When strong winds push Lake Erie’s water east or west, shorelines can be left dry or flooded in a matter of hours, resulting in the water levels drastically decreasing in a short amount of time. However, that water must go somewhere, and that “somewhere” is the opposite lakeshore. Read the full story by WGRD – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250910-greatlakes-strange-seiche-phenomenon
The new Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Lake Erie Research Unit facility is located on the grounds of the Fairview State Fish Hatchery in Erie County, Pennsylvania, and it contains a research laboratory, library, conference room, and modern office space for three full-time biologists, seasonal biologist aides, and a Waterways Conservation Officer. Read the full story by PennWatch Media.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250910-pa-fish-boat-lakeerie-research-unit
Michigan’s Invasive Species Grant Program is now accepting proposals for the 2025 funding cycle, with an anticipated $3.6 million available to applicants. The program – a joint effort among multiple state agencies – is a statewide initiative launched in 2014 to help prevent, detect and control invasive species in Michigan. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250908-invasive-species-grants
Analysis of water samples collected as part of a long-term monitoring project by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources have shown small but measurable numbers of zebra mussel larvae in multiple inland lakes in St. Louis County, Minnesota. Read the full story by The Ely Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250908-zebra-mussel-collection
The historic USS Cobia, a Gato-class submarine that arrived in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, in 1970, has left its home at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum for the first time since the 1990s. The submarine will soon arrive in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, to undergo maintenance. Read the full story by WGBA-TV – Green Bay, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250908-submarine-maintenance
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has identified potential water quality violations linked to wastewater discharges from the Great Lakes Cheese facility in Franklinville, New York, which led to a large fish and wildlife die-off in Ischua Creek. Since the DEC’s initial response, water quality in Ischua Creek has shown significant improvements, the state said. Read the full story by WGRZ-TV – Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250908-fish-die-off
The inaugural Anishinaabe Canoe Migration set out over the weekend as 19 paddlers travelled down the St. Louis River. The project hopes to launch an even larger canoe migration intended to share cultural revitalization, Indigenous healing, and community empowerment in the future. Read the full story by KBRJ-TV – Superior, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250908-canoe-migration
WBGU-PBS is premiering a three-part docuseries that explores the history and legacy of eight Ohio lighthouses on Lake Erie and the people working to preserve them. The series is scheduled to air at 9 p.m. Thursdays starting September 11 and at 3:30 p.m. Saturdays beginning September 13. Read the full story by the Port Clinton News Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250908-lighthouse-docuseries
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is halfway through completion of a $5 million grant project to remove 27 stream barriers to conserve and restore aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, improve resilience to flooding and other threats, and expand community access to nature. Read the full story by The Newberry News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250908-dam-removal-project
Ohio State University’s Stone Laboratory on Gibraltar Island, Ohio, offers scholarships for students enrolled in classes each summer through its Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) program. One project collected close to 11,000 fish to better understand the influence of invasive round gobies on native darters in Lake Erie. Read the full story by the Sandusky Register.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250908-invasive-species-project
The Great Lakes Museum in Kingston, Ontario, is celebrating its 50th anniversary since its founding in 1975 by a group of divers conducting underwater archaeology in Lake Ontario. Since then, the museum has grown significantly and is a National Historic Site. Read the full story by The Kingston Whig Standard.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250908-museum-anniversary
The Great Lakes saw at least 27 confirmed, fair-weather waterspouts/funnels — and more may have spawned beyond view — on Sunday, including on Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, according to reports by the International Centre for Waterspout Research, a nonprofit that tracks the phenomena. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250908-waterspout-reports
Airborne toxins from the annual harmful algal bloom on Lake Erie are the subject of two studies by researchers at the University of Toledo. The studies are the first of their kind in the Great Lakes. Read the full story by the Port Clinton News Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250905-asthma-algal
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) opened a new research facility for local biologists to conduct proper lab testing on Lake Erie’s native species and learn more about them. Read the full story by WJET-TV – Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250905-pfbc-facility
As fishing for burbot, a native Great Lakes fish species, has grown increasingly popular, anglers and researchers believe the population is disappearing. Researchers say invasive zebra mussels siphoning nutrients from the water are to blame. Read the full story by WJBK-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250905-burbot-fishing
