Michigan is adding $290 million in infrastructure investments to the MI Clean Water Plan. Municipal and community water systems will be eligible to apply for low-interest loans to help public water suppliers ensure safe and clean drinking water. Read the full story by WXMI-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240424-mi-clean-water
Twenty-two million pounds of plastic waste end up in the Great Lakes every year. About half of that waste ends up in Lake Michigan alone. Samira Hanessian, energy policy director with the Illinois Environmental Council, discusses why buying sustainable matters. Read the full story by WLS-TV – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240424-plastic-pollution
This past winter was one of the warmest on record. It led to record-low ice coverage on all five Great Lakes, a sign that the world’s largest freshwater system is not immune to climate change. Read the full story by WLS-TV – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240424-ice-coverage
The Ohio Department of Agriculture recently hosted a discussion around water conservation with agricultural leaders from Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan to focus on improving water quality in the Western Lake Erie Basin. Read the full story by Outdoor News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240424-ag-leaders-meet
Caribou are set to return to Ontario’s Michipicoten Island in Lake Superior, six years after they were airlifted to more remote islands to protect them from hungry wolves. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240424-caribou
Every spring, as temperatures rise, midges emerge in swarms around Milwaukee’s waterfronts. While they are harmless, residents find the sheer number of midges overwhelming. Read the full story by WISN-TV – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240424-midge-flies
The owner of a barge best known for repeatedly sinking in Lake Michigan pleaded guilty to polluting Great Lakes waters in a settlement that gives him another year to move the beleaguered industrial vessel. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240424-barge-lawsuit
In Michigan, Muskegon County’s newest and largest park, Dune Harbor Park, opened to the public in June 2023. The property was previously used as a sand mining site, which created two inland lakes that can now be used for kayaking and fishing. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240424-lake-michigan-park
The city of Toledo, Ohio, and the Lucas County Board of Commissioners will join the Environmental Law & Policy Center in suing the U.S. EPA over what they believe is a “facially inadequate plan” to reduce phosphorus runoff in the Western Lake Erie Basin. Read the full story by The Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240424-lake-erie-lawsuit
The Biggest Week in American Birding draws a worldwide audience to glimpse dozens of species of migrating birds in northern Ohio, though officials say they’ve been seeing changes in recent years. Trends such as warmer winters, habitat loss, and low lake ice coverage may be impacting migrations. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240424-ohio-birding
The Biden administration is urging a federal appeals court to reverse a lower court order that would shut down an oil and gas pipeline crossing the Bad River tribe’s reservation within three years. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240412-line-5
Litter strewn across Great Lakes beaches is overwhelmingly composed of plastic, a new study from a region-wide beach cleanup group found, signaling a widespread problem for the wildlife and people who encounter them. Read the full story from The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240412-plastic-pollution
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is looking for input on how to make the Great Lakes region more resilient to the effects of climate change. The Corps is holding a series of virtual meetings for its Great Lakes Coastal Resiliency Study in collaboration with the seven Great Lakes states. Read the full story by WKSU – Kent, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240412-climate-change-virtual-meeting
In Michigan’s Great Lakes Bay Region, sturgeon have been on the list of protected species for a few years now. With help from several preservation groups, though, sturgeon are making a slow, steady comeback. Read the full story by Route Bay City.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240412-sturgeon
Beginning April 23, lampricides will be applied to the Conneaut Creek system in Pennsylvania’s Erie and Crawford counties to kill sea lamprey larvae before they grow into parasitic fish that migrate to Lake Erie and kill other fish. Read the full story by Erie-Times News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240412-lampricide
In Pennsylvania, repairs will be underway this month to Erie’s North Pier, a popular spot for sightseeing and fishing located near Presque Isle State Park. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Buffalo District announced that construction will repair about 1,800 feet of damaged structure along the channel between Lake Erie and Presque Isle Bay. Read the full story by Erie-Times News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240412-presque-isle-pier
The University of Toledo’s Lake Erie Center hosted a training on Wednesday for local water experts to learn about the latest “smart buoys” that will be sent out into various locations in Lake Erie during the upcoming summer season. The buoys have solar-powered sensors inside them that are designed to track important water safety features such as pH and toxin levels. Read the full story by WTOL-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240412-smart-bouy
