Great Lakes Moment: A 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.

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/02/great-lakes-moment-community-science-survey/

John Hartig

Lake Erie algae in 2022 worse than predicted; it plateaued rather than peaked

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/02/lake-erie-algae-2022-worse-predicted-plateaued/

Great Lakes Echo

Road Salt, A Stealthy Pollutant, Is Damaging Michigan Waters

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/01/road-salt-damaging-michigan-waters/

Circle of Blue

Science Says What? Climate change, deluges and snow days

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/01/science-says-what-climate-change-deluges-snow-days/

Sharon Oosthoek

Mapping the Great Lakes: Snowfall in the snowbelt

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/01/mapping-great-lakes-snowfall-snowbelt/

Alex Hill

Ballville Dam Removal: History, trends and impacts

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/ballville-dam-removal-history-trends-impacts/

James Proffitt

The Catch: Robots Tackle Shoreline Trash

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/the-catch-robots-tackle-shoreline-trash/

GLN Editor

Newly published research from the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL), the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR), and partners reveals that using underwater robots could significantly advance scientists’ ability to study the harmful algal blooms (HABs) that … Continue reading

Original Article

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/

Gabrielle Farina

Buffalo legislator calls for bill of rights protection for the Great Lakes

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/buffalo-legislator-calls-for-protection-for-great-lakes/

Gary Wilson

Opposition to CAFOs Mounts Across the Nation

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/opposition-to-cafos-mounts-across-nation/

Circle of Blue

Great Lakes Moment: Detroit’s benefits of a national urban park in Windsor

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/great-lakes-moment-detroits-benefits-of-national-urban-park-in-windsor/

John Hartig

Detroit church to remember sailors lost on the Great Lakes

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/11/ap-detroit-church-to-remember-sailors-lost-on-great-lakes/

The Associated Press

New technology provides hope for the Great Lakes’ polluted waters

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/11/new-technology-hope-great-lakes-polluted-waters/

Great Lakes Echo

Fishermen plead not guilty to charges in tournament scandal

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/10/ap-fishermen-plead-not-guilty-to-charges-in-tournament-scandal/

The Associated Press

Weighted Walleye: The fallout of the Lake Erie fishing tournament

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/10/weighted-walleye-fallout-lake-erie-fishing-tournament/

James Proffitt

Clean Water Act at 50: environmental gains, challenges unmet

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/10/ap-clean-water-act-at-50/

The Associated Press

The Catch: New freighter in town

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/10/the-catch-new-freighter-in-town/

GLN Editor

Authorities probing report of scandal at fishing tournament

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/10/ap-authorities-report-scandal-fishing-tournament/

The Associated Press

Remedies for Harmful Algal Blooms Are Available in Law and Practice

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/09/remedies-for-harmful-algal-blooms-available-in-law/

Circle of Blue

Fish scientists: From childhood aspirations to Amazonian expeditions

Most professions offer a range of subspecialties to choose from.

Want to be a doctor? What kind? Surgeon, pediatrician, neurologist…?

Want to work construction? What kind? Plumer, electrician, carpenter…?

The study of fishes is different only in that the subspecialties are far less familiar to people outside the field.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/09/fish-scientists/

Kathy Johnson

Lake Erie’s Failed Algae Strategy Hurts Poor Communities the Most

By Laura Gersony, 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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/09/failed-algae-strategy-hurts-poor-communities/

Circle of Blue

Great Lakes feature Midwest curiosity: Fish-cleaning houses

If you catch fish in a Great Lakes state on a river, pond, stream or reservoir and keep any to eat, most likely you’ll have to clean them yourself. But if you get close to one of the big lakes, especially Lake Erie, you could have a fish cleaner do it.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/09/fish-cleaning-houses/

James Proffitt

In A Year of Water Quality Reckoning, National Imperative is Impeded

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/09/year-of-water-quality-reckoning-national-imperative-impeded/

Circle of Blue

Farms in Six Southeast Michigan Counties Are Major Sources of Lake Erie Toxic Blooms

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/09/farms-michigan-counties-sources-of-lake-erie-toxic-blooms/

Circle of Blue

Cleveland water organization looking to support business innovation beyond Lake Erie

The Erie Situation,” a new documentary about toxic algae blooms will air simultaneously on six PBS stations in four states at 9 p.m. ET on Monday Sept. 12. To see if your station is one of them, click HERE.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/09/cleveland-water-organization-looking-to-support-business-innovation-beyond-lake-erie/

Sandra Svoboda

Danger Looms Where Toxic Algae Blooms

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/09/danger-looms-where-toxic-algae-blooms/

Circle of Blue

“Talking about the bloom:” Meet filmmaker David J. Ruck

“Something was clearly wrong with Lake Erie.”

