Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
Twenty-five years ago, several lower Detroit River islands and marshes were threatened by development.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/04/great-lakes-moment-saving-the-conservation-crescent/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
Today, the Detroit River is much cleaner, and sentinel wildlife species have returned.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/02/great-lakes-moment-lest-we-forget-a-history-of-detroit-river-oil-pollution/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
For over 100 years the Detroit River was perceived as a working waterway that supported industry and commerce.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/10/great-lakes-moment-detroits-new-ralph-wilson-park-will-provide-habitats-for-a-healthy-ecosystem/
The EPA’s Chris Korleski gets excited when speaking about cleaning up the Great Lakes region’s decades-old, contaminated sediment sites like the Detroit River.
He talks about the “tremendous effort” that’s been rekindled in the past two years under the Biden administration. And how “motivated” the people who work to advance the cleanup are and the value of the partnerships that facilitate restoration.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/09/great-lakes-epa-office-reaffirms-2030-cleanup-goal-for-detroit-river-other-contaminated-sites/
This article was republished here with permission from Planet Detroit.
By Jenny Sherman, Planet Detroit
Detroit resident Andrew “Birch” Kemp has planted trees in Detroit’s Poletown East neighborhood for over 20 years.
By expanding the city’s tree canopy, the former Detroit high school teacher hopes to promote the growth of healthy, resilient and equitable green spaces in his community that would both enrich his and his neighbors’ quality of life and deepen their connection to nature.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/09/grassroots-greenspace-projects-expand-detroits-open-space-network/
Making a film about water came naturally for award-winning documentary filmmaker dream hampton, though water and the environment has not traditionally been her emphasis.
hampton made Freshwater after coming off a hectic schedule in 2018 and 2019 during which she made three films. It was, she decided, a time to shift her focus, a time to be still and reflect.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/filmmaker-looks-detroit-through-lens-water-life-events-justice/
By Ashley Zhou, Bridge Michigan
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/michigan-river-walker-program-warns-anglers-eating-contaminated-fish/
This article was republished here with permission from Planet Detroit.
By Tom Perkins, Planet Detroit
For 43 years, state regulators and the Environmental Protection Agency have ordered chemical manufacturer BASF to stop discharging up to 72,000 gallons of toxic waste-contaminated groundwater daily from its Wyandotte plant into the Detroit River.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/regulators-fail-43-years-stop-basf-staggering-daily-toxic-waste-spill-detroit-river/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
A business case is a document that outlines whether a project is worth undertaking.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/great-lakes-moment-a-business-case-for-the-great-lakes-way/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
What do a former naval air station, a Nike missile site, and a wildlife refuge have in common?
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/06/great-lakes-moment-trail-connects-people-secluded-detroit-river-wetlands/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
For over a century, vast amounts of toxic contaminants were discharged by industries into the Detroit and Rouge Rivers.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/great-lakes-moment-solving-the-contaminated-sediment-remediation-funding-puzzle/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
On that September day in 1998, more than 1,000 rain-soaked and determined people stood up for what they felt was right.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/03/great-lakes-moment-the-event-that-saved-humbug-marsh/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
A good example of community science in metropolitan Detroit is the Rockwood Christmas Bird Count, which is part of the longest-running community science survey in the world.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/02/great-lakes-moment-community-science-survey/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
Have you ever gone for a peaceful walk along a creek or lake and been spooked by the sound of what you think is a pterodactyl?
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/01/great-lakes-moment-great-blue-herons-stony-island/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
National parks serve as pilgrimage sites because they provide spaces that provide a degree of solitude and access to unique natural resources.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/great-lakes-moment-detroits-benefits-of-national-urban-park-in-windsor/
Editor’s Note: Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television. This month’s article is a combination of excerpts and a preview of his new book, “Rouge River Revived: How People are Bringing Their River Back to Life,” which chronicles how citizens are leading an effort to restore their river in metropolitan Detroit.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/10/great-lakes-moment-rouge-river-revived/
Queen Elizabeth II left her mark in the Great Lakes region, from joining President Dwight D. Eisenhower at the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway to sailing on Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.
