Great Lakes Breakdowns: There’s a thin line between affordable and not for boat tows

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, millions of Americans suddenly found themselves out of work or working remotely, their recreational options severely limited with the closure of bars, eateries, gyms and countless public spaces.

So what better way to spend time with family while remaining socially distanced than buying a boat and hitting the water?

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/09/great-lakes-boat-tow-affordable-expensive/

James Proffitt

Four years ago, NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) and the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR) began providing an Experimental Lake Erie Hypoxia Forecast Model to warn stakeholders of low-oxygen upwelling events that can cause water quality … Continue reading

Original Article

NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory

NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory

https://noaaglerl.blog/2021/09/14/from-safe-drinking-water-to-sustainable-fisheries-noaa-glerls-experimental-lake-erie-hypoxia-forecast-is-even-more-useful-than-anticipated/

Gabrielle Farina

Boating on a Budget: Get off land and onto the Great Lakes

The Great Lakes are great for many reasons – their economic power, the lifestyle they provide millions of residents, as a getaway for tens of millions visitors and the livelihood it offers hundreds of thousands in lakes-related industries.

And then there’s the water. Summer sees the lakes filled with people soaking, swimming, skiing – and boating.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/07/boating-budget-great-lakes-recreation/

James Proffitt

Ohio expands farmer incentive program to clean up Lake Erie

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Farmers in 10 more northern Ohio counties will be eligible to receive financial incentives for using new agriculture practices that improve water quality in Lake Erie, Gov. Mike DeWine said Tuesday.

That brings the number of counties eligible up to 24 through the H2Ohio water quality initiative’s farmer incentive program.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/07/ap-ohio-farmer-incentive-program-lake-erie/

The Associated Press

Low but Stable: Yellow perch populations in Great Lakes’ bays and open waters

On first attempt to reach Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Research Biologist David Fielder, he wasn’t monitoring fish populations or water quality. He was busy with a perch basket lunch.

The yellow perch is a staple of Great Lakes commercial and recreational fishing, and Friday fish fries.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/07/yellow-perch-low-populations-wisconsin-michigan-fishing/

John McCracken

Nonprofit: Number of drownings in Great Lakes jumps in 2021

HOMEWOOD, Ill. (AP) — More drownings have been reported in the Great Lakes so far in 2021 than by this time last year, prompting officials to urge swimmers to practice water safety measures.

As of July 2, there were 32 drownings in the Great Lakes, compared to 25 as of July 4, 2020, according to data collected by the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/07/ap-nonprofit-drownings-great-lakes-jumps-2021/

The Associated Press

Good News for Lake Erie: 2021 algal bloom severity forecast is 3

For the second year in a row, scientists predict the annual Lake Erie cyanobacteria bloom will be smaller than it has been in the past decade.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s forecast, assembled with the help of multiple partners, indicates an expected bloom severity index of 3 on a scale of 10.5.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/07/2021-harmful-algal-blooms-toxic-algae/

James Proffitt

Researchers seek volunteers to document coastal erosion in Michigan

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

By McKoy Scribner, Great Lakes Echo

Although Great Lakes water levels are down, the risk of coastal erosion remains high, Michigan State University researchers say. Now, the researchers are enlisting “citizen scientists” to assist in helping better understand coastal change.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/researchers-volunteers-document-coastal-erosion-michigan/

Great Lakes Echo

Habitat Focus: To help the birds, nonprofit organization looks to Great Lakes habitats

There’s a bird emergency in the Great Lakes region, according to the National Audubon Society, but the nonprofit bird conservation organization is hoping to change that.

“This really is a bird emergency,” said Nat Miller, Audubon Great Lakes’ director of conservation. “We don’t think that’s hyperbole. As often is the case, birds currently serve as an indicator for larger environmental problems and today they’re telling us it’s a critical time now to act to save the wildlife, water and way of life in the Great Lakes region.”