A recent grant aims to support waterway navigation training and cultural reconnection to Anishinaabe canoeing for the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250905-anishinaabe-canoe
The Ohio State University and Ohio Sea Grant program are celebrating the 100-year anniversary of the Franz Theodore Stone Laboratory through an open house this weekend. The lab, which moved to its current location on Gibraltar Island in 1925, dates to the late 1800s, making it the oldest freshwater biological field station in the country. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250905-island-lab
The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District is studying how to prevent the release of untreated water and sewage into Lake Erie which occurred three times this summer at the waters of Edgewater Beach. Read the full story by WEWS-TV – Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250905-sewer-district
Construction is underway on Milwaukee’s $17 million South Shore Cruise Dock, which will be Milwaukee’s third designated cruise dock. It will have the capacity to serve the Great Lakes’ largest cruise ships and is expected to open ahead of the 2026 cruise season, which in Milwaukee typically starts in April or early May and runs through October. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250905-cruise-dock
The Michigan Maritime Museum in South Haven will host a presentation this month on a major effort to restore lake sturgeon to the Big Manistee River. Read the full story by WSJM – Benton Harbor, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250905-sturgeon-presentation
Environmental agencies are searching for the source of pollution that has created two contaminated hot spots in the lower Clinton River. Samples taken in 2017 and 2019 showed high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from two sites in the lower Clinton River in Mount Clemens, Michigan. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250905-clinton-pollution
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation confirmed the Great Lakes Cheese factory in Franklinville, New York, was not in compliance with its discharge permit and has paused discharges from its wastewater treatment facility following a significant fish kill on Ischua Creek last week. Read the full story by WGRZ-TV – Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250905-cheese-discharge
The Franklin-St. Lawrence NYSUT United Retirees will host a boat tour with Clayton Island Tours to Rock Island Lighthouse on the St. Lawrence River in a glass-bottom boat on Monday, September 8. The event is open to all teacher retirees and spouses. Read the full story by the Watertown Daily Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250903-lighthouse-tour
Michigan’s Great Lakes could see powerful waves up to 14 feet high throughout Friday, September 5, according to the National Weather Service. Gale warnings, small craft advisories and high swim risks are in place for select beaches of Lake Michigan, Lake Superior and Lake Huron. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250903-gale-warning
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Alpena, Michigan, will host a community lecture on Lake Trout Restoration on September 18 at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center. The conversation will center around a conservation effort to build a series of artificial reefs to promote fish spawning. Read the full story by the Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250903-lake-trout-lecture
The Fourth Annual Great Lakes Tribal Economic Summit will be held on September 16 and 17, at the Gun Lake Casino Resort in Wayland, Michigan. The event will bring together tribal leaders and Native business executives to discuss timely insights into navigating federal policies amid significant political shifts as well as the latest tribal economic developments. Read the full story by Native News Online.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250903-tribal-economic-summit
Michigan lawmakers are trying a different route to secure funding for a controversial copper mine in the western Upper Peninsula after grant dollars did not get approved last year. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250903-copper-mine-funding
Boat captains today have far more information about weather conditions, thanks to buoys and other data sources. Federal funding cuts could jeopardize those safety advances. Read the full story by The Bemidji Pioneer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250903-shipwreck-prevention
Newly graduated Maritime Academy cadets have been in high demand after the coronavirus pandemic led to a wave of early retirements of merchant marine officers. The Trump administration has called for “resurrecting America’s maritime industry” giving the new graduates an optimistic outlook on their job prospects. Read the full story by Interlochen Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250903-maritime-industry
Lake Erie’s cyanobacteria bloom has shrunk to an area of approximately 300 square miles, but officials continue to warn that the water remains toxic and residents should exercise caution. Read the full story by WTOL-TV – Toledo, Ohio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250903-erie-algal-bloom
The Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area, in Michigan has a carbon fund that accepts donations from residents to fund local conservation efforts such as tree plantings that sequester carbon from the air. Read the full story by the Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250903-carbon-fund
The Supreme Court of Canada, in its decision released Thursday morning, announced it won’t hear an appeal of lower court decisions that confirm the Chippewas of Saugeen First Nation’s ownership of a disputed piece of Lake Huron beachfront. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250829-beachfront-ownership
A dry summer in Montreal, as well as across southern and eastern Ontario, has pushed water levels in the lower St. Lawrence River to their lowest August level in more than a decade, affecting fishing, boating and commercial shipping. Read the full story by The Montreal Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250829-water-levels
