the mine. The Coalition to SAVE the Menominee River, Inc., objected to the decision in a contested case, citing incomplete identification of wetland impacts. Read the full story by WBAY – TV – Green Bay, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210105-michigan-wetland-mining
Sand Point, was modified in the early 1990s with the placement of a large rock rubble-mound revetment to protect against erosion on Sand Point Road and the historic U.S. Coast Guard Station / Lakeshore Headquarters. The National Park Service has completed several analyses and conceptual designs to assess how best to modify the revetment and allow the site to restore to its natural condition. Read the full story by WLUC – TV – Munising, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210105-michigan-national-lakeshore-restoration
Although federal Endangered Species Act protections for wolves ended on Jan. 4, Minnesota laws have and will continue to protect wolves and ensure the responsible stewardship of this important wildlife species. Minnesota has the largest wolf population in the lower 48 states and is home to an estimated 2,700 wolves across nearly 40,000 square miles of northern and central Minnesota. Read the full story by Lake Superior News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210105-minnesota-wolf-esa
Anglers can look forward to positive results from fish stocking that the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conducted in 2020, despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Read the full story by Lake Superior News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210105-minnesota-dnr-fish
Concern over rollback in regulations for environmental protection in Ontario rises as conservation authorities have less capability for enforcement of conservation practices and protection. Read the full story by Simcoe Reformer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210105-ontario-conservation
Moving the coal piles from their current location could give the city and county 45 acres of riverfront property in the heart of the Green Bay area to redevelop. The effort to move the coal piles up the river could also present an opportunity to expand Port of Green Bay shipping operations. Read the full story by the Green Bay Press Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210105-wisconsin-coal-shipping
The biennial Water Resources Development Act authorizes spending $9.9 billion for 46 new flood control, harbor, ecosystem and lock and dam projects on waterways across the nation and authorizes the study of 24 more projects. Read the full story by Agrinews.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210105-federal-mapping
The legislation prioritizes and updates federal maps used to respond to emergencies and protect habitats, species and structures along the Great Lakes that are most likely to be impacted by a potential oil spill or other major disaster. The last time some of these maps were updated was back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. View the full story by NPR News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210105-federal-mapping
The STORM Act establishes loans that local governments could access to help mitigate the impact of rising water levels, coastal erosion and other damage caused by natural disasters in a more cost-effective way. Studies have shown that resilience and mitigation spending saves taxpayers more than $6 for every dollar invested. Read the full story by WLNS – TV – Lansing, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210105-shoreline-erosion
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District, and its contractor, Dean Marine & Excavating, Inc., are scheduled to resume repairs of the Rochester (NY) harbor in the spring of 2021, repairing about 600 feet of the roughly 1,000-foot degraded section. Read the full story by Dvids.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201222-usace-harbor-repair
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will reimplement a lake trout bag limit and season for Lake Michigan beginning Jan. 1, 2021. The new bag limit and season will mirror previous lake trout regulations. The open season will now run from Mar. 1 to Oct. 31 with a new daily bag limit of two lake trout. Read the full story by Antigo Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201222-trout-wisconsin-fish
A Franklin County judge on Monday blocked the collection and distribution of the House Bill 6 nuclear bailout fee, which Ohio ratepayers were scheduled to start paying next month. Read the full story by Cleveland.com.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201222-ohio-nuclear-fee
A federal judge promised Monday she will hear from all Flint residents with something to say about a proposed $600-million-plus payment to partially settle claims arising from the 2014 lead poisoning of the city’s drinking water supply — even if it requires a court hearing that stretches over several days. Read the full story by Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201222-flint-water-settlement
The Michigan Clean Marina Program is pleased to announce eight Michigan marinas have been named as Certified Clean Marinas. Each has been certified for three-year terms through 2023. Additionally, seven marinas have been Recertified as Michigan Clean Marinas. Read the full story by The Daily Mining Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201222-clean-marina-michigan
Great Lakes Towing christened two of its new ice-breaking tugboats at its own shipyard in Cleveland, Ohio on December 16th, signaling its newbuilding campaign had passed the halfway mark. Pennsylvania is the fourth of a series of 10 tugboats Great Lakes is building to replace its ageing fleet. Wisconsin, fifth in this series, was also christened during a virtual ceremony hosted from the shipyard. Read the full story by Riviera.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201222-shipping-tugboat
Arctic grayling have been absent from Michigan since the 1930s, but in 2016 the Michigan Arctic Grayling Initiative started the process to bring them back and hit a crucial milestone this fall when they were transferred to Marquette State Fish Hatchery. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201222-arctic-grayling-fish
