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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/04/finding-creative-new-ways-to-manage-invasive-cattails/
In 1979, there were just four nesting pairs of bald eagles in the entire state of Ohio. Today there are more than 900 pairs spread throughout all but three of Ohio’s 88 counties, not including the immature birds that still appear mottled with brown and white because haven’t yet developed white plumage on their heads.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/04/bald-eagle-return-exceeds-expectations/
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/
Lake Erie covers about 9,900 square miles and stretches 240 miles from southwest to northeast with an average depth of 62 feet. It borders four states and the province of Ontario. About 12 million people live in the watershed, including 17 major metropolitan areas. More than 10 million people rely on the lake as a source of drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/03/from-the-ice-age-to-now-a-lake-erie-timeline/
NEW YORK (AP) — Where will you be watching the April 8 total solar eclipse? There are just a few weeks left to pick your spot to see the skies darken along a strip of North America, whether by land, sea or air.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/03/ap-where-will-you-be-for-the-april-8-total-solar-eclipse-theres-still-time-to-grab-a-spot/
NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory
NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory
https://noaaglerl.blog/2024/02/22/qa-with-noaa-scientists-causes-and-impacts-of-2024s-historically-low-great-lakes-ice-cover/
The long, fast, toothy muskellunge (also known as muskie or musky) is nicknamed the “Fish of 10,000 Casts” due to its notoriously elusive nature. It is the apex predator in all waters where it’s found, known to hide in underwater cover, aggressively ambushing prey. They eat fish almost exclusively, though they have been known to consume just about anything they can swallow including birds, small mammals, and their own kind.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/02/wisconsins-state-fish-tops-the-food-chain/
The Lake Guardian is currently in its winter home, nestled along the docks in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In warmer months, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses this ship to gather data on water quality, and has for over forty years. And each year since 1991, a group of lucky educators has squeezed on board and, for nine days, also called this ship home.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/02/teachers-and-scientists-work-together-on-the-lake-guardian/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Daniel Schoenherr, Great Lakes Echo
Lake Erie is the first of the Great Lakes getting connected to the internet with a series of offshore “smart” buoys.
And it’s not just for sending texts on the water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/smart-buoys-help-brace-great-lakes-for-environmental-challenges/
By Josh Boose, Ideastream Public Media
This story was originally published by Ideastream.
Lake Erie is behind its typical freezing schedule.
The schedule depends on different weather patterns, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Director of Communications Jennifer Day.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/lake-erie-is-13-frozen-expect-less-freezing-in-the-future/
People on the western shore of Lake Erie witnessed strange sights after a winter storm came through on January 13. Parts of the lake that are usually under water were suddenly dry and visible, after wind gusts up to 55 mph pushed large volumes of water east. At least one long-lost human-made structure and striking natural features were revealed.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/strong-winds-uncover-spectacular-features-and-long-lost-structures/
By Zaria Johnson, Ideastream Public Media
This story was originally published by Ideastream.
Cleveland’s off-shore wind turbine project has been halted after the project’s private development partner pulled financial support.
The Lake Erie Energy Development Corp, or LEEDCo, is leading the Icebreaker Wind project.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/clevelands-icebreaker-wind-project-on-hold-due-to-rising-costs-pushback/
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/2023/12/can-michigan-reduce-phosphorus-pollution-getting-into-lake-erie-by-40-percent/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/michigan-farm-czar-our-fight-against-lake-erie-pollution-isnt-working/
By Matt McIntosh, The Narwhal
Photography by Kati Panasiuk
This story first ran on The Narwhal, a non-profit news organization that publishes in-depth stories about Canada’s natural world.
For a couple of decades at the end of the last century, it seemed like the blue-green algae problem in Lake Erie had been solved, or at least managed, thanks to a concerted cross-border effort.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/lake-erie-is-full-of-algae-again-southwestern-ontarios-exploding-greenhouse-sector-wont-help/
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/2023/11/building-a-smart-lake-erie-watershed/
A strike by about 350 members of UNIFOR, Canada’s largest private sector union, could cripple thousands of businesses and cause the loss of billions in economic activity if it continues, according to shipping officials.
