An environmental initiative in Thunder Bay, Ontario, is helping keep garbage out of local waterways, with nearly 1,500 pieces of litter diverted from storm drains in the past year via the installation of LittaTraps in storm drains across the city. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250324-littatraps
Millions of fish along the shore of Lake Huron have died since January after they were attracted to warm water produced by the Bruce Power nuclear plant and became trapped in the station’s intake channels, an Ontario First Nation says. Read the full story by the Toronto Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250324-fish-nuclear
The Great Lakes region has long stood as a model of cross-border collaboration working together on a multitude of invasive species and water issues, but the Trump administration’s combative stand on binational relations and deep cuts to Great Lakes initiatives have put environmental progress at risk. Read the full story by the Globe and Mail.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250324-tariffs
U.S. Representative, Nick Langworthy, has reintroduced the Lakes Before Turbines Act, which would prohibit developers from utilizing tax credits for construction of wind farms on any of the Great Lakes. Read the full story by the Post-Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250324-wind-turbine-bill
Anglers of the Au Sable, a nonprofit environmental organization in northern Lower Michigan, has sued the U.S. Air Force and National Guard in U.S. District Court, alleging that plans to expand low-altitude flight training in the eastern Lower Peninsula will harm prized waterways, natural areas and the quality of life in the region. Read the full story by Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250324-anglers-lawsuit
With trout season only two weeks away, Pennsylvania is bustling with stocking efforts, releasing over 3 million fish into hundreds of streams and lakes across the state. Read the full story by WTAE—Pittsburgh, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250324-trout-stocking
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is about to begin the walleye egg collection on the Muskegon River in Newaygo County, with plans to collect nearly 26 million eggs to send to hatcheries around the state. Read the full story by WPBN-TV – Traverse City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250324-muskegon-walleye
Michigan’s Mackinac Bridge is among the 68 bridges across 19 states that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended be assessed to determine “the risk of collapse from a vessel collision.” This comes as part of the ongoing investigation into last year’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore. Read the full story by WDIV-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250324-mackinac-bridge
The Michigan Wild Rice Initiative, comprising tribes indigenous to the Great Lakes region, state officials and academic experts, has crafted a stewardship plan that aims to preserve wild rice for future generations. Read the full story by BridgeDetroit.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250324-wild-rice
As federal funding continues to be slashed in many areas around the country, experts are concerned that the piping plover population will be in danger without the proper care. Read the full story by WLHT – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250324-piping-plover
In Chicago, a new notification system is being proposed at boat launch sites that would alert people to sewer overflow events, warning people to avoid contact with the water. Read the full story by WTTW – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250321-chicago-river
A tropical lake in Central Africa might not seem like the first place you would look to gain insights into North America’s Great Lakes. But that’s just what researchers from Bowling Green State University in Ohio have been doing for the past three years. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250321-lake-victoria
Arriving a day early to drop anchor and capture this year’s “first ship” award at the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, is actually two vessels in one: the Clyde S. Vanenkevort/Erie Trader, an articulated tug/barge combo. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250321-soolocks-freighters-first-of-season
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and a group of six other Democratic senators representing Great Lakes states sent a letter this week to NOAA Vice Admiral Nancy Hann pressing for more information about how staff cuts at the agency will affect programs on the lakes. Read the full story by the Wisconsin Examiner.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250321-baldwin-greatlakessenators-noaacuts-letter
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed eliminating its scientific and research arm and up to 75% of its staff, leaving the future of the agency’s Duluth freshwater laboratory and its more than 100 employees uncertain. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250321-duluth-epa-lab-fundingcuts
Southwestern Ontario’s commercial fishing industry is feeling the pressure of looming U.S. tariffs expected on April 2 on all Canadian goods. That includes fish caught and processed in Ontario, a vast majority of which comes from Lake Erie and is exported south of the border. Read the full story by CBC.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250321-tariffs-ontariofisheries
The Ohio Division of Wildlife is warning anglers not to ignore state fishing limits. The agency says it recently busted 10 people for taking too many walleye during fishing trips on Lake Erie. Read the full story by the Canton Repository.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250321-ohio-overfishing-walleye