In an effort to reduce this alarming trend, scientists and conservationists with The National Audubon Society recently released a wide-ranging and comprehensive blueprint to address climate change, pollution and other detrimental man-made effects on Great Lakes wetlands and coastal areas – and their bird populations.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/birds-wetlands-coastal-great-lakes-habitat-restoration/

James Proffitt

Open Doors: Great Lakes tourist destinations make 2021 a new start

A little more than a year ago the nation’s media outlets, including Great Lakes Now, were reporting on the widespread closures and restrictions being enacted across Great Lakes states. There were complete or partial closures and restrictions at nearly all public parks, preserves and other lakes-related facilities. Bars, restaurants and many stores and businesses were locking their doors.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/great-lakes-tourism-recreation-covid-19-2021/

James Proffitt

Protected areas cover a sixth of Earth’s land and freshwater

WASHINGTON (AP) — Roughly a sixth of the planet’s land and freshwater area now lies within protected or conservation areas, according to a United Nations report released Wednesday.

Next comes the hard part. The world needs to ensure that those regions are actually effectively managed to stabilize the climate and to curb biodiversity loss while also increasing the total area of protected places, scientists say.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/ap-protected-areas-sixth-earth-land-freshwater/

The Associated Press

Lake Levels: Expect higher than average lake levels but no new record

High water and erosion caused the beach stairs in Chikaming Township in southwest Michigan to collapse.

Now, two years later, volunteers have rebuilt those stairs, marking renewed access to some of the township’s most cherished assets – its public beaches – after high water in Lake Michigan rendered them unusable.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/higher-than-average-lake-levels-but-no-new-record/

Andrew Blok

It’s no secret that the Great Lakes had a wild ride in terms of ice cover this past winter. From a slow start that led to near-record low ice cover in January, to the sudden widespread freeze just a few … Continue reading

Original Article

NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory

NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory

https://noaaglerl.blog/2021/04/23/looking-back-the-ups-and-downs-of-great-lakes-ice-cover-in-2021/

Gabrielle Farina

Great Lakes Moment: A Great Lakes Way stretching from southern Lake Huron through Western 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.

The Eastern Seaboard has the Appalachian Trail, the Western Seaboard has the Pacific Rim Trail, and the Rocky Mountains has the Continental Divide Trail.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/great-lakes-way-southern-lake-huron-western-lake-erie/

John Hartig

H2Ohio: Agency directors focus on wetlands, farmer subsidies, replacing lead lines

The first full-year report for Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s much-publicized H2Ohio water quality initiative is out.

Introduced in 2019, the plan has already reaped benefits for Ohio residents and will continue to expand in its scope, according to officials charged with its implementation.

The report was offered in a web presentation by Ohio Department of Agriculture Director Dorothy Pelanda, Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Mary Mertz and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Director Laurie Stevenson.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/h2ohio-agency-directors-wetlands-lead-agriculture/

James Proffitt

Scientists: Climate-whipped winds pose Great Lakes hazards

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Powerful gusts linked to global warming are damaging water quality and creating a hazard for fish in Lake Erie and perhaps elsewhere in the Great Lakes, according to researchers.

Extremely high winds occasionally churn up deep water with low oxygen and high levels of phosphorus in Erie’s central basin and shove it into the shallower western section, creating a hazard for fish and insects on which they feed.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/ap-scientists-climate-whipped-winds-great-lakes-hazards/

The Associated Press

U of M team makes discovery about Lake Erie dead zone

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/2021/03/university-michigan-discovery-lake-erie-dead-zone/

Michigan Radio

Lake Superior Winter: Researchers belatedly turn their eyes to the impact of warming winters

Deep below the cold, dark surface of Lake Superior, sensors strung like pearls along a vertical steel cable sway with the currents. Recording the lake’s dropping temperatures as winter sets in, their gentle rhythm belies their worrying readings: the lake is getting warmer.

Jay Austin heaved several of these science experiments off a boat last fall – tossing concrete blocks into the deep water to anchor the cable of sensors stretching down from floating platforms just below the surface.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/lake-superior-researchers-impact-warming-winters/

Sharon Oosthoek

Too few farmers are curbing pollution in Lake Erie. Should they be forced?

As climate change complicates Lake Erie’s algae problem, scientists say farmers must do far more to reduce phosphorus runoff. But will enough farmers change their ways without a government mandate?

