A Fleeting Wild Taste of Spring Ephemerals: Ramps and Ostrich Fern

This story is a part of “A Year in the Wild Kitchen of the Great Lakes,” a series in partnership with expert forager Lisa M. Rose with the mission of nurturing a deeper connection with the natural world through foraging. 

The Importance of Ecological Awareness in Foraging

As we delve into the world of foraging, it’s crucial to cultivate an understanding of the ecosystems we interact with, especially when harvesting wild plants like ramps (wild leeks) and ostrich ferns.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/04/a-fleeting-wild-taste-of-spring-ephemerals-ramps-and-ostrich-fern/

Lisa M. Rose

Finding creative new ways to manage invasive cattails

Hot dog on a stick. Water torch. Supermarket of the swamp.

Cattails go by many names, but almost everyone can recognize the pervasive wetland plant  that grows along lakes, ponds, marshes, and swamps.

Their thin green stems and leaves can reach up to nearly ten feet in height.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/04/finding-creative-new-ways-to-manage-invasive-cattails/

Lily Stewart, Great Lakes Now

Your Foraging Journey: A Framework to Sustainable and Safe Practices

Foraging connects us with the natural world, offering a pathway to understand the land, its cycles, and the bountiful edible plants that grow wild around us. Whether you’re a novice eager to explore the greens outside your doorstep or an experienced forager looking to deepen your practice, this guide provides essential insights into starting your foraging journey, identifying plants, harvesting sustainably, and ensuring safety.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/04/your-foraging-journey-a-framework-to-sustainable-and-safe-practices/

Lisa M. Rose

Ghostly Grey Specters

An eerie sight is blossoming throughout coastal wetlands in Georgian Bay: ghostly grey specters lining the shores behind otherwise healthy-looking wetlands.

“Do you see these dead trees?” asked Patricia Chow-Fraser. The McMaster University biologist was addressing attendees of a lecture at The Water Institute at the University of Waterloo in early March.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/04/ghostly-grey-specters/

Andrew Reeves

The Northwoods is now a month into unusually early maple tapping season

By Katie Thoresen, WXPR

This story was originally published by WXPR. WXPR is a community-licensed public radio station serving north central Wisconsin and adjacent areas of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Listen to their stories here.

Bright blue tubes web between the trees that run to the little red pump house that sits in the woods on the edge of 10 acres full of maple trees at Whataview Farm in Phelps.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/03/the-northwoods-is-now-a-month-into-unusually-early-maple-tapping-season/

WXPR

Ottawa National Forest creates shaded fuel brakes to help protect communities from wildfires

Driving through the Ottawa National Forest north of Land O’Lakes towards Dinner Lake you’ll see snow-covered piles stacked up every few feet in the woods along the road.

Many of the piles are wood debris and branches left over from logging operations on the Ottawa.

Some of the piles have been waiting there for two years as the Forest Service let them dry out.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/03/ottawa-national-forest-creates-shaded-fuel-brakes-to-help-protect-communities-from-wildfires/

WXPR

Restoring Ontario’s lost grasslands is as important as planting trees

By Emma McIntosh, The Narwhal

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; Michigan Public, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; and The Narwhal 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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/restoring-ontarios-lost-grasslands-important-as-planting-trees/

The Narwhal

Biden administration moves to protect old-growth forests as climate change brings fires, pests

By Matthew Brown, Associated Press

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration moved on Tuesday to conserve groves of old-growth trees on national forests across the U.S. and limit logging as climate change amplifies the threats they face from wildfires, insects and disease.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the agency was adopting an “ecologically-driven” approach to older forests — an arena where timber industry interests have historically predominated.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/ap-biden-administration-moves-to-protect-old-growth-forests-as-climate-change-brings-fires-pests/

The Associated Press

Science Says What? Pitcher plants feast on salamanders, unveiling a brutal side of botanical carnivory

Science Says What? is a monthly column written by Great Lakes now contributor Sharon Oosthoek exploring what science can tell us about what’s happening beneath and above the waves of our beloved Great Lakes and their watershed.