Following the Thursday news of the longest-reigning British monarch’s passing, PBS stations across the nation broadcasted programs commemorating her life and local news organizations reported on the late queen’s special connection to the region, highlighting the 45-day tour of Canada and the Great Lakes she took in 1959.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/09/look-back-on-queen-elizabeths-great-lakes-tour/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
A class of chemical compounds that are no longer produced in significant quantities nor being used in the manufacture of new products, called polychlorinated naphthalenes, or PCNs, has been found in herring gull eggs in the St.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/09/great-lakes-moment-herring-gull-eggs-detroit-river/
Whether you go out on a boat, to a beach or get your drinking water from Lake Erie, you know harmful algal blooms are a problem.
But these mucky, green blooms are not limited to the southernmost of the Great Lakes. The blooms are a bigger threat in the northernmost lake, the connectors like the Detroit River and Lake St.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/09/the-erie-situation-and-beyond/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
Native freshwater mussels have experienced dramatic population declines in the Great Lakes due to habitat degradation, water pollution and the introduction of invasive species like zebra and quagga mussels.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/great-lakes-moment-mussels-detroit-river/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
The practice of rewilding is frequently carried out in wilderness areas, but cities like Detroit are beginning to reintroduce native species of plants and animals to enhance biodiversity and reap all the benefits of making nature part of everyday urban life.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/great-lakes-moment-rewilding-metropolitan-detroit/
By Briana Rice, Michigan Radio
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/detroit-river-world-heritage-site/
On the cool morning of April 25, doctoral student Eric Ste Marie from the University of Windsor’s department of integrative biology went out for a walk with his partner along the Detroit River prior to an anticipated long day in his lab. Much to his surprise, he saw an animal pop its head out of the water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/river-otters-detroit-river/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
It was a mid-winter day, and I was driving to my Downriver home from a meeting in Detroit.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/great-lakes-moment-bald-eagles-detroit/
The lower Detroit River is a unique urban refugium where the tapestry of life has been woven with elegance, where the music of life has been rehearsed to perfection for thousands of years, where nature’s colors are most vibrant and engaging, where time is measured in seasons, and where the canvasback race across the water takes center stage.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/02/great-lakes-moment-ducks-detroit-river/
As the Great Lakes experience more harmful algal blooms due to climate change, real time monitoring of drinking water for toxins is becoming increasingly urgent.
Warm water temperatures, increased rainfall and fertilizer run-off from farm fields are providing fuel for blooms that can taint water.
This spring, a floating sensor for monitoring drinking water drawn from the Detroit River will begin giving real-time data on potentially toxic blue-green algae, along with other water quality data such as temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/detroit-river-algal-bloom-threat/
The seemingly endless process of crafting, negotiating and passing the infrastructure legislation is over.
The bill topped out at a trillion dollars, and $1 billion of that funding is coming to the Great Lakes region for continued restoration of the lakes. That’s in addition to the ongoing federal funding of over $300 million annually the lakes have received since 2010.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/12/epa-toxic-sediment-funding/
By Lester Graham, Michigan Radio
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/12/first-phase-cleanup-steel-mill-site/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
Contradicting the historical conservation planning tenet that gave preference to protecting larger, more intact areas, a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science has shown that small, isolated patches of habitat are inordinately important for biodiversity conservation.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/12/small-habitat-patches-ecological-impact/
By Michigan Radio
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/12/seawall-collapse-gravel-detroit-river/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
A small catfish that is endangered in both Michigan and Ontario is making a comeback thanks to improved water quality and artificial reef construction in the Detroit and St.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/11/endangered-catfish-health-detroit-rivers/
By Corey Williams, Associated Press
DETROIT (AP) — Tons of soil is being removed from a westside Detroit park as part of a storm water retention project to reduce flooding in streets and basements during periods of heavy rainfall.
The project at Rouge Park is expected to capture nearly 100 million gallons of storm water each year, alleviating pressure on the city’s combined sewer system, Detroit Water and Sewerage Deputy Director and Chief Engineer Palencia Mobley said Wednesday.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/10/ap-detroit-rouge-park-storm-water-project/
Twenty bicycles, miles of fishing line, antique cans, knives and sparkplugs – these are just some of the many things that Detroit magnet fisher Jason Vanderwal and his family have fished out of the waters.
