The Great Lakes are full of zebra mussels, one estimate puts their population in the Great Lakes alone at 750 trillion. While projects are underway to try and reduce their numbers, their steady expansion to the Western U.S has many concerned. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240802-zebra-mussels
Carnivorous plants, a picturesque pebble beach and outcrops of a rare type of volcanic lava rock highlight Minnesota’s newest nature preserve. The Icelandite Coastal Fen Scientific and Natural Area is about 10 miles northeast of Grand Marais on the foggy northern shore of Lake Superior. Read the full story by the Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240802-rare-wetland
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Commerce Department has awarded a nearly $1.85 million grant to St. Louis County, Minnesota, to help address climate change impacts on the coast of Lake Superior. Read the full story by WDIO-TV – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240802-shoreline-grant
The last coal-fired passenger steamship in the U.S., the SS Badger, is attempting to become more green while maintaining its steam-powered charm as it travels across Lake Michigan between Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and Ludington, Michigan. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240802-badger-alternative-fuel
A fuel tank exploded in Lake Huron after a military fighter jet dropped them during an emergency over Michigan on Wednesday. Read the full story by WJBX-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240802-fuel-tank
U.S. Senators Gary Peters (MI) and Debbie Stabenow (MI) say they have secured the $450 million in federal funding included in the Fiscal Year 2025 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for the Soo Locks construction project. Read the full story by the SooLeader.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240802-soo-locks-funding
The recent 55th anniversary of the 1969 Cuyahoga River fire serves as a reminder to Northeast Ohio residents of the benefits from decades of work cleaning up industrial contamination in the river. But Northeast Ohio officials and Cuyahoga River advocates see stormwater runoff as a new threat and worry it’s on the rise. Read the full story by WKSU – Kent, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240710-cuyahoga-river
Starting in 2022, Viking Cruises gave its two expedition ships, Octantis and sister ship Polaris, a summer job: plying the Great Lakes from April through September. Since then, the popularity of cruising the Great Lakes has only increased. Read the full story by The Globe and Mail.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240710-cruising
Thirteen labs make up the University of Windsor’s Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER). Headquartered at the shores of the Detroit River, GLIER researchers specialize in the complex problems facing the Great Lakes and the watersheds that feed into them. Read the full story by The Globe and Mail.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240710-glier
Members of the Ojibwe and other Indigenous Nations in the northern Great Lakes region have spearfished walleye for centuries, but the threat of climate change to the habitat for this traditional source of food is adding another difficulty on top of historical government and local opposition. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240710-spearfishing
The newly built river valley in Toronto’s Port Lands has been officially connected with Lake Ontario through the Polson Slip, a milestone in the grand eastern waterfront project that brings it closer to completely rerouting the mouth of the Don River. Read the full story by the Toronto Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240710-new-toronto-river-valley
A $110,700 investment from the province of Ontario will allow the Lakehead Region Conservation Authority and the City of Thunder Bay, Ontario, to team up to create a depression around Boulevard Lake that will serve as a wetland to filter storm water runoff. Read the full story by TB News Watch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240710-boulevard-lake
Two Wisconsin tribes are defending a new rule issued by the Environmental Protection Agency that requires states to consider tribal treaty rights when setting water quality standards. The rule aims to help protect water quality where tribes hold rights outside their reservations under treaties with the federal government. A dozen red states have brought a lawsuit challenging the new regulation. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240710-tribal-water-rights
Michigan rivers continue to face an ecological threat known as didymo (Didymosphenia geminata), commonly referred to as “rock snot”. By covering streambeds, didymo displaces crucial food sources for fish such as trout, including stoneflies and larvae. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240710-didymo
In June 2023, the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced it was starting the designation process for a new national marine sanctuary in Lake Erie. Now NOAA is establishing a pre-designation Sanctuary Advisory Council to provide advice and recommendations for the proposed sanctuary. Read the full story by WZTE – Union City, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240710-proposed-marine-santuary
Since 1995, The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians’ fish-rearing program has introduced 20 million walleye into the ecosystem. This year, over one million walleye and 45,421 whitefish were released into Northern Michigan waters. Read the full story by WLUC-TV – Marquette, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240710-fish-release-program