The Trump administration’s delisting of the gray wolf is being met with criticism by wildlife conservation groups, some of which plan to challenge the decision through lawsuits against the Interior Department to prevent the removal of Endangered Species Act protections. Read the full story by Capital News Service.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201222-wolves-wildlife
After a series of intense storms over the past few years, Duluth’s Lakewalk is being rebuilt to protect the shoreline and the real estate behind it against rising lake waters, and against the more intense and frequent storms fueled by climate change. View and listen to the full story by MPR News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201222-duluth-harbor-erosion
The 2020 Water Resources Development Act will be enacted as part of the omnibus appropriations legislation, and authorizes projects and programs led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study, design, and construct water transportation and infrastructure projects including the restoration and maintenance of wetlands and watersheds critically important to birds and the flood resilience of communities. Read the full story by Audubon.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201222-water-restoration-wetland
Microplastic particles, typically studied as aquatic pollutants, are also common in coastal dunes on Great Lakes’ shorelines, according to a new study in the Journal of Great Lakes Research. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201217-microplastic-pollution-plastic
The International Joint Commission has responsibility over the Great Lakes and Seaway and has to deal with a combination of serious problems that includes a warmer Lake Superior, higher water levels in Lake Ontario and the Upper St. Lawrence River, and the appearance of toxic blue-green algae on Lake Superior and Lake Erie. Read the full story by The Maritime Executive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201217-st-lawrence-seaway-ijc
The Great Lakes continue to inch away from the record high water levels of the past few years. Lakes Michigan and Huron have been in the spotlight with the highest water levels recently compared to previous record high water levels. Read the full story by MLive.com.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201217-water-levels-erosion
The PFAS Action Plan was developed by the Wisconsin PFAS Action Council, a group of nearly 20 state agencies and the University of Wisconsin System. As part of the statewide initiative to ensure Wisconsinites have access to clean, safe drinking water, Gov. Tony Evers signed Executive Order #40 in August 2019 to address the issue of PFAS across the state. Read the full story by WSAW – TV – Wausau, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201217-wisconsin-pfas
A petition to keep the Edwardian-era SS Keewatin in its home of Port McNicoll, ON has now garnered close to 9,000 signatures. The man behind the petition is involved with an additional campaign designed to lobby all levels of government to consider the ship’s plight. View the full story by OrilliaMatters.com.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201217-ontario-keewatin-port
Cargo totals on the St. Lawrence Seaway hit nearly 32.3 million metric tons, down 6.6% from 2019. Compared to previous months, the improvement in total cargo figures in November is due in large part to grain shipments, which have been strong since the fall harvest began. Read the full story by WorkBoat.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201217-shipping
Chicago Piping Plover, a conservation group focused on protecting the endangered species, confirmed that Nish, a chick born on Montrose Beach earlier this year, successfully landed in Florida. The bird was spotted in Anclote Key State Park, just north of Tampa. Read the full story by Chicago Sun Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201217-chicago-piping-plover
An organization of 40 conservation groups say a new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule concerning ballast water discharges under the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA) will not protect the Great Lakes from the spread and introduction of invasive species. Read the full story by Water Technology.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201217-vida-epa-ballast
As of Dec. 11, according to that Parks Foundation of Kalamazoo County, they’ve already raised 65% of their funding goal from private funds and public funding from the Michigan Department of Transportation to finish the last few miles of the 22-mile long trail. Part of a 140-mile regional trail network connecting Lake Michigan with Lake Huron. Read the full story by Second Wave.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201217-michigan-trail
The Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation has expressed its opposition to a plan that the Town of South Bruce Peninsula, Ontario is proposing to remove a large section of the dunes at Sauble Beach. Read the full story by Blackburnnews.com.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201217-huron-dunes
Groups are collaborating, for example, in the Algonquin to Adirondacks area, from Ontario through the state of New York, to protect forest and wetlands considered the best remaining potential for wildlife movement across the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence system. Read the full story by the Windsor Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201208-st-lawrence-wildlife
The U.S. Coast Guard wants to retire its oldest cutter on the Great Lakes, the 57-year-old, Sault Ste. Marie-based buoy tender Buckthorn, but it may take several years. A new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service says the Coast Guard is waiting for Congress to approve its proposal to replace up to 35 aging cutters, which average 56 years old. Read the full story by the Mining Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201208-coast-guard-ship