That’s how filmmaker David J. Ruck remembers being inspired to begin working on “The Erie Situation,” a feature-length film that’s been shown at film festivals this year and now will air simultaneously on PBS stations in four states at 9 p.m.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/09/meet-filmmaker-david-j-ruck/

Sandra Svoboda

First in decades, a new Great Lakes freighter joins fleet

For the first time in decades, a new bulk freighter has been built on and launched on the Great Lakes.

The Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding Company in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin unveiled the Mark W. Barker earlier this year after spending nearly three years constructing it. The vessel was commissioned by Cleveland-based Interlake Steamship Company which currently operates about a dozen ships.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/09/new-great-lakes-freighter-joins-fleet/

James Proffitt

Great Lakes Moment: Chemical contaminant in St. Lawrence River herring gull eggs traced to 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 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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/09/great-lakes-moment-herring-gull-eggs-detroit-river/

John Hartig

“The Erie Situation – and beyond”

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/09/the-erie-situation-and-beyond/

GLN Editor

Setting Lake Erie limits

The total allowable catch (TAC) for yellow perch and walleye went up this year in Lake Erie. The raise is indicative of booming walleye population in recent years as well as a healthy perch population in most areas of the lake.

The walleye TAC rose 18% from 12.28 million fish in 2021 to 14.53 million this year, with yellow perch rising 15% from 6.23 million pounds last year to 7.18 million pounds this year.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/08/setting-lake-erie-limits/

James Proffitt

The Catch: Lake Erie birding

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.

Want to head out to the Great Lake Erie Birding Trail?

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/the-catch-lake-erie-birding/

GLN Editor

2022 Forecast: Smaller than average amount of harmful cyanobacterial blooms for Lake Erie, but some hot spots possible

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/2022/07/2022-forecast-harmful-algal-blooms-forecast-lake-erie/

Michigan Radio

Around the Lakes: Trails to follow for the best view of birds

A lakeside view and twittering morning avian chorus make for a great combination, and all along the Great Lakes there are plenty of great locations to experience both those things.

Installing a bird feeder is an easy way to enjoy birds right outside your door, but county parks and birding walks are a great way to learn about birds too, Kimberly Kaufman said in an interview with Great Lakes Now.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/trails-for-best-view-of-birds/

Natasha Blakely

Great Lakes water levels could increase on average from 19 to 44 centimeters in the next few decades, study says

New research into Great Lakes water levels looks farther into the future to predict how much climate change will increase lake levels in four of the five Great Lakes.

The predictions for the levels between now and 2050 show average increases from 2010-2019 levels of Lake Superior rising 19 centimeters (7.5 inches), Lake Erie 28 centimeters (11 inches) and lakes Michigan and Huron by 44 centimeters (17.3 inches).

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/great-lakes-water-levels-increase-next-few-decades/

Natasha Blakely

Study suggests phosphorous reduction alone could lead to more toxic algae

A new study completed by international researchers says current efforts to reduce harmful algae blooms by limiting phosphorous in Lake Erie could result in more toxic algae.

“I think it has implications for how we think about cleaning up Lake Erie,” said Greg Dick, director of the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research at Michigan State University, and one of the study’s authors.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/phosphorous-reduction-toxic-algae/

James Proffitt

Lake Erie’s once-thriving blue pike is long gone but never forgotten

One of the last known (and most famous) blue pike was landed by hook and line in 1962. In 1983, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared the blue pike extinct. Yet, nearly 40 years later, the population remains robust and healthy – in the hearts and minds of countless anglers.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/lake-erie-blue-pike-never-forgotten/

James Proffitt

African scientists visit the North American Great Lakes in international exchange

One by one, netted fish arrived onto the boat: smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, common carp, gizzard shad, longnose gar.