At a recent conference in Montréal, the focus was on an economic transformation in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence region. The 10-year plan will launch in 2025 and calls for the region to “become a globally renowned economic corridor.” The region’s water, innovation and sustainability are at the core of the plan. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240619-economic-transformation
A decade after Toledo’s water crisis, harmful blooms remain a stubborn reality. Swamps and marshes alone can’t fix the problem, but they have an important role to play, experts say. Read the full story by Audubon Magazine.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240619-wetlands
In the past decade, the popularity of Great Lakes cruises has been steadily increasing. One city that’s given a lot of thought on how to capitalize on this new tourism market is Muskegon, Michigan. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240619-cruise-tourisn
A legal battle over the future of Enbridge Energy’s Line 5 gas and oil pipeline will continue in a state of Michigan court. That’s after Enbridge lost a key federal court ruling on jurisdiction that was released Monday. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240619-line-5
The Pennsylvania Lake Erie Environmental Forum is gathering for the first time in person with the public since the pandemic to discuss beach economics, resiliency and issues regarding invasive species. Read the full story by WJET-TV – Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240619-lake-erie-forum
In May, Alpena, Michigan’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office sent their native species crew to the southern part of the state to help with a large project by the United States Fish and Wildlife Services. The project utilizes eDNA, or environmental DNA, to detect lake sturgeon populations in a variety of rivers. WCMU – Mount Pleasant, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240619-edna
The schooner “Mojave,” which sank in 1864, was found in 2016 in Lake Michigan off the shore of Sheboygan County. The shipwreck has now been added to the National Register of Historic Places. Read the full story by WBAY-TV – Green Bay, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240619-mojave
The town of Arkwright, New York issued a declaration that many municipalities across western New York have shared in recent months at its most recent meeting. While the end result is the same — an official resolution in strong opposition to the placement of wind turbines in Lake Erie — the town’s perspective is unique. Read the full story the Observer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240619-wind-turbine
As warmer weather rolls in, experts advise that swimmers stay on the lookout for potential toxins on the shores of Lake Erie. Read the full story by WJET-TV – Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240619-algae-bloome
The U.S. Coast Guard and American Bureau of Shipping examine each ship every year. The Coast Guard must issue a Certificate of Inspection before vessels can go out to the water, which helps protect marine transportation systems. Watch the video by WLUC-TV, Negaunee, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240619-freighters
More than 31,000 Atlantic salmon raised in a Michigan fish hatchery had to be killed after failing to recover from a bacterial kidney disease, officials said Tuesday. The unhealthy fish would have posed a risk to other fish if they had been released into Michigan waters. Read the full story by the Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240605-slamon-disease
Scientists studying unregulated “emerging contaminants” say Ontario and the federal government need a coordinated plan to protect our water and health. Read the full story by The Narwhal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240605-drug-microplastics-pfas
The federal government’s premiere Great Lakes restoration program, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, has improved the health of rivers and lakes across the region, but has sometimes overlooked environmental justice goals, according to a new audit from a federal watchdog. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240605-glri-audit
This year’s Michigan Great Lakes and Fresh Water Week, which will take place June 1 – June 9, will focus on events and resources related to physical, mental, and spiritual wellness as a result of connecting with water, as well as continuing to dive into enjoyment, recreation, appreciation, stewardship, and protection of the Great Lakes, their environment, and their communities. Read the full story by WHMI – Howell, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240605-fresh-water-week
Researchers at the University of Michigan have received a $6.5 million grant to serve as a hub for studies investigating how climate change is impact on the harmful algal blooms on the Great Lakes and the overall impact on human health. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240605-algal-blooms
Health officials closed seven Michigan beaches on Friday after water testing showed high levels of E. coli. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240605-beach-closures
In Ohio, a city of Avon Lake council member presented at a recent meeting regarding stormwater runoff and allegations of heavy metals leaking into Lake Erie from the ongoing demolition of the Avon Lake Power Plant. Read the full story by the Sun Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240605-avon-lake-power-plant
