The latest public works package, which totals $1.2 trillion in spending, was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives late last week, which includes $1 billion in federal funding for Great Lakes restoration efforts. Read the full story by the Port Clinton News Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211112-infastructure-bill
The 962-square-mile Shipwreck Coast sanctuary is the country’s fifteenth and Lake Michigan’s first. The sanctuary has 36 known shipwrecks (21 of them are listed on the National Register of Historic Places) and up to 59 more are suspected. Diving, snorkeling and paddling a boat are the easiest ways to explore the sanctuary. Read the full story by the Smithsonian Magazine.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211112-national-marine-sanctuary
Lake effect snow is notoriously tricky to forecast but Paul Pastelok, a senior meteorologist with Accuweather, predicts a normal to slightly above normal lake effect season for Upstate New York. Read the full story by The Post-Standard.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211112-lake-effect-snow
Ports of Indiana-Burns Harbor and their tenant, bulk cargo handler Metro Ports, are trying to reduce the environmental impact of a port famous for creating a huge portion of the nation’s steel. The port is a member of Green Marine, a multi-national organization started in 2007 in the Great Lakes region that encourages ports, their on-site tenants and ships to improve their sustainability through a voluntary certification program. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211112-burns-harbor
In the U.S., recreational anglers have been mining Lake Erie for “yellow gold” walleye for decades, and the current trend of skyrocketing fish populations has only helped to firm up the economic benefits that support thousands of households around the lake. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211112-walleye
Lake temperatures have gradually been getting warmer for the last few decades. As Lake Michigan is currently 5 degrees warmer than average in areas, there is possible implications for ice cover, evaporation and lake-effect snow going into the winter. Read the full story by the Record Eagle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211112-warm-lakes
New York Sea Grant is organizing an online workshop for Lake Ontario waterfront property owners to highlight erosion mitigation measures. The Dec. 7 workshop will focus on the western Lake Ontario shoreline areas of Niagara and Orleans counties. Read the full story by the Lockport Union-Sun & Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211112-shoreline-erosion
In areas where floods were once rare, now some neighborhoods are flooding repeatedly. Stormwater sewers are being overwhelmed by more intense storms. To find a solution, researchers at the University of Michigan are helping wastewater managers to use internet connected sensors to better manage sewers. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211112-flooding-app
Parks Canada and Windsor are exploring the possibilities of turning some of the city’s most ecologically sensitive areas into a new national urban park. The National Urban Park project was announced last summer and has a budget of $130 million ($105 million USD) drawn from $2.3 billion ( $1.86 billion USD) in funding to help Canada meet its goal of preserving 25% off the country’s waterways and coasts by 2025. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211112-parks-canada
Port Huron, Michigan is taking steps to stabilize parts of the Black River Canal’s eroding shoreline but officials said it is too soon to know what a long-term fix will look like, much like the rest of the city’s miles of aging seawall. Read the full story by the Times Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211112-port-huron
Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Mary Mertz will take a lead role in preserving and protecting the Great Lakes after being named vice chair of the Great Lakes Commission during the group’s annual meeting. Read the full story by the Herald Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211025-ice-glc
A recent study published in Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences measured the ice coverage of 60 lakes, and found that climate change has contributed to faster rates of ice loss. Scientist found that of those 60 lakes, Lake Superior was warming the fastest and has lost over 60 days of ice cover since 1857. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211025-ice-coverage
The newly launched Great Lakes FreshFishFinder.org highlights businesses where consumers can buy locally produced fish across the entire Great Lakes region. The site’s focal point is an interactive map that allows users to find a variety of fish products and offerings. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211025-great-lakes-fish
The International Lake Ontario – St. Lawrence River Board said it has increased outflows through the Moses-Saunders Dam that will continue through mid-December. Read the full story by the Standard Freeholder.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211025-lake-ontario
Erie Hack, sponsored by the Cleveland Water Alliance and others, is a contest being held around Lake Erie to promote new ideas to address serious water issues in the region. Read more about the four innovative ideas that have made it into the contest’s semifinals. Read the full story the Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211025-erie-hack
