President Donald Trump’s administration has scaled back enforcement of environmental regulations in the Great Lakes region — and it’s having a noticeable, negative impact, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s own data. Read the full story by The Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200420-great-lakes-pollution
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has signed a $2.9 million agreement to remediate contaminated sediment along Detroit, Michigan’s east riverfront. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200420-detroit-river
A $400,000 federal grant for green infrastructure projects was awarded to Elk Rapids, Michigan, a small village along the Lake Michigan shoreline near Traverse City. Read the full story by the Traverse City Record Eagle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200420-green-infrastructure
Now that winter is over, freighters are fanning out around the Great Lakes. But much has changed since the Soo Locks closed. Read the full story by The Times Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200420-freighters
Birds flocked around Minnesota’s Interstate Island while construction workers distributed dirt around the island on Wednesday, April 15, in an effort to double the size of the island and expand the dwindling nesting sites of the common tern. Read the full story by the Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200420-tern-nesting
Rep. Brian Higgins (N.Y.-26) announced on Monday that the Smith Boys Shipyard in North Tonawanda, New York will receive a federal grant worth over $300,000. Read the full story by WKBW – TV – Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200420-shipyard
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ weekly report released Friday shows Lake Michigan is four inches above the April record set in 1986. Read the full story by WOOD – TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200420-lake-michigan
A series of projects on Wisconsin’s Menominee River, funded by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, have enhanced fish passage, added fish and wildlife habitat and helped reconnect its upstream tributaries with Lake Michigan. Read the full story by The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200420-menomonee
A coalition of watchdog groups have filed a formal petition to stop Fermi 2 nuclear reactor in Michigan from further operations, claiming long-required repair work needs to be fully completed in order to avoid a potential “major nuclear accident.” Read the full story by the Windsor Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200420-nuclear
The cancellation of outreach programs and academic conferences is a blow to education and research collaboration in the Great Lakes. COVID-19 has also left scientists uncertain about conducting summer research on the Great Lakes this year. Read the full story by the Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200417-research
High water levels last summer couldn’t knock the west side Port Dalhousie, Ontario piers off their completion schedule, but the coronavirus can. Rehabilitation of the piers on Lake Ontario is temporarily shut down due to the province’s COVID-19 state of emergency restrictions on construction projects. Read the full story by the St. Catharines Standard.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200417-port-dalhousie
The Common Council of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, approved funding to construct a new drinking water intake in Lake Michigan. Read the full story by the Sheboygan Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200417-infx-bond
A barge was freed three days after running aground in Lake St. Clair with minimal damage and no evidence of hazardous waste release. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200417-st-clair
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission said Lake Erie walleye and yellow perch populations remain steady this year after doubling from the levels in the previous year. Read the full story by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200417-walleye
Shoreline residents in West Michigan are erecting sea barriers and moving their homes further inland as Lake Michigan inches towards record heights and swallows even more property this year. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200417-lake-mi-defense
The Wisconsin DNR is shifting its stocking plans for trout and salmon this year due to coronavirus concerns, cancelling offshore stocking efforts and instead releasing more salmon in nearshore locations. Read the full story by the Door County Pulse.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200417-salmon
Researchers from the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research are monitoring sewage at wastewater treatment plants to evaluate the rate of coronavirus infections in Windsor, Ontario. Read the full story by the CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200417-sewage
Record-setting lake levels and sustained winds worsened erosion along Lake Erie this week, destroying previous efforts to mitigate erosion damage and protect roads near the lake. Read the full story by the Star Beacon.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200417-ashtabula
More than $1 million was spent last year on temporary, emergency shoreline repairs in Sarnia, Ontario, mostly in Bright’s Grove. Storms last week battered revetments in Bright’s Grove, adding six more cracks to the failing shoreline. Read the full story by The Sarnia Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200416-shoreline
The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating a tug and barge that ran aground in Michigan waters in Lake St. Clair. Officials say the barge was carrying 3,990,000 gallons of diesel fuel, but report that there are no hazardous substances entering the waterway, no suspected damages, and no reported injuries. Read the full story by WXYZ-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200416-barge
Four century-old shoreline wells revealed by Lake Michigan erosion will be removed from the beach at Grand Haven State Park this summer. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200416-wells
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ fisheries and creel surveys have been suspended, as have all other department-led habitat projects. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200416-fisheries
A portion of Beach Street at Pere Marquette Park in Muskegon, Michigan, has reopened to traffic after being closed for more than six months due to ongoing high water and erosion. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200416-street
The 2020 Lake Michigan sailing season for the S.S. Badger won’t start on May 8 as originally planned, as the carferry’s target date to resume service between Ludington, Michigan, and Manitowoc, Wisconsin, is pushed back to May 29. Read the full story by WZZM-TV – Ludington, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200416-ferry
Interstate Island in the Duluth-Superior Harbor is one of only two tern nesting sites remaining near Lake Superior, but it’s being covered by rising waters. A $1.4 million effort to raise the tiny island is underway this week to keep it high and dry enough for the terns to continue nesting there. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200416-terns