“Every day is a critical time,” said Jayson Hron, communications director for Port of Duluth-Superior, the U.S.’ furthest inland seaport.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/10/great-lakes-imports-and-exports-halted-by-strike/
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/2023/08/toxins-cyanobacterial-blooms-airborne-threat-to-public-health-unclear/
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/2023/08/scientists-learning-complicated-reduce-toxic-blooms-lake-erie/
Summertime calls for good vibes, much-needed time in the sun and a creature many aren’t fans of — fishflies.
These insects are no stranger to the Great Lakes region. Fishflies, also known as mayflies, spend most of their lives in the water and are only seen on land once they enter their adult stage.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/fishflies-great-lakes-signify-healthy-water/
On May 25, the Supreme Court ruled 9 to 0, changing wetland protection in The Clean Water Act. The Sackett family, who took on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), were being fined $40,000 a day for building their Idaho property too close to an unnamed tributary. That tributary feeds into a creek, and that creek feeds into Priest Lake.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/what-are-wetlands-for-anyway/
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/2023/07/harmful-algal-blooms-appearing-lake-erie-earlier-usual/
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/
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/2023/06/lake-erie-harmful-algal-bloom-expected-smaller-average/
June 27, 2023
Fresh is a biweekly newsletter from Circle of Blue that unpacks the biggest international, state, and local policy news stories facing the Great Lakes region today. Sign up for Fresh: A Great Lakes Policy Briefing, straight to your inbox, every other Tuesday.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/06/fresh-federal-judge-orders-line-5-shutdown-on-tribal-land-in-wisconsin/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Jack Armstrong, Great Lakes Echo
NASA’s new satellite is a huge upgrade for measuring Earth’s surface water that could help scientists. It’s like swapping out your old iPhone for a new model with a better camera, and it could help us better understand the Great Lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/06/new-nasa-satellite-helps-scientists-understand-great-lakes/
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/2023/05/anishinaabe-tribes-work-save-fish-significant-culture-important-source-protein/
Veteran fishers on Lake Erie fondly recall the late 1980s as a heyday for walleye – a time when Ohio anglers were allowed to catch 10 fish a day and the big-eyed apex predators seemed an endless resource.
At its height in 1988, the Ohio charter fishing industry supported 1,221 licensed captains and nearly 5 million walleye were taken.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/lake-erie-charter-industry-rebounding-from-slump/
What is President Abraham Lincoln’s connection to a current vexing Great Lakes threat? Traveling south to Canada, right? And why would France go to court over a Great Lakes issue?
Those are some of the questions Traverse City author Dave Dempsey asks in his latest book, The Great Lakes: Fact or Fake.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/great-lakes-book-challenges-readers-mystery-facts-whimsy/
TORONTO (AP) — Gordon Lightfoot, the folk singer-songwriter known for “If You Could Read My Mind” and “Sundown” and for songs that told tales of Canadian identity, died Monday. He was 84.
Representative Victoria Lord said the musician died at a Toronto hospital. His cause of death was not immediately available.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/ap-folk-singer-songwriter-gordon-lightfoot-dies/
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/2023/02/mi-oh-spend-hundreds-millions-annually-curb-toxic-blooms-lake-erie/
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/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Anastasia Pirrami, Great Lakes Echo
Harmful algal blooms were much larger in Lake Erie than experts predicted for 2022.
A year-end report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that the algae bloom was more severe than expected because of an increase in biomass that caused more algae.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/02/lake-erie-algae-2022-worse-predicted-plateaued/
By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue
This is the first story in a series of reports from the Great Lakes News Collaborative that will investigate contemporary water pollution challenges in the Great Lakes region. Called Refresh, the series will explore the shortcomings in the Clean Water Act and how Michigan and other Great Lakes states can more completely address water pollution in the next 50 years.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/01/road-salt-damaging-michigan-waters/
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 Great Lakes contain a whopping 5,500 cubic miles of freshwater, making them one of largest sources of freshwater in the world – large enough in fact to influence the region’s weather which impacts the 40 million people living around the lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/01/science-says-what-climate-change-deluges-snow-days/
Love staring at a map and discovering something interesting? Then “Mapping the Great Lakes” is for you. It’s a monthly Great Lakes Now feature created by Alex B. Hill, a self-described “data nerd and anthropologist” who combines cartography, data, and analytics with storytelling and human experience.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/01/mapping-great-lakes-snowfall-snowbelt/
For more than a century, a dam divided the upstream Sandusky River from Lake Erie. People got power, but fish were prevented from reaching native spawning grounds.
