Because of the federal government shutdown, a trip to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore along Lake Michigan or to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on the Lake Superior coast may look quite different this fall. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251027-shutdown-parks
The state budget has cut funding for the Michigan Invasive Species Grant Program this year, but it won’t reduce money for controlling invasive sea lampreys. Read the full story by The Mining Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251027-michigan-invasives
The U.S. Coast Guard contends with staffing and equipment issues as it provides the types of rescues few other agencies can offer. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251027-coast-guard
The opening of the Erie Canal 200 years ago was touted as an incredible achievement of human ingenuity, but the lakes would never be the same again. One particularly harmful invasive species that used the Erie Canal to access the Hudson River is the round goby. Read the full story by Democrat & Chronicle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251027-erie-canal-invasives
The Strawberry Creek Chinook Salmon Facility near Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, is the primary, and in some years only, site for chinook egg collection. Data collected at the facility helps biologists manage the fishery and make stocking decisions. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251027-chinook-eggs
Plenty of people had already settled in the wild territory of Michigan before the opening of the Erie Canal, but numbers picked up notably thanks to the faster, smoother waterway. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251027-erie-canal-michigan
More than any other historical event, the opening of the Erie Canal, on Oct. 26, 1825, set Chicago on the path to becoming the city it is today. Read the full story by the Chicago Sun-Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251027-erie-canal-chicago
In a warm fall, the relatively warm waters of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron help us stay warmer overnight. This extra warmth and moisture off the Great Lakes slows down the leaf color-changing process and makes the vibrant colors last longer. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251027-fall-color
The recent Fall Brawl and Walleye Slam fishing derbies usually attract more than 10,000 boat anglers to Lake Erie. But big northwesterly winds and 10-foot waves roiled the lake, and most boats likely remained on their trailers throughout the weekend. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251027-erie-derbies
The Great Lakes Fishery Commission has completed the construction of a 2.5-acre reef built from 20,000 tons of limestone in Lake Huron. Its purpose is to increase spawning habitat for native Great Lakes species such as walleye and whitefish. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251024-new-reef
In Michigan, the 1-mile segment between Petoskey and Bay Harbor on Lake Michigan’s shoreline has been closed since late 2019 due to erosion caused by record high lake levels. Reconstruction costs are estimated at $19.8 million. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251024-trail-reconstruction
A low water advisory was put in place for Western Lake Erie’s exposed shorelines after strong steady winds and gusts up to 40 mph pushed waters toward the opposite end of the lake. Read the full story by Lansing State Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251024-lake-erie-seiche
For the first time, the Global Oceans Conference set up shop on the shores of the Great Lakes in Chicago. The Freshwater Research Center showed off its budding status as a blue tech hub. Read the full story by the Ticker.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251024-global-oceans-conference
A 2.2-magnitude earthquake shook in Lake Ontario just north of Wayne County, New York, on Wednesday night at a depth of 7.9 kilometers below the surface. Read the full story by the Democrat & Chronicle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251024-lake-ontario-earthquake
Boardman High School in Ohio is being awarded $4,800 to fund high school students to learn hands-on at Lake Erie’s Stone Laboratory through the “Great Lakes, Great Futures: Inspiring the Next Generation of Environmental Stewards” program. Read the full story by WFJM – Youngstown, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251024-highschool-grant
The Lake Huron Coastal Centre’s Lake Huron Forever initiative hosted a successful One Water Gathering event in Goderich, Ontario, bringing together Canadian and U.S. partners to strengthen cross-border collaboration for the shared ecosystem. Read the full story by The Sarnia Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251024-one-water-gathering
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum that stands on the shore of Lake Superior holds the bell of the Edmund Fitzgerald and hosts an annual ceremony at which family members gather to remember the lost laker. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251024-shipwreck-museum
Several local officials recently took a behind-the-scenes tour of the U.S. Coast Guard’s station in Marblehead, Ohio, which is the busiest station on the Great Lakes. Read the full story by the Sandusky Register.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251024-coast-guard
Also known as lake-effect rain, a cousin of lake-effect snow, cold air moving over the warmer Great Lakes water is generating narrow, intense bands of precipitation affecting roughly a dozen states. Read the full story by Akron Beacon Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251024-gl-rain
The U.S. Geological Survey is planning to lay off 79% of the workforce of the Great Lakes Science Center that’s headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, as part of a reduction in force across the U.S. Department of the Interior. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251022-glsc-layoffs
Ten Great Lakes Indigenous Nations have filed a brief before the U.S. Supreme Court, urging a finding against Enbridge on a case involving the Line 5 oil and gas pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac. A second federal lawsuit involving Michigan and Enbridge is pending. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251022-enbridge-brief
As the federal government shutdown continues, most U.S. Environmental Protection Agency workers doing everyday work with air and water environmental protection in Michigan are furloughed, but emergency responders are still working. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251022-epa-furloughed
Two U.S. representatives from Michigan are asking the federal government to send at least one new icebreaker ship to the Great Lakes as part of a deal between the U.S. and Finland. Read the full story by WXYZ-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251022-new-icebreaker
A recent collaborative study aims to understand how climate change threatens lake sturgeon and to develop adaptation strategies rooted in tribal knowledge. Read the full story by WCMU – Mt. Pleasant, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251022-sturgeon-study
A township in Michigan will receive $600,000 in state funds to help convert the shuttered Holland Coast Guard Station into a fire department water rescue base. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251022-new-rescue-base
Multiple experts on the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck will be coming to Duluth, Minnesota, for a conference organized by the Lake Superior Marine Museum Association. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251022-fitzgerald-conference
The National Park Service, Pennsylvania officials, and other groups are working on an ambitious plan to create the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail in the United States. The U.S. trail would link to an existing trail, more than 3,600 kilometers long, in Canada. Read the full story by Erie Reader.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251022-waterfront-trail