Hopes that a major cash infusion would accelerate groundwater cleanup at the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda, Michigan, were dashed when military engineers reported they plan to spend several more years investigating the PFAS pollution. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200416-cleanup
The Great Lakes are a recreational mecca, but they’re also a gigantic graveyard – of shipwrecks. Read the full story by the Daily Mail.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200416-shipwreck
While a record Lake Erie walleye population has attracted a bumper crop of anglers to public boat ramps in Ohio, the global coronavirus pandemic has led Ohio to halt non-resident fishing license sales and municipalities to reduce parking after anglers ignore social distancing rules and stay home orders. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200416-fishing
Minnesota fisheries managers canceled all spring egg-taking operations, the Department of Natural Resources announced, leaving a void of walleye stocking in more than 330 lakes. The fisheries chief said the field work to produce 281 million baby walleyes can’t be done in a way that would keep employees safe from the transmission of COVID-19. Read the full story by Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200415-walleye-stocking
The EPA announced Tuesday a $2.9 million project to clean up contaminated sediment in the Detroit River which will allow the expansion of the city’s Riverwalk. Read the full story by WXYZ-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200415-detroit-river-clean-up
Plans for building a pipeline that connects Flint, Michigan, to its emergency backup water source are in limbo. Flint City Council was split 4-4 on awarding a $14.7 million to build a 5.5-mile pipeline connecting Flint to its a backup water supply. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200415-flint-emergency-pipeline
An Ohio fishery has been charged with wildlife violations after investigators observed abuse and waste of game fish, officials from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources said. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200415-ohio-fishery-charged
The City of Erie, Pennsylvania, will receive $336,500 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to install 25 soil cell and plant 25 new trees that will help prevent pollutants from flowing directly into Presque Isle Bay. Read the full story by Erie News Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200415-preque-isle-grant
The first ocean-going ship arrived Monday at the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor, kicking off the international shipping season during which Northwest Indiana trades goods with the world. Read the full story by The Times of Northwest Indiana.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200415-shipping-trade
After several decades of burning coal to meet Michiganders’ electricity needs, Consumers Energy is retiring its coal plants near the Saginaw Bay shoreline and elsewhere, but its coal ash, a form of industrial waste known to contain toxins, will linger there indefinitely. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200415-toxic-ash-landfills
A section of the Little Traverse Wheelway in Petoskey, Michigan, is closed until further notice after erosion caused a 100-foot section to fall into Little Traverse Bay. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200415-bike-trail-erosion
The vehicle route through the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge in Saginaw, Michigan, is opening a month ahead of schedule because the bald eagle’s nest adjacent to the drive was not used this year. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200415-shiawassee-wildlife-refuge
There’s new research showing that wild pigs in Michigan and other northern states root up native plants and rob the soil of key nutrients plants need to flourish. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200415-wild-pigs
After 17 months the Harpersfield, Ohio Lamprey Barrier construction is complete, said U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Read the full story by the Star Beacon.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200414-lamprey-barrier
Even as the federal government is spending trillions of dollars to boost the economy shut down by the COVID-19 virus, Congress has moved to increase funding for the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200414-funding-boost
Winds up to 45 mph, with gusts up to 55 mph on Monday, brought monster waves to the shore of Lake Erie. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200414-monster-waves
Presque Isle State Park is temporarily closed to the public because of high winds, high waves and the likelihood of flooding. The park closed Monday at noon and expects to remain closed through Tuesday. Read the full story by Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200414-Presque-Isle
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore has suspended overnight island use until at least June 20 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The northern Wisconsin islands in Lake Superior, just off the shore of Cornucopia and Bayfield, will remain open for day use from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Read the full story by the Duluth News-Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200414-island-use
Water levels on the St. Lawrence River may already be above average for this time of year, but the International Joint Commission says it is optimistic it won’t be as bad as it previously thought. Read the full story by The Recorder & Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200414-water-levels
The first ocean-going vessel arrived Monday at the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor, officially commencing the 2020 international shipping season. Read the full story by The Michigan City News-Dispatch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200414-Shipping
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $6.4 million in funding to the FishPass projected planned for the Union Street Dam in Traverse City, Michigan, through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Read the full story by the Traverse City Ticker.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200414-FishPass
High winds and bone-chilling temperatures were not only a reminder that winter-like weather is sticking around just a little bit longer. It also brought back the growing concern about erosion on the shores of the Great Lakes. Read the full story by UpNorthLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200414-erosion
As residents head outdoors to freshen backyard ponds and launch fishing boats, state and provincial resource managers are urging everyone to keep a few simple guidelines in mind to keep the Great Lakes safe. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200414-invasive
The coronavirus pandemic keeping millions of Americans in their homes may keep Great Lakes freighter crews from setting foot on land for weeks at a time, all in an effort to promote safety through social distancing. Read the full story by the Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200413-freighter
The coronavirus pandemic keeping millions of Americans in their homes may keep Great Lakes freighter crews from setting foot on land for weeks at a time, all in an effort to promote safety through social distancing. Read the full story by the Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200413-freighter