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/farmers-pollution-lake-erie-regulations/

Bridge Michigan

30 Years Later: Mussel invasion legacy reaches far beyond Great Lakes

The way J. Ellen Marsden remembers it, when she first suggested calling a new Great Lakes invasive species the quagga mussel, her colleague laughed, so the name stuck.

At the same time, it was no laughing matter. The arrival of a second non-native mussel, related to the already established zebra mussel, was a major complication in what was becoming one of the most significant invasive species events in American history.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/invasive-mussels-legacy-beyond-great-lakes/

Andrew Blok

Michigan is on thin ice. Get used to it, climate experts say.

By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network

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/2021/02/michigan-thin-ice-climate-experts/

Bridge Michigan

Highlights of Ohio governor’s proposed 2-year spending plan

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine unveiled a two-year, $75 billion state budget on Monday that includes a $1 billion initiative to help bring the state back from the economic downfall of the pandemic.

The budget proposal was crafted “with the goal of emerging even stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic,” DeWine said as he announced the plan with Lt.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/ap-highlights-ohio-governor-proposed-2-year-spending-plan/

The Associated Press

Great Lakes seeing low ice cover compared to this time last year

By Caroline Llanes, 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/2021/01/great-lakes-low-ice-cover/

Michigan Radio

Mussel-Phosphorus Puzzle: Invasive mussels are reshaping the chemistry of the Great Lakes

Since the late 1980s, four of the five Great Lakes have played host to an increasing number of invasive mussels. First came zebra mussels, followed shortly thereafter by quagga mussels, both members of the Dreissenid family whose native range includes the waters around Ukraine.

Today, the filter-feeders comprise more than 90% of the total animal biomass of the Great Lakes (barring Lake Superior, whose depth and water chemistry make it a less suitable habitat for the two species of mussel).

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/invasive-mussels-phosphorus-chemistry-great-lakes/

Lorraine Boissoneault

Lifeblood: Photographer shares the Lake Erie connection uniting shoreline residents

Along the shores of Lake Erie live a wide range of people whose lives might seem very familiar to or wildly distinctive from your own.

In the documentary photo series North of Long Tail, photographer Colin Boyd Shafer tells the stories of more than 20 residents of Lake Erie’s north shore.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/lifeblood-photographer-lake-erie-shoreline-residents/

Grace Dempsey

Unexploded Ordnance: Lake Erie shoreline site of long-term munitions study

In 1991, a Lake Michigan fishing vessel crew netted an object they later deposited on a beach in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. It was subsequently identified as a fully-armed Sidewinder missile. While this is an extreme example of unexploded ordnance (UXO) pollution, it highlights the issue of old military munitions in the Great Lakes.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/unexploded-ordnance-lake-erie-shoreline-site-munitions-study/

James Proffitt

2020 Really Sucked. What’s Up Next? I don’t know.

This is part of a series in which the Great Lakes Now staff looks back on 2020.

A frequent theme of my GLN articles – and others’ – this year was the Crazy-19 virus. For me, its appearance in print ranged from news about charter captains not fishing and non-resident fishing and hunting license sales suspended to parks, monuments, Lake Erie businesses shut down and events cancelled, including The Biggest Week in American Birding.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/2020-really-sucked-next-i-dont-know/

James Proffitt

Great Lakes Quiz: Which Great Lake are you?

Great Lakes Now is hosting a watch party for our December episode on Dec. 29 at 7:15 p.m. ET. Get more information at the event page here.

As the year comes to an end, one question undoubtedly still plagues the minds of people everywhere: which Great Lake am I?

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/great-lakes-quiz-which-lake-are-you/

GLN Editor

Got Pike? Huron, Michigan, Ontario, Superior, Yes. Erie, not so much.

In Lake Erie, the northern pike occupies, on the grand fish scale of things, a not-so-special place.

The elongated, fast, toothy eating machine is in general neither widely loved nor widely hated. In fact, as far as a sportfish goes, which it most definitely is, it is rather neglected.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/pike-huron-michigan-ontario-superior-erie-seiche/

James Proffitt

Oldest Coast Guard cutter with smallest crew and largest Great Lakes responsibility needs replacing

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

By Eric Freedman, Great Lakes Echo

The U.S. Coast Guard wants to retire its oldest cutter on the Great Lakes, the 57-year-old cutter Buckthorn.