Given society’s growing interest in AI, the data center industry will likely continue its rapid expansion. But without a consistent and transparent way to track water consumption over time, the public and government officials will be making decisions about locations, regulations and sustainability without complete information on how these massive companies’ buildings will affect their communities and environments. Read the full story by the Wisconsin State Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250829-data-center-water
Lake Superior State University students are conducting one of the first studies to replicate real oil spill conditions in large mesocosms to potentially change how scientists respond to oil spills in freshwater systems. Read the full story by The Sault Ste. Marie Evening News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250829-oil-spill-research
Before boating season comes to an end, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is giving away free boat washes to address the threat posed by invasive plants and animals. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250829-invasive-species-prevention
The Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in West Michigan has officially earned “operations status,” becoming the first commercial nuclear power plant in the U.S. to reopen after a shutdown. Once the 800-megawatt plant in Covert Township resumes power generation, it will provide enough electricity to serve over 800,000 homes and businesses. Read the full story by CBS News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250829-nuclear-plant-restart
The U.S. EPA’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative awarded the Ohio Department of Agriculture a $1 million grant to help expand conservation efforts in the Western Lake Erie Basin to help reduce nutrient runoff. Read the full story by SpectrumNews1.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250829-conservation-grant
Cigarette butts are polluting Lake Erie, prompting local efforts to clean up the shoreline and protect the environment. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful is leading initiatives to educate the public on the importance of proper disposal to prevent litter from entering the water. Read the full story by WJET-TV – Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250829-cigarette-pollution
A major step in the eventual removal of the Gorge Dam from the Cuyahoga River is about to commence. Dignitaries including Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and U.S. EPA Region 5 Administrator Anne Vogel are expected to celebrate the plan to remove nearly 900,000 cubic yards of sediment from behind the dam. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250829-sediment-removal
The SS Alpena, the oldest working freighter on Michigan’s Great Lakes, is back on course for another shipping season. The ship was built in 1942 and still carries cement to and from Alpena in northern Michigan. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250829-oldest-freighter
Lake Superior is the lone holdout in a mussel invasion that has overtaken every other Great Lake, a salvation credited to low calcium levels, cold water, and relative isolation. But a spate of recent outbreaks are testing old assumptions about the lake’s defenses. Read the full story by Minnesota Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250827-superior-mussels
Waterspouts swept across the Great Lakes this past weekend as a cold front moved into the region from Canada, and the region may see more in the coming days, weather experts say. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250827-waterspouts
More than 20 years ago, a young girl in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula tossed a message in a bottle into AuTrain Bay on Lake Superior, never expecting to see it again. That bottle traveled over 1,000 miles to the Outer Banks of North Carolina and has finally been returned to its sender, now grown up and living in Marquette, Michigan. Read the full story by the Daily Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250827-bottle-message-travels
Tawas Lake, a 1,600-acre inland lake not far from Lake Huron, is home to Michigan’s largest bed of native wild rice, called manoomin in the Native Anishinaabemowin language. A new lake management plan for Tawas Lake will start with efforts to remove invasive species from the lake – a goal everyone supports. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250827-tawas-wild-rice
Those for and those against constructing a tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac are making their cases. A comment period for the necessary permits from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy ends this Friday. Read the full story by Michigan Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250827-line5-comments-close
Visitors sometimes leave stuff behind at Great Lakes beaches. One of the most common pieces of plastic trash found are cigarette butts. Read the full story by Michigan Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250827-cigarette-polution
Following a protest by First Nations and environmentalists of the planned use of herbicides along Lake Huron’s shoreline, a forestry company has cancelled plans to spray herbicides that contain the chemical glyphosate in the area. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250827-canceled-herbicides
The United Nations has recently designated August 27 as World Lake Day. The day should be used to acknowledge the benefits derived from the Great Lakes and take action to ensure that they remain healthy. Read the full story by The Globe and Mail.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250827-world-lake-day
Demand for water in Great Lakes states is likely to spike from data centers, mining and other uses. Officials should take a more proactive management approach to stave off shortages, according to a new report published by the nonprofit Alliance for the Great Lakes. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250825-datacenters-waterdemand
