A crusading researcher who first identified the corrosiveness of Flint water and elevated levels of lead in city water now says residents’ exposure to the poison was “not as bad as first feared.” Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200918-Flint
Commercial fishers in the Great Lakes have been left out of federal aid for fisheries nationwide, to the tune of $300 million. (The Great Lakes got zero.) A fettered market cost the regional fishery $50 million this spring, according to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. Read the full story by Interlochen Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200918-fisheries
Michigan regulators are ordering the owners of the Edenville dam in Midland to make critically needed repairs to the structure. The dam cracked on May 19, after days of heavy rain. Now four months later, there’s still a gaping hole in the dam. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200918-Edenville-dam
Prior Lake, Minnesota kayaker and Great Lakes veteran Mike Stout pushed aside any trepidation and paddled alone across Lake Michigan. Read the full story by the Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200918-kayaker
This month, the U.S. Senate approved funding to appropriate $8 million to the Department of Natural Resources for Michigan’s contribution to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plan to rebuild the Brandon Road Lock and Dam in Illinois. Read the full story by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200917-brandon-road-carp-lock-dam
Dream Hub CEO discusses an event hosted by Dream Hall where Asian carp was served to people in need as a product from their incubator kitchens for the Illinois Kane County food hub. Listen to the full story by WGN Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200917-eat-asian-carp
The Great Lakes are warming faster than the oceans. And Lake Superior, which is the largest, deepest Great Lake, … is one of the five fastest-warming lakes in the world,” says Democratic U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan. Listen to the full story by Yale Climate Connections.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200917-great-lakes-climate-change
A report authored by Mackinac Center for Public Policy Environmental Policy and the Minnesota-based Center for the American Experiment challenges the shut down and new construction for the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac, citing projected exorbitant costs for Michigan UP homeowners. Read the full story by The Center Square.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200917-michigan-line-5
On Sept. 16th Governor of Michigan Gretchen Whitmer announced a new initiative in partnership with The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) called the Catalyst Communities program. Read the full story by WSMH-TV – Flint, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200917-michigan-climate-change
According to a new report from the long-running wolf study conducted by Michigan Technological University and the National Park Service, the newly released wolves transported to Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior seem to be making themselves at home. Read and listen to the full story by Lake Superior News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200917-isle-royale
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports that phase one construction of the new lock has shifted to around-the-clock operations, as of Sept. 8; the new lock will provide a safeguard against a potential breakdown of the adjacent Poe Lock, the largest lock in the Seaway chain, which opened to navigation in 1969. Read the full story by Sootoday.com.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200917-soo-lock-construction
Earlier this summer the government of Ontario said it had received many complaints about the growing number of double-crested cormorants. After an announcement in July, an annual harvest season has started Sept. 15th and will continue until December 31st. Read the full story by Radio Canada International.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200917-cormorant-cull-ontario
The project is part of an effort by Lakewood, Ohio to adhere to the EPA’s Clean Water Act requiring communities to identify, control and either permit or eliminate stormwater; the issue is the city’s 100-year-old sewer system wasn’t designed to handle large storm events. Read the full story by Cleveland.com
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200917-stormwater-sewer
The Chamber of Marine Commerce says that demand for wheat, canola and soybeans is pushing grain shipments up by 20 per cent in some of Ontario ports, though shipments in the Great Lakes Seaway are still down eight per cent overall compared to this time last year. Read the full story by Canadian Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200917-shipping-boost
The Ohio Power Siting Board is preparing to rule that it will not revisit its decision to allow the construction of Icebreaker Wind, the nation’s first freshwater offshore wind farm, in Lake Erie, with restrictions that backers say would doom the project. Read the full story by the Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200916-wind
Strong winds in the forecast over the next few days has prompted the local conservation authority to issue a flood watch for areas of Chatham-Kent in Ontario. Read the full story by Blackburn News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200916-shorelines
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is warning people not to eat deer livers if the animal was harvested in the Marinette area due to PFAS concerns. Read the full story by the Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200916-PFAS-deer
High water Lake Michigan water levels are disturbing and eroding centuries old burial grounds. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200916-rising-lake
While the province of Ontario says it’s a necessary step, the widespread double-crested cormorant cull that began this week is drawing some pointed criticism. Read the full story by the Sudbury News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200916-record-high
As expected, the level of Lake Michigan declined slightly in August, though it’s no surprise to anyone who lives on or visits the shoreline that it remains extremely high. Read the full story by the Green Bay Press Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200916-record-high
Bridge Michigan invites readers to join our team Sept. 29 for our monthly Lunch Break discussion, this time focused on a critical environmental issue facing communities along the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Bridge Magazine.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200916-water-levels
If you’re paddling anywhere in Michigan, a statewide program called MI Paddle Stewards will train you to spy on and report invasive species, like plants, fish, snails, viruses or other organisms that threaten the health of ecosystems, farms and even ourselves. Read the full story by the South Bend Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200916-invasive
Record-setting water levels on the Great Lakes have caused erosion and flooding that’s cost shoreline communities an estimated $500 million in damage. Many lakefront landowners and local governments are now examining ways to make their properties more resilient. Read and listen to the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200915-water-resilience
A Canadian teen recently became the youngest person ever to swim across Lake Erie. Her effort has raised more than $20,000 for Make-A-Wish Southwestern Ontario. Read the full story by CBC Kids News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200915-lake-erie-swim
The first wolf pups in several years have been born on Michigan’s remote Isle Royale, surprising researchers who have been tracking the large new batch of wolves transplanted into the wilderness there in the last two years. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200915-isle-royale-wolves
