Work on the riverwalk in Manistee, Michigan, was planned for summer 2024 but was delayed when no bids came in for the work. With a $400,000 budget bump, the project is now expected to go forward this year. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250115-manistee-riverwalk
Researchers from the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, have developed a way to break down microplastics by genetically altering bacteria. The researchers selected bacteria often found at wastewater plants, because not all microplastics are filtered out before being released into a stream or river. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250113-microplastic-breaking-down-process
A startup company based in Oberlin, Ohio, has drawn $2.9 million in private investment so far to remove PFAS, often called forever chemicals, from the nation’s drinking water. The company formed in 2019 to launch and license a chemical coating process that captures PFAS and isolates them for destruction during water treatment. Read the full story by WKSU – Kent, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250113-pfas-removal-development
The U.S. Coast Guard has officially launched Operation Taconite, its annual icebreaking operation on the Great Lakes, for the 2024-25 winter season. It is the Coast Guard’s largest domestic icebreaking operation, with efforts taking place on Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, the St. Marys River, the Straits of Mackinac, and Georgian Bay. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250113-icebreaker-operation
A special public hearing is being held Tuesday night for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to defend itself from accusations that it failed to do enough to protect Lake Erie with a wastewater permit it issued to the city of Port Clinton in April. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250113-sewage-permit-hearing
A new report from an international think tank says shutting down Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline may be a better avenue for the Canadian energy company because of increased competition from renewable energy, multiple concerns about the viability of the company’s pipeline tunnel project, and the cost of a reroute amid ongoing efforts to shut down the pipeline. Read the full story by Michigan Advance.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250113-pipeline-report
Many Michigan cherry growers are adapting to the difficult market and changing climate, planting different varieties or embracing high-density orchards with trees packed more closely together. By the time Michigan’s cherry growing season came to a close over the summer, as much as 75% of the state’s sweet cherry crop was lost. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250113-cherry-growing
On New Year’s Day, Superior, Wisconsin, Mayor Jim Paine proclaimed 2025 as “Year of the Fitz,” marking five decades since the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald sank on Lake Superior. A group called Friends of the Fitz is working to raise money for a Wisconsin Historical Society marker to honor the loss of the Fitzgerald and its crew. Read the full story by KQDS-TV – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250113-fitzgerald-recognition
Over the centuries, the effect of ice on Lake Michigan has had an important role in shaping the economic and cultural landscape of the region. As the challenges of ice on the lake continue to evolve, Manitowoc’s enduring role in the Great Lakes maritime industry reflects both the city’s historical significance and its ongoing importance to the region’s economy and culture. Read the full story by the Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250113-lake-michigan-ice
As the shipping season nears its end, the John J. Boland, a 680-foot long laker built in 1973, made a quick visit to Duluth-Superior on Thursday. The ship is headed to the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, with an estimated arrival for early Saturday morning. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250113-shipping-season-end
The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Alpena, Michigan, will host the 13th annual Thunder Bay International Film Festival in January, featuring more than 50 ocean and Great Lakes films from around the world. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250113-film-festival
The Great Lakes delegation within the U.S. House of Representatives reintroduced the bipartisan Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) Act of 2025 to reauthorize GLRI through 2031. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250110-glri
According to the Annual Report of the Great Lakes Regional Water Use Database, water withdrawals from the Great Lakes declined in 2023. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250110-water-withdrawals
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources on Wednesday said it completed its 2024 fish stocking program by releasing nearly 600,000 fish into Michigan waterways during the fall. Read the full story by Lansing State Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250110-fish-stocking
Next week, the shipping season concludes at the Port of Duluth and Superior, and with it, the impending retirement of the facility’s executive director, Deb DeLuca, who reflects on her time as executive director. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250110-port-director
Dr. Kevin Strychar says the Great Lakes have been warming since the 1970s, gradually creating a warmer climate. Dr. Strychar explains climate change and the associated observations happening in the Great Lakes. Read the full story by WZZM-TV – Muskegon, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250110-climate-change
