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
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is looking for deals to create more green space in populated areas as part of an updated public lands strategy. The goal is to equitably provide public access to green space, wildlife habitat and public hunting closer to where people live, department officials say. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241223-public-land-aquisitions
The city of Grand Rapids has received a permit from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy for its Grand River restoration project. The project will restore rapids, significantly improve aquatic habitat and connectivity, and provide increased access for people to enjoy the Grand River. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241223-river-restoration-project
The Great Lakes Fishery Commission says since the pandemic, the prevalence of sea lamprey has increased in all five Great Lakes thanks to control efforts largely being suspended at the height of COVID-19. Read the full story by Toronto City News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241223-lamprey-populations-rise
The U.S. National Ice Center released its 2024-2025 seasonal outlook this month, predicting slightly below to near normal ice conditions across the Great Lakes — a stark turnaround from last season’s record-breaking absence of ice. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241223-ice-forecast
As colder winter weather impacts Lake Erie, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers predicts water levels in the lake will continue to drop. Read the full story by the Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241223-water-level-drop
The Rouse Simmons, a three-masted schooner, unsuccessfully attempted to carry 5,000 Christmas trees through a in a fierce blizzard near Kewaunee, Wisconsin, in 1912. Read the full story by the Windsor Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241223-sunken-christmas-trees
On Wednesday, a Michigan senate committee declined to vote on $50 million in grant funding for a massive mining project in the Upper Peninsula, leaving the money in limbo. Environmental activists argue the project would threaten the surrounding wilderness at the Porcupine Mountains and Lake Superior. Read the full story by WJBK-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241220-copper-mine
For the last two winters, historically low ice coverage on the Great Lakes made ice-fishing trips impossible for Wisconsin charter companies. This year, with winter just days away, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior are unseasonably warm again. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241220-warm-lakes
Passing the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2024 is urgently needed to maintain the successful work helping restore and protect the Great Lakes – work that is benefiting the environment and economy. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241220-glri-bill
A U.S. District Judge is allowing the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to become a defendant in the landmark Lake Erie Total Maximum Daily Load lawsuit in Toledo, Ohio. The decision was made at the Ohio EPA’s request. Read the full story by The Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241220-epa-defendant
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources recently collected nearly 6.5 million wild coho salmon eggs in less than three weeks. The collection was part of a fall effort to accumulate eggs to stock fish in Michigan waters. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241220-coho-eggs
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources recently revealed the results from the annual Lake Erie fish surveys with mixed hatch results. The annual trawl surveys revealed that walleye hatches were below average and yellow perch hatches were above average in two of three management zones. Read the full story by WKBN-TV – Youngstown, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241220-erie-walleye-perch
One of the Great Lakes’ famous locks at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, has closed for the season to allow maintenance, but visitors can still see the system’s larger lock in action until January. Read the full story by the Lansing State Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241220-locks-closed
The Theodore Too tugboat, a giant replica of a popular character on a CBC children’s series, is currently sitting at the bottom of the Welland Canal in St. Catharines, Ontario. The vessel started sinking Wednesday at a shipyard where it is docked for the winter. Read the full story by the CBC.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241220-tugboat-sinking
“Beyond the Sea: The Hidden Life in Lakes, Streams, and Wetlands,” presents the lesser-known facts of freshwater ecosystems and how they affect our everyday lives. While celebrating their abundance of life the book doesn’t shy away from the serious threats and challenges that inland waters face. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241220-inland-waters-book
The Tim S. Dool was re-floated Monday and taken in for inspection. The ship was carrying a load of wheat grain through the St. Lawrence River on November 23 when it ran aground in U.S. waters near Waddington, New York. Read the full story by WWNY-TV – Carthage, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241220-ship-freed
Researchers on Lake Superior have “rediscovered” the shortnose cisco, a Great Lakes fish species thought to have been extinct for decades. Read the full story by WXMI-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241218-rediscovered-fish-species-lakesuperior
Snowy owls are arriving in the Great Lakes region earlier than usual this winter, marking what experts describe as an “early-season push.” This contrasts with a much slower migration in 2023. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241218-greatlakes-early-season-push-snowyowls
The Great Lakes Fishery Commission said non-native predatory sea lamprey populations spiked due to reduced control during the COVID-19 pandemic. The commission said numbers rose when field crews were constrained in their ability to conduct sea lamprey control in 2020 and 2021. Read the full story by WWTV – Cadillac, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241218-invasivesealamprey-population-spike
MillerKnoll, a West Michigan office furniture manufacturer, has committed to eliminating PFAS from most of its products by next year. The company said all North American products will be free of any added per- and poly- fluoroalkyl substances beginning in May 2025. Efforts to reduce or eliminate PFAS in manufacturing could play a huge role in limiting further pollution of our lakes. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241218-millerknoll-pfas-eliminate-north-america