On Tuesday, hundreds of Wisconsin residents congregated for a multi-session public hearing on the controversial Enbridge Line 5 pipeline project. The hearing focused on the proposed construction of a new segment of the pipeline, some 40 miles of which would be constructed around and upstream of the Bad River Reservation. Read the full story by the Wisconsin Examiner.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240605-line-5
Beaver Island, a remote island off the coast of west Michigan, could become the testing ground for a new energy prototype that harnesses Lake Michigan’s tides. Read the full story by WJBK-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240605-wave-energy
1.6 million Wisconsin residents get their drinking water from Lake Michigan or Lake Superior, so why are we not doing more to protect this freshwater resource from continuous PFAS contamination? Read the full story by The Capital Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240605-pfas
It’s taken over 30 years to restore Michigan’s Muskegon Lake and while many Muskegon residents are excited about the revitalized lake, others are concerned that the restored areas will attract high-end development and lead to less public access of the water. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240517-pfas-in-rain
A considerable amount of “forever chemicals” are making their way into the Great Lakes via the air and rain, a new study says. Findings published in Environmental Science and Technology, show that rain is primary way PFAS end up in Lake Superior, offering a stark reminder that even the lake that’s considered the most pristine isn’t safe from the toxic chemicals. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240517-pfas-in-rain
In an interview, the executive director of a Chicago-based water innovation hub discusses the need to focus on innovation and why water abundance is a double-edged sword. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240517-chicago-city-water
Montréal played host to a landmark agreement as officials from Montréal, Québec City, and Milwaukee inked a pledge to turn the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Basin into an economic hub with a focus on sustainability. Read the full story by Hoodline.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240517-blue-green-economic-conference
Factors such as weather patterns, local bird or geese populations, and water flow can all impact E. coli levels, but the true source can be hard to pinpoint. Read the full story by Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240517-e-coli
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Lake Michigan Fisheries Forum will host a public meeting to discuss current and future rules governing the trawling for lake whitefish in Lake Michigan. Read the full story by Lake Geneva News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240517-lake-whitefish
St. Lawrence Seaway officials and guests gathered in Massena, New York Monday to celebrate the official opening of a new $7 million visitor center. The new facility includes a museum with 38 exhibits and a three-story viewing platform overlooking one of the Seaway’s two locks for huge ocean-going freighters. Read the full story by North Country Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240517-visitor-center
A bill containing $12 million to install a barrier in the Mississippi River in southern Minnesota to prevent invasive carp from swimming upstream is headed to Governor Tim Walz. If signed funding will become available July 1. Read the full story by Minnesota Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240517-invasive-carp
The Coast Guard warns that water temperatures in the St. Lawrence River range from 49 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and despite the recent warm weather, boaters should follow safety precautions to prevent hypothermia. Read the full story by WWTI-TV – Watertown, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240517-cold-water-st-lawrence
The story of two intrepid explorers crossing the Georgian Bay on foot during a freeze-up highlights the disquieting future of the Great Lakes without ice coverage. Read the full story by Biinaagami.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240517-ice-cover
On May 3, Great Lakes surface waters were very close to beating the 2012 record for all-time warmest water. It can be expected that the lakes will be warmer than normal throughout the summer. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240505-water-temps
New York native Robert Gioia has been confirmed to the International Joint Commission (IJC), which was established by the Boundary Treaty of 1909 to prevent and resolve disputes over the U.S. and Canada’s shared waterways, including the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. Read the full story by the Finger Lakes Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240505-ijc-commissioner
Parks Canada broke ground on Saturday on the new Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area Administration and Visitors Centre. The center is being constructed on the Nipigon Marina and will allow visitors to learn about some of the things Parks Canada does to keep the big lake healthy. Read the full story by SN News Watch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240505-lake-superior-national-marine-conservation-area
In 2019, the state of Illinois confirmed what advocates had long suspected, coal ash from the Waukegan Generating Station had leached into nearby groundwater right next to Lake Michigan. Plans were submitted to clean up the operation, but those plans are still on hold. Read the full story by Grist.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240505-coal-ash