Michigan’s 2024 State of the Great Lakes report underscores efforts to enhance water quality and ecosystem health in the Detroit River. This includes monitoring toxic PFAS chemicals, phosphorus, and bacteria, and implementing strategies to curb phosphorus runoff causing harmful algal blooms in western Lake Erie. Read the full story by Planet Detroit.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250110-detroit-river-cleanup
This year could be a big year for the status of two nuclear power plants around Lake Michigan, particularly shutdown plant in Michigan seeking a restart and the potential 20-year extension for another in Wisconsin. Read the full story by WUWM – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250110-nuclear-power
Temperatures have been below freezing in Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan since the afternoon of New Year’s Day, and that has led to widespread ice development across western Lake Erie. Forecasts for the next couple days expect ice cover to keep expanding. Read the full story by WTVG-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250110-erie-ice
The Rawley Point Lighthouse, operated by the U.S. Coast Guard, is a historic landmark of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. Celebrate the history and impact of this lighthouse over the last 130 years. Read the full story by the Herald Times Reporter.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250110-rawley-lighthouse
In December, several First Nation members came together for the first time to plan collaborative conservation efforts around Lake Superior with representatives from Lakehead University and the International Joint Commission. One of the main goals of the collaboration was to create a co-management agreement that better combines Traditional Knowledge and experiences with western science. Read the full story by The Narwhal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250108-collaborative-conservation
The Great Lakes’ water temperatures have been running warmer than normal for most of 2024 and are still warmer than any January 6 in recent history. Starting January 1, most locations dipped below freezing and haven’t felt melting temperatures since, though the total ice amount on all the Great Lakes combined is now only 2.29 percent. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250108-ice-cover
Federal programs to protect streambanks and lake shores from erosion will get a $20.5 million boost under bipartisan legislation authored by U.S. Representative of Ohio and Great Lakes Task Force Co-Chair Dave Joyce that President Joe Biden signed into law over the weekend. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250108-streambank-protection-funding
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s annual State of the Great Lakes report highlights issues impacting the various industries and communities that rely on the Great Lakes. On the wildlife side, experts say that one issue stands out as a particular area of concern for the near future — invasive species. Read the full story by WWTV-TV – Cadillac, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250108-invasive-species-risk
According to data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, water levels for lakes Michigan and Huron recently dipped below the long-term average for the first time in a decade. While the water levels are over two feet above the lowest low on record, these trends stand out from just five years ago when water levels regularly hit numbers 20 inches above the long-term average. Read the full story by The Ticker.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250108-water-levels
The National Weather Service office in Cleveland is not reporting any significant ice cover on Lake Erie as of early January. Before the lake can freeze over, the water temperature needs to be around 32 to 33 degrees; on January 6, the water temperature for Lake Erie was recorded at 35 degrees. Read the full story by Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250108-erie-ice
Decades of coal ash left behind at Consumers Energy’s J.H. Campbell Generating Complex north of Holland, Michigan, on the shores of Lake Michigan will be repurposed into a cement replacement used in concrete manufacturing. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250108-coal-ash-reuse
The Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse, New York, is commemorating the final year of the Erie Canal Bicentennial in 2025 and has an exciting year of programming on the horizon to explore the last 200 years of Erie Canal history and look towards the next 200 years. Read the full story by This Is CNY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250108-erie-canal-bicentennial
The idea of an alleged 60-mile Lake Michigan triangle was popularized in a 1977 book called The Great Lakes Triangle. While there is no evidence for a specific Lake Michigan triangle, more ships have sunk in Lake Michigan than any of the other four lakes. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250108-great-lakes-triangle
Federal forecasters at the U.S. National Ice Center are expecting another year of below average ice cover on the Great Lakes as ice is only just starting to form on some parts of the lakes. Read the full story by Interlochen Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250108-ice-forecast
The Great Lakes Commission is holding its annual Industry Days conference at the Great Wolf Lodge Conference Center from January 7-8. Speakers from the US Coast Guard, National Weather Service, the US Army Corps of Engineers and other specialists will exchange information and discuss proposed regulations that affect the shipping community. Read the full story by WWTV-TV – Cadillac, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250108-shipping-conference
A new study is contributing to the ever-evolving understanding of what occurs in the Great Lakes during the winter months, and how the lakes affect winter weather in the region. Read the full story by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250106-greatlakes-winter-season-shrinking