The final resting place of the Pere Marquette 18 is under about 500 feet of water roughly 25 miles off Sheboygan, Wisconsin. She was long sought-after by Great Lakes wreck hunters, driven in part by the mystery surrounding her final voyage. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200915-ferry-shipwreck
New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has welcomed a new ice breaking tugboat designated to work in the Niagara River to help alleviate shoreline flooding and reduce the likelihood of ice limiting the power production at large hydro plants along the Niagara River. Read the full story by the Niagara Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200915-niagara-icebreaker
The controversial culling of cormorants in Ontario starts Tuesday, intended to protect the fish population, the province says, but many groups disagree. Read the full story by CTV News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200915-cormorant-hunt
Wild rice harvest season runs through mid-September in northern Wisconsin, and while many tribal and non-tribal people are enjoying their annual pilgrimages to their favorite rice wetlands, others are concerned about the effects of climate change on this unique crop. Read the full story by Green Bay Press Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200915-wildrice
Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council, along with partners Michigan Environmental Council, National Wildlife Federation, and the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, have been granted permission to participate in a Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) regulatory case involving plans to construct the Line 5 pipeline into a tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac. Read the full story by the Petoskey News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200915-line5
Sea lamprey control efforts have been so successful that some researchers now suggest a more permanent solution: complete eradication of the pest from the Great Lakes. Read the full story by GreatLakesNow.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200915-lamprey
U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) have introduced the Great Lakes Winter Commerce Act. The bipartisan legislation aims to codify the U.S. Coast Guard’s icebreaking mission on the Great Lakes and increase the icebreaking capacity of the Great Lakes fleet. Read the full story by MarineLog.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200915-icebreaking
Researchers from the University of Waterloo have developed a new method for assessing the economic impact of climate change on the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Kitchener Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200914-economics-model
For the second consecutive year, poor conditions at Wisconsin’s primary chinook salmon egg collection facility have caused state fisheries staff to turn to backup sites to support the Lake Michigan stocking program. Read the full story by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200914-salmon-stocking
Three resort owners in Minnesota are accused of catching ciscoes in the protected waters of Quentico Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada, and selling them throughout northern Minnesota to be used as bait. Read the full story by Bring Me The News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200914-illegal-bait
An extensive state review of Canadian energy giant Enbridge’s compliance with easement requirements for its Line 5 pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac is wrapping up soon, according to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200914-pipeline-decision
The director of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy is reviewing an administrative law judge’s decision to allow the water bottling company Nestle to increase withdrawals in northern Michigan. Read the full story by Cadillac News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200914-nestle-decision
Minnesota’s iconic wolf is the focus of upcoming public input opportunities sponsored by the Department of Natural Resources. In three virtual meetings and a parallel online input period, the public will be asked to provide input on updates to the state’s wolf management plan. Read the full story by Lake Superior News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200914-wolf-plan-update
A Michigan Circuit Court judge ruled that the Canadian energy company Enbridge can restart the east segment of the Line 5 crude oil pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac that had been shut down by court order in June. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200914-line-5
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials report that despite seasonal declines, Great Lakes water levels remain high as fall storms approach. Read the full story by WNEM-TV – Saginaw, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200914-high-water
Crews recently discovered another Lake Michigan shipwreck, the Pere Marquette 18, a freighter that sank in September of 1910. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200914-shipwreck
Sections of the Lakeshore Trail along Muskegon Lake in west Michigan that were damaged by erosion and high water are expected to be restored beginning this fall. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200914-muskegon-lake-trail
The recent Trump administration rollback of Obama-era regulations that restricted the discharge of carcinogenic and potentially brain-damaging toxic metals into U.S. waterways will allow a power plant in Wisconsin to dump further toxins into Lake Michigan. Read the full story by WTTW-TV – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200911-epa-rollback
Ports in the Great Lakes and around the world are critical to global trade but are vulnerable to disruption from climate-related events. The gale-force winds and storm surge that damaged port infrastructure in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, last January are an example of threats to come. Read the full story by The Economist.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200911-ports-vulnerability
Local biologists in Ontario are perplexed by the upcoming cormorant hunt in the province and argue that there is no scientific evidence supporting the need to hunt the birds. Read the full story by Smiths Falls Record News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200911-cormorants
Alpena, Michigan, is no longer expecting cruise ships to visit until 2021. The pandemic has shut down cruising on the Great Lakes and delayed port infrastructure development projects in the area. Read the full story by the Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200911-alpena
Michigan residents living along the emptied reservoirs above the Edenville and Sanford dams that collapsed in May could be expected to pay annual assessment fees of up to $2,400 per year for dam and lake restoration for the next 40 years. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200911-flood-restored
A self-described “Lakeshore Janitor” has turned a hobby of scouring the beaches and waters along Lake Michigan for lost treasures using a metal-detector into a lucrative side-hustle, and helps beachgoers recover items lost among the waves. Read the full story by WZZM-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200911-rihanna
Ontario is beginning the process to designate the Ostrander Crown Land Block and the Point Petre Provincial Wildlife Area, along Lake Ontario’s shoreline, as a new conservation reserve. Read the full story by County Live.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200911-ontario
Stretching for 11 miles through the Ottawa National Forest near Lake Superior, the Black River Scenic Byway provides access to five waterfalls in the Black River Harbor Recreation Area and opportunities for hikers. Read the full story by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200911-chasing-waterfalls