Then, four years ago, the dam came down, like hundreds around the Great Lakes region. It had been replaced as a power source years earlier, and environmentalists argued to restore the river’s natural course.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/ballville-dam-removal-history-trends-impacts/
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 a story about high tech helpers studying and removing plastic pollution.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/the-catch-robots-tackle-shoreline-trash/
NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory
NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory
https://noaaglerl.blog/2022/12/19/underwater-robots-significantly-advance-our-ability-to-study-lake-eries-harmful-algal-blooms/
Should natural resources like the Great Lakes have the same legal right to protection from harm as a person has? Including the right to be free from exploitation as a commodity for financial gain?
New York state Assemblyman Patrick Burke thinks so and has introduced formal legislation that would provide for those rights.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/buffalo-legislator-calls-for-protection-for-great-lakes/
By Keith Schneider, Circle of Blue
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/2022/12/opposition-to-cafos-mounts-across-nation/
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/
DETROIT (AP) — Sailors who lost their lives in shipwrecks on the Great Lakes and Michigan waterways will be remembered at a historic church in downtown Detroit.
The annual Great Lakes Memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday and will be livestreamed from Mariners’ Church along the Detroit River.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/11/ap-detroit-church-to-remember-sailors-lost-on-great-lakes/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Abigail Comar, Great Lakes Echo
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Environmental Protection Agency have demonstrated a new technology designed to reduce harmful algal blooms in lakes, including Lake Erie, which have been plagued by eutrophication.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/11/new-technology-hope-great-lakes-polluted-waters/
CLEVELAND (AP) — Two men accused of stuffing five walleye with lead weights and fish fillets during a lucrative fishing tournament on Lake Erie pleaded not guilty to cheating and other charges on Wednesday.
Jacob Runyan, 42, of Broadview Heights, Ohio, and Chase Cominsky, 35, of Hermitage, Pennsylvania, made no comments during their brief court appearances in Cleveland.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/10/ap-fishermen-plead-not-guilty-to-charges-in-tournament-scandal/
A fishing tournament weigh-in in Cleveland last month, an event most often attended by anglers, family, friends and passersby, sent the Lake Erie walleye scene into worldwide news after several videos went viral.
They appeared to show two consistently winning tournament anglers get caught cheating red-handed after 10 lead weights, tipping the scales at about 7 pounds, were removed from their five walleye at the final 2022 event for the Lake Erie Walleye Trail.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/10/weighted-walleye-fallout-lake-erie-fishing-tournament/
By John Flesher, Associated Press
Lifelong Cleveland resident Steve Gove recalls when the Cuyahoga River symbolized shame — fetid, lifeless, notorious for catching fire when sparks from overhead rail cars ignited the oil-slicked surface.
“It was pretty grungy,” said the 73-year-old, a canoeist in his youth who sometimes braved the filthy stretch through the steelmaking city.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/10/ap-clean-water-act-at-50/
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 a new bulk freighter that is making waves in Great Lakes shipping.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/10/the-catch-new-freighter-in-town/
By Mark Gillispie, Associated Press
CLEVELAND (AP) — The county prosecutor’s office in Cleveland has opened an investigation into an apparent cheating scandal during a lucrative walleye fishing tournament on Lake Erie last week.
A video posted to Twitter shows Jason Fischer, tournament director for the Lake Erie Walleye Trail, cutting open the winning catch of five walleye on Friday and finding lead weights and prepared fish filets inside them.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/10/ap-authorities-report-scandal-fishing-tournament/
By Keith Schneider, Circle of Blue
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/2022/09/remedies-for-harmful-algal-blooms-available-in-law/