But don’t hold your breath waiting for the replacement of the Sault Ste.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/oldest-coast-guard-cutter-great-lakes/

Great Lakes Echo

Family-owned fishing businesses displaced by waterfront developments on Great Lakes

By Hannah L. Harrison, University of Guelph, The Conversation

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

For three generations, the Minor family — today brothers Carson and Landon and their father Paul — have been up before first light to board their fishing tug and make their way to their fishing grounds on Lake Erie.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/family-owned-fishing-businesses-displaced-waterfront-developments-great-lakes/

The Conversation

Public Concern: Climate change, runoff and chemicals at the forefront of people’s worries about the Great Lakes

NOTE: The report will formally be presented in English at 2 p.m. ET on Thursday, Dec. 10. A French session will follow at 3:30 p.m. For more details about how you can watch or ask questions, click here.

Public concern about climate change is escalating in the Great Lakes region, according to a new report issued by a binational group that manages and protects the Great Lakes.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/public-concern-climate-change-runoff-chemicals-ijc/

Natasha Blakely

Index: International Joint Commission’s 2020 Triennial Assessment of Progress Report

If you read the International Joint Commission’s 2020 Triennial Assessment of Progress Report or

watched the webinar where the IJC announced and discussed the findings, you might be curious about some of the other reports and documents referenced.

For the 2020 triennial report, go to the IJC’s website.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/index-international-joint-commission-2020-triennial-assessment-of-progress-report/

GLN Editor

Field Tiles: Continued use and improvement of drainage systems pose problems for Lake Erie

The watersheds that feed the Western Basin of Lake Erie are home to thousands of crop and livestock farms. Those farmers use underground systems to manage rainwater, including many located where a massive swamp once made up the Ohio landscape.

All those farms face challenges managing fertilizers and water in their fields with drainage systems.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/field-tiles-drainage-systems-pose-problems-lake-erie/

James Proffitt

Hundreds of boats likely destroyed in Michigan marina fire

LASALLE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A fire Friday destroyed an enormous building loaded with hundreds of boats stored for the winter in southeastern Michigan, sending smoke for miles along Lake Erie.

Neighbors and boat owners rushed to get as close as possible to Toledo Beach Marina. Aerial video showed clouds of black smoke and a building overwhelmed by flames.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/ap-hundreds-boats-likely-destroyed-michigan-marina-fire/

The Associated Press

High Water Levels On Tap This Winter As November Marks The Start Of A New Water Year

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/high-water-levels-water-year-wdet-watch-party/

GLN Editor

“Saving the Great Lakes”: National Geographic December issue explores the lakes and their struggles

A familiar view for many who live and play around the Great Lakes graces the current cover of National Geographic – a stormy sunset over Lake Michigan, seen from the sandy beaches of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

The feature story of the magazine’s December 2020 issue puts a spotlight on the Great Lakes.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/saving-great-lakes-national-geographic-december-issue-struggles/

Natasha Blakely

Q & A: The Great Lakes are stressed. Climate change is making it worse.

By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network

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/2020/11/great-lakes-stressed-climate-change-worse/

Bridge Michigan

Fall Brawl: Sheffield Lake fishing derby inspires intense angling

Anglers as a group are generally nice people – polite, kind, generous and peaceful. But throw out a couple high-end, super-sweet fishing machines and stacks of cash, and they’ll brawl hard. For six weeks.

The 10th Annual B’Laster Fall Brawl began at 12:01 a.m Oct. 16 and runs through 8:00 a.m.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/fall-brawl-sheffield-lake-fishing-derby/

James Proffitt

Dave Spangler: Lake Erie loses tireless full-time advocate

Dave Spangler, a ceaseless advocate for Lake Erie, died Oct. 21, at 74. He spent the last few decades working to make Lake Erie the best body of water he could.

Spangler appeared in Great Lakes Now’s “Unlocking the Lakes” episode to share about how COVID-19 has been affecting tourism and the recreational fishing industry.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/dave-spangler-lake-erie-advocate/

James Proffitt

Legal Fees: Toledo residents to pay for LEBOR challenger Drewes Farms

While the roller coaster case garnered national attention with its on-again, off-again Rights of Nature legal battle, Toledo residents are stuck paying legal fees for Drewes Farms Partnerships in its fight against the Lake Erie Bill of Rights, popularly referred to as LEBOR.