PFAS chemicals in firefighting foam has contaminated waterways and private drinking wells in Wisconsin for decades. Between July and October, officials in nearby Eau Claire, Wisconsin shut down half its 16 municipal wells over PFAS contamination, and across the state PFAS have poisoned drinking water supplies, surface water in lakes and streams, air, soil and wildlife like deer and fish that are eaten by the state’s residents. Read the full story by The Guardian.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211025-pfas
The Port of Duluth-Superior announced last week it can now handle “significantly larger” volumes of containers arriving on international vessels because of expanded permissions from the Department of Homeland Security. Read the full story by the Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211025-duluth-port
Lake Michigan is experiencing record-breaking high water temperatures for late October. According to the National Weather Service in Chicago, these temperatures remain higher because of October’s weather being warmer than in previous years. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211025-lake-michigan
Expanded shipping, growing recreation and preparing for climate change are all areas that need increased focus among the Great Lakes. Officials must find ways to bolster the potential of those industries to meet the future. Read the full story The Morning Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211025-economic
A changing climate is altering Lake Superior in many ways including more frequent severe storms, warmer water temperatures, less ice coverage and an arrival of algal blooms. These changes are becoming a problem for us all. And, it’s time our elected officials start paying attention. Read the full story by The Capital Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211025-lake-superior
President Joe Biden on Tuesday appointed Debra Shore, a wastewater treatment official in Chicago, to direct the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Midwestern office. Read the full story by ABC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211013-epa
Several Michigan community members who have been impacted by the toxic chemical PFAS met virtually Tuesday afternoon to introduce policy recommendations to lawmakers. Read the full story by WXMI-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211013-pfas
A baby lake trout discovered in Lake Erie waters near the Pennsylvania-New York border confirmed that the species, thought to be extinct for 60 years, is now reproducing on its own. While this is positive sign for fisheries management and water quality of the lake, there is still a need for strong focus on the health of the Great Lakes for the future. Read the full story by the Ohio Capital Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211013-trout
Environmental and tribal advocates argued that Canada’s invocation of treaty rights to keep Line 5 open was a ploy to protect fossil fuel profits over Great Lakes protections, and a failure to immediately address the climate crisis with reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211013-line-5
Construction has started on an endeavor intended to fortify a severely eroded bluff behind the historic Parmly Mansion along the shoreline of Lake Erie in Perry Township in Ohio. Read the full story The News-Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211013-erosion
Health officials in Michigan are advising residents in the city of Benton Harbor to rely on bottled water instead of tap water in response to elevated levels of lead in the city’s water supply. Levels of lead significantly exceeding the federal action level of 15 parts per billion have been reported in Benton Harbor since at least 2018. Read the full story by The Hill.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211013-lead
A Lake Superior lighthouse in Beaver Bay, Minnesota plans to welcome visitors back for an annual memorial honoring the sailors who died when the Edmund Fitzgerald sank. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211013-lighthouse
Harmful blue-green algae blooms are becoming more frequent along Lake Superior as climate change continues to make conditions right for the species to bloom. Read the full story by the Up North News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211013-algae-bloom
New York Governor Kathleen C. Hochul announced Tuesday that dredging is underway in the village of Clayton, New York at the Clayton French Creek Marina as a part of the state’s $15 million Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative. Read the full story by the Watertown Daily Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211013-dredging-
An unusually warm October has prolonged algal blooms in western Lake Erie, including one that arrived this summer that continues to fan out about 100 square miles along the Ohio shoreline. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211013-lake-erie
For the first time, toxic blue-green algae has been found in Lake Superior waters as part of a recent bloom that formed at a beach in the Duluth-Superior harbor. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211001-algal-bloom
More intense storms, fueled by climate change, are battering shorelines and cities throughout the Great Lakes, pulling the land right out from under some homes. Read the full story by CBS News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211001-climate-change