The Lake Express Ferry embarked from its storage location in Milwaukee’s Menomonee River Valley to its operational terminal on the Lake Michigan waterfront on Wednesday, April 10. The ferry, used for daily regional transportation, transitions annually to facilitate increased travel during the warmer months and connects Milwaukee with Muskegon, Michigan. Read the full story by WDJT-TV – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240412-lake-express-ferry
The Grand Lake region remains one of the best places in Ohio to catch a glimpse of American White Pelicans. The birds can be seen on the lake from March-May and again in late August-November as the birds head towards their migration path. Read the full story by The Daily Standard.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240412-white-pelicans
Sitting at 26 miles long and 24 miles wide with nearly one-third of the sport fishing catch annually in the Great Lakes region, Lake St. Clair should be a household name. While not as well-known as the Great Lakes, this lake has a lot to offer. Read the full story by Great Lake Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240320-lake-st-clair
On World Water Day, March 22, the Alliance for the Great Lakes, Ocean Conservancy, Illinois Environmental Council, and Loyola University scientists will hold a briefing with partners at the Museum of Science and Industry to discuss protecting the Great Lakes and waterways from the environmental and health risks of microfiber pollution. Read the full story by the Ocean Conservancy.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240320-great-lakes-water
The Ford government is facing fresh questions over its plans to redevelop Ontario Place after new documents suggest the province considered filling in a portion of Lake Ontario to create a new development space. Read the full story by Global News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240320-ontario-place
As national parks around the country try to raise awareness about climate change, those around Lake Superior are taking steps to cut their emissions. The foundation and the National Park Service announced last week that the parks are starting to implement plans to get their operations off fossil fuels. Read the full story by Michigan Advance.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240320-lake-superior-parks
The hemlock woolly adelgid, an invasive insect that threatens millions of Michigan’s native hemlock trees, has been discovered near Torch Lake in western Antrim County, according to the Michigan Invasive Species Program. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240320-hemlock-woolly-adelgid
Wisconsin is adopting its biggest change to walleye fishing regulations since the 1940s. Starting April 1, the state’s bag limit for the prized game fish will fall from five to three walleye per angler. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240320-walleye-baglimit
For years, the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and other tribes of the Great Lakes region have been leading a fight against the Canadian oil giant Enbridge Energy. Enbridge’s 71-year-old Line 5 oil and gas pipeline, which trespasses through sovereign tribal lands, is an environmental disaster waiting to happen. Read the full story by the Chicago Sun Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240320-line-5
A public hearing was held on March 11 by Michigan’s Alabaster Township Board of Trustees, to learn about the Parks and Recreation Committee’s trail enhancement proposal for the Lake Huron Coastal Preserve, which is proposing an Accessibility Development Project on the shoreline that is 100% wheelchair accessible. Read the full story by Iosco County News-Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240320-lake-huron-coastal-preserve
The Soo Locks will officially open the Poe Lock to all marine traffic at 6 pm March 22nd, marking the start of the Great Lakes shipping season. Read the full story by the Keweenaw Report.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240320-shipping-season
An hourlong presentation about western Lake Erie was made Monday to a Washington-based policy center with ties to Congress, an online event that reminded viewers they are about three months away from battling another season of toxic algal blooms. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240320-algae-webinar
This week, the Great Lakes Commission, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, and the International Joint Commission expect to sign a memorandum of understanding in Washington, D.C. The new agreement will help the organizations coordinate on things like research vessels and information-sharing, especially as climate change research increases in the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Interlochen Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240304-gl-commission-agreement
The latest Great Lakes Fishing Decree has taken effect, and its guidelines for certain Great Lakes fisheries in Michigan will be in place soon. The new decree includes many updates, including which areas tribal commercial fishers can use, as well as the reporting requirements for the fishing industry. Read the full story by WLNS-TV – Lansing, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240304-gl-fishing-decree
To keep our Great Lakes great, congressional members are pushing to extend the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. The fund helps projects target the biggest threats to our Great Lakes, like invasive species, contamination and protecting native habitats. Read the full story by WICU-TV – Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240304-glri-extension
A congressional lawmaker and Coast Guard officials were in Green Bay Friday to advocate for the expansion of icebreaking to keep the Great Lakes region’s economy afloat. Read the full story for WLUK-TV – Green Bay, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240304-icebreaking-expansion
