Officials of Port Milwaukee and The DeLong Co., Inc. recently celebrated the grand opening of the $40-million Agricultural Maritime Export Facility in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Read the full story by the High Plains Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230728-maritime
The US. Army Corps of Engineers is installing a new stone breakwater at Buffalo, New York’s Outer Harbor. Read the full story by The Chronicle Telegram.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230728-breakwater
The St. Lawrence River has at least 250 wrecks that can be explored in the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. Read the full story by WWNY -TV – Watertown, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230728-shipwrecks
Wisconsin’s newest papermill, opened by Green Bay Packaging in 2021, has been validated as a “net-zero” water user. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230728-paper-mill
On the 43rd Governor’s Fish Ohio Day on Thursday, July 20, legislators, natural resources administrators, tourism officials and the media flocked to Port Clinton, Ohio to pay homage to what many say is the greatest of the Great Lakes. Read the full story by The Beacon.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230728-fish-ohio-day
City leaders have been working to push forward a unified vision for a new lakefront plant in Cleveland, Ohio. Read the full story by Cleveland Magazine.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230728-cleveland-lakefront
The U.S. Geological Survey along with conservation agencies from Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ontario are utilizing three uncrewed research vessels in the Great Lakes. The surface vehicles, called saildrones, are wind-powered and can stay out on the water 24 hours a day for months, gathering fish population data. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230726-research-vessels
A Lake Ontario cruise was no summer vacation for several teachers who spent a week on board an Environmental Protection Agency ship, testing water quality on the lake. The voyage plays an important role in the future health of not just Lake Ontario, but all of the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Spectrum News 1.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230726-science-reseach-trip
In 2014, New York’s Great Lakes Action Agenda was created to bridge the gap between planning and action. The plan is getting an update and this time taking aim at more targeted areas that have been identified by local organizations to need a higher level of focus. Read the full story by WROC-TV – Rochester, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230726-action-agenda
Despite often being described as smelly and not nice to look at, charter fish captains say they find algae blooms helpful when it comes to catching more fish in Lake Erie. Researchers worry about the accumulation of toxins in the fish from the algae. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230726-algae-blooms
An annual Erie, Pennsylvania, conference is exploring the potential impact of Project Resolve — an initiative passed by the Erie County Council earlier this year. Project Resolve is a regional strategy to advance manufacturing while also reducing plastic and waste pollution that affects freshwater systems, like Lake Erie. Read the full story by WJET-TV – Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230726-project-resolve
Wetlands are a vital part of the Great Lakes ecosystem. Today, there are about five million acres of wetlands in Wisconsin, covering about 15 percent of the state. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230726-lake-michigan-wetlands
Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist was in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, Monday to visit the construction site for a new lock at the Soo and Lake Superior State University. Read the full story by The Sault News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230726-soo-locks
The remainder of the U.S. Brig Niagara’s 2023 sailing schedule has been officially canceled due to mechanical issues. Read the full story by Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230726-brig-niagara
Earlier this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its Draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution. While EPA’s draft strategy is a good start, the EPA will need to strengthen its accountability measures if they want to actually limit plastic pollution and the harm it causes. Read the full story by The Hill.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230726-plastic-pollution
It’s been one of the least dangerous years on Lake Michigan’s east coast. Ron Olson, chief of Parks and Recreation for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, attributes the drop to better public education on rip currents, life jackets, and the flag system. Read the full story by WXMI-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230726-lake-michigan-drownings
‘Forever chemicals’, otherwise known as PFAS, are found nearly everywhere in a household – from cooking pans to rugs. While you may not be able to completely avoid the chemicals, there are some things you can do at home to reduce your exposure. Read the full story by WXIN-TV – Indianapolis, IN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230724-foreverchemicals-filter-water-at-home
Researchers with University of Wisconsin-Green Bay are surveying hundreds of wetlands around the region every year as part of the Great Lakes Coastal Wetland Monitoring Program. The program aims to monitor and assess Great Lakes coastal wetland health using biotic indicators and provide a baseline and method for tracking future changes in plants, animals, and environmental quality. Read the full story by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230724-wetlands-greatlakes-protection-habitatmonitoring