In the early hours on Friday, Dec. 13, the Michigan Senate passed five bills that would, together, overhaul Michigan’s environmental remediation program to prioritize physical removal over allowing pollution to remain in the ground but limiting human contact. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241218-michigan-sentate-cleanup-efforts
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources recently awarded Park Township, a town located on the Lake Michigan shoreline near Holland, Michigan, two grants totaling $826,700 to fund improvements. The grants will be used at Park Township’s Winstrom Park and the new Community Park. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241218-lake-michigan-improvement-grants
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has opened an investigation into a spill of more than 69,000 gallons of crude oil from a pipeline along Enbridge Energy’s Line 6. Read the full story by KTTV – Green Bay, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241218-wisconsin-dnr-oil-spill-line6
Environmental writer Dave Dempsey, who has authored numerous academic titles about the Great Lakes, has taken a more accessible and entertaining approach with his most recent book, “The Great Lakes: Fact or Fake.” Read the full story by City Pulse.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241218-test-great-lakes-knowledge
This winter, artists are invited to take part in a long-established tradition of interpreting Isle Royale National Park, which is a remote Lake Superior island. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241218-isle-royale-artists
The US Environmental Protection Agency plans to finalize more than $200 million in grant funding in the coming weeks to accelerate the clean energy transition at three Great Lakes shipping ports. Read the full story by Clean Technica.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241216-shipping-grants
One year after the proposed Icebreaker Wind demonstration project in Lake Erie got shelved, there continues to be talk — but little movement — toward erecting commercial-scale offshore wind turbines in the Great Lakes. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241216-offshore-wind
An Enbridge Energy pipeline in Jefferson County, Wisconsin spilled nearly 70,000 gallons of crude oil underground on November 11th according to federal officials. The spill is Enbridge’s worst in Wisconsin, surpassing a 2012 incident that spilled 50,000 gallons in Adams County. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241216-pipeline-leak
Joel Brammeier, CEO of Alliance for the Great Lakes, has two words for those feeling anxiety about what’s in store for the Great Lakes during the incoming Trump administration: Don’t panic. Despite expected rollbacks on key environmental initiatives, the Great Lakes region has been here before. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241216-new-administration-advice
A proposed Michigan copper mine on the shores of Lake Superior is sparking fierce debate over environmental and economic priorities, as the state’s House Appropriations Committee approved $50 million in taxpayer subsidies for the controversial project. Read the full story by Newsweek.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241216-copper-mine
The Brandon Road Interbasin Project at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam in Michigan is designed to keep invasive carps out of the Great Lakes. It’s a half mile long underwater obstacle course containing a bubble curtain, noise emitting speakers, electrified water and a navigation lock designed to flush fish downstream. Read the full story by Bloomberg Businessweek.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241216-carp-barrier
Michigan Democrats are considering legislation to increase fees for hunting, fishing and boating by 30% or more to raise funding for the state Department of Natural Resources whose fish and wildlife programs have endured budget cuts amid funding shortages. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241216-fee-increase
Have you ever wondered where the fish you eat comes from? Only a fraction of the fish consumed today in the Badger State is caught locally. Read the full story by the Herald Times Reporter.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241216-commercial-fishing
Getting rid of the legacy coal ash deposits from the NRG Generating State power plant along Lake Michigan in Waukegan got a little more likely with a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision keeping the green light illuminated for enforcement of a federal regulation mandating such a cleanup. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241216-coal-ash-ruling
Lake Michigan surface temperatures peaked at over 6 degrees above normal last month, the warmest they have been in November since 1995 when record keeping began at the National Oceanic and Atmospherec Administration. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241216-lake-warming
A northern Wisconsin tribe along with a coalition of groups moved Dec. 12 to block plans to reroute an aging pipeline around the tribe’s reservation, arguing state regulators have underestimated the environmental damage that construction would cause. Read the full story by the Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241213-line5-reroute
A bipartisan duo is pushing the House to pass a Great Lakes conservation bill that has already cleared the Senate. The bill would reauthorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), a program that spans the lakes and is set to expire in fiscal 2026. Read the full story by Politico.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241213-glri
Researchers, companies and farmers are developing and deploying systems that can control agricultural runoff, benefiting landowners, water consumers and the environment alike. These controlled drainage structures have resulted in a 20 to 50% reduction in nitrate loads coming out of drainage outlets. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241213-drainage
Earlier this year the Michigan Strategic Fund approved a $50 million grant for a controversial copper mine in the Upper Peninsula. Now, the state House Appropriations Committee has given its support, too. A major point of concern is the potential for mine waste to escape into Lake Superior, less than two miles away from the mine site. Read the full story by Interlochen Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241213-up-copper-mine
The St. Clair River is a 40-mile watery conduit that connects Lake Huron and Lake St. Clair. It is a vital part of the Great Lakes and provides not only transportation for commerce, but habitat for wildlife, a recreational shoreline for human use, a supply of drinking water, and a place to boat and fish. One of the people trying to protect the river is the executive director of the Friends of the St. Clair River. Read the full story by Second Wave Media.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241213-st.clair-river