With continuing above-freezing temperatures across the region, Great Lakes ice coverage has dropped to less than 10% since reaching a high over more than 50% in February. Read the full story by the Sault Ste. Marie Evening News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250321-greatlakes-icecoverage
Dozens of people gathered at the Great Lakes Aquarium after hours on Thursday for the first event in a new series. Titled “Women in Science,” the panel series features local women with various scientific backgrounds. For the inaugural event, the focus was on studying diverse relationships with water in the Great Lakes region. Read the full story by WDIO-DT-TV – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250321-greatlakesaquarium-women-in-science-series
In Oscoda Township, Michigan, an AuSable River paddleboat that’s offered scenic tours for decades has been rescued from the water eight days after it started sinking. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250321-sunkenausable-queen
Chicago is exploring ways to manage the contamination of PFAS in the water supply through stricter regulations of PFAS manufacturers. Read the full story by Inside Climate News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250319-chicago-pfas
The GOP candidate for Ohio governor, Vivek Ramaswamy, recently pitched Lake Ohio as a new name for Lake Erie during a Toledo campaign event last week. Read the full story by the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250319-lake-ohio
Industry and environmental advocates warn that the attacks on federal agencies and funding freezes will be “cataclysmic” to the Great Lakes region if not reversed, risking drinking water contamination, fish populations, and the well-being of all those that rely on the Great Lakes system. Read the full story by the Guardian.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250319-great-lakes-cuts
Conservation experts are concerned about the protection of the endangered Great Lakes piping plovers in Michigan due to hiring struggles and spending limits at the National Park Service. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250319-piping-plovers
Environmental Protection Agency Director Lee Zeldin issued guidance to limit federal protections for wetlands last week that environmental advocates say will lead to more pollution in the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Planet Detroit.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250319-epa-wetlands
After the 2023-2024 ice season was the lowest on record with average ice cover at 4.3% across all five lakes, the 2024-2025 ice season has measured up to the near normal conditions predicted by the U.S. National Ice Center in December. Read the full story by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250319-great-lakes-ice
Newly appointed Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin is refocusing the agency with priorities that align with those of Michigan leadership that lead to the 2014 Flint water crisis. Read the full story by Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250319-epa-flint
The 2025 Great Lakes shipping season begins Friday when the larger of two locks in Sault Sainte Marie, Mich. opens. Ships will soon be on the move to and from Lake Superior ports, including Duluth, Superior, Two Harbors and Silver Bay. Read the full story by Minnesota Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250319-duluth-shipping
As the shipping season winds down early to mid-January, the Great Lakes freighters require upgrades and repairs and have a variety of regional ports where they can conduct winter lay-up through a meticulous process to select the best port for the freighter’s needs. Read the full story by the Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250319-freighter-lay-up
The volunteer Cooperative Lakes Monitoring Program, lead by the Michigan Clean Water Corps and sponsored by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, is hosting trainings for participants to learn about monitoring protocol and data collection that contribute to resource management over the past 50 years. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250319-michigan-water-monitoring
The Western Reserve was en route to Two Harbors, Minnesota, when it was lost during an August storm 132 years ago, leaving only one survivor. A team from the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society announced this week that it had finally located the 300-foot ship this past summer. Read the full story by The Minnesota Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250317-found-shipwreck
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees fired in February were responsible for managing invasive sea lamprey. Without their control efforts, sea lamprey populations threaten the Great Lakes fishery. Read the full story by The Cool Down.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250317-lamprey-threat
Progress on the Brandon Road Lock and Dam is once again at a stalemate, and several local lawmakers are calling on state officials in Illinois to help end delays for the project. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250317-brandon-road-delay
The U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, run by billionaire Elon Musk, cut its latest round of employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including technicians who work with Canadian scientists to monitor water quality and levels in the lakes. Read the full story by CBC.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250317-job-cuts
The neighborhood of Yorkville in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, approved joining a national class-action lawsuit against four chemical producing corporations, including 3M and DuPont, seeking compensation for contaminating several towns’ public water systems with a group of chemicals known as PFAS. Read the full story by Shaw Local News Network.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250317-forever-chemicals