The water around the U.S. Steel plant in Northwest Indiana does not pose a human health risk after a large discharge of iron into Lake Michigan over the weekend, according to state and federal government officials. Read the full story by the Chicago Sun Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211001-iron-spill
About 9 million Chinook and coho salmon eggs will be collected, fertilized and hatched this fall at Michigan weirs to maintain the Great Lakes’ region’s world-class fisheries. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211001-salmon
The Detroit River Protection Ordinance was approved Tuesday by the Detroit City Council and goes into effect next July, where companies operating along Detroit’s riverfront will face increased inspections and maintenance rules. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211001-detroit-river
Trails that can accommodate strollers, wheelchairs with tank treads, and baby changing stations in men’s bathrooms are part of a push to accommodate a surge of new visitors at Michigan state parks. Read the full story by the Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211001-michigan-dnr
After several incidents of chemical discharge from the U.S. Steel Midwest plant, including a recent leak this past Sunday, residents and environmentalist are pushing for stricter compliance. Read the full story by WBEZ-TV – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211001-indiana-dunes
Although not as common as the blue-green algae found in the Lake Erie basin, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists warn that treatment plants should also be on the look out for “yellow water”, which is a result of hypoxic conditions. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211001-yellow-water
Waterspouts, an atmospheric phenomenon that resembles a tornado-like column of swirling air on water, were spotted on Lake Ontario Wednesday. Read the full story by WHAM-TV – Rochester, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211001-waterspout
Efforts are underway to encourage future nesting of the federally endangered piping plover, a small migratory shorebird, who makes its home on the sandy beaches of Lake Erie’s Headlands Dunes State Nature Preserve in Lake County, Ohio. Read the full story by WEWS-TV – Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211001-plovers
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded a $309,300 grant to the city of Erie, Pennsylvania, to keep litter and trash out of Presque Isle Bay and Lake Erie provided by the Trash-Free Waters Grant under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Read the full story by WZTE-FM – UNION CITY, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210924-epa
The Lake Superior Watershed Partnership and Land Conservancy, a nonprofit group based in Marquette, Michigan, received $122,000 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration this year to remove marine debris from Upper Peninsula beaches and harbors. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210924-noaa-grant
Crystal M.C. Davis, vice president of the Alliance for the Great Lakes, is being recognized for her efforts to ensure fair and equitable access to water. Read the full story by WKSU-FM – Kent, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210924-cleveland
This year at least six algae blooms were reported on the western arm of Lake Superior, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The blooms of cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, are likely increasing in the lake due to warm surface water and ample sunlight. Read the full story by The Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210924-algae-bloom
During the Mackinac Policy Conference on Wednesday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other officials offered up the Lake Michigan Electric Vehicle Circuit, a plan to add charging stations all along the shoreline. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210924-ev
Waterspouts, an atmospheric phenomenon that resembles a tornado-like column of swirling air on water, were formed on Lake Michigan Wednesday amid gusty winds and high, damaging waves, according to multiple reports on social media. Read the full story by WMAQ-TV – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210924-water-spout
The 2021-22 state budget passed this week by the Michigan Legislature includes $25 million for a pilot program in the western Lake Erie basin to increase the participation of agricultural lands using best management practices for water quality. Read the full story by the Daily Telegram.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210924-michigan-budget
The state of Michigan will provide bottled water and water filters in Benton Harbor, where tests have revealed elevated levels of lead, a spokesman said Wednesday. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210924-lead
Partners for Clean Streams, which focuses on improving quality of life along Toledo-area waterways, is reaching a milestone this Saturday with its 25th annual Clean Your Streams Day. Read the full story by The Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210924-cleanup
A fledgling initiative created in part by the Chicago-based Conference of Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors & Premiers has attracted nearly $4 billion in sustainability investments for the region in 19 months. Read the full story by The Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210924-sustainability-investment