In the summer of 2017, Teskey Baldwin, a student at Ontario’s University of Guelph, was studying whether pitcher plants near water capture more insects than those farther away.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/science-says-what-pitcher-plants-feast-on-salamanders-unveiling-a-brutal-side-of-botanical-carnivory/

Sharon Oosthoek

Points North: The plant musician

Points North is a biweekly podcast hosted by Daniel Wanschura and Morgan Springer about the land, water and inhabitants of the Upper Great Lakes.

This episode was shared here with permission from Interlochen Public Radio. 

Tom Wall is a West Michigan rock star who uses plants as bandmates.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/11/points-north-the-plant-musician/

Interlochen Public Radio

Survival of wild rice threatened by climate change, increased rainfall in northern Minnesota

By  Andrew Hazzard, Sahan Journal 

This piece is part of a collaboration that includes the Institute for Nonprofit News, Borderless, Ensia, Planet Detroit, Sahan Journal, and Wisconsin Watch, as well as the Guardian and Inside Climate News. The project was supported by the Joyce Foundation. 

ONAMIA, MINN.—Todd Moilanen paddles gently through wild rice beds on Ogechie Lake, trying not to disturb a loon sleeping on its back on a nest of reeds a few feet away.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/survival-wild-rice-threatened-climate-change-increased-rainfall-northern-minnesota/

Sahan Journal

Record air pollution, Canadian wildfires prompts state to change how it issues air quality alerts

This article was republished here with permission from Planet Detroit.

By Nina Ignaczak, Planet Detroit

As Michigan deals with periodic wildfire smoke drifting across its borders, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy has a new advisory protocol to inform the public about resulting poor air quality.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/record-air-pollution-canadian-wildfires-prompts-state-change-how-issues-air-quality-alerts/

Planet Detroit

Michigan air quality unhealthy again Monday because of Canadian wildfires

By Janelle D. James, 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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/michigan-air-quality-unhealthy-again-monday-canadian-wildfires/

Bridge Michigan

Points North: Rekindling Wilderness

Points North is a biweekly podcast hosted by Daniel Wanschura and Morgan Springer about the land, water and inhabitants of the Upper Great Lakes.

This episode was shared here with permission from Interlochen Public Radio. 

The idea that wilderness is untouched by man is written into law, but it’s not so accurate.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/points-north-rekindling-wilderness/

Interlochen Public Radio

Watch out! Creepy kudzu coming?

This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.

By Eric Freedman,  Great Lakes Echo

Picture decrepit plantations enveloped in aggressively spreading kudzu. Picture the remnants of abandoned outbuildings invisible under kudzu’s woody vines. Picture forests smothered and trees killed by blankets of kudzu.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/06/watch-out-creepy-kudzu-coming/

Great Lakes Echo

Michigan under statewide advisory as Canada wildfire smoke hits Midwest

By Irena Li, 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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/06/michigan-under-statewide-advisory-as-canada-wildfire-smoke-hits-midwest/

Bridge Michigan

It isn’t arson: untangling climate misinformation around Canada’s raging wildfires

By Drew Anderson and Fatima Syed, The Narwhal

This story originally appeared in The Narwhal and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.

Space lasers. That’s the reason some people gave for the catastrophic burning of Lytton, B.C., in 2021 after a historic heat wave set a new temperature record in Canada, exacerbating a wildfire that essentially destroyed the town.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/06/it-isnt-arson-untangling-climate-misinformation-around-canadas-raging-wildfires/

The Narwhal

Nibi Chronicles: We are still here, and so is great grandma’s lilac

Editor’s Note: “Nibi Chronicles,” a monthly Great Lakes Now feature, is written by Staci Lola Drouillard. A direct descendant of the Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe, she lives and works in Grand Marais on Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior. Her two books “Walking the Old Road: A People’s History of Chippewa City and the Grand Marais Anishinaabe” and “Seven Aunts” were published 2019 and 2022, and she is at work on a children’s story.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/06/nibi-chronicles-we-are-still-here-great-grandmas-lilac/

Staci Lola Drouillard

Landmark Great Lakes coastal wetland program continues restoration drive that began in 2010

It was 2010 when after a decade of lobbying by Great Lakes advocates, federal funding in the U.S. to restore the Great Lakes began to flow to the tune of $475 million.  