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250106-coastguard-icebreaking-begins-greatlakes
Many environmental groups oppose a proposed Osceola County, Michigan, salt mine out of concern that the “solution mining” process would contaminate aquifers and dry up surface water bodies. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250106-public-input-michigan-saltmine
The amount of cargo moving through ports on the Great Lakes is trailing behind shipments at the same time last year as the shipping season nears its end. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250106-cargotonnage-greatlakes-ports-shippingseason-ends
Sea lamprey abundance exceeded targets in 2024 in all Great Lakes due to treatment restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, numbers of the parasitic fish are expected to decline. Read the full story by USA Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250106-vampires-greatlakes
A large section of a 19th century vessel that washed up on the shore of Lake Erie in Erieau, Ontario, has generated a lot of interest. Read the full story by the Chatham Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250106-19thcentury-vessel-erieau
A recent Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan report documents substantial progress in creating The Great Lakes Way — an interconnected set of greenways and water trails stretching from Port Huron, Michigan, on southern Lake Huron, to Toledo, Ohio, on western Lake Erie. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250106-greatlakesmoment
With temperatures in single digits, more ice developed in Duluth, Minnesota, giving the crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw a chance to show off its skills. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250106-photos-mackinaw-path
Humans once hunted caribou on a land bridge that’s now submerged under Lake Huron. Research in this area has uncovered new findings, including a peat bog containing preserved prehistoric DNA. However, with long-term funding in question, these discoveries could end before researchers can unlock more of Lake Huron’s secrets. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250103-huron-secrets
Since the 1950s, chemical lampricides have kept invasive sea lamprey populations at bay, but the lampricides will eventually become ineffective. Michigan State University is studying lamprey breeding habits, hoping to find a way to sterilize the invasive fish. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250103-lamprey-reserach
In 1878, a 178-foot ship full of rye encountered fierce winds, stuck a shoal, and sank. A shipwreck enthusiast found the ship and 36,000 bushels of rye that went down with it which is now being reintroduced in Michigan to create craft whiskey. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250103-rye-seed-recovery
Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Northeast Ohio is turning 50, and celebrating the milestone by highlighting decades of expansion, development and environmental preservation. Read the full story by Ideastream Public Media.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250103-environmental-stewardship-anniversary
Ohio Division of Wildlife officials have released their 2024 trawl survey indexes for Lake Erie’s two most-sought sportfish: yellow perch and walleye. This year’s results bring an end to a streak of wildly successful hatches for walleye. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250103-walleye-population-down
The U.S. National Ice Center released its 2024-2025 seasonal outlook, predicting slightly below to near normal ice conditions across the Great Lakes — a turnaround from last season’s record-breaking absence of ice. Read the full story by USA Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250103-ice-forecast
After experiencing its largest oil spill since 2012, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is navigating cleanup and increasing opposition for Enbridge’s line 5 plans. Other Wisconsin energy news includes coal plant operation extensions and a new bill concerning how nuclear energy is labeled. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250103-wisconsin-energy-news
Michigan’s 40-page annual State of the Great Lakes report outlines several accomplishments as well as issues to be tackled in the future in order to improve the environment of the Great Lakes and the well-being of the people who drink, fish, and swim in the region’s waters. Read the full story by WCMU – Mount Pleasant, Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250103-michigan-report
A mapping initiative dubbed Lakebed 2030 supports ongoing efforts to make the Great Lakes region more resilient to climate change. The project is working to identify areas prone to erosion, flooding or damage from shifting lake bed sediments that are caused by extreme weather events. Read the full story by WPR – Madison, Wisconsin.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250103-mapping-efforts
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals last week issued an opinion affirming that the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy has the authority to conduct inspections to ensure compliance with their rules, following a lawsuit accusing the department of violating the Fourth Amendment by taking soil and water samples without a warrant. Read the full story by Michigan Advance.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241223-wetland-project-inspections
More details have emerged about Enbridge’s Line 6 oil spill in Wisconsin, as well as drone footage captured earlier this week by an activist who works to protect waterways. The estimated size of the spill increased from 2 gallons to 69,300 gallons, and may change again. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241223-oil-spill