In Wisconsin, Madison’s lakes officially thawed out this week, and it happened faster than almost any other time in the last 170 years. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240304-madison-lakes
Starting March 1, 2024, the sport fishing guide license is required in Michigan for anyone guiding on any water except the Great Lakes, Great Lakes connecting waters and bodies of water with a surface area of less than 5 acres. Read the full story by the Manistee News Advocate.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240304-guide-fishing-license
A busy trail inside Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore has been shut down through the summer season due to invasive hemlock woolly adelgid. Read the full story by WDIV-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240304-sleeping-bear-dunes
A study, published Monday in the journal Limnology and Oceanography Letters, examined 194 lakes in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to assess changes in walleye spawning. The study has found climate change is affecting walleye’s ability to thrive by disrupting when frozen lakes thaw each year. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240304-walleye
A coalition between the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has approved nearly $1.7 million in grants to fund six different studies along the Great Lakes. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240228-michigan-sea-grant
New York’s Thousand Islands Land Trust said the lack of ice cover has had major impacts on the local environment, including drastic water temperature fluctuations, changes in animal behavior and shifts in migratory bird patterns. Read the full story by WROC-TV – Rochester, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240228-low-ice
During the Anishinabek Nation Councils Panel at the Anishinabek Nation’s 8th Land and Resources Forum, Eshki-niigijig Advisory Council member Lance Copegog of Beausoleil First Nation discussed what is being done to protect the Great Lakes, including work on a program where bodies of water have the recognition of personhood. Read the full story by Anishinabek News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240228-great-lakes-personhood
Removal of the Lake Erie and Niagara River ice boom was set to begin Tuesday but was delayed due to weather conditions. It would have been the earliest date for the removal of the ice boom. Read the full story by Spectrum News 1.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240228-lake-erie-ice-boom
It may feel like ice fishing season just started, but Ontario Fish and Wildlife is reminding residents that ice fishing huts need to be taken down by specific dates in March. Anglers are also advised to closely monitor ice conditions. Read the full story by York Region News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240228-ice-huts-removal
A much-delayed and controversial plan to build a gas-fired power plant in Superior, Wisconsin, now faces opposition from local leaders who previously supported it. The $700 million project is contentious for its location — bordering a Lake Superior estuary and an Anishinaabe mass grave — and for its potential harm to the environment, property values and health of area residents. Read the full story by the Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240228-power-plant
Ice coverage on Lake Superior is at about 3%, making it the lowest recorded coverage since the federal government began measuring it in 1973. The Superior Watershed Partnership says the lack of ice has possible impacts on fish populations come spring, specifically for hatchlings that will not be protected from powerful waves that can wash eggs away. Read the full story by WLUC-TV – Marquette, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240228-fish-populations
A popular Lake Michigan dog beach in Ottawa County, Michigan, is fully reopening this spring after nearly four years of reduced hours. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240228-dog-beach
Earlier this month, Wisconsin Legislature’s budget-writing committee shot down about $1 million in grants under the state’s stewardship program for a boat launch project in the city of Ashland. That’s despite the committee previously signing off on a similar amount of grant funding for another northern Wisconsin project. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240228-wi-boating-grants
The escalating threat of invasive grass carp in Canada’s Great Lakes has prompted the Invasive Species Centre to initiate a comprehensive public awareness campaign. Read the full story by BNN Breaking.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240228-carp
Record warm winter weather is having severe ramifications on the ice cover that typically engulfs the Great Lakes at this time of year. Just 5.9% of the Great Lakes are currently covered with ice compared to an average of about 40% for this time of year. Read the full story by ABC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240209-great-lakes-ice
Researchers in Minnesota are creating a national map to identify peatlands – soggy areas of slowly decaying organic matter – and guides for how to restore them. The idea is to save a landscape that occupies just 3 percent of the earth’s land area but stores over 30 percent of the planet’s carbon. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240209-bogs
A successful halt on shoreline development through a recently crafted bylaw in Tiny Township, Ontario has been submitted for a Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative award. Even if the township does not win the award, the deputy mayor hopes the story can ‘help other municipalities that are facing similar issues’. Read the full story by Midland Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240209-best-practice-award