Beneath the radar in that first year, Central Michigan University received $10 million to lead a team of regional scientists who would study coastal wetlands that had been severely degraded over time.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/06/landmark-great-lakes-coastal-wetland-program-continues-restoration-drive-that-began-in-2010/

Gary Wilson

Wildfire smoke can harm human health, even when the fire is hundreds of miles away – a toxicologist explains why

By Christopher T. Migliaccio, University of Montana

 is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.

Smoke from more than 100 wildfires burning across Canada has been rolling into North American cities far from the flames. New York City and Detroit were both listed among the five most polluted cities in the world because of the fires on June 7, 2023.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/06/wildfire-smoke-harm-human-health-even-when-hundreds-miles-away/

The Conversation

Bill aims to allow backyard wildlife feeding, but critics fear deer disease

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/bill-aims-to-allow-backyard-wildlife-feeding-but-critics-fear-deer-disease/

Bridge Michigan

Science Says What? Looking for love as northern forests heat up

Science Says What? is a monthly column written by Great Lakes now contributor Sharon Oosthoek exploring what science can tell us about what’s happening beneath and above the waves of our beloved Great Lakes and their watershed.

The last couple decades have been good to southern flying squirrels in the upper reaches of the Great Lakes.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/science-says-what-looking-love-northern-forests-heat-up/

Sharon Oosthoek

Nibi Chronicles: Greeting Old Man Maple during the Sap Boiling Moon

Editor’s Note: “Nibi Chronicles,” a monthly Great Lakes Now feature, is written by Staci Lola Drouillard. A direct descendant of the Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe, she lives and works in Grand Marais on Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior. Her two books “Walking the Old Road: A People’s History of Chippewa City and the Grand Marais Anishinaabe” and “Seven Aunts” were published 2019 and 2022, and she is at work on a children’s story.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/04/nibi-chronicles-sap-boiling-moon/

Staci Lola Drouillard

Frogs, salamanders, and fairy shrimp are appearing at a vernal pool near you

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/04/frogs-salamanders-fairy-shrimp-appearing-vernal-pool/

Michigan Radio

Multi-million dollar restoration projects proposed for the Saginaw Bay watershed; paid with settlement money from corporate polluters

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/03/restoration-projects-proposed-saginaw-bay-watershed-settlement-money-corporate-polluters/

Michigan Radio

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.

On that September day in 1998, more than 1,000 rain-soaked and determined people stood up for what they felt was right.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/03/great-lakes-moment-the-event-that-saved-humbug-marsh/

John Hartig

Science Says What? How 5th-graders counting plants can lead to positive change

Science Says What? is a monthly column written by Great Lakes now contributor Sharon Oosthoek exploring what science can tell us about what’s happening beneath and above the waves of our beloved Great Lakes and their watershed.

As spring comes to Saginaw Bay, a group of elementary school students are preparing to play an important role in a long-term scientific study.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/03/science-says-what-how-5th-graders-counting-plants-can-lead-to-positive-change/

Sharon Oosthoek

Nibi Chronicles: “The trees of our homeland”

Editor’s Note: “Nibi Chronicles,” a monthly Great Lakes Now feature, is written by Staci Lola Drouillard. A direct descendant of the Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe, she lives and works in Grand Marais on Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior. Her two books “Walking the Old Road: A People’s History of Chippewa City and the Grand Marais Anishinaabe” and “Seven Aunts” were published 2019 and 2022, and she is at work on a children’s story.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/01/nibi-chronicles-trees-of-our-homeland/

Staci Lola Drouillard

I Speak for the Fish: And the survey says…

My survey was admittedly small.

I polled one 10-year-old and 30 adults ranging in age from their early 20s to mid-50s. I had a fairly even representation of genders and races. About half were on a college campus, the other half I approached on a public boardwalk.