Owners of the Wood County crop farm filed a challenge to LEBOR the morning after its landslide February 2019 passage by Toledo voters.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/legal-fees-toledo-residents-lebor-drewes-farms/

James Proffitt

Shipwreck Life: How fish and other aquatic species utilize Great Lakes shipwrecks

All that remained of the schooner was a bit of its hull – a tightly-packed row of wooden planks stretching 40 feet across the bottom of Lake Huron. Sunbeams easily penetrated the 20 feet of clear lake water above the wreck.

The site appeared lifeless.

There were no schools of emerald shiners, black-striped minnows or yellow perch in sight.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/shipwreck-ecosystem-fish-great-lakes-species/

Kathy Johnson

C+: Western Lake Erie receives mediocre score on new report card

Lake Erie’s Western Basin didn’t do well on its first big test: a report card produced by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.

The report card gave it a mediocre score, an overall C+, based on a various factors regarding the lake’s condition. The watershed surrounding western Lake Erie scored a C.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/western-lake-erie-mediocre-score-report-card/

James Proffitt

Great Lakes Moment: Detroit River and western Lake Erie get a checkup

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/state-of-the-strait-2020-detroit-river-western-lake-erie/

John Hartig

One Michigan county tells the story of a nation plagued by water pollution

By Jane Johnston, Circle of Blue

ALMA  Murray Borrello, wearing khakis and a loose-fitting brown button-up, walked down a backroad during the summer of 2019 listening to the sounds of the woods. Water from the Pine River flowed slowly beneath him as he looked out over a bridge.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/09/michigan-county-cafos-agriculture-water-pollution/

Circle of Blue

Great Lakes Energy News Roundup: Wisconsin utility shutoffs postponed, Lake Erie wind farm, Minnesota mine legal win

Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.

In this edition: Wisconsin Public Service Commission extends utility shutoff moratorium, ruling that could undo Lake Erie wind farm project stands, and PolyMet copper-nickel mine gets critical legal win in Minnesota.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/09/great-lakes-energy-mining-utility-line-5-lake-erie/

Ian Wendrow

Sturgeon Stocking: COVID-19 puts pause on popular sturgeon release program

The Toledo Zoo’s popular lake sturgeon stocking event won’t happen this year, though a pause in the program – thanks to the international COVID-19 pandemic – won’t hurt the project.

“In a nutshell, our partners out of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Alpena, Michigan, and Genoa, Wisconsin, are the ones who collect the eggs,” explained Kent Bekker, director of conservation at the zoo.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/09/sturgeon-stocking-covid-19-release-program/

James Proffitt

Total Maximum Daily Load: Court case looks to push for Ohio EPA nutrients limit for Lake Erie

For the second time in two years Chicago-based Environmental Law & Policy Center appears to have forced the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s hand in seeking solutions to Lake Erie’s ongoing nutrients pollution problem.

In U.S Northern District of Ohio Court hearings on July 17 and July 30, ELPC attorneys sought a summary judgement requiring the U.S.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/09/total-maximum-daily-load-court-case-ohio-epa-nutrients-lake-erie/

James Proffitt

Michigan’s State of the Great Lakes: Drinking water quality garners spotlight

In her first regional appearance after taking office in January 2019, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer made it clear that Michigan would take a leadership role on Great Lakes issues.

“Michigan has to lead on Great Lakes issues,” Whitmer told Great Lakes Now after speaking to fellow Great Lakes governors and Canadian premiers and the broader Great Lakes community in Milwaukee.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/08/michigan-state-great-lakes-drinking-water-quality/

Gary Wilson

Above Average: Great Lakes water temperatures keep high after record-breaking July

Lake Ontario broke a record this July for hottest surface water temperature ever recorded on the lake since 1995. 

Lake Ontario isn’t alone. All five of the Great Lakes’ surface water temperatures are still above their 1995-2020 averages as of Aug. 21,  according to NOAA Great Lakes CoastWatch. 

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/08/great-lakes-water-temperatures-high/

Samantha Cantie