Despite assurances that Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) funding has not been targeted by the Trump administration, the fretting will continue as long as the administration targets the EPA for indiscriminate cost savings. Read the full story by Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250317-funding-cuts
Walleye’s reputation as a prized catch makes it a staple for Lenten fish fries, while Lake Erie’s thriving population continues to fuel both local fisheries and anglers. Read the full story by the Cleveland Magazine.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250317-erie-walleye
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated he’d like to annex Canada and dispose of at least one international boundary treaty. However, the Canada-U.S. border stretches for 8,891 kilometers, across four Great Lakes and it will take more than a pencil and eraser to redraw. Read the full story by the Windsor Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250317-border-controversy
Pier Cove Park, a popular rock hunting beach about 7 miles west of Fennville, Michigan, on the Lake Michigan shoreline, will undergo renovations starting March 24th and is expected to reopen on Memorial Day. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250317-beach-closing
The Shaganash Island Lighthouse played a pivotal role in the development the greater Lake Superior region and in 2014 a group of volunteers from the Canadian Lighthouses of Lake Superior (CLLS) embarked on a mission to restore it. Read the full story by Superior North News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250317-lighthouse-restoration
In the first round of layoffs in the Trump Administration’s effort to wither the federal workforce, more than 1,200 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) staff members were lost due to firings, deferred resignations and retirements. Reports say that another 1,029 NOAA employees will be let go in a second round of layoffs, bringing the combined reduction to 20% of the agency’s workforce. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250314-federal-layoffs
A Sixth Circuit panel ruled Thursday that a 2023 decree negotiated by the U.S. government and a group of Indigenous Nations regarding fishing rights on the Great Lakes should be adopted, despite one tribe’s protest that the agreement violates its tribal rights. Read the full story by Courthouse News Service.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250314-fishing-rights
The Poe Lock, and part of the Soo Locks, in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, will be opened early to all marine traffic by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on March 21 at 8 a.m., marking the start of the 2025 Great Lakes shipping season. Read the full story by WPBN-TV – Traverse City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250314-early-lock-opening
The mayor of Lorain, Ohio, joined 29 other U.S. and Canadian mayors from the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative in Washington last week to advocate for maintaining trade relationships between the countries and to raise concerns about President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs that they fear could devastate the region’s economy. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250314-tariff-opposition
The Great Lakes Seaway Development Corporation, which manages the U.S. side of operations on the waterway, warned residents on the St. Lawrence River that ice-breaking operations will start around March 15 in preparation for the navigation season. Read the full story by The Cornwall Standard Freeholder.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250314-ice-breaking
Bipartisan members of Congress from Great Lakes states are urging the state of Illinois to “promptly” end its delay of a $1.15 billion project to prevent invasive carp from infiltrating Lake Michigan. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250314-project-delays
The historic railcar ferry S.S. Badger will begin its 2025 season on May 16 after a dry dock for a propeller shaft bearing repair that is expected to reduce interruptions to the Lake Michigan sailing season. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250314-ferry-repairs
A regional assessment study of the St. Lawrence River has now been authorized, after the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake submitted a request for a study in 2020 and Canada’s environment ministry approved the request in 2021. One of the goals of the coming study will be to analyze the extent to which decades of development along the river’s shores have impacted Kahnawa’kehró:non from exercising their rights. Read the full story by The Eastern Door.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250314-st-lawrence-river-study
For decades, residents of Macomb County, Michigan, have endured the harmful environmental and health effects of combined sewer overflow discharges. The contamination of local waterways like Lake St. Clair and the Clinton River has put the safety and health of our communities at risk, causing problems ranging from skin infections to gastrointestinal diseases. Read the full story by The Oakland Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250314-sewage-contamination
The Great Lakes Environmental Festival is returning to Manistee, Michigan, for a fourth time on March 22. This date is also World Water Day, and the festival will be focused on exploring the challenges of climate change and water-related issues. Read the full story by the News Advocate.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250314-environmental-festival