I limited my poll to one person per social cluster to prevent parroting of the same responses.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/01/i-speak-for-the-fish-and-the-survey-says/

Kathy Johnson

Extinctions, shrinking habitat spur ‘rewilding’ in cities

By John Flesher, AP Environmental Writer

DETROIT (AP) — In a bustling metro area of 4.3 million people, Yale University wildlife biologist Nyeema Harris ventures into isolated thickets to study Detroit’s most elusive residents — coyotes, foxes, raccoons and skunks among them.

Harris and colleagues have placed trail cameras in woodsy sections of 25 city parks for the past five years.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/ap-extinctions-shrinking-habitat-spur-rewilding-in-cities/

The Associated Press

Nonprofit buys 31,000 forested acres by Copper Harbor to keep land public

By Kelly House, 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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/11/nonprofit-buys-31000-forested-acres-by-copper-harbor/

Bridge Michigan

The Catch: Why lightning bug population is dimming

Broadcasting in our monthly PBS television program, The Catch is a Great Lakes Now series that brings you more news about the lakes you love. Go beyond the headlines with reporters from around the region who cover the lakes and drinking water issues. Find all the work HERE.

This month, The Catch features why lightning bugs are in trouble.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/10/the-catch-lightning-bug-population-dimming/

GLN Editor

Under current climate trends, Michigan’s Up North forests could be doomed

By Kelly House, 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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/08/michigans-up-north-forests-could-be-doomed/

Bridge Michigan

Grand Traverse group wins praise for preserving key land from development

By Kelly House, 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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/grand-traverse-group-wins-praise-for/

Bridge Michigan

Water test: a long history and hopeful future of human impact on Great Lakes ecology

This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.

By Kurt Williams, Great Lakes Echo

Editor’s note: This is the last in a series of stories about profound ecological changes that test our ability to manage the Great Lakes.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/history-future-human-impact-great-lakes-ecology/

Great Lakes Echo

JEWEL OF THE GREAT LAKES: Group battles invasive species

By Steve Schulwitz, The Alpena News

This article is part of a collaboration between The Alpena News and Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television to bring audiences stories about the Great Lakes, especially Lake Huron and its watershed.

ALPENA – Aquatic invasive species continue to spread and threaten the ecosystem in the waterways near Alpena, local environmental professionals say.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/group-battles-invasive-species/

The Alpena News

Great Lakes Moment: Rewilding Metropolitan Detroit

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/great-lakes-moment-rewilding-metropolitan-detroit/

John Hartig

Rising water makes Lake Michigan wetlands vulnerable to invaders

This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.

By Caroline Miller, Great Lakes Echo

High water and ice scouring has shifted native wetlands inland and opened a door to invasive species along Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan coast.

A new study documents the first sighting of the invasive species, European frogbit, in Wisconsin and says that it could threaten native plants, fish and invertebrates.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/rising-water-lake-michigan-wetlands-invaders/

Great Lakes Echo

The Catch: E. Coli and faulty septic systems

This month of The Catch features stories from our partners in the Great Lakes News Collaborative. The collaborative’s investigation of the cost of water in the Great Lakes region was the focus of the latest episode.

Michigan Radio‘s Lester Graham discusses a story he’s been following in northern Michigan on Elk Lake, where plant life and E.Coli are showing up in previously crystal-clear water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/the-catch-septic-systems/

GLN Editor

Biden forest plan stirs dispute over what counts as “old”

By Matthew Brown and Matthew Daly, Associated Press

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — President Joe Biden’s order to protect the nation’s oldest forests against climate change, wildfires and other problems devastating vast woodlands is raising a simple yet vexing question: When does a forest grow old?

Millions of acres are potentially on the line — federal land that could eventually get new protections or remain open to logging as the administration decides which trees to count under Biden’s order covering “old growth” and “mature” forests.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/ap-biden-forest-plan-dispute/

The Associated Press

The Catch: Climate Change and Your Allergies

Wheeze. Sniffle. Sneeze.