It might come as a surprise given their proximity to Lake Michigan, but Chicago’s neighbors southwest of the city could soon be facing a water shortage. The Cambrian-Ordovician aquifer supplies groundwater to communities in Will, Kane and DuPage counties. The aquifer is beginning to collapse – it’s depleting, and this is a non-replenishable aquifer. This poses the challenge of managing and addressing a growing imbalance between flooding and water scarcity in the region’s water geography. Read the full story by WTTW-TV – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230724-waterscarcity-northernillinois
A recent experiment conducted in Collingwood and Parry Sound, Ontario has shown that microplastics can be caught before they end up in a wastewater treatment plant, and then likely in large bodies of water like Georgian Bay. Read and listen to the full story by Barrie News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230724-georgianbay-microplastics
The Pentwater River, located in Oceana County, MI is considered one of the major producers of the invasive Sea Lamprey in Lake Michigan. Crews treated the river with lampricides over the weekend, which kills the invasive species. Read the full story by the Ludington Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230724-sealamprey-pentwaterriver-mi-invasivespecies-treatment
A senior attorney for the Environmental Law & Policy Center, says the Ohio EPA’s plan is woefully inadequate to meet the phosphorus-reduction goals for Lake Erie that have been agreed upon by Ohio, Michigan and Ontario, as well as the federal governments of the United States and Canada. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230724-epa-habs-maumeeriverplan
Boats set sail Saturday morning from Chicago’s Monroe Harbor for the annual Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac. 230 boats traveled well over 300 miles to Michigan’s Mackinac Island in Lake Huron. Read the full story by WLS-TV – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230724-boats-chicago-annualrace-mackinaw
Cruise ships, which once thrived on these lakes before all but disappearing in the 1970s, are making a remarkable comeback. Marketed as “expedition cruising,” the ships deliver tourists and their spending money to ports that for decades primarily served global markets with iron ore and wheat. Read the full story by The Brunswick News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230724-greatlakes-destination-cruiseships
A new industry-funded study finds shipping in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River supports more than 240,000 jobs in the U.S. and Canada, injecting billions of dollars into their economies. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230724-greatlakesshipping-jobs
A ferry carrying traffic across Lake Michigan suspended trips indefinitely on Friday after a mechanical failure of its ramping system. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230724-ss-badger-lake-michigan-suspends-ferry
In the Stella and Starks area of Oneida County, Wisconsin, nearly 100 private wells have been tested for PFAS and more than half have come back with at least a trace of PFAS contamination. The first private well tested in Stella about a year ago came back with levels thousands of times higher than the Wisconsin Department of Health’s safe drinking water standard. Read the full story by WXPR – Rhinelander, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230721-private-well-contamination
Harmful algae blooms in Michigan and other states are spiking during the summer in freshwater bodies such as lakes, according to a recent CDC report. Toxins produced in these blooms can lead to illness in humans and animals. Read the full story by The Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230721-toxic-algae
The AFTCO Bassmaster Elite’s 102-boat field will be held at Brandenburg Park in Chesterfield Township, Michigan, at Lake St. Clair from July 27-30. After the Day 2 weigh-in, the field will be cut to the top 50, with only the top 10 advancing to championship Sunday. Read the full story by The Macomb Daily.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230721-fishing-tournament
In Ottawa County, Michigan, E. coli levels continue to be a concern as dredging has resumed in the Grand Haven Channel. An advisory to “take precautions” at North Beach Park in Ferrysburg has been issued by the Ottawa County Health Department. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230721-bacteria-contamination
Eastpointe, Michigan, is set to get $10 million in state funding for replacement of lead water lines after being named as an “action city” by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. On July 18, the City of Eastpointe issued a public advisory for its 13,565 water customers after water testing samples from locations with known lead water lines showed seven of 60 homes tested had results of more than 15 parts per billion (ppb). Read and listen to the full story by The Macomb Daily.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230721-lead-line-replacement
A Beach Hazards Statement is in effect for the Lake Michigan shore near South Haven, Michigan, today. Northwest winds at Holland State Park will push water toward the north pier causing swimmers to get caught in the structural current and be pushed out away from shore. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230721-swimming-hazards
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service personnel will apply lampricides to the Pentwater River in Oceana County, Michigan, between July 18-23. The public is asked to minimize contact with the Pentwater River in Oceana County and agricultural irrigation must be suspended 24 hours before and after treatment. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230721-lampricide-application
The Senate Appropriations Committee voted to provide the Army Corps of Engineers the full $235 million it had asked for to continue construction on a new Soo Lock at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Read the full story by The Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230721-lock-funding