They lay on their sides, briefly stunned by the electricity that was coursing from rods on the boat’s bow and then scooped on board the 21-foot vessel on a cloudy spring day on Lake Erie.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/african-scientists-great-lakes-international-exchange/

Natasha Blakely

Harmful algal blooms cause problems in Lake Erie; drinking water customers pay the price

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/2022/06/harmful-algal-blooms-lake-erie/

Michigan Radio

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

A lesser known Great Lakes treasure: sea glass

The North American Sea Glass Association held its 16th Annual Sea Glass Festival at Maumee Bay State Park Lodge on Lake Erie – the first time it wasn’t held at a saltwater venue.

“This is probably the crème de la crème of festivals,” said Beverly Vinch, of Washed Ashore Jewelry, based in Avon Lake, Ohio.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/great-lakes-sea-glass/

James Proffitt

Even in Canada, where water prices are low, aging infrastructure and rising costs are a problem

This is part one in a two-part series looking at the cost of water in Ontario. Find the Great Lakes News Collaborative’s series on cost of water in Michigan here.

Canadians living in the Great Lakes basin have perhaps become spoiled at the seemingly endless availability of water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/canada-aging-infrastructure-rising-costs/

Andrew Reeves

Fishing Tournament Trends: Kayaks and catch-photo-release gaining popularity

Every year thousands of anglers participate in fishing tournaments across the Great Lakes, with prizes ranging from a couple hundred bucks to tens of thousands of dollars. Some, like the Lake Erie Fall Brawl, offer new fishing boats valued at more than $100,000 as top prizes. Some events are targeted toward professional anglers, while others pair a professional angler and an amateur angler.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/fishing-tournament-trends-kayaks-catch-photo-release/

James Proffitt

River otters return to the Detroit River

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/river-otters-detroit-river/

John Hartig

What’s missing from Doug Ford’s proposed expansion of the Ontario Greenbelt

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.

When the Doug Ford government first announced plans to expand Ontario’s Greenbelt, it called the move a “once in a generation opportunity.”

The initial concept, presented by Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark in February 2021, involved ambitious plans to include waterways under the Greenbelt’s protection and stretch its boundaries to encompass a large swath of land west of Toronto.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/doug-fords-expansion-ontario-greenbelt/

The Narwhal

FRESH: Wisconsin Judge Strikes Down Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’ Cleanup Rule

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.

— Laura Gersony, Fresh Editor

This Week’s Watersheds

  • A court ruling out of Wisconsin hamstrings the state’s cleanup of toxic “forever chemicals.”
  • Quebec becomes the first jurisdiction in North America to ban fossil fuel extraction.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/wisconsin-judge-forever-chemicals-cleanup/

Circle of Blue

I Speak for the Fish: How the round goby changed the Great Lakes, twice

Some dives are so pivotal that they permanently fuse themselves into my memory bank.

I’ll never forget my first open water dive in the St. Clair River under my family’s dock, or the first time I looked for a drowning victim as a member of the St. Clair County Sherriff Department Dive Rescue and Recovery team.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/round-goby-great-lakes/

Kathy Johnson

Lakeside Gentrification: Trailer parks and campgrounds the last bulwark against waterfront developments

Editor’s Note: This is part two of a two-part story. Read the first part here.

Ed Matusik and his wife were in their new summer vacation trailer for just a month at Bay Point Resort and Marina in 2006 when they received an eviction letter: the investment group which recently purchased the site had plans for a new development in that section of the resort.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/trailer-parks-campgrounds-waterfront-developments/

James Proffitt

Lakeside Gentrification: Waterfront properties and water access grow steadily further out of reach

Editor’s Note: This is part one of a two-part story. Look for the next part next week.

Every summer for the last decade, James Peterson, his wife and two daughters traveled from Charleston, West Virginia, to Kaspar’s Lake Breeze Cottages in Marblehead, Ohio, to fish, relax and soak up the beauty and restorative power of Lake Erie.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/water-access-grows-out-of-reach/

James Proffitt

Meet the person making Great Lakes ice popular on TikTok

Geo Rutherford is an artist and an educator based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. But what a lot of people might recognize her from the most is the social media application TikTok, where Rutherford runs an account making pretty popular videos all about the Great Lakes.

Though originally from Colorado, Rutherford went to school at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and stuck around in Milwaukee after graduation.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/great-lakes-ice-popular-tiktok/

Natasha Blakely