If you already suffer from seasonal allergies, get ready for more severe symptoms as the Great Lakes region experiences climate change in the coming decades.

Atmospheric scientist Allison Steiner of the University of Michigan and some colleagues recently published a new study about the impacts of climate change on pollen season in the Midwest and beyond.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/the-catch-climate-change-allergies/

GLN Editor

The report on Ontario’s natural resources the government didn’t want you to read

By Emma McIntosh, The Narwhal

This story first ran on The Narwhal, a non-profit news organization that publishes in-depth stories about Canada’s natural world.

From warming water to shifting growing seasons, Ontario is already seeing the effects of climate change. But for the most part, Doug Ford and his government say, the province’s natural resources are doing just fine.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/report-ontario-natural-resources/

The Narwhal

Michigan’s lack of septic system regulations is causing problems for some of its most pristine lakes

By Lester Graham, Michigan Radio

This story is part of “Water’s True Cost,” a series by the Great Lakes News Collaborative focused on the rising cost of water in Michigan and the various causes leading to the state of water systems today. Find the rest of the stories in the series here.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/michigans-septic-system-problems-lakes/

Michigan Radio

Mapping the Great Lakes: Where to find your sugar maples

The Great Lakes region may be best known for its freshwater resources, but another resource it has in abundance is its maple syrup. Canada is the world’s leading producer of maple syrup, generating 75% of the global supply. Within Canada, the province of Quebec is the top producer (96.4%) of maple syrup products followed by Ontario.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/mapping-the-great-lakes-sugar-maples/

Alex Hill

Lessons to learn from a very big mushroom

“Listen to your elders” is something we often hear, and what could be more of an elder than a 2,500-year-old fungus that’s alive and well in the Great Lakes region.

In 1992, scientist and forest pathologist Johann Bruhn discovered a very large mycelium – the root-like structure forming a fungal colony – in Crystal Falls, Michigan.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/life-lessons-big-mushroom/

Natasha Blakely

The Great Lakes sugaring season is changing

An area like the Great Lakes that has rain and higher temperatures in the summer, followed by a cold, snowy winter, is best suited for maple production.

But the Great Lakes maple season is evolving as climate change increasingly impacts maple syrup production with shorter harvest seasons, less sugar production and unreliable sap flow.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/great-lakes-sugaring-season/

Capri S. Cafaro

Researchers find wetland plant can filter PFAS chemicals

By Enrique Saenz, Indiana Environmental Reporter

Researchers have found that a common wetland plant native to Australia can remove toxic “forever chemicals” from the surrounding environment.

In a 190-day greenhouse experiment, a team of Chinese and Australian researchers found that Juncus sarophorus, a wetland plant also known as the broom rush, could tolerate and accumulate PFOS, PFOA and PFHxS, three of the most commonly studied PFAS chemicals.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/researchers-wetland-plant-pfas-chemicals/

Indiana Environmental Reporter

The Catch: Interlochen Public Radio podcast finds ‘[Un]Natural Selection’ in nature

Broadcasting in our monthly PBS television program, The Catch is a Great Lakes Now series that brings you more news about the lakes you love. Go beyond the headlines with reporters from around the region who cover the lakes and drinking water issues. Find all the work HERE.

Turns out what used to be natural selection is becoming a bit unnatural.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/the-catch-unnatural-selection/

GLN Editor

5 Reasons to Love (and Protect) Freshwater Mussels

By Tara Lohan, The Revelator

This story originally appeared in The Revelator and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.

In September the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed removing 23 species from the federal list of endangered species — not because they’d rebounded, sadly, but because they are believed to be extinct.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/reasons-to-love-freshwater-mussels/

The Revelator

Lost and found: native aquatic plant in Ohio

This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.

By Shelby Frink, Great Lakes Echo

A scientist may have found a native aquatic plant in Ohio that was once thought to be wiped out in the state.

The watermilfoil species has not been seen in Ohio in at least 20 years, said Mark Warman, the scientist who found the plant on private property last September after his friend posted photos on the social network iNaturalist.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/native-aquatic-plant-ohio/

Great Lakes Echo