The Harbor Princess, a boat with a storied history on two Great Lakes, has settled into its new home in Petoskey, Michigan, to offer sunset cruises on the Little Traverse Bay. The ferry service for the last few years has been port-hopping around the bay with stops to pick up and drop off passengers in Petoskey and neighboring Bay Harbor and Harbor Springs. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230721-sunset-cruise-ship
Nearly 800 shipwrecks in Wisconsin lakes and waterways have been catalogued by the Wisconsin Historical Society Maritime Preservation Program and the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute. With the right equipment and skills, it is possible to visit several of them, with many becoming popular tourist attractions for curious scuba divers, snorkelers, kayakers and boaters. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230721-shipwreck-exploration
Two ferries to Michigan’s Beaver Island make about 360 round trips to the island each year, bringing people, animals, buildings supplies, groceries — anything you can think of that would be delivered to an island in the middle of Lake Michigan. Plans to build a third ferry are underway after the state legislature appropriated $14 million in 2022. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230719-beaver-island
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230719-plovers
A group of Michigan artists, managers and advocates seeking to strengthen and promote links between Great Lakes arts and science as a way of inspiring Great Lakes stewardship will hold its first in-person meeting on July 27 at the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. Read the full story by The News-Herald
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230719-art
Nearly 63% of beaches tested in the Great Lakes region last year had at least one day of fecal contamination that exceeded the EPA’s Beach Action Value. That tool helps states determine whether a beach is safe enough to go swimming. Read the full story by Public News Service.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230719-epa-bacteria-beaches
The wreck of an early wooden schooner that capsized on Lake Michigan 9-1/2 miles southeast of Sheboygan in September 1885 has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Read the full story by the Sheboygan Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230719-sheboygan-shipwreck-nationalregister
The Ontario government is investing $6 million to support 30 multi-year projects that will help protect, conserve, and restore the Great Lakes, including two shoreline projects in Niagara. The investments will help reduce plastic litter and control excess nutrients and road salt entering lakes, rivers, and streams. Read the full story by The Niagara Independent.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230719-cleanup-shores-niagara
Organizations which work to protect Lake Superior are benefitting from an injection of multi-year funding from the province as part of a larger $6 million initiative to protect, conserve, and restore the Great Lakes. The Ontario government has announced 30 “science on the ground” projects so far, which aim to address a variety of challenges. Read the full story by Fort Frances Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230719-greatlakes-cash-rehabilitation
“Drink ‘em and sink ‘em” was the practice of fishermen who threw their beer and pop cans and bottles into the Great Lakes over 40 years ago. Don Fassbender, president of Great Lakes Scuba, a lake preservation dive club, once saw old cans underwater as far as he could see beneath Lake Superior. He posted a video of the dive on YouTube, showing the garbage he found and collected. Read the full story by the Gladwin County Record & Beaverton Clarion.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230719-scubadivers-greatlakes-cleanup
Ships carrying an estimated 12 million tons of cargo have passed through the St. Lawrence Seaway system into the Great Lakes through the end of June, roughly the same amount as last year. Read the full story by The Northwest Times of Indiana.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230719-internationalshipping-greatlakes
A ship that hasn’t been seen for almost a century and a half has been confirmed as found. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in Paradise, Michigan announced an expedition on Lake Superior last year that led to the discovery of the Satellite, a tugboat that sank June 21, 1879. Read the full story by the Manistee News Advocate.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230719-shipwreck-lakesuperior
Lead levels in drinking water in the city of Eastpointe, MI have exceeded state action levels for the second time in a year. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230719-highleadlevels-eastpointe-drinkingwater
A new shipping facility for agricultural products officially opened in Port Milwaukee on Tuesday. It’s one of the first facilities in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway to move bulk agricultural exports, including dried distillers grains. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230719-portmilwaukee-ag-shipping
On Thursday, July 27, Mayor Justin Bibb will invite public comments on “initial thoughts and sketches” for an emerging plan for the Cleveland lakefront in a meeting at the Great Lakes Science Center. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230719-cleveland-publiccomment-lakefront-development
Three years ago, Viking, the luxury cruise line, struck a deal with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to launch passenger cruises on the Great Lakes with a scientific bent, allowing passengers to assist with laboratory experiments. Read the full story by Bridge Magazine.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230717-science-cruises