Water levels across the Great Lakes have fallen to their lowest in about a decade, sitting 15 inches below normal. Despite the drop, there’s no cause for panic. Read the full story by The London Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251022-water-levels
A rare “sextuplet” waterspout formation – six funnels snaking between the clouds and the water’s surface – was spotted on Lake Erie on Tuesday off Long Point, Ontario. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251022-sextuplet-funnels
Last week, Illinois announced it had acquired land needed to move forward with a $1.15 billion barricade aimed at keeping the invasive silver carp from entering the channel that connects the Mississippi River Basin with the Great Lakes. Read the full story by the Chicago Sun-Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251020-illinois-carp-progress
After an exceptionally warm and dry fall, the Saint Lawrence River — a vital economic corridor in Canada — has reached abnormally low levels in Québec. Read the full story by Le Monde.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251020-stlawrence-drought
All five Great Lakes are currently around 4 to 5.5 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than their long-term average for the last three decades. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251020-greatlakes-warmfall
When the Erie Canal opened in New York 200 years ago, on Oct. 26, 1825, it forever changed the landscape, trade, and communities throughout the area between the Hudson River and the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Fast Company.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251020-erie-canal
The Ontario government pushed forward TC Energy’s proposal to build a large pumped storage project on Lake Huron’s Georgian Bay, despite early expert advice it would be costly and not meet the province’s current energy needs. Read the full story by BarrieToday.com.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251020-georgianbay-pumpedstorage
In Northville, Michigan, part of the Rouge River — sealed inside a 1,200-foot concrete tunnel in 1962 to create land for fairgrounds and, later, a racetrack — has finally been uncovered, the centerpiece of a $350 million redevelopment reshaping the city. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251020-rougeriver-project
Park trails along Lake Michigan’s shoreline in Michigan and Wisconsin are eroding due to more frequent extreme precipitation events, plus increased foot traffic from visitors in undesignated recreation areas. Read the full story by WCMU Public Media.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251020-trail-erosion
Every year, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum holds a private memorial ceremony for those with a connection to the Edmund Fitzgerald on the anniversary of the ship’s sinking. In honor of this year’s 50th anniversary, there will also be a ceremony for the public. Read the full story by WBUP – Marquette, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251020-shipwreckmuseum-fitzgerald
When the U.S. Coast Guard closed its Grand Marais, Minnesota, station in 2022, it left a gap in safety coverage along a large stretch of Lake Superior. In response, the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa has launched what the tribe says is the first Indigenous-led coast guard in the nation. Read the full story by Minnesota Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251017-indigenous-coast-guard
A fresh wave of midges — tiny, non-biting insects — has swarmed parts of Northeast Ohio this week, creating a rare sight for mid-October. Ohio Department of Natural Resources officials said the late-season emergence is tied to Lake Erie’s lingering warmth. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251017-midge-emergence
Village of Fredonia, New York, officials are urging residents to conserve water in any way they can due to a lack of rain. According to village officials, the water reservoir is in extreme danger of reaching a critically low point, which could hamper the village’s ability to produce and supply adequate drinking water. Read the full story by Spectrum News 1.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251017-drought-conservation
The success of a sturgeon restocking program along the Maumee River led the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to expand it this year to the Cuyahoga and Sandusky rivers. On October 4, the Ohio DNR had 2,000 baby lake sturgeon released into the Cuyahoga River. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251017-sturgeon-restocking
Ohio state lawmakers are proposing legislation to ban oil and gas drilling under Lake Erie. While federal law currently prohibits drilling under the Great Lakes, the bill’s sponsors say the state needs to enact its own protections. Read the full story by WTVG – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251017-drilling-ban-legislation
In a proclamation, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer dedicated Oct. 19-26 as Microplastics Awareness Week. The week includes events in which the public can learn about microplastics, participate in cleanups and discover practical solutions to reduce plastic waste at home. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251017-microplastics-proclamation
For the first time in its history, the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin released lake sturgeon into Clam Lake as part of efforts to restore the ancient fish. The tribe has been working for years to bring sturgeon back to the Clam River system, which is home to a remnant population of the native fish. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251017-sturgeon-release
Community members, environmental professionals, and researchers will gather later this month for the 18th Annual Freshwater Summit, an event focused on the latest research and regional efforts to protect the Great Lakes. Read the full story by WWTV – Traverse City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251017-freshwater-summit
From invasive species and pollution to the escalating impacts of climate change, Lake Michigan and the other Great Lakes are grappling with a host of environmental challenges. But in Chicago, scientists and environmentalists are on the front lines, dedicating their time to finding solutions. Read the full story by WLS-TV – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251017-environmental-solutions
The F.T. Barney, a two-masted schooner, collided with another ship on Oct. 23, 1868, and quickly sank to the bottom of Lake Huron. According to the NOAA Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, divers can clearly see its intact stern cabin, erect main mast, and a cargo hold still full of coal off the coast of Rogers City, Michigan. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251017-intact-shipwreck
Michigan’s premier birding hotspot is nestled at the tip of Whitefish Point where the land juts out into Lake Michigan and acts as a natural migration corridor. Thousands of birds travel through the flyway with over 340 species on record. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251015-birding-hotspot
After a dry summer and fall, The International Lake Ontario–St. Lawrence River Board says it will temporarily increase outflows from Lake Ontario this week to help recreational boaters on Lac Saint-Louis, southwest of Montreal, remove their watercraft for the season. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251015-grounded-boats
A 24-year-old adventurer canoed the Great Loop, a 6,000 mile trip between the Great Lakes and Florida. The Michigander returned home to share his journey about enduring obstacles like floodwaters, fire ants, invasive carp. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251015-great-loop-paddling