“We have found all sorts of things in the Detroit River, 14 guns, all sorts of cutlery, horseshoes and even three large ngangas,” Vanderwal said.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/09/magnet-fishing-attracting-junk-cleaning-up-local-waterways/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
Sugar Island sits like a gemstone on a jeweled necklace of islands surrounding the southern end of Grosse Ile – the largest island in the Detroit River.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/08/sugar-island-history-habitat-restoration/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
As daylight lengthens and water temperatures slowly begin to warm, walleye overwintering in Lake Erie take their cue that it is time to spawn.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/walleye-frenzy-detroit-river/
DETROIT (AP) — Now that’s a whopper — a very old whopper!
A 240-pound (108.8 kilograms) sturgeon that could be more than 100 years old was caught last week in the Detroit River by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/ap-240-pound-fish-sturgeon-detroit-river/
It’s been two years since Great Lakes Now first premiered on Detroit Public Television. There’s been a lot of changes and expansions in the time since, including 24 episodes of the monthly show.
So now we have a challenge for you. If you’ve been paying attention, can you answer these seven questions about rivers that have been shown on Great Lakes Now?
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/test-your-knowledge-rivers-great-lakes-now/
Thanks to a spongy M&M-like technology, contaminated soil in the Detroit River downstream of the MacArthur Bridge has been contained.
The post Massive filter keeps Detroit River contaminants in place first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2021/03/09/massive-filter-keeps-detroit-river-contaminants-in-place/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
As recently as the 1980s, a small backwater on the Trenton Channel of the Detroit River in Trenton, Michigan, was so polluted and toxic that scientists named it the Black Lagoon.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/beavers-detroit-river-black-lagoon-restoration/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
If you gaze off to the east from Detroit, Grosse Pointe or Downriver, chances are you will see bright lights adrift in the night sky.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/great-lakes-moment-leamington-greenhouses-lights/
For most people, the new year is still a month away. For hydrologists and climate scientists, the new year has already started. The water year begins in November, to account for when water enters a system and begins accumulating.
Data from the last water year indicated record-breaking levels in the Great Lakes, and this year looks to be much of the same.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/high-water-levels-water-year-wdet-watch-party/
By Sarah Cwiek, Michigan Radio
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/egle-fines-2019-detroit-dock-collapse/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
If the Detroit River and western Lake Erie were patients undergoing their annual exam, a doctor would probably say, “I have good news and bad news about their health.”
The good news is that there are signs of improving ecosystem health including the return of creatures like bald eagles, peregrine falcons, osprey, lake sturgeon, lake whitefish and beaver.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/state-of-the-strait-2020-detroit-river-western-lake-erie/
An array of more than 80 marine-debris-turned-art works will be making another Great Lakes stop, adding a lake sturgeon sculpture when it’s installed at a Wisconsin site next year.
Made entirely of plastic trash, these larger-than-life figures have realistic designs. They come as part of the traveling exhibit, Washed Ashore, which aims to educate people about plastic pollution.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/09/trash-fish-marine-debris-sculptures-great-lakes-aquariums-museums/
It’s convenient to think of fixing a problem and it’s done. But that doesn’t apply to the long-neglected legacy polluted sites in the Great Lakes region.
In simple terms we think of a cleanup as removal of something that, left unattended, will become a nuisance or a problem.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/09/toxic-great-lakes-sites-capping-dredging/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
Forty years after Uniroyal shut down in Detroit, contaminated sediment cleanup is starting in the Detroit River off this former industrial site.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/09/great-lakes-moment-uniroyal-contaminated-sediment-cleanup/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
Guy O. Williams knew very little about the Great Lakes growing up in Lanham, Maryland, about 10 miles northeast of Washington, D.C.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/08/great-lakes-moment-guy-williams-environmental-justice/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
Scientists have predicted that warmer, wetter and wilder weather is coming and that this will be one of the greatest environmental challenges of the 21st Century.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/07/water-levels-climate-change-warmer-wetter-wilder/
Close your eyes for a moment and imagine you are on a roller coaster ascending the first and highest hill on the ride. You hear the click, click, click as the car slowly climbs to the top and you start getting excited, even nervous, the closer you get to the peak.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/06/michigan-history-environmental-contamination/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
A new study on cleaning up Great Lakes pollution hotspots published in the Journal of Great Lakes Research finds that investing in pollution prevention and restoration pays off in the long run.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/06/pollution-prevention-restoration-study/
